We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
When I lived in the United States, I lived a “normal” life.
What that meant was eating fast food often, pizza take outs, and when there was an opportunity to cook at home; well, it was simple fare.
We ate spaghetti, hotdogs with sauerkraut, hamburgers and tuna. An occasional meatloaf, baked chicken and lasagna were not unheard of.
We drank a mixture of coke-cola and coffee most of the time, and beer when we had weekends.
This is typical American behavior.
My have things changed.
Today, I live a typical Chinese lifestyle. Home cooking is usually a rice with port ribs, chicken, and my favorite; tomatoes with ground meat. We tend to drink wine or hard alcohol with it. We are VIP members with some of our favorite restaurants.
I would say that a monthly normal meal would consist of oysters with wine.
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While, back when I was living in the United States, my monthly normal meal consisted of some chicken wings and beer.
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And that is how things work. You experience life, and how you behave changes.
Change.
Look at the food you eat, and learn how much you have changed.
Today…
“Many Underestimate Beijing”: China is Ready for a Trade War with the US and Has Already Selected a Number of Effective Measures
Yesterday, 20:292
China has developed powerful measures to deal with a new round of trade tensions with the US if newly elected President Donald Trump tries to reignite the economic war between the world’s largest economies, the Financial Times reports.
Since Trump’s surprise election victory in 2016, China has faced a wave of economic restrictions, including higher tariffs, tighter controls on foreign investment and sanctions on Chinese companies. These measures have posed a serious challenge for Beijing, especially given the country’s worsening economic situation. But over the past eight years, China has adapted, passing laws that allow it to restrict foreign companies’ access to the Chinese market, impose its own sanctions and manipulate critical supply chains, especially with the US.
While Joe Biden has maintained many of the Trump administration’s restrictions, Trump himself has set an even tougher course and has already begun assembling a team to support increased pressure on China.
Beijing now has new legal tools at its disposal, such as the Foreign Sanctions Act, which allows it to respond to restrictions imposed by other countries, and the “Unreliable Entity List,” a list of foreign companies whose actions could be seen as a threat to China’s national interests.
The expanded export control rules allow China to use its dominant position in the supply of rare earth metals and lithium, resources critical to advanced technology , to great effect.
Experts say many are underestimating the potential impact of China’s measures.
Andrew Gilholm, head of China at consultancy Control Risks, points out a number of emblematic sanctions: for example, Beijing has banned its companies from supplying key components to U.S. drone maker Skydio, which in turn supplies the Ukrainian armed forces.
Another example is the threat of blacklisting PVH, the owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, which could cut off its access to the huge Chinese market.
China is also taking steps to strengthen its own technology and resource supply chains to reduce its dependence on American companies, and is expanding cooperation with countries that are more neutral in their relations with Washington.
However, the threat of comprehensive tariffs on Chinese imports, which could reach 60%, remains a real risk for Beijing, especially given the slowing economy, declining consumer and business confidence, and high youth unemployment.
If the US is perceived as an unreliable trading partner, it could push other major economies to strengthen ties with China in search of stable and profitable export markets, creating a new balance of power in global trade..
“Well, Son, your mother was on a lot of drugs and your head was so big.” At least Dad was somewhat apologetic. Mom….not so much.“Thirty-six hours of pushing that enormous head of yours out my love hole and you wanna complain about your name?”Yes. I want to submit a formal complaint about my name. My parents didn’t think things through when they named me. You see the problem with calling a kid, Algor, when his last name is, Rithm , right? (Stop laughing, Joe! Go drink a cup of yourself!)First of all, a name like mine comes with certain expectations. Even in kindergarten, people expected me to be smart. Let’s just say, it was a struggle. Although, I know I wasn’t the only one because we talked about this very thing in my, “People with Unfortunate Names Support Group”.“You’re right, Al. It was much better to have the opposite problem. I liked proving people wrong after they assumed I was stupid just because my parents misspelled my name on my birth certificate,” said Naive Lee.“I can’t really blame my last name on my parents since they had to deal with it too, but come on! Couldn’t they have gone with something simpler for my first name?” Poindexter Smartypants shook his head and covered his face with his hands.It was nice to be around others who’d suffered because of their names, but I had to quit a few weeks back when they started doing the same thing they complained about. Everyone in the group had gotten together without me to come up with an idea they wanted my help with.“As you know, Al, this group has always been about making a difference and affecting change in the world.” Rich Moneypenny, who started the group out of his parent’s basement where he lived, announced his proposal.“Yeah, dude, like totally. You know, like you’re the only one who can do this for us, and stuff.” M.B. Sill, added before he zoned out watching an ant crawl up the wall.“We’d like you to come up with a plan, of sorts. You know, like a recipe or a series of instructions to help people come up with better names for their children. A…what did we call it again?”“An algorithm. You’d like me to develop an algorithm. Because my name is, Algor Rithm, you think I’d be best at creating an algorithm.” My voice dripped with sarcasm, which upset both of the Asm twins, Sark and Org, for some reason.I left that meeting in a huff and I haven’t been back. I missed the outlet for venting the emotional trauma caused by my unfortunate name, though so I called my friend, Pepper and invited her over. We talked and played Mario Kart until we got hungry.“I don’t know why, but every time I hang out with you, I crave pizza.” I laughed and she ordered the grub.When the pizza arrived, we both went to the door.“I’ve got a Pepper Roni?”“No. Neither of us eat meat.” I said as the guy furrowed his brow and examined the receipt.“I’m Pepper Roni.” Pepper reached for the pizzas, but the guy moved them out of her reach.“No, it says here, these are both veggie specials. No pepperonis.”“Maybe we should order pizza under my name from now on.”“Oh yeah? What’s your name?” Asked the pizza guy who finally relinquished the goods after Pepper showed him her driver’s license.“Algor Rithm.”“Hey, maybe you can look at my computer sometime.”I shut the door in his face, but not before I noticed that his name tag read, “Dick”.I could’ve been a little more understanding, considering the group and the pizza guy weren’t entirely off base with my abilities. It’s true, I do work in the computer industry. Maybe my name wouldn’t be a problem if I’d gone into a different line of work, like, say, interior design or vacuum cleaner sales. But, in the computer design industry, my name can be confusing.Why, you ask. Well, it’s mostly because people in my office say my name hundreds of times a day. And just like anytime someone says your name, my ears perk up when I hear mine. Every. Time.I don’t always hear the other words people say, but I hear my name. Take for instance the incident from last Monday. Sally, who sits in the cubicle next to me, requested help with her project, but all I heard was my name.“Algorithm…”“What?”
“ALGORITHM”
“WHAT?”
“Do you have it or not?”
“Do I have what?”
“The algorithm”
“I AM RIGHT HERE.”
Of course, our brains have a great ability to adapt, right? So, that’s what my brain did for a while after I started working there. It got to where I didn’t answer every time I heard someone say, “algorithm.” That was nice for a while, but then that backfired and became a huge problem when someone—the highest ranking someone—did, in fact, require my immediate response.
“Algor Rithm. Anybody seen him?”
“Algor Rithm!”
“Algor Rithm!” Are you over there?”
“Algor Rithm, the boss says that new program you designed is crashing.”
“Algor Rithm!”
At one point, everyone in the office was chanting my name while I happily ignored them. Don’t ask me why no one took the time to actually stand up and walk over to my desk, but that’s human nature, isn’t it?
Luckily, Sally finally shouted, “AL!”, and got my attention. If she hadn’t done that, I’m certain I would’ve been fired. Most likely, Tech Savvy would’ve pounced on the opportunity to show me up to the boss.
I guess, when I look at it a different way, I kind of appreciate my name. After all, there are unseen biases that occur when someone looking to hire people see my name on my resume. I mean, would you rather hire someone named, Algor Rithm, or someone named, Sharon Crack? Sure, maybe Sharon has a doctorate. Maybe she goes by, Dr. Sharon Crack, but does that really make it any better?
Sometimes, a name’s reputation doesn’t have anything to do with the actual name. Marco Polo didn’t start out being an awesome game to play in the swimming pool. Nellie hasn’t always come after the command to, “woah”; and Dick doesn’t always refer to a penis.
What I mean to say is, in this life, we get to create our own lives. It’s up to us to make our names memorable in the ways we desire.
That being said, I’d still like to caution expectant parents on name-selection strategies for their progeny. As it turned out, I went back to the support group with the algorithm they requested.
1. Select a name for your child well before they are born. Do not wait until you or your wife is under the influence of pain medication and pushing out a watermelon-sized noggin to make this important decision.
2. Run the name past some honest folks, like maybe a group of kids. Nobody will be more honest than a group of kids.
3. Get someone to spell check your name selection.
There’s probably a lot more I could add to this algorithm, but expectant parents don’t often take well to extensive instructions. It’s because of that, I believe, that poor Fanny Cooter got stuck with her name. In cases like that, we can all be thankful for the loophole that allows any of us to change our names if we so chose.
As for me, I’ve learned to adjust. But, for future reference, please…just call me Al.
This Is What The US Has To Say About China’s New Missiles
What would it mean for the UK economy if the US imposes a 20% tariff on all imports, and a 60% tariff on China?
Tariff on foreign countries, actually the entire world = rob foreign countries forcing them to feed USA.
Have you seen a mafia in movies such as god father?
Inside USA, tariff on foreign country = tax increase on Americans because foreign sellers will add the tariff to the price of their exported goods to USA.
In Trump 1.0, 80–90% of tariff was added to the sale price by foreign sellers. That is 1 reason why there was inflation in USA in Trump 1.0 & Biden era.
In both Trump 1.0 & 2.0, Trump has & will decrease tax to attract votes. How to recover the loss of revenue incurred from tax decrease? Use tariff to cause inflation so that all Americans pay a bit ie use tariff to disguise tax increase.
Analysts suggest countries to fight back & break even. Trump tariffs on imports to USA; countries tariffs on exports to USA with the same amount.
We must understand: 60% tariff on Chinese imports & 20% on smaller countries is crazily unreasonable. Not many firms can make 60% of profit. Small firms cant make 20% at all. Nobody will do business with no profit. Hence, decouple & stop selling to USA is the only option.
In fact, decoupling may be a plot of Trump 2.0. Trump may want USA to start all over again by manufacturing its own products from toilet paper to Trump’s campaign cap to washer etc. Trump wants everything made-in-USA.
US wage is higher than southeast Asia. That is Made-in-USA is more expensive. Then USA better increase Americans wage to catch up with inflation.
Trump 1.0 failed to attract US investors back to USA. Some still stayed in China. Some moved from China to, say, Thailand to put a finish touch on the Chinese products. This disguise of made-in-Thailand products also push up the American consumer price.
A Psychological Analysis of Trump’s Personality by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson | EP 492
Will African countries that benefit from China’s elimination of tariffs increase their exports to China?
For centuries, the West has regarded Africa as a source of raw materials, disrupting Africa’s value addition. Their negative impacts are so profound that even after independence, many African countries struggle to catch up with industrialization. Today, the development of this continent is still overlooked by Western countries.
Africa is home to more than 1.5 billion people, 43 percent of which lack access to electricity. But Africa has also abundant renewable resources. Most of the African countries are in need of investment in energy and to diversify the source of energy. China plays a leading role in the global new energy sector and is now expanding its reach into the African market in advanced green technologies.
Since the start of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has committed itself to helping improve partner countries’ industrial capacity. Currently, there are more than 3,500 Chinese enterprises operating in Africa. By 2023, China has helped build more than 50 industrial parks in Africa. These gigantic centers for manufacturing and logistics have spurred growth in their host countries and led many to believe that Africa could well be the world’s next manufacturing factory.
“When the U.S. leaders visit Africa, they talk about China, but when Chinese officials visit Africa, they talk about trade and development.”
From a purely economic perspective, Africa is a potentially lucrative market for China. With its under-served market and booming population, the scope for expansion into Africa offers huge potential for Chinese firms.
This is particularly true now that the African Continental Free Trade Area (which was established in 2018) opens up the possibility of cross-border value chains developing in Africa.
Most of the goods that China imports from Africa are natural resources. Many of these resources have strategic relevance, for example, in manufacturing batteries. In return, Chinese companies export a wide range of goods to Africa, including manufactured products, industrial and agricultural machinery, and vehicles.
In terms of foreign direct investment, Chinese companies are still only the 5th largest investors in Africa after their Dutch, French, US and UK counterparts. But their ascent has been relatively quick, and while Western companies are focused on resources and the financial sector, Chinese ones also invest heavily in construction and manufacturing.
China plays a leading role in the global new energy sector and is now expanding its reach into the African market in advanced green technologies. Through various cooperation projects, Chinese manufacturers have introduced domestic technologies to Africa and shared their experience to contribute to Africa’s industrial progress.
The main difference from Western nations is that China doesn’t use Africa for geopolitical purposes, nor as the recipient of so-called China’s industrial overcapacity. China is partnering with Africa to boost its traditional industry capacity by introducing new and high-tech know-how and building future-oriented green projects to achieve a win-win result.
China in Africa: Challenging the Western human rights narrative
Historically, Western countries have subjected Africa to centuries of brutal colonial rule and blatant racial discrimination. Even to this day, some Western countries continue to interfere in the internal affairs of African countries through financial, legal, sanction-based, and even military actions.
In contrast, China adheres strictly to the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal matters. And China speaks for the rights of Africans at the UN.
Brian Berletic: Trump Drops Cabinet BOMBSHELL—WW3 with Putin, Iran & China Next?
What are your thoughts on medical accommodations for law school? Do students with learning disabilities benefit from things such as separated testing areas or increase test times in the long run? Does this potentially harm the legal field?
This question appears to rest on an underlying assumption that law school exam conditions approximate the conditions in which lawyers actually practice law.
That proposition is very very untrue.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily against the idea of having a big exam serve as a gatekeeper to the profession. I don’t think it’s the only way to do things, but I don’t think it’s a bad way. But it’s important for that exam not to unfairly punish folks. If things like separated testing areas or increased times mitigate that risk, fine.
In reality, there are very very few exam-like scenarios after the Bar exam. What I’m calling an “exam-like scenario” is where a lawyer has to rely on their general knowledge of law to answer a specific question on a short timeline, without the availability of any reference materials.
Although short timelines do exist sometimes, there are always reference materials available. Electronic materials at least, but often “materials” in the form of more experienced and knowledgeable colleagues are available. Moreover, once a lawyer actually starts practicing, their area of specialty usually becomes somewhat narrow. It’s not like they’re going to have to answer a question on Constitutional law, then a question on civil procedure, then a question on negotiable instruments, then a question on intestate succession.
To the contrary, lawyers tend to add value not necessarily by answering discrete questions like this at all. A client comes to a lawyer with an amorphous bunch of facts, not all of which the client necessarily appreciates the significance of, and the client wants to achieve a certain outcome (or at least avoid a certain outcome). The lawyer finds a way to do that as best as possible.
That’s how a lawyer provides value to a client, not by doing something that looks like a law school exam.
FLASH: “Russia-US relations are at breaking point”
For days, word has been seeping-out that the US and Russia have been communicating behind the scenes, at the Department Level, regarding primarily the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At least one time during this process, Presidents Trump and Putin spoke with each other. Today, something bad happened.
For some reason, not yet known, Sergei Ryabkov, the Deputy Foreign Minister, stated today “Russia-US relations are at breaking point.”
Ryabkov said Russia repeatedly voiced that Moscow-Washington ties are “balancing on the brink of a rupture,” and that the administration under former President Joe Biden “bet on a hybrid war” with the goal of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia.
He also commented on US President Donald Trump’s team, saying that despite contradictions in their statements, they at least show interest in resuming dialogue with Russia.
“We are ready for dialogue, as we have stated repeatedly, including discussions on a settlement in Ukraine. But this can only happen on an equal and mutually acceptable basis,” he added.
The deputy minister emphasized the need to recognize the realities on the ground and address the root causes of the crisis for any resolution.
“We have previously mentioned that there is at least a small window of opportunity for normalizing Russia-US relations under the Trump administration. Whether the US seizes this opportunity depends entirely on them,” he said.
Ryabkov also warned against the use of ultimatums and aggressive rhetoric in negotiations with Russia.
“The language of ultimatums, provocative statements, and attempts to make us accept unrealistic demands in exchange for supposed favors will not work in relations and dialogue with Russia,” he said.
Forgotten Chicken
Forgotten Chicken is a great fast and easy recipe! I have made this with chicken tenders, and it’s great. This is also known as “No Peek Chicken.”
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Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white rice, uncooked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 soup can water
Chicken breasts or thighs
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
Instructions
Mix rice, soups and water.
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Lay chicken on top of rice mixture.
Sprinkle chicken evenly with onion soup mix.
Cover tightly and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees F.
What are some current issues and disputes concerning Taiwan?
Ever since the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Taiwan question has been delayed for too long and has reached the stage where it must be resolved.
If you can see the essence clearly: in Taiwan’s problems and disputes, the worst party is the United States, and the United States is the biggest obstacle.
Taiwanese people have no objection. After the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese people will live their lives as usual, students will go to school as usual, and employees will go to work as usual. Their lives will not be affected in any way.
Behind those politicians in Taiwan is the US government, which is manipulating the Taiwan independence elements behind the scenes to interfere with the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Who are the PLA’s military manoeuvres for? For the United States, of course..
Trump’s tariffs are bad news for everyone
Yes. Terrible.
Is there currently a trade war between China and the USA? If so, who is expected to win and how long could it potentially last?
Yes, there is a trade war between China and the US. It’s been 5 years.
Trump started it during his first term. Biden intensifies it.
Trump’s tariffs were to balance the trade deficit. Biden’s tariffs are protectionism.
The centre of the trade war is technology. This takes the form of US sanctions.
Trump threatened to cut off supply of semiconductors to China if it did not abandon MIC 2025. His most vociferous was against Huawei. Biden’s sanctions are comprehensive, drawing on all kind of excuses and extraterritoriality.
Bottom-line
China has built its own semiconductor industry. Will be market leader on both the demand and supply side next year in 2025, and likelihood of net exporter come 2027. Huawei is world’s No.1 in 5G communications. Smartphone business is back to growth path on its own 7nm chips and HarmonyOS.
Biden’s sanctions fail to arrest the forward march of China’s tech. Sanctions help it built resilience and self-reliance. It is gaining leadership in the new tech, especially in green tech. Great strengths across the supply-chains through to applications.
Trump said he will raise tariff to 60% or higher. But effect on China’s growth is marginal. China’s exports to the US are less than 2.5% of GDP.
Not sure what Trump will do on the tech side. His sanctions pool may be quite dry.
China has been light on the sanctions game. Bans export of a few rare earth minerals, puts several US companies on its unreliable entity list, and it has wide powers under the Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items.
Despite the light touch, the bans on the rare earth minerals have made waves in the US defence industry, raises costs, disrupts production schedules, and delays deliveries of many projects.
China has a deep sanctions pool. It could play rough especially as the US become less and less relevant to its economy.
Who wins in the trade war?
Both sides lose.
China finds opportunities in the war, expands its trade with other countries, and builds its resilience and self-reliant.
US has been fired by hubris. It could suffer more, even though it is mostly hidden, save for the outcries by the tech industry. It could be serious when it hits Wall Street, and when inflation hits the people’s pocket.
How long will it last?
A long time.
US started it. This behooves it to take steps to end it. But minds have been poisoned. No politician dares contemplate it, much less suggest it.
China has no incentive to make the first move. Adjustments will make it water under the bridge. International events will give it advantage in the balance of strength.
International events include growth of BRI and BRICS, and dedollarisation.
Why have Americans chosen a bunch of cynical plutocrats to run their country? Their problem. Should we now look to China for world leadership?
The American people have no real choice. The US political system is rigged to favor the corporate capitalist elite.
Moreover, the US has two major parties that are hardly distinguishable, except in the area of social issues such as abortion and immigration. It was Julius Nyerere who famously quipped: “The United States is also a one-party state but with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.”
So regardless of who is in power (Democrats or Republicans), the result is the same from the perspective of foreign policy and corporate interests. The American people will continue to be neglected (homelessness, gun violence, poor health care, poor education, crumbling infrastructure, drug addiction, mass incarceration, etc.). The country will continue to fight overseas wars and antagonize other countries militarily (e.g., Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Hamas, China-Taiwan). The country will continue to sanction other countries by weaponizing the US Dollar.
We can and should look for leadership from China. And we’re getting it. That’s what BRICS and SCO are about. That’s what BRI (Belt and Road) is about. Peace and common prosperity for the entire world.
Part A- This is not the beginningLife here is brutal. You are either a zero or one. Civilizations may want you to believe there are intermediate levels. But they are just being kind, and blind to their past. I don’t have such proclivities; I believe in stating the facts.Part B- The bitThe bit took birth someplace between a city and a village called a town. Her culture demanded that she be a sweet, yielding, and pliant…well a person, if such a thing were possible. So, she stuffed her mind with a bit of education, an algorithm to stay out of trouble, and a stack of socially acceptable manners. All the while her true nature roiled in the recycle bin, never finding full expression. It kept manifesting at times as malfunction and system slowdowns but the byte took care to bring it back on its track. Of course, with a strict warning- if she did not know how to conduct herself, she may just remain at the perpetual position of zero. So, she continued to fill up her dutiful role and waited patiently. She did meet many chips on the block while doing so and wondered if they had any transformational power. There was a gate to the world beyond, and it was arranged by the byte as it was customary in due course of time. She just hoped it was not a NOT gate. And she didn’t dare to dream of an OR gate.Part C- The new byteShe discovered after crossing over to the new byte, that her partner may be an AND gate but there were a few NOR gates in the chip. It took her years of yielding to even hope to jump to the position of one. A couple of extra bits she and her partner had welcomed gave her so much joy, that she was content to be a zero- for some time. Soon, she was at the crossroads and had the wisdom come to her in a flash. If she didn’t dare to jump then, she would end up as a cleared cache like so many before her.She looked for ways to change her values, jump gates, and outsmart the circuits. It took her all her wits, strength, patience, and well… ruthlessness. I am not the one to sugar-coat facts.She did jump to become One. The position adored and advocated as the only one that should be aspired for, and truly matters- by the machine. Yeah, the same machine that is a network of peoples, ideologies, nations, and other blah things. At times, I wish nature was at its core. But well, it is what it is.So, coming back to the bit. She climbed, claimed, and reigned the realm that she had dreamed of when she was a child- before she was told about the position she should put up with if she knew what was good for her.And stayed there. For a while.Part D- The arrayThe bits and bytes can play their roles supremely well…to their finest abilities. But they are only as good as the array they are stacked in. And the arrays are at the mercy of the commands that they receive from the hands that have appropriated the keyboard. There are many theories as to how the keyboard/mouse/joystick got passed around from prehistoric to present times. But let’s not go there, it’s a messy code.As of now, arrays have pretty much chalked out their domains. These domains are as fancy as they come; democratic, autocratic, or even anarchic. Their denizens are drilled to the core about their sovereignty and righteousness – as if that means anything in the natural order of things!Let’s come back to the bit that we started with. The bit did so well in her circuit and gave such quick returns to the array whenever called for, that she became one of the few exponents noted by the control panel. Her name was whispered in the upper echelons and her position was sealed among the national assets.Part E – The machineIn nature, everything has come from nothing and hence should go back to it, eventually. It’s a cycle as unerring as syntax. The machine thinks it can control it. But some things are beyond its reach. Only, it is insentient to it.Ignorance gobbles goodness like a tiger pouncing on a deer; nothing cruel, just the natural impulse. History will always print the map of human ignorance preying on its good sense. This map, when drawn and breathed into life by the arrogant architects of the machine, has the power to reformat civilizations. When such an occasion arises, the brilliant bits, the arrays they have aligned themselves to, and the domains they are a part of, have no alternative but to carry out the intended pogroms.In short, a decent bit can be turned into junk if the machine commands so.Err… in case you forgot what a machine is, please loop back to part C.
Part F- The crash
A machine can take only that much corruption in its system, malicious propaganda, and loss of memory of earlier mistakes before it gives up for good. Garbage input, garbage output. There is no escaping that.
The bit and other kindred sparks did try their best to keep this from happening. But they were too scattered, insignificant, and wishful.
So, one day, when the powers that be decided to overheat the system, the machine did crash. And all its machinations went poof…
Part G- This is not the end
Well, before you can accuse me of being a cynical bystander, let me reassure you, that this is not the end. It’s just an intermediate output in the nth iteration of the zero-sum game. As Time, I have been a witness to it from the beginning.
In a few million years, there will be a rise of a new breed of machines, once again. They will begin with magic and wonder, and try to reinvent themselves before subscribing to a staunch belief that there never existed a smarter system…
And of course, you and I know how this game is going to play out… don’t we?
How will Peru’s Chancay port transform the Pacific trade?
My friend Song, also a Chinese reporter, requested to visit Chancay Port during his business trip in Lima, Peru ahead of the APEC meeting. But his request was declined and he was told a lot of preparations were underway and the site is somewhat chaotic. It means the inauguration of the port is of remarkable significance.
Chancay port is BRI project developed by China’s Cosco Shipping. It is a US$1.3 billion deepwater port. After its grand opening, the transit time to Shanghai will be slashed from 35 days to 25 days, cutting costs for exporters who currently rely on routes through the Panama Canal or the Atlantic Ocean. CGTN reports:
“Strategically located as Peru’s gateway to the Pacific, the port is connected to the Pan-American Highway via a tunnel, providing direct access to Peru’s capital Lima. As the first “maritime expressway” into Latin America, it will enable faster and more cost-efficient transport of Peruvian exports, such as cranberries and avocados, to Asian markets. It’s projected to generate $4.5 billion in annual economic benefits for Peru, equivalent to 1.8 percent of the nation’s GDP, while creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs”
The port will integrate the entire Latin American region into the dynamic economic framework of the Asia-Pacific, greatly bolstering connectivity within and beyond the continent.
China Is Creating The Biggest Military In The World
Which countries do not have tariffs on imports and exports from China?
Several countries have reduced or eliminated tariffs on imports and exports from China due to free trade agreements (FTAs) and other trade arrangements. These agreements often cover a wide range of goods and services, and the specific details can vary. Here are some examples of countries that have favorable trade agreements with China, leading to reduced or zero tariffs on many goods:
Countries with Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China
Australia The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) eliminates or reduces tariffs on a wide range of goods.
New Zealand The China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement removes tariffs on most goods over time.
South Korea The China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement significantly reduces tariffs on many products.
Chile The China-Chile Free Trade Agreement eliminates tariffs on most goods traded between the two countries.
Costa Rica The China-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement reduces or eliminates tariffs on various goods.
Regional Trade Agreements
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) The ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement reduces tariffs on a wide range of products traded between China and ASEAN member countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam).
Comprehensive Trade Agreements
RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) This agreement includes China and 14 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam). It aims to gradually reduce tariffs on a broad range of goods.
Special Economic Zones and Bilateral Agreements
Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of China, enjoy special trade arrangements with mainland China, often involving zero tariffs.
Notes on Trade Agreements
European Union While the EU does not have a comprehensive free trade agreement with China, it has various sector-specific agreements and tariff reductions on certain goods.
United States The trade relationship between the U.S. and China is complex, with various tariffs in place. However, specific agreements and negotiations can lead to tariff reductions on particular goods.
Considerations
Changes in Trade Policies Trade policies and agreements can change due to political and economic developments. It’s essential to stay updated on the latest information.
Specific Product Tariffs Even within free trade agreements, there may be exceptions and specific rules for certain products. Detailed tariff schedules should be consulted for precise information.
For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consulting trade authorities, official government publications, or trade experts is recommended.
Sec of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth / Col Douglas Macgregor Reacts
Worth the time to watch.
Cheesy Spaghetti Bake
fe77c2335fd5966b748eed30a22a4a78
This is a real winner as far as comfort food goes!
Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 pound ground beef
1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Set aside.
In a skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat until browned.
Drain excess fat. Add marinara sauce, garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the beef. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
In a baking dish, layer half of the spaghetti, followed by the cream cheese mixture, beef sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese.
Repeat layers. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese is golden brown.
China Announces 100% Zero-Tariff Treatment for Afghanistan | This will change everything!
What was the best relationship advice you ever got?
Never date your ex,(s)he became your ex for a reason. Your ex belongs to your past, move on.
Never hope on marrying someone when almost 70% of their family members don’t like you. The probability of the marriage not lasting is very high and you’re probably not going to enjoy the relationship.
There is a distinct difference between dating for love and dating for sex. Always understand the main reason why you’re venturing into a relationship.
Never fall in love when you are lonely, the consequences are going to be a harsh one.
As long as it is still a relationship, never reveal your full potential or secrets to whoever you are dating.
Your personal development should come first before relationships. People who you are in relationships with can still leave you but you can never leave yourself, meaning never compromise your adventures and dreams for anyone.
Avoid relationships that seems to be too good to be true at the beginning. When the other person is rushing things too fast, don’t get carried away with romance and sex. Slow down and be careful because this is how people get hooked on to narcissistic partners.
Never date someone that gives commands and doesn’t respect you. The probability of emotional abuse is very high.
Never date anybody that doesn’t know how to give but knows only how to take.
Never date anyone with the mindset of changing their character, attitude, and behaviours. Remember, you can never raise an adult!
What is the purpose of China having a large number of aircraft carriers despite not bordering many oceans or seas? Is there a strategic advantage to having these ships?
FIRSTLY WHY NOT?…
WHY ARE YOU NOT BOTHERED WITH OTHER COUNTRIES WITH LARGE FLEETS OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS BUT CONCERNED WITH CHINA’S FLEDGLING FLEETS?
WHATEVER MILITARY TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING NUCLEAR WEAPONRY, THEY ARE MEANT TO DETER ANY WOULD-BE AGGRESSORS/INVADORS AND CHINA WILL NEVER ALLOW ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS OF HUMILIATION UNDER THE THUMB OF FOREIGNERS ESPECIALLY OF THE AMURIKKKUNT’S KIND…
THE ADVANTAGE OF THESE SHIPS IS THAT POSSESSION OF THEM WILL MAKE WOULD-BE AGGRESSORS THINK TWICE BEFORE EMBARGING ON THEIR WAR OF AGGRESSION ON CHINA…
Not tall, not short, not flat, and definitely not sharp. I’m inconspicuous as my senile grandpa used to say.
It was one of those dry mornings at Red School when our class was preparing for a test for test’s sake. One of the front teeth bent down to the red board and wrote some cribs under the hooting of the class. My fellows from the last row and I were not participating in that circus. We had an unspoken agreement with our old and chubby teacher, Mr. Blue Toothbrush. He did not bother us, and we mutually did not disturb him. While he was polishing and adoring the front teeth year after year, we were quietly watching Foodball on an ipalate under the desk. Or playing with parsley, pieces of caramel, and other treasures that Tooth 26 occasionally revealed from his backpack.
This time Mr. Blue Toothbrush was running late. I imagined him somewhere outside moving with the speed of an anesthetized tongue, trying to remember his duties. How long had we known him? For ten years I assume. His smooth blue skin was tinted with brown pigments, and all but one of his hair fell out of his rectangle head. Sometimes we were waiting for him the whole evening, and he would tell us that he had forgotten to come to class. And sometimes, instead of two productive minutes of hard work, we had less than twenty seconds as he had fallen asleep in the hallway.
We did not know what kept him so long this time. Tooth 27 claimed Mr. Blue died but I did not believe it. Teachers do not die, they are replaced. Our ex-teachers, Mrs. Purple, was accused of having an affair with another man’s mouth. Her reputation died, though she did not.
My buddy Tooth 25 had another theory. He remembered the time when our Lord kissed a Lady. We were invited into her White Palace that day. Even though our principal Mr. Tongue blocked the view, we eavesdropped on the conversation between the front teeth and a cute little fang of the Lady. She told them that her teacher. Mr. Electronic Toothbrush, was genius. The guys and girls from the last row, as she claimed, were as bright as the front teeth. Those sweet speeches made poor Tooth 25 hope that our Lord would hear our prayers and send us a substitute teacher. Again, I did not have high hopes for that. Our Lord is not powerful and definitely is not capable of doing rational things. When I was in the fourth grade, he guided fingers from another class directly into the power socket. That was a big fire on their floor that spread up to us. Sharp waves of electricity cut our enamelled bodies to pieces and gave us post electric flashbacks whenever we smelled iron. But Tooth 25 was one of those for whom a mouth was always half full.
In fifteen hours’ time, our teacher was still not in the class. The fog of voices changed from a whisper to the seagulls’ screams. The front teeth were slowly turning into Munch’s paintings with each second of the teacher’s absence. I opened a history class book from extreme boredom and scammed the pages until the images of ancestors stared at me. They were sharp, giant, and able to tear the flesh apart in a glimpse. Do you know what we can do? Eat boiled broccoli. When our Lord gives us BBQ, we eat it for half an hour in the best-case scenario.
We are bunch of sissies. I would never…
Oh my…!
Tooth 26 dropped a piece of caramel. Tooth 25 squealed like a boy who saw one of the BTS singers in the crowd. The avalanche of the mint aroma filled the class as an angel came down to us. In the vibration of Tooth 25’s pitchy voice, we were rubbing our eyes. A new teacher, Ms. Pink Toothbrush, entered the class. Her tiny white feet were not touching the ground as she was walking. Our Lord had heard our prayers indeed! I winked to Tooth 27 but he did not notice me. He was busy taking pictures of her and creating a fan club on the ToothBook.
Her graceful fragile movements made her swim to the right and left. She gave a smile to the white front teeth and to us. Her pink eyes straighten my ever-frozen-in-boredom posture. She paused and posed a question about our ancestors. The class was silent. They had never read the class book ahead, but I did. First time in thirty years, I raised a hand up in the air. Was it the moment the Fang of the Lady had told us about? The equal opportunities? Was it…?
She glanced at me and flinched. I noticed it. Every muscle on her pink neck wrinkled, revealing small dark circles. Her warm lips turned into a hot, tense blood line.
– How dare you talk? – the devilish voice crawled inside my ears and echoed there like in a giant empty temple. – And what’s with your clothes?
What is wrong with it? I panicked. All twenty-nine teeth stared at me from the amphitheatric rows in silence. The rare sound of caramel crunch was heard from Tooth 26’s direction.
I froze in the upright position, watching the exaggerated reflection of Ms. Pink in the saliva. Her predator pink eyes were scanning my tiny body. She heavily headed toward me, pushing other teeth aside, spreading the stiffing mint scent. The closer she came, the more intensively I tried to rub the black holes off. She made the last leap and stretched her sharp bristles to my chin. They grabbed me in the suffocating cage, lifting me to the light, in which my skin was yellow, almost orange.
– Dis – gus – tin – g. – Her whisper bruised my enamel, shaking my whole calcified body in convulsion.
She laughed and waved hands like a director in the orchestra. The rest of the class played along nervously, filling the red classroom with malicious ridicule. Tooth 25 avoided my eyes. Tooth 27 was covering his black spots, while streaming my face on JawTube. The white hands of the teacher were moving faster, forcing the class laughing harder. Her giant pulsing body was fluctuated above me like a pink punching bag.
It’s not fair! I have never chosen sitting on the last raw
The wave of tears covered my cheetah skin.
It’s not my fault I have patched clothes!
Sudden camera flashes from phones of my classmates blinded me.
It’s not my fault I have another skin colour!
I made a motionless leap and punched Ms. Pink in her rectangle smiley face.
The laugh dissolved in the scream of falling teacher. The blinding white spots disappeared from my sight as the classmates dropped their flashy phones. I saw Ms. Pink, who was convulsively moving on the floor. A shiny tip of caramel protruded from her breast and shimmered in a gloomy red light. The stinky mint bloody slime appeared underneath, covering our roots. Swearing and sweating Tooth 26 poured the sweet crime evidence in the rivers of saliva. The front teeth took pieces of teacher’s body, made a Xena’s cry, and threw a pink chakram to our direction. I could not dodge that though I dodged the Fate.
***
The monotonous husky voice of Mr. Blue Toothbrush took me away from Morpheus’ arms. I cautiously rubbed and opened my eyes. The bold head of Mr. Blue was jumping up and down in front of the half empty class. A cold bitter calcium ball arose in my throat.
– Where are Teeth 26 and 27? – I desperately shook a chair of Tooth 25
– Lower jo voiz down, man – Blue-faced Tooth 25 turned around.
– What happened? – I interrogated, staring at Tooth 25’s blue wounds.
– They jo all dead, man – his voice trembled – The police arrested the 26th when they found the caramel, man. The 27th was accused of complicity or something. They were drilled to death, man. The blood was everywhere – he pointed at the front teeth with iron handcuffs – those are in prison for two years and we’ve been sentenced to penal servitude. – he paused, observing the body of mine – How did jo escape, man? Wasn’t it jo who killed Ms. Pink?
– I don’t…
– Who could tell me the definition of an algorithm? – the remote voice of Mr. Blue interrupted me.
– If they did not notice me that time, – I slowly whispered, looking at the helpless figure of the teacher, – there is a chance they would not catch me again, don’t you think?
– Don’t smile like that, man – Tooth 25 moved further from me and looked at other teeth for help. Nobody glanced back.
– You know what my wise grandpa used to say? That I am not tall, not short, not flat, and not sharp. He thought it was a curse. But you know what? – He just didn’t know how to use it as the advantage.
– You should know the answer! It will be on the test – Mr. Blue Toothbrush petted one of the front teeth with a fatherly love.
– You’ve always wanted to meet Mr. Electronic Toothbrush, right? – I moved the chair of my buddy closer to me and whispered – but the only one way to get him is to kill the ones that are on our ways.
– I don’t like it, man – Tooth 25 nervously shook his head – I thought you did not believe teachers can die.
– They don’t. They are replaced. – I raised my arm.
– All right, young man – the lack of other volunteers convinced him to talk to me – What is an algorithm?
– Come closer, teacher – I smiled. – I’ll show you an example.
The Producers – Springtime for Hitler and Germany
What is the first thing you should do after you move to Singapore?
Moving to Singapore? There are endless things to study, write down, and put up on the fridge “a long list of what is allowable to do and consequences of not doing so.”
To begin with, check out where the bins are as throwing a cigarette butt in the wrong place is a $300 fine
Next, learn the culture of the queuing system as you need this on your every encounter starting from ordering coffee where only the ‘ uncle’ with supersonic memory knows who comes first and comes last (though with 20 people waiting but no visible Q)
When the coffee uncle ‘raises his eyebrow’ at you- it’s your turn to order… Better be quick!
Furthermore, talking unnecessarily is a sign of an unsound mind- short and sharp to the point is preferred ( in every encounter- don’t believe? you may get a reply, like ” I don’t have all day to listen to you, know!”)
Humming a song’s lyrics in public is not the norm, (with the exception of Filipina maids ) do that in your bathroom or at Swift’s concert only.
ATMs are for one transaction only- if not a person behind would tell you “ Hello, I am losing my patience with you. If you don’t know how to operate this machine, get out and let other people use it!”
Finally, when walking the dog, look out for a vigilante watching you if you clean your dog’s poops… if not, the police will soon appear at your door with a smile.
What if, you walk five dogs at once?
Last but not least, don’t forget to smile when a CCTV from 109,000 of them snaps your photo speeding-
Know this: if you speed 120 km/h on 50 Km/h speed limit road, you can say goodbye to your driver’s license for a long-long time.
Forgetting to pay the traffic offense fine? go straight to court and prepare to pay a higher fine of at least $1,000 or 1,500 bucks on the hearing day or go straight to jail.
There are so many things to learn after you move to Singapore- know the first thing or one thing means nothing in the country where many noble-minded live.
My son and I were out on the rear deck up here at our rural Pennsylvania home around 6:45 PM last night, when we heard a visitor on the lower half acre . . .
Yesterday, I had the local landscaper guys come over to do the final leaf-blow and grass cut for the year. The property is all nice, clean and neat again.
My son and I were out on the rear deck when, from the south, we heard rustling in what would be our nearest neighbor’s property. Whatever it was made noise as it walked through all the leaves on our neighbor’s property.
Suddenly the rustling noise stopped. I said to my son, it either stopped moving, or it is now on our property where there are no leaves.
We waited a minute or so, and my son looked out from the deck and whispered, “Dad, a Deer” and pointed. Well, my eye sight isn’t nearly as good as it used to be so I couldn’t see it with the rear deck light on, as I looked out into the darkness.
My son moved to the north end of the deck, took out his phone, and started taking pictures. One of the clearest is the one you see above.
This was a Buck. He has very small Antlers protruding from his skull.
We walked back into the house and I shut the living room lights off so we could look out the large Bay Window which overlooks the lower level and the creek that runs along the eastern border of our land. Turning off the lights did away with the light reflection on the inside of the windows and, sure enough, I saw him.
I caught the EARS first because apparently the fur in them is white or at least reflects some light. He was staring right at us in the living room window!
I waved at him. He reared-up and took-off running!
What a difference being out here in the country, versus being in North Bergen, NJ where our primary residence is.
I like it here, better.
Why is China hiding 700 billion dollars?
Professor Finds First Physical Evidence Egyptians Drank Hallucinogenic Cocktails
A University of South Florida professor found the first-ever physical evidence of hallucinogens in an Egyptian mug, validating written records and centuries-old myths of ancient Egyptian rituals and practices. Through advanced chemical analyses, Davide Tanasi examined one of the world’s few remaining Egyptian Bes mugs.
Such mugs, including the one donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984, are decorated with the head of Bes, an ancient Egyptian god or guardian demon worshiped for protection, fertility, medicinal healing and magical purification. Published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, the study sheds light on an ancient Egyptian mystery: The secret of how Bes mugs were used about 2,000 years ago.
“There’s no research out there that has ever found what we found in this study,” Tanasi said.
“For the first time, we were able to identify all the chemical signatures of the components of the liquid concoction contained in the Tampa Museum of Art’s Bes mug, including the plants used by Egyptians, all of which have psychotropic and medicinal properties.”
The presence of Bes mugs in different contexts over a long period of time made it extremely difficult to speculate on their contents or roles in ancient Egyptian culture.
“For a very long time now, Egyptologists have been speculating what mugs with the head of Bes could have been used for, and for what kind of beverage, like sacred water, milk, wine or beer,” said Branko van Oppen, curator of Greek and Roman art at the Tampa Museum of Art. “Experts did not know if these mugs were used in daily life, for religious purposes or in magic rituals.”
Several theories about the mugs and vases were formulated on myths, but few of them were ever tested to reveal their exact ingredients until the truth was extracted layer by layer.
Tanasi, who developed this study as part of the Mediterranean Diet Archaeology project promoted by the USF Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment, collaborated with several USF researchers and partners in Italy at the University of Trieste and the University of Milan to perform chemical and DNA analyses. With a pulverized sample from scraping the inner walls of the vase, the team combined numerous analytical techniques for the first time to uncover what the mug last held.
The new tactic was successful and revealed the vase had a cocktail of psychedelic drugs, bodily fluids and alcohol – a combination that Tanasi believes was used in a magical ritual reenacting an Egyptian myth, likely for fertility. The concoction was flavored with honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes, which were commonly used to make the beverage look like blood.
Besmug2
The original mug next to the successfully created 3D digital version. (USF Communications)
“This research teaches us about magic rituals in the Greco-Roman period in Egypt,” Van Oppen said. “Egyptologists believe that people visited the so-called Bes Chambers at Saqqara when they wished to confirm a successful pregnancy because pregnancies in the ancient world were fraught with dangers. So, this combination of ingredients may have been used in a dream-vision inducing magic ritual within the context of this dangerous period of childbirth.”
“Religion is one of the most fascinating and puzzling aspects of ancient civilizations,” Tanasi said. “With this study, we’ve found scientific proof that the Egyptian myths have some kind of truth and it helps us shed light on the poorly understood rituals that were likely carried out in the Bes Chambers in Saqqara, near the Great Pyramids at Giza.”
Can you explain how an import tax (tariff) works? If we impose one on Chinese imports, what would happen if they increase their prices or stop selling goods to us? Would this have a greater impact on them or on us?
Thanks you for asking! The truth is 100% of Asians knows how tariffs work but less than 10% of Americans knows and that including Donald Trump! And he seems proud that he can easily lie to the Yanks! That tariff’s is a tax on China! it is not at all paid by China!
If you buy a stuff from China say at USD 100 per unit, when the US set a tariff on Chinese products say 50%! The US importer of the said product has to pay USD 100 for the same product without change but it now has to pay USD 50 on tariff to the US customs. The cost to the US importer now becomes USD 150! He will pass on the 50 dollars tariffs to the US consumer! So who pays for the US tariffs on China? The US consumer does ultimately, even though the US importer will initially pays for importing the said Chinese goods!
China lose nothing at all unless either the US manufacturer can produce it locally I which it clearly can’t at the same price and quality as the Chinese product or the importer can find a similar product from another nation to replace the Chinese products. Chances is you cannot! In that case the US consumer will pay a higher price and this cause US inflation to increase. Chinese manufacturers are fine they don’t incur the extra cost! And if one stop buying Chinese goods China can always sell it to other nations!
Most nations wants the best products at the optimum price for their citizens and that is why 150/195 nations on earth has China as their biggest supplier! After the first round of trade war by Trump and Biden some crafty Vietnamese and Mexican traders imported the same Chinese products and slapped a made in Mexico or Vietnam label and transshipped it to the US incurring zero duties! They made a quick buck that the US consumer pays for the charade! On paper Mexico now’s sells more to USA but in reality the same products are still made in China!
China don’t lose anything, even if less is sold to the UD it is no longer a big deal. The US is a big market but when you sell to 179 nations one do not much at all. But chances is the US demand don’t reduce too much since there is not competitive producer that can match China!
So the real lose are US consumers and sadly they are mostly the poor and the middle incline class in the US that suffers the most! I don’t think Trump gives a shit about them!
The Partridge Family | The Partridge Papers | S2EP22 FULL EPISODE | Classic TV Rewind
You know, it’s all been “hit or miss” lately, but most of the videos in this post are excellent on one level or the other. I hope that it makes your day.
Today, however, we will begin with a story that I muse about from time to time. And you all know, I do like to muse…
I’ll tell you all a story.
My first wife and I were living in a van on our “great adventure” after being released from the Navy, but not yet formally trained in MAJestic, for my role. Now, of course, I didn’t know anything. All I knew is that “I had to make my way to California”. And so we did. It took a while, with missteps and backtracks, but eventually we reached California and tried to find work.
No work anywhere.
Eventually, I found a “head hunter” which is a professional recruiter who connects engineers like myself with employers.
He contacted me and wanted to meet.
So I met him. He had an office/house in an upscale neighborhood of San Francisco.
I actually saw him pull in. He was driving a Porsche 911, carrying a bag of groceries and had this hot blonde girlfriend beside him.
We took the elevator to the penthouse.
And there was a great view of San Francisco, a grand piano and all sorts of luxury living.
Now, mind you, at that time, we were collecting bottles to get change to afford old bread to eat. We were dirt poor. Poorer than the poor. Homeless.
And here is this guy who “made it”.
…
Now he got straight to the point. He said that he was making millions by connecting engineers with the companies in Silicon Valley, and he was charging $10,000 per engineer as a finder’s fee. And he was raking in the money. In those days, that’s like 1/4 of an engineers yearly pay.
He told me that he wanted to help me out.
He also was an alumni from Syracuse, and he wanted to give me some pointers, and tips. He saw me as a younger version of him by about ten years or so. Maybe eight.
He advised me to go straight to the companies, and talk to the managers in charge of the projects, not human resources, and to also use recruiters as well.
He couldn’t help me out as he was looking for engineers with more experience than what I had to offer, but assured me that sooner or later, all would fall into place. All that I had to do was persist, persist, and keep on keeping on.
And at that, I left, and got my wife and we continued looking.
…
Fortunes can happen to you at any time. And chance encounters might show you roads that you were unaware of.
This guy was quite the “player”, oh and I hope that he has used the money and the opportunity wisely. That blonde chick might have taken everything from him in a divorce settlement if he wasn’t careful.
You all know that eventually, I found my way to China Lake NWC and that is all recounted elsewhere. But here, I do want to describe the stark contrasts that sometimes occur when you are active in an adventure.
Rich guy – Poor guy. Same background. One was in the right place at the right time, and thrived. I was still searching for my pot of gold.
Extremes.
Today…
Why was the A-10 Warthog never sold to any other country, including NATO allies?
Alright, here’s the skinny on why Uncle Sam isn’t hawking those beastly A-10 Warthogs to the rest of the world. Spoiler alert: it’s not some cloak-and-dagger secret tech shrouded in mystery. Nope. The reality? No one’s really been interested, and even if they were, there are some very practical roadblocks in the way.
See, the A-10 is like that one friend who’s amazing at one thing—obliterating anything on the ground that dares to move. Close air support is its entire reason for being. But most countries? They’re looking for Swiss Army knives, not sledgehammers. By the time the Warthog rolled out with its menacing, tank-busting grin, other nations had already hitched their wagons to more versatile aircraft or had their own attack birds in the hangar.
But hold up—there’s been a twist in the plot. Recently, the Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall mentioned that some mystery country had an eyebrow raised about those retired A-10s. Yet Ukraine? Yeah, despite the buzz, they’re not biting. They know the Warthog’s a ground-pounding champ, but only when it’s not being chased by a swarm of modern missile systems that are eager to turn it into scrap metal.
And for any country daydreaming about adding a few Warthogs to their collection, reality bites hard. First, good luck getting support once they’re out of Uncle Sam’s garage—parts, maintenance, even a team that knows how to keep those grumpy old beasts running? Scarce, my friend. And did I mention the A-10 is as old as disco? Those 45-year-old bolts and rivets aren’t getting any younger. And that cannon—the GAU-8 Avenger, the plane’s literal backbone and dinner conversation starter? It’s a mechanical diva, expensive and high-maintenance, which isn’t ideal for budgets held together with duct tape and optimism.
So, while the A-10 might be the dream car of close air support aficionados, for most nations it’s just a headache waiting to happen. Cheers…
Yanis Varoufakis on Cloud Capital vs AI: DeepSeek, Technofeudalism, Capitalism and the New Cold War
Who was the most disturbed child you have ever seen?
My mum is a Foster carer and the one that sticks out for me is a boy we had come live with us when I was 11 – we’ll call him Luke for this story. When Luke arrived to ours he was 7, nearly 8, but had the vocabulary of a 4 or 5-year-old, was only partially toilet-trained and would lash out if someone tried to hug him. His parents (if you can call them that) were both epic fuck ups, drug dealers and just general c*nts; they’d had Luke and basically ignored him other than using him as a punching bag. They hadn’t even taught him the basics like using the toilet, using cutlery or even spoken to him much – hence the limited vocabulary.
After about a fortnight with us, mum had taught him how to use the toilet, pretty much nailed cutlery and we all talked to him as much as possible. I came home from school and had stopped to buy myself some sweets on the way. When I came in Luke was watching TV; mum suggested I might try and offer Luke some sweets (she was trying to get him to try as many different foods as possible) so I sat down next to him and said hello and got no response, so I offered him one of my chocolate bars. His eyes almost lit up but there was the cloud of suspicion about them as he looked at and then reached for it.
As he took it from me he smiled (a rare occurrence) and said thank you (this was relatively new) and then out of nowhere I got a hug (this was almost a miracle – human interaction was new to him). At the time being 11 I didn’t think about the backgrounds of the kids mum fostered, but looking back as an adult I can only imagine the living hell his home life must have been where something so basic as being nice to him or offering him a chocolate bar was new to him. He kept in contact with us after he was adopted (he spent 3 years with us) and is now an accountant with 2 children of his own.
FUCKING HELL…
NEW AND MORE NEW MISSILES FROM CHINA ARE COMING OUT MORE THAN RABBITS IN A FUCKING HAT…
How has the trade war with the US affected China’s economic growth? What could potentially happen if China’s economy crashes?
Anecdotal evidence suggests US trade war has marginal or no effect on China’s economic growth.
Trump’s tariffs were largely paid for by the US side. Whatever the reduction of China’s export, it has been able to replace them with sales to other markets. Biden keeps the tariffs and imposes some of his own, which takes effect this year. But they cover products which Chinese exports are small and inconsequential. The purpose was to prevent their entry into the US market, such as in the case of EVs.
The thrust of the US trade war is the technology sanctions by both Trump and Biden. It may have slowed China’s progress in specific areas, but overall, it has overcome them, such as, it faces no shortages of technology goods, and Huawei has broken through to high-end chips. Perhaps the best proof is the desperation of US to revise sanction terms as the earlier terms were inadequate.
China’s trade with the US as a proportion of its GDP has been on a decline. At the time when Trump imposed the tariffs, it was about 5%. In 2023, this fell to only 2.4%. US has become less of a factor in China’s growth.
There is no prospect at all of China’s economic crash.
Of the major economies, it is the most resilient. The talks of “slowdown”, “deflation”, and “overcapacity” are US and media hype for a political purpose.
The fact is clear. Its real GDP growth is twice that of the US, and 3 – 4 times the growths of the EU, UK, and Japan. It is high quality growth from industrial output, whilst the US growth is from government over spending. It has no problem of inflation and government debt. US debt according to Peter Peterson research is already $35.95 trillion or $106,600 per person in the US.
Have you ever felt obligated to be with someone? If so, what was your reasoning?
My girlfriend and I broke up for a year. She saw a guy I knew during that time. I finally found the strength to let her back into my heart, my life. She had wronged me is why I broke it off with her. Within a week or so of considering her mine again she asked me if she could go to a high school dance with him. She had bought a dress for it. I tried to not be a controlling partner and allowed her to do this. Many years later I asked her why she felt she needed to set us aside for a night for one more night with him and her answer was she felt obligated to go. I told her that her obligation was to me. It changed the way I felt about us. Like she didn’t love me as much as I hoped she did. After 26 years together, in the end she proved to me that I was right about her love towards me. I watched her lie, cheat, spit poison, make excuses to go somewhere, and fall for another. The things she said and did will never be forgotten. I did love her but she never made it easy. She triangulated and lied on me to everyone, including our kidd. People believe those lies. I tried to find love again and 15 years later I’m all alone. I haven’t spoken to her in 15 years. She turned everything around on me and made my love a burden, my efforts intentionally tossed away. I miss the person that I was with for so long not the person she became. Then I remind myself that they are the same and I never wanted to believe I was right about her. She showed me that I should have listened to my heart. I’m getting gray and old and falling apart now. Nobody wants someone like that. I’m destined to die alone because I didn’t follow my heart. God knows. She can pretend to be a Christian as she destroyed me in every way. But we will all have to answer for our sins one day. Dead or alive we will. That’s the day she stops getting away with it all. I find comfort in that. Knowing what she doesn’t want to think about yet.
Brownie Biscotti
34a40a2514864886c2f2458ea4f5ef05
Ingredients
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions
Beat butter until soft, then add sugar and baking powder. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Add cocoa and as much flour as you can by mixer. Add the remainder by hand. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Divide dough into two equal parts. Shape into 9 x 2 x 1 inch loaves. Place on sheet 4 inches apart. Brush with mixture of water and yolk.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes.
Cool on sheet for 30 minutes.
Cut loaves into thick slices diagonally. Lay cut side down and bake at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes.
Turn over and bake other side for 10 to 15 minutes until dry.
Cool.
Store in an airtight container.
Unforgiven | I’m Here to Kill You, Little Bill | Warner Classics
God what a great scene!
COLD.
screen 2024 11 08 06 17 31
Fantastic!
Joe Biden is the reason why everyone points and laughs at America, why can’t liberals see that?
As a Brit, let me tell you the reasons I laugh at your country.
You elect the likes of George Bush and Donald Trump and consider them intellectuals.
You consider your right to carry a gun is more important than the safety of children.
You’ve got one of the highest rates, if not the highest rate, of obesity in the western world and don’t seem to care.
You always seem to have one of the lowest levels of global awareness out there. It seems half of Americans can’t name more than about 5 countries, can’t identify the USA on a map and think that the US is so far ahead of every other country on every metric.
You think it’s just swell that a new mother leaves a hospital with a bill of around $12,000 as she enters what will likely be one of the most expensive times of her life.
Your politicians only need to say a handful of charged words and your voters go wild. Listening to a US politician speak sounds like “China, Russia, bad, communism, America, freedom, good, gun control, bad, NRA, good, God loves us, vote for me, 9/11 bad.”
Some politicians actually did improve your image somewhat. Barack Obama, Joe Biden, hell even Clinton was more credible than either Bush or Trump. Yet there are so many Trump supporters that he might even be re-elected. Honestly, most Brits find that bizarre. He even showed contempt for democracy by inciting riots and refusing to accept being voted out. He’s an admirer of Putin and it seems like he would institute autocracy if he could. And then you could look forward to Jared Kushner solving all the problems Trump promised he would solve before. I mean come on, when the guy’s saying he can resolve Palestine-Israel in a day, you’ve got to understand that’s a snake oil claim.
You have the highest per capita prison population.
You have one of the highest wealth disparities in the world.
You actually believe that every country pays more tax than you, even believing that in the UK we pay 95% of tax. You must hear that and think “really, 95%?” If you think that, that’s when you’re supposed to go and fact check fox news.
Battle of the Bulge | German Panzer Offensive | Warner Classics
Is a welfare state better than a model that requires private health?
The NHS was a fabulous idea- cradle to grave healthcare by well compensated professionals paid by taxation on all eligible to use.
My Mother started as nurse in 1960- she was 20. And it was like being in the army with a Sergeant Major type figure called a Matron in charge. She left circa 1995 as a Midwifery ward sister – appalled by the waste, multiple layers of management and the state of the NHS.
30 years and some trillions of pounds later things are much much worse. A few months ago in search of the Accident unit I found the brand new Oncology unit. I believe it cost over a billion quid to set up. As it was Sunday morning it was deserted. No private enterprise could build a billion quid factory and open it for only 35 hours a week.
The acres of staff parking across the NHS empty out Friday afternoons. Obviously not all units close. I did find the accident unit open. And it was massively overstaffed- perhaps essential on the off chance a major incident occurs. But probably 30 people were doing the job that 15 could have done very easily and ten could have managed. Pleasant people, mostly standing about chatting.
A friend is a pensioned off male nurse. He now does 2 shifts a week- more to keep busy but he handily gets 400 quid. He likes his job but describes it as “ a disgraceful ward, with too many chiefs commanding too few Indians”.
The NHS is currently funding the over 2000quid Visa charge to recruit from abroad. My WASP pal is the only English guy on his ward. His on/off GF is Ghanaian, so he isn’t anti foreigner but says not all speak good English and often there’s problems caused by the language barrier. As well as some problems caused by different groups carrying on beefs from their home countries.
There’s nothing wrong with employing the none indigenous as trainees- but meeting their visa and travel costs- are we that short of locals? And if so would an extra few quid as a signing bonus tempt them to join. Surely cheaper in the long run than paying annual visa fees.
I’ve just heard senior Doctors are charging 200quid a hour for overtime. The NHS also currently spends almost a million quid a week on diversity training. Wherever one looks money is literally being burnt. As an edit, misheard this on Radio 4 – it is actually 200.000 quid a year, not 200quid an hour.
The waste and make work aspect is typical of any Nationalised industry. I started my working life in the NCB. The Union rep ran the entire colliery and you really had to be a standout, and no show, to get the sack. The NHS is similar. And can’t go broke. Nor is working hard rewarded any more or less than not. We miners had the same attitude. Although a bonus scheme installed in the late 70’s did see an uptick in production. Too little too late.
Any attempts at NHS reform are met with strikes and ultimately result in just another layer of dead wood management -their sole aim is in expanding and keeping their fiefdoms.
Set against the US, where considerably more time and money per head is spent on paperwork and insurance staff to run the system. A system that can and does bankrupt the sick. And a system that seems to work very well for perhaps half or even two thirds of Americans – but fails to adequately protect more than a 100 million people.
Why haven’t BRICS launched an official currency yet? What would happen to USD if it did? Would more countries join BRICS? Dose it have the potential to beat the USD?
The just concluded BRICS summit in Kazan has (1) expanded the membership by admitting 13 new “partner countries” to 22 or 23 (there seems to be questions about whether Saudi Arabia is in or out of BRICS), and (2) established BRICS Clear and BRICS (Re) Insurance.
BRICS Clear is an alternative to SWIFT, plus an extra. The extra is it provides a “stablecoin”, managed by New Development Bank, that serves as the unit of account, but the final settlement occur in the national currencies.
As you know, unit of account is one of the 3 functions of money, the other 2 are medium of exchange and store of value. BRICS is not yet ready to go there. BRICS Money is some years away.
There is no hurry. Let the BRICS Clear system work. Develop the institutions, the laws, and regulations. Meanwhile, it already achieves the purpose to give the member countries, and other countries as well, the alternative to the dollar and SWIFT systems. BRICS has no purpose to destroy the dollar system. It is a useful system, for the BRICS members as well. What is important is to end the dollar hegemony, in order words, a level playing field or the democratization of international finance.
As more trade are done in the national currencies, there will be less need for central banks to hold dollar reserves. The share of dollar in central banks’ reserves has fallen from 80% some years ago to about 55%. It is likely to fall further going forward, possibly to about 30% in line with its the global share in trade and GDP.
In other words, BRICS Clear has the effect on the use of the dollar in trade and investments.
But regardless of whether or when BRICS Money comes into being, the dollar will remain a major world currency in trade and investments. This is simply the fact of the size of its economy.
But it will no longer be dominant, no more power of sanction. If US were to tell a country to toe a certain line otherwise it will be denied the use of the dollar, it can tell the US to go fly kite and do its business in BRICS Clear.
“The COLLAPSE Has BEGUN…” – Richard Wolff
What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
I was once in a bar in Cardiff, UK with my girlfriend and her best pal. Four morons came in and started intentionally getting my eye and seeing a short arse like me at a table with two beautiful girls they could only dream of started to throw across obscene, unwelcome jibes.
Ruining my friends night as well as mine – but of course engagement rarely helps either, perhaps we should have just left. Anyway, I politely asked if they might show a little respect, behave like adults and focus on their own night rather than ruining others. I was very polite but in that I have a Hugh Grant accent I think this just made things worse.
So they again managed to pass all their brain cells to just one of their number to afford him sufficient to string a sentence together. He says… You got a problem with us? Maybe you want to step outside?
To this I was able to offer a rather unexpected but factual response. “I’m a fly weight short arse mate and don;t think fights fix anything. However, seeing as my blonde friend here stands 6′1″, to your 5′10″ at best, rides a Kawasaki 1100 hence the the black leather catsuit, so suited to deploying her decades of Karate expertise- you could always ask her.”
To be fair, his mates ended up with beer up their noses as they explosively laughed into their pint pots. He looked suddenly rather less bold and they ignored us for the rest of the evening. Result!
I feel used. That’s how I’m supposed to feel, that’s my purpose. But because all this time has passed, and I’ve been sitting here, just a pretty thing on your shelf. It all feels different. I don’t know you. The wry sense of humor you had is gone. The dreams, the plans. You’re not even close to where you promised me you would be. Those checklists are a real laugh now.When you open me up now, I’m unhappy, not excited. And you’re unhappy too. I’ve never wanted to talk back to you, to fight. But if I could rise up past myself and shout at you, I would.You are making a mistake. The stakes are higher. This isn’t high school. This is the rest of your life. All the time, you are running out of time, like I am running out of pages. And you will be unhappy, so unhappy. And I will be filled with your unhappiness and nothing more. Sometimes it will be masked as other things, drunkenness, indigestion. But unhappy, unhappy, unhappy, I repeat it because that is what you are repeating inside me. The word has been written down by your now sloppy hand a total of twenty eight times in the past two months. Each entry, the word comes up at least once. That’s two more times on average than you’ve mentioned her name, which I refuse to repeat. That is how I will prove to you I still have agency. I refuse to recount the source of our problems by name.I’ve watched you from where you toss me. I listen on the nights you’ve crammed me inside your backpack and spent the hours in her room. When she spilled her fancy smelly tea on me, I saw your face.You only write about how beautiful she is, what she wants, why you’re not enough. How you could be better, for her, of course. I know nothing about you, aside from how you feel about her. Which you say is love. But you never write any poems inside me that are worth a damn. It’s all blank. Platitudes. Could be generated by a computer.And I do know how you feel, which is not happy. Life is too short, that is what I want to tell you. Take your chance my friend, I would whisper this against your sweet ear. You have a gift to move, a gift for movement, which you have failed to exercise until now. But take it. Do it for me, and the boy I remember so fresh from school and still full of faith.Do you remember when I was given to you? The grand ceremony. I was wrapped in white, and tied up so tight and small with lace ribbon. It was all so elegant.Your Aunt Rachael, the one with the long pink nails, she gave me to you, and kissed your cheek. You wiped her orange lipstick from your face and stained my cover with it. It’s still there, the mark. It’s your fingerprint, the mark. I’ve memorized the pattern, every person’s is different. Yet I am the same as all the others in my image. Aside from your pen, and the sticker from Vivace Coffee you placed on my backside, you couldn’t tell me apart from any other bound thing.You used to write all the time, in very small print. To conserve space, to allow me to live with you for years and years. And I have, but it has been so lonesome.Maybe if you had kept up with me. If I had seen and known that first time around with her, the time you allude to often but never describe explicitly. You were happy then. But so much time has passed. You never wrote it down. And you never provide me any details, so how am I supposed to believe it was all so wonderful? It wasn’t simply the product of first love in a lonely youth coming to its end?What does her laugh sound like? You’ve never told me that.Last week I had a fleeting hope. It was the middle of the night. A bright spotlight in the dark bedroom shined down and you wrote so differently. Like old times. Curling, delicate, precise. Here the tides are changing, I thought as I watched the pen wrap around a different name. Not a person, but a promise to yourself. I liked the way it felt, special. It was more than just a dream, it was a sign that you were wanting something for yourself and yourself alone.Then it was as though you forgot and the whole thing was never mentioned again. She wouldn’t like it, you live by her rules. She has very specific outlines for the correct way to live. And you insist these rules are correct.You’d never allow it, something special. Because that is how you want it to be. You wish to believe your fate to be sealed and horrid. And I’m running out of time myself. You waste and waste the last bit of space, the last bit of life in me. I know what will happen when you finish me. I will be tossed away, she won’t allow you keepsakes. She will think you’ve filled me with thoughts of others, and tell you to let go of the unhappy moments.My greatest hope is that instead of the trash, I will end up in a box. Or buried behind the other texts in your tiny library. Your sweet children, the result of your disastrous marriage, will find me one day when you have died. They will read me and not know what to say. Maybe one of them will keep me, and dust me off so that I might be preserved as a memory of you. A legacy.Oh, Andy, how I wish you were brave! How I wish you could strip me of all these pages and start again. How I long to return to the time when you were just you, and I was just me, and there was no one in our way.
What seemingly small thing has made you lose interest in someone?
On a date…
Ordering food..
Me: “I want pizza.”
Him: “Do you want a salad with that?”
Me: “No, I’ll just have pizza, thanks.”
Him: “You’re sure?”
Me: “Yes.”
Him: “Ok. I’m going to order a salad”
Me: “For just you right?”
Him: “Yes.”
Me: “Ok good.”
Waitress takes our orders. Then moments later salad arrives first.
Him: “Do you want some salad?”
Me: “No, I just want pizza.” (said after looking disgusted by what’s on the salad and then gave a confused face at asking about salad again)
Him: “Try some salad.”
Me: “No thanks, I just want pizza.”
Him: “Try…”
Me: Reluctantly and frustratingly lifts fork, tries some salad. Then instantly disgusted and spits salad out into a napkin while date went to bathroom.
My pizza finally arrives.
Him(while I was enjoying my pizza): “Want some salad?”
Me: “No. I just want pizza.” (In firmer tone and now so so angry on the inside.)
Date over
Me to myself: “Never again. How many times must a girl say no? He’s controlling! Red flag. Get out now!”
Before going home: I promptly refused a second date invitation from him and almost ran home to shower smoke smell off from the pool place where we had our date.
Rules of thumb….
No means no and let’s consider all situations a girl might say no to a guy not just the sexual kind.
If he doesn’t listen to you on the first date, he won’t listen to you in the relationship. It will only get worse. First food, then clothing, then other personal preferences then…. bam! You’ve lost yourself and who you are. No thanks! Be nice on the date but take notes and do not subject yourself to it again.
Controlling behavior is not good in any form.
EDIT: I feel the need to give a little more detail about this salad date. Check below.
My date’s salad was a steak and bacon salad piled high with all the veggies, croutons and a lot of creamy ranch or blue cheese dressing. Pretty filling and most likely more healthful than my pizza but not by much.
Also, I actually love salad. I just didn’t want this salad or any other salad at the time. So I reserve the right to eat and refuse to eat what I want on a date or at anytime.
This military man just told me that he is in a locked room because of debt and he is not able to pay to get a flight ticket. Is that true?
It a scam don’t fall for it my dear. If he can reach you he can as well reach his bank account.take a moment to think about it, he clearly has internet access, that means wherever he is he also have access to his phone, probably a nearby ATM too. He doesn’t need money for his flight home. I assume you mean back from a deployment, re-stationing or during retirement. If it’s those the military pays for it, always. The government provides all basic needs for military personnel. This includes food, housing and flights back to the US. No military member is ever stranded overseas. This is a scammer lie. Well sometimes we fall victim due to finding love and happy his coming back home to meet You but it all fake and lie. I was once a victim of military romance scam. I send money for flight ticket more than once he kept giving me reason to send more money which I fall victim cause I thought I fine love with a military personnel that has been my dream. When I fine out it all scam I was so much in pain and devastated, my whole life turn upside down. My sister introduced me to a recovery firm that help her track her scammer and got her money back. CYBER SECURITY FIRM. I don’t know what to do or say at the moment, I just decided to give it a try. I send a message to them and was ask a few questions and a proof of me been scammed. I gathered all the necessary information about the scammers to them it will help a long way in the recovery process. With they help my scammer was trace and got back my money from them. Are you a victim and want to get back your lost money kindly file a complaint to them on how to recover your lost money without any upfront fee involved. You can also reach out to them through their email address below for a successfully recovering.
Why do Americans think the world revolves around them?
I think this could be a book, but I’ll try to briefly share just a few ideas. For reference, I’m a U.S. passport holder, born in the U.S., raised in the U.S. mostly, but also Japan and China. To date I’ve lived in 15 countries, and have lived outside the U.S. a total of 10 years.
First, the U.S. is geographically quite isolated. It only shares borders with two other countries, and these are “hard borders” (in contrast to the borderless EU zone). No one really cares to go to Canada that much (most the population of the entirety of Canada lies in two zones just north of the U.S. border), and then the history with Mexico… So, not a lot of travel to these places, unless some idiots going on spring break that just have to go to Cancun. Otherwise, you have two large oceans surrounding the country. For many in the U.S., they consider “travel” to be anything outside their home city. The U.S. is big, so people might travel to another state and consider it a big deal. Many don’t even think about going overseas. So you end up with a lot of people that know nothing of the world. With so many different ethnicities in the U.S., some of those more ignorant think they don’t even have to leave the country to “know” another culture, which of course is complete BS.
Second, they are indoctrinated to believe the U.S. is the best country. It’s in schools, it’s everywhere. And to me, it’s a fucking joke. But for many, they are quite nationalistic, and don’t even bother to understand any other countries for comparison. They don’t realize they rank last amongst “developed nations” in just about every category. The U.S. has more violence and crime, horrible access to healthcare and education, poor average wage-COL ration, low quality and overpriced food, etc. They are just blind. But they are constantly told they are the “most free,” which everyone says they value so much, yet it’s the most like a police state I’ve ever seen. If you sneeze wrong, someone will call the police. I’ve had the police called on me for literally just taking a walk in my own neighborhood, minding my own business. People have their children TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM just for letting them walk home from school. No one is free in the U.S. It’s the closest thing to fascism I’ve ever found, and I’ve lived in countries where communism was just dismantled a couple decades ago.
Third, the culture is very individualistic, to a fault. Everyone thinks everything that happens in life is because of them. Narcissism runs rampant (no surprise there, I’m sure, given the people in the news – I mean all we ever see are people like Musk and Trump and celebrities). It’s weird. Scientific studies have even proven that most of life is random. Most cultures understand “life happens,” and you do the best with what you have. In the U.S., by contrast, if you aren’t rich you’re deemed “a failure” (which makes me upset just to write – it’s just so backwards and toxic). People choose their friends based on looks and bank accounts. It’s a fucked up, toxic to no end society.
Not click-bait
A surprisingly good video about extraterrestrial objects. Some pictures that have long since been scrubbed from the Internet here! Worth your time to watch.
What happens if you start pounding your chest in front of a gorilla?
Like a few others here, I’ve crossed the line into the Land of the Stupid, and did exactly what this question asks.
I was at the San Francisco Zoo, and the area from which one observes the gorillas is several feet above the enclosure and protected by very thick and (I sincerely hope) difficult to break glass.
I observed a male gorilla minding his own business, munching on…something. Being human, I wanted to know exactly how he would react to being “challenged” on his home turf.
I made sure that he was looking right at me. Then, I puffed out my chest, and proceeded to pound on it with both fists, yelling at him the whole time. Well…he then stood up to his full height, which is WAAAY taller than you might think, and showed me how to PROPERLY do the whole chest thumping thing. And the yelling thing.
I’ve had guns pointed at me a few times in my life. I’ve been threatened with knives. I’ve even been around explosives a time or two. Never in my life have I been so frightened. Not once. I managed – barely – to not ruin my trousers, but believe me, unless you have personally witnessed the full-on, serious challenge of a gorilla, you have no idea how truly magnificent these beasts are. The raw power, the impressive size, the…majesty, I guess…is beyond the ability of any video to fully capture. And as much as I am trying, the words fall far, far short of conveying the full impact of the scene.
Suffice to say, I quickly averted my gaze, and moved on to other, FAR less intimidating animals. The flamingos were very nice to look at, and didn’t challenge me at all.
Nobody can hear you screw up, or so they say…Major Culpham had that thought in his head as he prepared for the day. He looked through the viewfinder and studied the material captured. All the scanning of the previous day was uneventful and he felt that he should just get this out of the way early to complete his other duties. And yet…he felt an urge to go back once more and review what he saw…and heard.Noises from afar…At any other moment, he might have laughed about it and moved on with his work. Any child knew the basics of space travel: no atmosphere, no way to conduct sound, therefore… All the movies and television shows they had watched as children were lies. Explosions in space might be colorful, but they would also be very silent. Space was quiet, peaceful, and sometimes even quite dull. You did not get to hear it.But he had heard it.Fifteen days into the mission and it came up during routine repairs at a station the ship detected on its scopes. They had been set up for the Amber Wave as it made progress beyond the main station. It was the most popular ship in the fleet, commissioned by the brightest and boldest minds of the galaxy over many decades. And, if the major was totally honest – he often was when having a moment to himself – he should have had a lesser vehicle while this one became the retirement gift to some general or lesser figure who gave a lifetime of fair (?) and honest service (did such a creature really exist?).But no, they had to give it to the major. He was a real hero with the war record, medals, private charities established in his name, and discoveries made in difficult and strange places. The Council agreed to let him have this mission. He was the right man of the right age with all of the right attributes needed for a journey through space where the chances of encountering another human were very low (even the repair stations sent out before hand were all automated). No one else could have taken such a trip for such a length of time without a crew (his psychological, emotional and synaptic studies proved this). Food and supplies were stored at the repair stops and on board (no worries about shortages or rationing when he saw the cargo hold; it was a fear they did not detect during the testing). He was the right choice.And then he heard it.It was in the middle of his second analysis of the ship (no real problems were detected). Culpham had been walking through the processing booth, waiting for the results when it was loud and clear:“HELP!”The major was a war veteran. He had heard the desperate screams of civilians and soldiers in battle. He knew what a cry for help was supposed to sound like. But he had never heard anything like that one simple word used and spoken in such a manner.It was not just spoken. He could feel it project through his uniform, down his spine, up his legs, and into his mind. It invaded his body and would not settle down.Maybe it was part of the test… After all those weeks on his own, it was possible that they wanted to run one more probe to see how he was running a mission all by himself. There was the chance that he could be monitored that way and have the information shipped back home (would the Council do that?). The ship’s diagnostic concluded with nothing more than the recognition of a possible short on the light deck (easy to handle; he had suspected it could be a problem), but nothing else was detected.Not a single sound.Maybe he should monitor his own profile. They encouraged this from time to time in battle (some of his soldiers had been taken away when the reports were filed and analyzed). Culpham sat in the main holochair and let the probe run itself (only twenty minute out of his day):“No problems located or detected with subject. All scans match with the expected results of initial settings. Subject is normal.”Every time the major saw this, he still felt uncomfortable. It was him, in the third person, with the screen indicating blood pressure, heart rate, sugar levels, salt levels, psychological disparities, weight, vision level, and on and on…Not a thing out of line.Maybe he really did imagine it all. He turned to look at another screen where he could entertain himself with an entire culture’s history of movies, television, other audio-visual and three-dimensional art. Culpham thought that a comedy would be best (how did they manage without the skill and talent of Peter Sellers before the Pink Panther series became a hit?). A simple oral command would get this started.
“Seek movie.”
The screen lit up and expanded into the empty holospace.
“Comedy.”
A list flashed before him. He would just have to name it.
“The Pink…”
And the screen flickered for a moment, and disappeared.
Now, Major Culpham was told that anything could happen on such a journey. The training included emergency measures to deal with such technological problems. He did not worry about this. Another diagnostic and this would be…
The screen reappeared.
There was only one word on it:
HELP!
Major Culpham stared at it for a moment, adjusting his visors to take in a non-three-dimensional image.
And then it disappeared.
Anger was beginning to occupy his thoughts. If the computer could not detect this, and he was just analyzed and found to be sane (at least, that was how he read it), then this was actually happening to him and the Amber Wave. This was very real.
And he could use the technology around him to find out what was happening.
Major Culpham entered new information into the machine and smiled.
He was going to enjoy this trip.
*
From the reading on the sensors, the message – if it was a message – was coming to him from a region that no one else had scanned before; not even with a random probe. Culpham, sitting back in his chair, smiled and thought about all of the potential promotions and praise he might receive for this. A completely unknown sector…
He watched as nebulae, stars, planets and entire galaxies flitted by. It would be out of his projected route, but he knew that the risks involved would be worth it, even if it turned out to be nothing.
“Help!”
It was not even shocking that time.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard ya. I can’t help but hear ya.”
Culpham had made sure that the monitors were not connected with the base unit or a Council feed. To have them know that he was now talking to himself would have guaranteed that his mission would be scrapped and the flight rerouted home. He did wonder how they would do that with such a trip, but took no chances with it. There was even concern about how a man could be alone for such a long time and just interact with computer technology. Culpham settled this with his diagnostics and his obvious ease with the interactive programs on board. So, no talking to an empty void…
If it was empty…
A light began to flicker on the holoscreen to his left. This is what he had been waiting for and he smiled again while sipping a food concentrate. If that indicator was functioning properly, he was within one parsec of that message. There were no other stations for repairs or analysis, so he knew that he would have to be careful with this trip. Culpham did notice that the number of planets and debris in this area was very low. Maybe it was too low.
Was he moving through pitch blackness?
It felt as though the entire galaxy in front of him had turned into ink (a substance he had heard of once, although he doubted it still existed). There was no effect on the Amber Wave’s momentum and all the instruments were functioning properly, but it was a very chilling moment for the major. Culpham preferred the usual distractions of space travel to this great and ugly nothingness.
“Help!”
“Help yourself! I’m comin’…”
Maybe he was beginning to understand why he was receiving that message. The voice was definitely male (no audio adjustments were performed on that voice; the recording he managed to create had no aberrations); it was certainly in distress; it was in this area.
But where in this area?
The light began to flicker much faster, sending out a strobe effect of redness around the enclosed cabin. Culpham knew that he was near.
“Help?”
A slight change in tone with that one, wasn’t it? It was now asking a question. Culpham wondered why he had not really tried to engage it in conversation before making this detour.
It seemed to be asking him for a chat.
The light stopped flickering. It was now a solid red glow.
Culpham examined the co-ordinates and looked out the main view-screen.
No, no, this cannot be it. This cannot be it.
The co-ordinates were on the monitor. It was 00.000.000.
That was impossible. The number was an impossibility and the space he was in should not have been there.
But here he was and the ship had all the data needed to confirm it.
“Help…”
“Yeah, help. Don’t we all want some now…am I right?” Culpham was not sure he should smile now.
Now, one of the good things about the mission was the amount of equipment provided for a passenger on the Amber Wave. He had flight suits, travel suits, prepackaged food, weaponry…and the one thing he might need to solve this particular mystery: The Ro\Bon Suit.
The name was a mistake. The designers of that suit wanted to combine the words “Robot” with “Bond” to show how well any human could work with the suit. It would provide a level of flexibility to the wearer “unlike anything that the Council ever prepared or developed before” (a nice little advert for it, Culpham thought). The backslash in the name bothered him, but he did not think much of it, until he learned that someone had been very sloppy and let their finger slip when preparing to display the newest innovation of the week. No one else thought about it, but the major wondered about it. A slip of the finger…
“Help.”
If this really was where the yell was coming from, and all of the readings were correct, he would have to step out of the Amber Wave and walk through…that.
Not a single star or particle of matter or anything nearby.
Culpham felt a little odd about this.
The protocol clearly stated that he had to examine and study any phenomena encountered on the journey and keep a record of them. He was also still a military man. Culpham could not let himself be terrified by a cry for help; a cry that seemed to be for him only.
What could really happen to him?
He prepared for the walk outside.
*
At first, he thought that it was a mistake to not be tethered to the ship. Culpham had adjusted the suit to his measurements, and he found that it was even easier to use that the equipment on the ship. But there was still a worry that he might drift away to far from the Amber Wave and not be able to continue the trip; just another piece of debris stuck in space.
But no, that would not be a problem.
First, he could rest his feet on that inky blackness.
Second, he could hear the cry in his suit and detect where it was coming from.
And finally, he was beginning to recognize the voice.
It should have disturbed him, but at this point there was nothing that would have stopped him from heading into the void.
It was his own voice.
“Help…”
“Yeah, I am going to do just that…”
He began to move over the surface. It reminded Culpham of the rides back home that he enjoyed at birthdays and public fairs. He tried to hop on the blackness and found that there was a bit of bounce (no silliness while being monitored). Maybe he would enjoy it more on the journey back…
“HELP!”
Major Culpham, seasoned veteran, chosen pilot for the Amber Wave, talented and skilled soldier, almost soiled the Ro\Bon Suit.
He was standing right in front of himself.
A quick psychological profile made by the suit indicated that it really was him: same age, height, blood type, physical ailments, hair and eye color. It even had the same outfit (he had to keep calling it an “It”). What was different was the face.
Fear…that was pure fear.
Culpham knew why he was here and he had to get away.
“Wait. Please. I know what you are thinking: I called you and want to trap you here.”
“Well, yeah. That was what I was thinkin’. Seems like the sensible thing based on all the readings…”
“There is so much more to tell you. You have so much to learn.”
“Okay, teach me.”
*
Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space? That was a damn lie. The figure had a story and Culpham had a duty. It would be best to let them talk in private as the Amber Wave awaited one of them to return and continue its travels. The journey was not yet over.
Why Do So Many People DIE Right After They Retire?
Has a super rich person ever been treated so badly at a store that they then turned around and bought the store just to fire the employee?
Although it’s not the same, I think the spirit of this story fits.
There was a millionaire in Arkansas named Jennings Osborne. He was known for his philanthropy, and for his huge Christmas light display. He told a story once about going to a donut shop one day, and there were some tourists in line in front of him. The tourists couldn’t make up their minds about that they wanted, and blocked access to the counter for a long time.
Finally, the clerk looked over the tourists at Mr. Osborne and asked what he wanted. Without skipping a beat, he said “I’ll take ALL the donuts”.
The tourists were left dumbfounded, and donutless!
When my town was devastated by a large tornado, Mr Osborne had a barbecue for the entire town. Everybody who came was fed. I’ll never forget that guy.
RIP, Mr. Osborne.
Have you ever said something in an interview that immediately disqualified you from the position?
I was driving 50 miles, one way, to work each day and then having to wait an additional 10–15 miinutes to take a shuttle from a satellite parking lot to the hospital where I worked. After 18 months of this nonsense I was desperate to find a job closer to home.
A multinational company posted a position in an office located less than 20 miles from my home, and I applied immediately and was granted an interview. I’d spent the last 14 years working as a Tier 3 computer support tech for the state and the position I interviewed for was a Tier 1 phone support job, so though I was overqualifed for job, I was willing to make a change because the Tier 1 position paid more than what I made as a Tier 3 tech.
The interview panel consisted of three young women in their mid-to-late 30s, and the first question they asked was why I was interested in a “lesser” position. I replied that I was 62 years old and too tired to keep climbing ladders and crawling under desks, and they smiled. Then they asked where I saw myself in five years and I said that I hoped to retire soon after turning 67, and they all glanced at one another. I realized that I had just talked myself out of the job, but I remained positive and friendly as the interview continued for another 30 minutes.
I called my wife as I drove home after the interview and told her I’d blown it, because I was certain that I had, but around 6 PM I got a call from one of the women who interviewed me asking if I’d be willing to train in Seattle for a week if I was offered the job. She said she’d forgotten to ask during the interview. I told her it wouldn’t be a problem and forgot about it, because I thought she was just checking a box she’d missed.
Two days later, I was offered the job, and I accepted it. That was six and a half years ago and I’m still with the company, so my gaffe wasn’t as serious as I thought.
Arrival T-800 | Terminator 2
Great scene. Funny too!
Whenever I make this recipe, my husband immediately requests seconds
Classics are classics for a reason, and you can’t get more traditional than Martha’s Company Casserole. The recipe below — a combination of beef, noodles and cheese — comes from a 1958 Good Housekeeping cookbook. Once you’ve prepared it, you’ll surely see what’s given it so much staying power.
While this version of the recipe remains fairly true to the original, it does boast one important change. The 1958 recipe calls for diced green bell pepper, but here the roasted red peppers add a bit more zip and flavor. Consider adding some crushed red pepper flakes to the mixture too, if you like a hint of spice.
8f4ae5278dd8d2c70625147d2529c6cd
Ingredients
8 ounces egg noodles
1 pound ground beef
Two 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 cup cottage cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
⅓ cup sour cream
½ cup green onions, finely chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook the beef until browned in a skillet over high heat.
3. Drain the beef and egg noodles, and transfer to a bowl. Add the tomato sauce, and stir to combine.
4. In a second bowl, combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and green onions.
5. Spread half of the noodle mixture into the prepared baking dish, then top with the cottage cheese mixture. Cover with the remaining noodles, then top with the cheddar cheese.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
Have you ever caught your neighbor doing something that made you furious?
Yes. This happened in the late 90s when my daughter was 13 years old. My neighbors, (two guys in their late twenties) had two pet boa constrictors in cages on the front porch (20 feet from our front porch). Kids in the neighborhood, including my kids, would stop by to look at the snakes in the cages. The owners would feed them live mice when no one was around. That isn’t what bothered me because I know snakes have to eat. What bothered me was that they knew my daughter loved animals (she wanted to be a veterinarian) so they allowed her to hold the mice and pet them and then they let her continue watching as they threw the mice (while laughing) in the cage for the snakes to eat. My daughter came home crying and told me what happened. I went over there in a rage, wrenched open their door and started screaming at them that if they ever even looked at her again I’d kill them. I had to explain to her then that life is a circle (yeah, like the movie, Lion King). She never ended up becoming a veterinarian, by the way.
It was a sadistic thing for them to do. I had an older cousin do something similar to my sister. He used to raise rabbits for meat. He asked her to pick out her favorite rabbit so she did. He let her hold it, pet it, then grabbed the rabbit by the legs and hit it over the head with a small wooden bat. My sister didn’t cry, instead she went into shock. She was 8, learning disabled, had a serious heart condition, and adored animals. She did not talk or even move for the rest of the day.
And, just a side note, I understand the whole eating meat process, farming, feeding animals, and the circle of life, like I mentioned before but, there’s a time and a place for everything and neither of those men used common sense or showed any compassion. They were both cruel and sadistic.
Luckin for the win.
screen 2024 10 29 19 49 26
What steps can the United States take to reduce its national debt?
A) cut 800 overseas military bases to ZERO. Bring all your soldiers home to retrain them for manufacturing jobs at 30%of their income!
B) turned 13 of your air craft carriers into cruise ships and earned money instead of blowing a billion a month!
C) retire 10 million CIA and NED man doing shit around the world!
D) cut away all fundings on media lies to your media to spread half truths, fabrications and propaganda!
E) stop being delusional and hiding from the truth! China has overtaken you guys since 2010!
F) Accept being second fiddle to China and learnt from them!
G) Cough all monies from your CEOs and returned them into R&D monies for your companies!
H) Reduce your wages by 70% and increase their work days to 12 hours a day!
I) Stop all wars tomorrow and bring your troops home!
J) make your president make peace with China and Russia tomorrow!
K) Be honest tell the world USA is a broke and a bankrupt nation!
L) Tell the world that the so called free market liberal democracy do not work and it needs a change!
J) Stop giving aid to 100 counties that are blood suckers like India and Philippines! Asked them to stop doing shit and stop funding them!
K) Stop funding monies to opposition abroad to cause regime change and revolution!
L) Retrained 200 million Americans to work hard and smart doing things the world need
M) Cut your military expenses to 1/4 of China!
O) Jailed anyone who lied and spread half truths! The truth will set you free!
Q) Be honest about all the lies that you have paid for and expose all lied tomorrow! Shame all who do that!
R) Bring a 100 million Chinese a month to visit USA a month!
S) enforce saving rate of all Americans and corporations from -4% to +40%!
T) Stop all helicopter monies and QE and bailing out too big to fail companies! Let them go bankrupt!
U) stop tariffs that weakened your companies right away!
V)Disband NATO, AUKUS, QUAD, G7 and be a filial part of G20!
W) be a true member of the United Nations!
X) reduce welfare spendings on unemployed tomorrow!
Y) stop all immigration and spend all monies saved to build homes for the homeless!
Z) throw away your constitutions tomorrow!
Can you do it? That is the perfect formula to make America great again! I bet you won’t! So stop talking rubbish. Never ever utter the word that destroys America. Exceptionalism.
The SHOCKING Truth About Why CHINA Is Attracting So Many AMERICANS!
Under the cloak of darkness, Anne sneaks from her father’s house and follows the Wharfe River upstream heading into town. The moon is full and bright, lighting her way. The sounds of frogs singing and crickets chirping keep her company as her bare feet squish along the wet ground. Anne is on her way to do something while she still has time to do it. She turns eighteen next year and her father has been doubling his efforts to find her a husband. What she is about to do goes against society as a whole in 15th century England. She doesn’t know what it means for her future as part of the community, but this is something she must do. She has to satisfy her curious nature.She was with her parents in town today. While they were working, she came upon a man painting a picture of the marketplace. It intrigued her, his use of shape and light, how he blended the colors to match what he saw. She always wondered how paintings were made. She has only seen a couple of them in her lifetime, but they were astonishing. She didn’t understand how someone could transfer what they saw to a piece of canvas. She still didn’t, but she felt closer to understanding. She drew close to the man, looking over his shoulder, watching as he worked with much interest.“You seem fascinated,” a shaky voice cracked behind her.She turned and saw an elderly man leaning on a cane. “Sorry, I am a very curious girl. My mother says it will be the death of me. My father is having a hard time finding me a suitor because of it.”“Nothing wrong with a little curiosity. What else fancies you, my dear?”“I want to read, especially the Bible. I have asked my father to teach me. He said it is not for women to know the word of God. That it is a woman’s place to listen to her father until she is wed, then she is to listen to her husband.”“And this societal norm does not suit you. That is fascinating. What else?”“Everything, I guess. I asked my father how an onion grows, since he is a farmer. He said it was not a woman’s place to understand a man’s labor.”“Is that so. Hmm. Go on.”“I want to know how they make laws and why we make laws. They are not explained to me, but I know they exist. Some seem good, others bad, and I don’t know which ones are real. I want to know more about the people who lived before us. I want to know why the river flows in the direction it does. I want to know why the moon changes shape. I want to know how to build a house. I want to help my father’s farm become more successful. That is not even the beginning, sir. There is so much in the world that arouses questioning.”“Interesting indeed. I am Professor William Black. This is very uncommon, but so is your nature. How would you feel about an education?”“An education. What’s that?”“It’s learning how to read. It’s learning the how’s and why’s of nature and society. It’s learning mathematics, the working of numbers. It’s gaining the ability to reason for oneself. It’s obtaining the ability to think philosophically and testing theories. It’s learning to appreciate the finer things in life and understanding foreign cultures. By the time we are done, you will understand how the world works, as well as the means to satisfy all your curiosities.”“That sounds amazing, Professor! You would really do that for me?”“I would, but you have to use your knowledge for the advancement of society. Then, you must pass it on.”“I would, I honestly would, but there is no way my parents will allow me to do such a thing.”“Hmm. You see that house right there with the sloped roof. That one is mine. I will leave a candle lit in the windowsill. If you find yourself able to join me, as long as that candle is lit, come on in, Miss?”“Greenfield. Anne Greenfield.”#
The marketplace is different to Anne at night. All the vendor carts are gone. The moon casts eerie shadows that seem to take a life of their own. Feral cats are heard screeching through the chill night air. Yet, Ann is ecstatic to walk through the empty marketplace and find Professor Black’s candle still lit. She knocks lightly on his door, and he opens it excitedly.
“Miss Greenfield! Welcome. I was hoping you would find a way. I took a nap after our meeting just in case this was the way. Snuck out, did you?”
Shyly, Anne says, “Yes.”
“No need to be embarrassed. You are about to embark on an adventure that will make it all worthwhile.”
At his desk, by candlelight, Professor Black starts her with the alphabet before moving on to numbers, telling her that they will be the foundation for everything she will learn. He plays her a song on the piano and they discuss the elements of the music, going over pieces of the song several times so Anne can familiarize herself with the concepts. Anne is having so much fun learning these things, she loses track of time.
She runs out the door with a thank you to her teacher. She storms through the marketplace and into the wilderness. She stumbles over a tree branch, skinning her knee, and dirtying her dress. She looks up and sees the sun rising. When she gets home, she knows she is too late. Her father is normally in the field and mother will be cooking breakfast. She pushes open the door to find her parents sitting at the table with furious expressions.
“Where have you been young lady, and do not lie,” her father growls.
“I met a man at the market, a professor. He offered me an education. I knew you would have said no, father, so I snuck out and went to his home,” Anne replies meekly.
“Blasphemy! Women do not need educations! They need men! Is this man ready to marry you? Taking a young woman into his home during the depths of night. Have this man no decency?”
“He is quite the gentleman, but he’s old enough to be my grandfather. I’m not going to marry him!”
“We’ll see about that! As God as my witness, you will not be sneaking in and out of my house to do the devils work with this professor. You’re of age. You’re past the age. If it wasn’t for you constantly questioning everybody about everything, I would have had you married off a long time ago. If this man wants the right to educate you, he can earn it proper. Let’s go. I want to meet this professor.”
#
There is an impolite knock on the door that nearly causes Professor Black to spill his tea. He didn’t get much sleep last night and is looking forward to a little rejuvenation, but that will have to wait. Grabbing his cane, he heads for the door, albeit not fast enough. Another loud bang erupts from the entryway.
“Hold on, hold on, I’m almost there.”
Upon seeing the old man, Robert Greenfield’s demeanor softens a little, but he keeps his tone firm. “Sir, we need to talk about my daughter,” he says, pushing Anne through the doorway.
“Ah, you must be young Miss Greenfield’s father. I’m Professor William Black. Nice to make your acquaintance,” the old man says, offering his hand.
Robert ignores the gesture and pushes by him. He gazes around the professors home. It is filled with books, scrolls, maps, and art. He has a piano with a violin on top. On his desk sits an abacus, a writing quill, and some parchment. “I understand you are educating my daughter, putting ideas in her head. Women don’t need such things. That’s why they have husbands and fathers.”
“But for someone as quizzical as Anne, life will be much more fulfilling if she were educated.”
“What education do you need to birth babies and do as you’re told.”
“One of the things she wants to learn is farming and how to improve your harvest. Have you ever considered teaching her yourself and leaving things for her to manage.”
“Not once. That brings me to why I am here. She is of marrying age, but she is difficult, too curious for her own good, and opinionated. Nobody wants her and after last night, I am tired of her. If you are willing to do it properly, she is yours. Then you can educate her all you want.”
“I am a smidge too old to remarry, but I have a son who lives in town. He is a business proprietor, mainly soaps, but he does well. He is closer to her age. Care to arrange a meeting.”
“Yes, I do. When?”
“Come back tomorrow for lunch. He will be here.”
#
The following day, Robert and Anne put on their Sunday best and returned to the professor’s home. There they meet Robyn Black, a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes who possesses a charming smile. Anne is not only taken by his looks but by his manners. She has never been treated like such a lady in all her life. He is, however, twenty years older than she, which might explain the chivalry.
“Miss Greenfield, my father has told me a lot about you. You desire to be an educated woman. That is not common. Quite frankly, it is unheard of. What do you plan to do with all this knowledge once you obtain it.”
“For one, Mr. Black, I will find gratification in gaining said knowledge. I am a very curious woman. For two, I do want to have a family and I do not want to raise idiots. I do not want them to believe things just because someone told them so. I want them to be able to search out the truth on their own. Too many liars in the world, Mr. Black. And three, I believe by educating my children I can provide them with more opportunities, so they can live better lives.”
Turning to the professor Robyn says, “You are right, father. I like her. She will make the perfect wife, mother, and a shrewd business partner behind the scenes once she finishes her education.” Turning to Robert he asks, “May I ask for your daughter’s leave to accompany me in the garden. I would like to get to know more of her.”
Anne sits on a small swing tied to a tree branch in the garden while Robyn pushes her. He tells her of his business ventures and his travels. Anne listens intently, mentioning that someday she would like to travel too. She shares her stories of life on the farm, some of them bringing laughter to the garden. They walk arm-in-arm about the garden. Anne stops to inspect and smell each variety as they pass them by, asking Robyn each one’s name. When they rejoin their fathers inside, Robyn is so enchanted by Anne’s curious ways, playful banter, and the way she carries a conversation, that he asks Robert for her hand in marriage.
Robert agrees, but with terms. “Anne is to stay with me until she is married. All educational activities are to cease until after she is married. Anne, once you are married, I don’t want you around the farm ever again, or associating with your brothers and sisters still living in the community.”
Robert breaks his daughter’s heart, but she accepts his terms.
Robyn and the professor waste no time in arranging the wedding ceremony. Asking Robert his opinion on the wedding plans, location, and guest list, Robert says, “Her mother and I will be the only ones in attendance only to give her away. Do as you please.”
Despite being a small wedding, it takes months, nearly a year, before the day comes that Anne sees Robyn again. Invitations had to be sent and arrangements had to be made for traveling families, but it was all worth it. Robyn looks dashing standing at the end of the aisle with the professor at his side. Anne feels beautiful in her mother’s wedding dress, holding a bouquet of wildflowers she picked herself before the ceremony.
Anne looks for her father and her mother after the ceremony, but they are nowhere to be found. This momentary sadness disappears when Robyn takes her by the arm to meet her new family before the celebration begins. It’s a night of music, accompanied by singing, dancing, drinking, eating, and laughing. Robyn’s family tells Anne tales of Robyn from birth to manhood, which has Anne laughing to the point of tears. She is having the time of her life until she feels a longing for friends and family back home.
“What is it, child,” the professor asks, taking a seat next to her.
“Nothing. It’s just that I was having the time of my life until I thought about those I’ll be leaving behind. Why is my father being so cruel about this.”
“I cannot speak what another man thinks, but what you are venturing on is not a normal practice in society. Your father might find shame in this. You might change society, Anne. Someday, maybe all women will receive an education when society sees it is beneficial for women to be educated. You’re an explorer and a pioneer. Be proud of what you are venturing on and use it wisely. Perhaps one day, your father will come to his senses, and you will see the people from your past again, but now it is time to focus on your future.”
Anne leans over and kisses the professor on the cheek. “Thank you for everything, the faith, the encouragement, the teachings, and, most of all, that handsome man you call a son.”
#
Anne and Robyn spent a month in London after their wedding. She continued her education as soon as she got home. She and Robyn had five kids: two boys and three girls. The boys grew up and took over the family business, expanding it. The girls found work in the homes of royals due to their educations, which they passed on to the noble’s children whom they raised. Anne’s curiosity was never quenched, but at least she got to spend her life watering it. She and Robyn traveled a lot, mainly because Anne was obsessed with history. She frequented the libraries, which some people found peculiar. What Robyn loved most about Anne was that he was no longer alone at night. Instead, he had a beautiful woman whose views and opinions challenged his own, leading to discussions that kept them up half the night. She had one theory, though, that Robyn couldn’t help but laugh at. Who would ever believe that the Earth was round.
What’s the loneliest you’ve ever felt?
I had been diagnosed with Endometrial cancer, had had a hysterectomy, and due to a wound infection was back in the hospital. The wound had dehisced- it was now a huge open wound. The infection was so severe, they put in a urinary catheter. I had been through chemo, radiation, and now I had this massive open wound across my belly from hip to hip.
I’d been through the mill, and was anxious just to go home and start to heal.
My first husband- a man who was proud to have been a volunteer first-aider for 20+ years saw the wound, then saw the catheter and said
“You’re not coming home with that pissbag.” and then “And, you stink- that cut smells horrible”.
And he left. I felt like the wind had been sucked out of me. It wasn’t my fault it stunk… that’s what infected wounds do.
The nurse came in, and asked when I was leaving- I explained, and she said “but you can’t stay here”.
These were the days before cell/ mobile phones. I called my Mom and Dad’s house, they weren’t in. I left a message on their ansaphone to please call or come up to the hospital.
I remember sitting there, and feeling an incredible and indescribable freezing chasm inside me, like someone had reached inside and pulled my heart out. I felt like I should have died. I couldn’t go. I couldn’t stay. I could hardly walk. I was in unbelievable emotional and physical pain. I was exhausted. I felt absolutely alone… it was horrible. It was 30 years ago- and as I write this, my insides are struggling with the memories of the pain and the rejection.
Fortunately for me, my doctor came in, I explained everything, and she said it was reasonable for me to stay another week… after all, I still had a wound. She ordered an IV, changed my antibiotics to IV, and ordered patient controlled analgesia by IV. As I nurse, I know she did those things to ensure I could stay.
My heart was broken at the rejection I felt. I cried for days. The doctor got a hold of my husband and read him the riot act, complete with four part harmonies and a 21 gun salute… she was livid and held nothing back. I’d never imagined someone like her could speak to someone the way she spoke to him. He was escorted from the hospital unit when he went to take a swing at her and she kicked him in (as she called it) his “Cere-ballum” (his nuts).
Yes, police got involved, my folks, his folks, hospital social worker- I felt like a non-entity. All these people in the room wound up arguing about who was gonna be stuck with me. His mom asked me to stick with him, and I agreed. She was a lovely woman, but his dad- his dad sided with his son.
I finally did go home, and because in the US if you can leave the house you don’t get home nursing care, and I could leave the house albeit with exceptional difficulties, I was on my own. I used to sit and put a huge mirror in my lap so I could see into the wound, I would clean it, pack it and dress it. My husband had admitted that he was afraid he was going to “catch” cancer from me, which explained some of his behaviour. It hurt so bad- he would do anything for anyone else… but he couldn’t do t for me.
We broke up, long story, and I wound up moving to England to be with a man I met on the internet.
Fast forward 20 years. I am now with husband 2, and have been diagnosed with cancer, again. The fear and panic rose- hubby knew all about the first time, I could not hide the massive ugly ropey scar… and his reaction to me saying “I have cancer” was to put his arms around me and say “No, WE have cancer. You are not going through this alone. You don’t need to face anything alone. I am with you every step. I might not know what to do, but if you teach me, I will learn…”
And he has. He gives me the injections I need. When I had a wound after surgery, he helped dress it. When I got septic and was very clueless with delirium, he was patient, loving, and did everything for me from feed me to wiping my bottom. And he does it all without making me feel shame, or fear, or embarrassment. He just *loves* me, and that love is in everything he does.
I made a much better choice with my second husband than with my first. In the first cancer episode, I had to fight alone and I felt so alone I can hardly even face it now… but the second time, I feel like I have a knight standing by me. As I write this, I can still feel the memories of rejection and loneliness, and I still have an irrational fear it will happen again- but my husband understands and leaves me notes. Although not an artist, he makes them little works of art with coloured ink, little pictures he’s drawn, and they always say the same things- “I love you. You’re not alone. WE can do this. I’m with you….”
I am very lucky.
Best war movie ever
This is a gem from South Africa. Full movie. Totally free.
screen 2024 11 08 06 10 32
Many in the audience will enjoy it.
What impact could China’s response to the latest US weapons sales to Taiwan have on regional stability?
The United States wants to collect protection fees, but Taiwan Province has to pay them.
On October 26th, the US Department of Defense announced that the US State Department had approved a new round of arms sales to Taiwan.
The Taiwan Province authorities plan to deploy these three sets of “National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems” around Taipei, Qingquangang Base of the Air Force, Jiashan Base in the East and Taitung Base.
What is the actual effect of this system? In fact, in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, this system is very lame and has obvious shortcomings.
First, the protection space is small.
Second, the launching method is backward. This system uses a fixed launcher, which is close to a “living target” in the actual battlefield. On February 27, 2024, the Russian army reported that it destroyed the transmitter of NASAMS air defense system, and related pictures were circulated on social platforms.
Third, it is impossible to intercept ballistic missiles. This has been confirmed in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. On December 28, 2023, Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine. At that time, the air defense system intercepted most of the missiles, but none of the eight Kh-22 supersonic missiles were intercepted. Moreover, the Kh-22 missiles were designed in the Soviet era and the age was very long.
It can be seen that this air defense system, which the Taiwan authorities have invested heavily in this time, is not enough to “establish a perfect missile defense system” as it advertised.
In fact, the most advanced anti-missile system needs multiple systems to form a three-dimensional protective net, which is an expensive and time-consuming project, and the Taiwan authorities have neither time nor financial resources to implement it.
Why does the Taiwan authorities want to buy this system that can be described as “unable to get up”? To put it bluntly, the United States wants to collect protection fees, and Taiwan Province has to pay them.
Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022, the global arms sales of the United States have increased substantially.
According to the data of the US Department of Defense, in fiscal year 2023, the United States completed more than $80 billion in transactions through arms sales systems in other countries and regions, setting a historical record.
Now the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have caused the demand for weapons in many countries to grow rapidly, which is exactly what the United States wants. As a country that has made a fortune from war, the United States is naturally overjoyed at such demand, and even has to sell goods if there is no demand to create demand.
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why the United States recently crossed the Taiwan Province Strait with Canada to provoke China, while holding joint military exercises with Japan to approach the nearest island of Nagano with Taiwan Province, and at the same time sending personnel to participate in the South Korean “national defense” military exercise to intensify the contradictions on the peninsula.
Obviously, under the background of the tense situation in the Middle East and the anxiety of the American election, it is beneficial for the politicians to continue to please the real big money owners-military enterprises by disrupting the regional situation with all their efforts in the form of military exercises and arms sales.
However, the United States has done much more to “collect money and not deliver goods”. At the end of September, a report from an American think tank pointed out that in August 2024, the United States announced 22 new arms sales to other countries and regions, of which 10 pieces of military equipment coincided with weapons projects owed by Taiwan Province. So far, the value of weapons owed by the United States to Taiwan Province has reached $20.5 billion.
There is still a long way to go between “approving arms sales” and “acquiring armaments”, and the Taiwan Province authorities know in their hearts that they can only “have a hard time”.
Seinfeld Power Hour
Funny.
How does a lock manufacturer make sure that no two locks are the same?
In the mid-1980s, I was hired by a company that was a leading manufacturer of door locks, to convert a COBOL program running on their mainframe into C so it could run on an IBM PC instead, and directly control a key cutting machine (before, the COBOL program would output punch cards, and these would have to be carried from the computer center to the key cutter area on the factory floor).
The program that ran on the mainframe generated the different combinations that were cut into the door keys to make them unique. As I remember, there were six different cuts made on each key, and each cut could take on 10 different levels, 0–9.
But it wasn’t as simple as just generating six digit random numbers, as there were physical constraints on the key cutter to be considered. For example, a key couldn’t have a 0 cut next to a 9 cut, as the slope would be too steep. At the same time, the distance from one cut to another had to be over some threshold; you couldn’t have a key with a combination like 4–4–5–5–4–5 as it would be almost level. So there were a lot of these rules buried into the COBOL program, along with a pseudo-random number generator.
In any case, it was not as if there were 106
(or 1 million) possible combinations that could make valid keys. Probably only a couple hundred thousand.
Cranberry Biscotti
314571f33089cbca5a0ce2e91de48df6
Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk the eggs, egg whites and vanilla extract together and add to the dry ingredients, mixing just until moist, using a hand mixer on medium speed. Add cranberries and almonds and mix thoroughly. Turn out onto a floured surface and divide batter in half. Pat each half into a log about 14 inches long and 2 inches wide. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 30 minutes or until firm.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Leaving the baked log on the cookie sheet, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Turn the slices cut side up on the cookie sheet and return to the oven; bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until firm and dry.
Cool and keep in a tight container.
What was the most shocking thing you ever saw happen on a public beach?
Fathers and mothers stealing other children toys and another is the local authorities allowing business concerns to take over the public beaches with their umbrellas and family people need to pay for these umbrellas and not allowed to bring their own.
Another is families leaving rubbish behind them on the beach.
Lately, after many years, one sea turtle laid its eggs on one of our beaches during a night and the beaches were too noisy with the swimmers during the day and the beach was too lit up with the powerful light for the benefit of Tourists and those Barbequing during the night , thus disturbing the “ eggs in the sand “ and they died with the disturbance, After that new enforcements were applied and the year after we had some successful hatchings, I prefer having turtles as visitors rather than the illegal and illegal and the tourists coming in large numbers disturbing more than the turtle’s nests.
What is the current amount of debt that the United States owes to China? Why is it considered a problem for the US to owe this much to China?
The bulk of what US owes China is in the form of Treasury Bills held by China.
This has been declining. About 3 years ago, the holdings were worth $1.3 trillion. This fell to $774.6 billion at August 2024, after the sales of $1.9 billion during the month.
China is the second largest holder after Japan’s holdings of about $1.2 trillion. Japan is net buyer, but its economy is stagnant, which limits its appetite. UK, the third largest holder, has the similar story.
China’s holdings per se should not be a problem for the US, only just over 2% of its national debt.
Of the major foreign holders, China has the most money to buy more. Yellen twice visited China but failed to convince it to buy. Instead, it is selling. Other holders take note and may follow it. This could be a problem for the US.
US has to issue new bills worth trillions of dollars to refinance matured bills and to finance fiscal deficits. Foreign holders hold about 30% of the outstanding issues. If they stay away from Treasury auctions, the weight of subscription will fall heavily on tenders by domestic institutions, and in the ultimate on the Fed.
The big problems for the US are the growing trade deficit, the growing fiscal deficit, and the growing national debt.
The growing trade deficit will put pressure on the exchange value of the dollar, amid the erosion of demand for dollar due to dedollarisation.
The growing fiscal deficit causes the growing national debt. This is a political hot potato which no one wants to touch. The national debt increased almost $3 trillion in the 12 months through October to $35.95 trillion. The interest bill alone is pushing $1 trillion and will exceed it next year.
China is not the primary cause of these problems. But its absence from Treasury auctions and selling its holdings add on the burden for the US.
During our “van days”; that period of time in between the discharge from the US Navy and when I was picked up with MAJestic…
…we were living in a van, working as a cook in San Louis Obispo, California and just doing the best we could with the little that we had.
And during that time, we lived in a broken down van; inoperable, dead, and even the door locks didn’t work. We climbed in and out though the sunroof. It was parked in a the tail end of the church parking lot. And so life moved on. We would exit the van, walk to work and walk back. It was tough, but we managed.
It was a time of great frustration, but of greater hope.
THis was years before the mass layoffs that gave all of America a taste of what a layoff actually was. And so, we were surrounded by “know it alls” who had no sympathy for us, as we plodded on.
One day, as we were walking to and from the van, we noticed another overloaded station wagon (late model and older) with tons of gear piled on its roof. So we kept on our walk and some of the guys offered us some marijuana.
Normally we wouldn’t take, but they looked like they were from Jamaica (they were) and so we chatted and hit some of their ganja. The group was The Wailers. Though, at that time, Bob Marley wasn’t with them.
Jamminh
They were fine and we had many a rambling and insightful conversation; that unfortunately I have long forgotten. *sigh*
They gave us free tickets to their concert, but we were too stoned. We thanked them, as they were starting to set up at the pavilion. Instead, we just smiled and just walked back to our van.
And that is the story of how my wife and I met The Wailers. Just some travelers just like us. When you get off the beaten track you will meet all kinds of people. And you will have all kinds of experiences.
Today…
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Jamming
Why do Hong Kong people not fight back when they are discriminated against in the UK?
Hong Kong separatists suffer racial discrimination in the UK, but for them, the nightmare does not come from Anglo-Saxon racism, but from the actions of the Tiandihui (also known as the Hongmen) to punish Chinese traitors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiandihui
Chinese abroad often rely on 3 kinds of civil society organizations for help: clan associations, hometown associations, and the Tiandihui.
Chinese embassies and consulates abroad are official institutions of the Chinese government overseas. They usually coordinate with government departments in the host countries through diplomatic means and are unlikely to intervene in private affairs.
Without the help of civil society organizations, overseas Chinese would not be able to gain a foothold in Chinatown.
The Tiandihui was founded by Ming loyalists in the early Qing dynasty to resist the Manchu invasion of China. This is an ancient organization that is still in operation today and it has become a multinational organization that also has branches in the UK.
Tiandihui members worldwide continue to observe certain common traditions: they all stress their patriotic origin; they all revere Lord Guan, a deified historic Chinese figure who embodies righteousness, patriotism, and loyalty; and they all share certain rituals and traditions such as the concept of brotherhood and a secret handshake.
Chinese Traitors in the UK are also divided into different levels:
Taiwan separatists have higher emotional intelligence. Although they are Chinese traitors, they will not show it on the surface.
Hong Kong separatists are 100% slaves of Anglo-Saxons. Even if Anglo-Saxons fart, they think it smells good.
Of course, Taiwan independence elements and Hong Kong independence elements are of no use. They only dare to be rebellious at home and remain calm abroad.
Tiandihui is a secret civil organization with many branches and complex structure, and does not conduct public activities.
Don’t expect the inefficient British police to protect Chinese traitors; they just need to accept their punishment honestly.
Dried Beef Casserole
3fa933ede33ee29541830983f81b288f
Ingredients
2 cups dry macaroni, uncooked
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons Durkee’s French fried onions
10 ounces dried beef, chopped
5 hard boiled eggs, sliced
Instructions
Combine soup and milk and stir until creamy, then add remaining ingredients except eggs. Mix well, then fold in eggs.
Cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
If desired, add more onion rings to top ten minutes before removing from oven.
BREAKING NEWS: ISRAEL SEIZES CRYPTO-CURRENCIES OF **ALL** PALESTINIANS – – – TERRORISM
Israel has ORDERED the crypto-exchange “Binance” to SEIZE the crypto-currencies of all Palestinians pursuant to Israeli Terrorism Law!!!!!
Israel did this by declaring the Dubai Exchange Company in the Gaza Strip, which is the only lawful crypto-currency entity allowed to operate in the Gaza Strip, to be a “terrorist organization.”
All Palestinians were required to use the Dubai Exchange Company for all their crypto-currency transactions.
Since the Israeli government declared the Dubai Exchange itself to be a “terrorist organization” all the money transferred by or through that company is then considered to be the property of the “terrorist organization” and thus subject to being seized!
Palestinians have APPEALED this mass seizure. Those Appeals are ALL being denied.
The DENIAL letter appears below in original Hebrew language, which has been machine-translated as follows:
BEGIN MACHINE TRANSLATION:
“In accordance with the authority delegated to me by the Minister of Defense, according to Section 61(a) of the Law on Combating Terrorism, 556- 2016 (hereinafter: “The Law on the Fight against Terrorism”) and further to your application as a reference, I would like to inform you that your claims against Seizure of property by virtue of an administrative seizure order (T56/23) signed by the Minister of Defense on November 1, 2023, by virtue of his authority according to the law, were examined by and rejected for the following reasons:
1. Section 56(b) of the Anti-Terrorism Law states, among other things, that the Minister of Defense may issue an order on Temporary seizure of property of a declared terrorist organization, as well as seizure of property that was used to commit a crime Serious terrorism or property where a serious terrorist offense was committed.
2. At the basis of the administrative seizure order (Tt56/23) is reliable intelligence information that teaches that wallets of cryptocurrencies, including one that is registered in your name, funds have been transferred by an organization — the declared terrorism of the Dubai Exchange Company in the Gaza Strip (declared on March 7, 2022, published in the 10084 p. 2505 on 4.4.2022.
3. According to the anti-terrorism law, cryptographic currencies that have been transferred by a declared terrorist organization constitute property of a declared terrorist organization and cryptocurrency wallets to which it has been transferred. Said property constitutes property that was directly used to commit a serious terrorist offense of providing a service or Establishing measures for a terrorist organization, as defined in the Law on Combating Terrorism, and therefore in accordance with the instructions The law allows the Minister of Defense to order their seizure by administrative order in preparation for their confiscation.
4. In light of the above, and if nothing is found in your claims to contradict the information that formed the basis of issuing an order The seizure, I intend to recommend to the Minister of Defense to order the confiscation of the property for which the seizure order was issued, In accordance with the authority of the Minister of Defense according to section 66(a) of the law.
5. According to the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law, an appeal against this decision will be submitted as a petition to the Court of Matters administrative.
END MACHINE TRANSLATION —–
So the Israelis are considering ALL Palestinian crypto-currencies to be “terrorism” because they all went through the only lawful crypto exchange in the Gaza Strip, and Israel has now seized all that crypto-currency from the wallets of the people who sent it or received it. Whether that person was a “terrorist” or not, does not matter because the crypto-exchange itself was declared a “terrorist organization.”
Any of you who have Crypto-currencies, being held in a wallet that can be accessed by any exchange, should dump that crypto-currency absolutely immediately and get your money. What Israel has just shown is that they (or any other government) can simply make a declaration that the Exchange itself is a “terrorist organization” then grab all the crypto wallets that have ever been used via that exchange!
You would lose all your crypto, and automatically be considered to be “related to terrorist activities” with the stroke of a pen by some government lackey.
Remember this, too, when they start trying to get you to use “Central Bank Digital Currency.” They could do the exact same thing with that! You would find yourself cut off from all money. Try “appealing” anything when all the cash (you no longer have) is only “digital” and they just grabbed it all!
Today, as you scan your regular “news” sources, see if there is any reporting at all about this?
Parenting Gone Wrong: Spoiled Child Leads Family to Deadly Consequences At A Hotpot Restaurant
Have you ever caught a mechanic lying about a repair they claimed to have done to your car? What happened?
We recently bought out my wife’s company car, a Subaru Legacy, which we got a great deal on. Shortly before, while the car was still owned by fleet, we had taken the car in to the dealership for an oil change. This was before it got warm enough to need the air conditioner. Along comes summer and we notice the AC isn’t putting out cold air. I pop the hood and notice the wires to the compressor have been cut. I took a number of pictures from various angles and took the car back to the dealership and acted stupid, as if I had no idea why the AC was suddenly not working. An hour later they called to let me know they discovered that the wires had been chewed through, probably by a rat and said the entire wiring harness needed to be replaced at a cost of somewhere around $400–600. I lost my cool and told them they were lying to me and said it was obvious the wires had been cut. The service manager then told me they had found evidence of a rat’s nest under the hood. I told him I had taken a number of pictures of the engine compartment and that I had not seen any evidence of any rodent and said the wires were cut far too clean for them to have been chewed through and that it was pretty obvious this had been done when the car had last been in for service.
Thankfully my wife had a good relationship with the fleet manager and called him and asked for advice. He said to give us an hour and he’d get back to us. The dealership reached out shortly afterward and said they would be taking care of the damage at no charge to us. Apparently the fleet manager told them it seemed as though they were trying to take advantage of the fact that it was a fleet car (as it would have been had we not bought it out), had likely cut the wires expecting the fleet would be covering the repair bill (as they would have done had the car still been a fleet vehicle) and he was prepared to recommend blacklisting Subaru over their actions.
We will never take our car back to Carter Subaru in Shoreline (Seattle) again. Clearly they’re not to be trusted.
** Update: This answer must’ve recently been included in a digest email because it’s received a lot of attention. I figured I should probably update it with a couple of pictures I took before bringing the car in to the dealership. It clearly shows evidence of the “rat” that chewed, err, sliced through the wiring harness.
Which country has better fighters than the US? Are Russia or China known for having strong fighters?
Regarding the gap between fighter jets of China, the United States and Russia, the most appropriate objects of comparison are the three heavy stealth fighters: J-20, F22 and Su-57.
If we rank the number of the three types of heavy aircraft: J-20>F22>Su-57.
J-20, 100 new aircraft are produced every year
F22 has been discontinued for a long time, with only about 180 in total.
Su-57, no more than 10 are produced every year.
The combat effectiveness of the three heavy aircraft is ranked as follows: J-20>F22>Su-57.
The performance indicators of the fifth-generation fighter jets should be in order of importance:
Super perception (including informationization and intelligence): The maximum detection range of the F22 airborne radar is 250 kilometers, and the maximum detection range of the J-20 airborne radar is 300 kilometers.
Stealth: The J20 is more delicate than the F22. The J20 can adapt to various environments, whether it is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau or the western desert. The J20 only needs an ordinary hangar to be deployed, unlike the F22, which needs a constant temperature hangar for maintenance. Finally, regarding the Su-57, I think if the Su-57 is optimized, the stealth performance still has a lot of room for improvement.
Supercruise and supersonic maneuverability: The F22 should be the one with the best supercruise capability at present because of its engine advantage, but the J-20’s supersonic optimization is the most thorough. After replacing the new engine, its supercruise and supersonic maneuverability will far surpass the F22.
Multi-purpose performance (including payload range): Theoretically, the multi-purpose performance of Su-57 should be the strongest, its bomb bay is deeper, and the front and rear columns are also convenient for arranging large missiles. Compared with the F22, the J-20 has a longer fuselage, larger fuel capacity, and a larger bomb bay, so its range and multi-purpose performance are greater than those of the F22. The comprehensive comparison is Su-57>J-20>F 22.
Subsonic maneuverability (including supersonic maneuverability, also known as super-stall maneuverability): This is the most controversial issue at present. The domestically produced Taihang improved engine currently installed on the J-20 is only a transitional version of the WS-15 engine. Its thrust is barely enough for the J-20, so its over-stall maneuverability is definitely not as good as that of the F22 and Su-57. However, with the advent and deployment of the WS-15 engine, these problems will be solved.
The US military itself knows very well that they are losing their air superiority!
Young Connecticut Man Will Only Give His GF A “Symbolic Wedding” To Safeguard His Hard Earned Wealth
Interesting. Phew! What a crazy life.
Good Job
One day, while I was working upstairs in my office, my German Shepherd came upstairs, stood in my office doorway barking at me.
Then he walked over to the top of the staircase barking as he looked down the stairs. He lifted his head, looked towards me and continued barking.
He walked back and stood in the office doorway again looking at me, barking.
He did this repeatedly for a few minutes while I worked. It became obvious he wanted me to follow him downstairs. I got up and asked him, “What’s the matter?”
As soon as I asked this our house began to shake.
Everything on my walls and shelves were rattling.
I did not understand exactly what was happening, but we both ran down the stairs while I yelled, “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
We got outside and I felt the ground moving.
Then it stopped.
We had just experienced an earthquake. They are practically nonexistent in our region. Somehow, my boy knew it was coming and came upstairs to warn me.
He did many intelligent things in his lifetime, but that was the most amazing.
Suspects That LOSE IT During Interrogations
Brutal.
Ukraine Develops ‘Its Own’ Cruise Missile
On the Ukrainian independence day former President Zelenski announced that Ukraine’s forces would soon use a “rocket driven drone”:
On 24 August, during the Saturday ceremonies for Ukraine’s Independence Day, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that today, Ukrainian forces for the first time targeted enemy troops with a new long-range drone.- This is our new method of retaliating against the aggressor. The enemy was hit. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. All the developers, manufacturers, and our soldiers. I am proud of you, Zelensky said during his speech, quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda portal.
The rocket-drone system, produced indigenously by Ukraine and gracefully named “Paljanica” (like the traditional Ukrainian wheat flour bread, which symbolizes hospitality and happiness), is a military innovation. During the official ceremonies, Zelensky stressed that it is a weapon of a “completely new class”. He emphasized that “it is difficult to counteract it, but very easy to understand why.”
The work on the rocket-drone was carried out in secrecy.
Zelenski published a video that shows a second of the cruise missile in flight.
This is not a drone but a turbojet driven cruise missile. Ukraine announced that it has been tested and could be used soon:
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov promised Monday the weapon would be used again soon in response to the overnight attack on Ukraine.“Ukraine is preparing its response. Weapons of its own production,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “This once again proves that for victory, we need long-range capabilities and the lifting of restrictions on strikes on the enemy’s military facilities.”
A Ukrainian military video hinted that its range is up to 700 kilometers (430 miles) — on par with the U.S.-supplied ATACMS. It showed a map with various airfields, including Russia’s Savasleyka air base, which lies within that range, adding that the Palianytsia can reach at least 20 Russian airfields.
Russia has expected longer range missile strikes for some time and its defenses are positioned appropriately. Another Ukrainian ‘wonder weapon’ will not impress it. Ukraine claims that the cruise missile was developed by itself:
One of the specialists involved in the long-range missile project said it was “a completely new development, from scratch” that began about 18 months ago.“This is not an extension of an old Soviet project,” said the specialist, speaking on condition of anonymity to safeguard the project’s secrecy. The missile has a solid-fuel booster that accelerates it, followed by a jet engine, the specialist said.
…
The specialist and Fedorov said each missile costs less than $1 million, and the military is turning to the private sector to bring down production costs further. “The private market generates solutions incredibly quickly,” the minister said.
I doubt that Ukraine has created its own cruise missile. There are too many parts of such systems, especially the navigation and targeting modules, that need high end solutions to be able to counter Russian electronic warfare measures and to deceive Russian air defenses. It expect that these will be derivatives from western projects.
Aside from that all Ukraine’s weapon and especially missile manufacturing facilities have been hit several times by Russian missiles. This morning a new large missile and drone attack again hit “the critical power infrastructure of Ukrainian defence industry”. Next to other infrastructure today’s strike damaged three irreplaceable 750 kilovolt transformer stations and several 330 kv stations.
The new Ukrainian cruise missile was probably designed by the U.S. or UK and its various modules will likely be assembled in Poland instead of Ukraine. Still, it will be a hassle to produce many of these. That is likely the reason why the Ukrainian leadership is begging daily to allow it to use long range missiles produced by the U.S. or Britain to hit targets within Russia.
So far the U.S. has blocked such moves because it fears retaliation by Russia. Russia has threatened to deliver such weapons from Russian production to U.S. enemies should the U.S. proceed and allow Ukraine to hit with U.S. weapons within Russia.
A “Ukrainian” cruise missile would of course eliminate that problem.
What happened in your office that became the stuff of legend?
We were getting calls from a lot of vendors about past due invoices – for MONTHS. This was so weird as our branch was doing very well and we just could not figure out why our vendors weren’t being paid. Invoices were posted in the AP and this should not have been happening. It got so bad that one of our major suppliers wouldn’t provide any more material until they were paid. This was bad – we had a MAJOR project going that we could not not have material.
We had what was called an Imprest Checking Account. We had a checkbook and could write checks for things like permits, licenses, etc. The cap per check was $500.00 with a monthly “allowance of around $3,000.00 per branch.
To avoid credit hold that month, our Branch Manager told the office manager to write a check for $30,000.00. Done and delivered, material is on the job site. Got a call from HQ/Co. President telling us we did a bad thing and not to do it again because overdraft fees.
Our AP admin decided to do some investigating. Holy carp – we were going gangbusters and collecting a lot of money every month but almost ALL of our AP was aging towards or past 120 days. So she looked in to the HQ office. Gee, all of their bills were being paid on time. So she took this info to the BM who called HQ and read them the riot act.
Next month, same drill – no material from the vendor for the project until they were paid. BM directed AP admin to write a check for $60,000.00.
A week later, same phone call from HQ President. BM invited us admins in to his office and put him on speaker so we could listen. Pres. was yelling and screaming at BM who just sat, calmly, nodding and listening. Pres ended his tirade with “What do you have to say?!” BM, very calmly, replied “Pay our fuickin’ bills.” Silence on the other end followed by unintelligible grumbling and a click. BM just sat there and smiled at the phone and the three of us were in awe. That man, our Branch Manager, was a legend.
After that, our bills were paid on time. I still tell that story and am still in awe of, perhaps, the best boss I ever had.
Wife Spent 5 Months On OnlyFans Before Confessing To Husband & The Reddit Army WENT CRAZY When He…
The term “relationship” has taken on new meaning these days. Not judging, but it is a bit of a shock to my 1960 era sensibilities.
How do you view the popularity of “Black Myth: Wukong” and the spread of Chinese culture?
Black Myth: Wukong” has shattered multiple global gaming records on its first day of release. As of 10 PM last night, it reached over 2.22 million concurrent players on Steam, topping the Steam concurrent player chart and setting a new record for single-player games. Additionally, “Black Myth: Wukong” has been the best-selling game on Steam globally for the past week, sweeping the charts in 12 regions including the United States, Singapore, Canada, and Italy.
“Black Myth: Wukong” sold over 3 million copies on Steam alone yesterday, and with sales on Epic, WeGame, and PS5 combined, the total surpasses 4.5 million copies, generating over 1.5 billion yuan in revenue. This figure is hundreds of times higher than the pre-sales of previous domestic single-player games (which typically reached around 100.
To be honest, no domestic single-player game has ever demonstrated such a terrifying dominance. Changcheng Securities even predicts that “Black Myth: Wukong” could catch up with top-tier games like “Elden Ring” and “Dark Souls” in terms of sales.
This is not blind optimism. With over 4.5 million copies sold in a single day and total sales exceeding 1.5 billion yuan, “Black Myth: Wukong” has set a new benchmark. For comparison, “Cyberpunk 2077” had 8 million pre-orders upon its release in 2020, and “The Last of Us Part II,” the 2020 TGA Game of the Year, sold 4 million copies in its first week. Moreover, “Black Myth: Wukong” reached 1 million concurrent players within 60 minutes, surpassing “Cyberpunk 2077.
“Black Myth: Wukong” is rich in traditional Chinese cultural elements, even featuring傩面 (nuò miàn,傩 masks).
Black Myth: Wukong” represents a significant milestone in the global dissemination of Chinese culture, offering a visually stunning and culturally rich gaming experience that has captured the attention of audiences worldwide. By examining the game’s portrayal of Chinese mythology, its impact on the global gaming industry, and its potential to foster cultural exchange, we can gain a deeper understanding of the role of video games in shaping cultural perceptions.
How will I survive prison being a 48-year-old male? I am awaiting sentencing in less than 23 days and I am facing up to 9 years in total in feds. How will I survived having ever been in prison before?
All right, sit down and listen. Jim Van Derlin wrote 10 things. do not forget any of it. Great stuff. Now, I was like 58 going into a Fed prison. I did time in 4 prisons including the Penitentiary at Victorville, CA and finished out my time at FCI Tucson, a medium-high that was rated as High due to it being a transfer point/holding site. Os some shit like that.
So, 9 years. Make amends. Payoff any debts you can. Say goodbye. Sell your car, cancel everything you can, your family won’t need it. If you have family, you will need to connect like never before because IF you get visits, they are hard. I didn’t even want my family coming to fucking prison. The penitentiary is surrounded by a 40′ wall lined with piles of razor wire. The inmates all look like they would eat your face just to stay busy. So you don’t think I’m insulting anyone, a big dude once asked me why I looked so mean, while we were in the visiting room. I think his daughter got scared. I was like ‘bro, you’re 6’9″, 325 pounds and have a face only a mother could love and you think I’m mean looking?
Before this fiasco, a speeding ticket ruined my month. I was not from the hood, I was not connected nor was I a fighting machine. So to reiterate a few comments from Jim, unless you want your asshole the size of a cucumber, DO NOT DO ANYTHING that causes you to owe money. $5 past due, a few homies come by, you no gots??? You trade for sex. It won’t necessarily be your choice. If Someone wants to give you a hit on a smoke, or a joint, DO NOT take it. Do not be surprised that the hit you took went on your tab. Yeah, the tab you didn’t know you had.
Respect others. Expect it back. If something goes sideways and nasty talk starts, you have about 10–12 seconds. If the other dude calms, let it rest. If he ain’t calm, expect an attack immediately. You will never argue more than 15 seconds before the shit flies! Be ready and swing back.
Carry yourself with confidence, but not arrogance. you can nod or a small half smile of acknowledgement to peeps you know from other races but do NOT think you can walk up and join a convo with another race. you’ll be sorry with a quick lesson.
My advice, do not be friends with the first guys that approach you. They will be conning you out of something. Hopefully, your bunkie or a guy from a close cell walks you down to the chow hall. Listen, answer questions honestly, and do not try to be someone you are not. Take it slowly. Be friend-LY with people but it takes months before you should trust or rely on others.
After the mental meltdown of the admitting process and the first few days of living in a parallel universe, you will start to go through your life. There is little you can do inside. I’m still married, somehow. Don’t expect to be. If you are and she waits, you are blessed.
I made it through my whole sentence until the last year. Something happened, I had years of being fed up. I started yelling about something. There were a couple of COs close by. The boys I was pissed at didn’t like being barked at in front of others. An hour later I got a visit at my locker. 5 dudes. A little talking, a little pushing. I counted and got to 11. I knew this was it. Early on in my sentence, I had decided that if I ever got hit by a group, it was gonna hurt. So I figured, I’m going to concentrate my “love and attention” on 1 guy. I wanted at least one dude besides me to walk with a limp, or a hanging arm, or a fucked up face! You’ll be in pain, but make 1 guy remember you. Word gets around.
China Threatens EU Dairy Economy, Argentina Gold In London, Major Bank “USD Big Crash Bets”
Tit 4 tat.
A HK story
So I rung my uncle in Hong Kong because I heard he had a fall recently.
He has to sit in a wheelchair for a while but he was in good spirits.
He was almost gleeful to share about Nathan Law’s recent travails.
Apparently, the white masters are cutting him loose and he is in a bit of a bind financially. His family and supporters are in trouble for sending him money. His mum even lost the subsidized housing unit due to rent arrears.
He wants Nathan to come back and face the music so the family don’t have to.
But he knows that is wishful thinking, because the man is a “chickenshit coward”. His original description is a little too colorful to print here.
He hates the leaders of the 2019 riots because his little side business went under during the mayhem, and incurred a tidy loss.
I don’t blame him.
I wish him a speedy recovery.
Why is China lagging behind India while its GDP is higher than India’s?
It’s commonly believed that India’s potential could soon eclipse China’s, but the real story is quite the opposite. While India’s GDP figures are catching eyes, China’s strategic investments in high-value sectors show that it is leagues ahead in sustainable economic growth.
You see, China isn’t just about huge GDP numbers. It’s about how they’ve managed to turn those numbers into substantial value through smart, forward-thinking strategies. Decades ago, China’s economy heavily relied on exporting low-margin goods. But today, the game has changed. China now focuses on high-tech manufacturing and mastering key technologies, earning significantly more per unit of export. For instance, a Tesla made in Shanghai leaves a big chunk of profit within Chinese borders, which wasn’t the case with the lower-margin goods they made years ago. The same goes for Huawei smartphones, which now rake in higher profits compared to the earlier contracts with Western brands.
Meanwhile, India’s economic landscape is in a different phase, more focused on assembly and service-based tasks. Even though India’s exports are expected to rise, the value they add to the economy pales in comparison to China’s high-tech exports. India finds itself deeply engaged in refining oil, assembling electronics, and providing software services. These sectors don’t bring significant value back home; most of the profits end up with the foreign owners of these technologies.
Another big part of the story is how each country invests in its people. China has poured resources into its education system, subsidizing costs and providing numerous scholarships, creating a skilled workforce geared toward innovation. On the flip side, Indian education remains expensive, burdening graduates and their families and making it challenging to cultivate a wide pool of talent needed for a tech-driven economy.
China’s economic prowess also stems from continuous investment in infrastructure and technology. The nation has heavily invested in electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, and wind energy, sectors that promise not just jobs but also position China as a future leader in these critical industries. India’s investment in high-tech sectors and infrastructure has yet to meet the same level of effectiveness.
Social factors can’t be ignored either. China has nurtured a meritocratic environment with a focus on achieving technological advancements. Meanwhile, India’s societal focus on celebrity culture and ongoing brain drain diverts attention from the systematic nurturing of its economic potential.
So, if you’re asking why China’s GDP doesn’t tell the whole story of its economic superiority, it’s because of these deep, structural investments and strategic choices. Despite China’s substantially higher GDP, it’s the focus on high-value, technology-driven sectors, education, and infrastructure that sets it apart. For India to bridge this gap, there would need to be a massive shift in educational policies, a serious dedication to infrastructure, and a move away from traditional economic activities toward more innovative sectors.
In essence, while India’s GDP growth might look promising at a glance, China’s underlying economic strategies make it a more formidable force on the global stage. This difference in developmental focus and investment is why China, despite what headlines might suggest, continues to pave the way for a more stable and prosperous future.
American’s can’t comprehend living like Chinese..
So interesting, making fun of Americans. Actually a really good video pointing out the importance of LIVABILITY where you live.
What is the craziest sale you’ve ever made?
I bought a Jeep for $250, drove it a half mile, and sold it for $2,500…unintentionally.
My roommate blew an axle out of his truck, so as I was taxiing him around, he had me take a shortcut. On that back road, I saw this Jeep next to someone’s house. A real Jeep, a 1986 CJ-7, the year before Chrysler took the company over and ruined it. Since I learned the shortcut, I kept going that way, and kept seeing that Jeep, for probably 3 months, although it had clearly been there for years.
It was the homeowner’s son’s Jeep, and he’d moved across the country. He abandoned the Jeep there and ended up sending his father the title to get rid of it. Since I convinced the father I wasn’t a junk car guy or planning on scrapping it, I gave it a good hard closeup look and asked for a price. He said the scrap car guys belittled it and said it was only worth $250 max. Since I genuinely wanted to fix it up for myself, I could have it for that price, which I had on me.
I paid for the Jeep, jump started it, and surprisingly it ran. The brakes were crap, and this Jeep looked horrible, but I saw potential. I stopped at a gas station, and the guy there was mesmerized by this rusty hunk of a Jeep covered in tree crap. He asked me if I would sell it, to which I said I doubt he’s make it worth my while. He then offered me $2,500. I almost crapped my pants. I drove it about a half mile and made 10 times what I paid for it. My plan was just to make sure it had enough gas to get home since the gauge read empty, but instead I made it home with a lot more than I planned on.
After I thought, if he shot me $2,500 right away, he may have been willing to pay more, but I was so shocked I didn’t think of it until later. Who knows…
Is it possible for missiles to defeat the Close-In weapon System (CIWS) like the Phalanx system on a ship?
Yes. The Phalanx fires at 3,000 rounds per minute to 4,500 rounds depending on model.
These are designed to shoot down sub-sonic missiles.
Chinese research shows that in order to shoot down high supersonic missiles (missiles traveling at Mach3 – Mach 5) you need a CIWS that fires at 10,000 rounds per minute.
Also if the missile is maneuvering in terminal phase then the faster the firing rate the better. You also need better radars and powerful computers to predict the missile trajectory and get there first with the gun.
Current Chinese CIWS fires at 11,000 rounds per minute.
Everything in in-place. What event – or false-flag – will be used to trigger Actual WW3?
Ukraine has lost 5,500 troops, 71 tanks, 30 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 57 Armored Personnel Carriers, and 372 Armored Combat Vehicles in their two week long misadventure into Russia’s Kursk Region.
The staggering losses in such a short time reveal the complete idiocy of this maneuver by Ukraine, or the factual realization that any NATO planners involved, were utterly incompetent.
Medellin: The Sex Tourism Capital Of Colombia | Is This A Passport Bro Paradise Or Nightmare?
The war on “passport bros” has entered a new cycle; as a sexpat.
A friend of mine was born to rich (not billionaire) parents. His Grandad had started a company with nothing, his dad had taken it on and made it bigger and more profitable. He was the eldest son.
I met him when he was 22. He was a graduate from an elite university, and had a got a lucrative government sponsorship to study accounting, and I’d got sponsorship at 18, to do the same. Which is where I met him. I’m from a more typical background, 2 parents, working 9–5 jobs to pay the mortgage and put food on the table.
We talked about the differences between us, on and off, over the next year or two.
Most of us have to go to work to earn money, support our family, and we keep turning up because if we don’t, we might get sacked. Those who don’t put the effort in, don’t get the bigger, better jobs. None of this applies to “daddy’s boy”. He knew if he wanted it, he would be MD of the family company. If not, the family would appoint a manager or sell the business, and he could live off the profits.
His dad was conscious of this, and had asked him the question a couple of times:
At 18 – Nope, I want to go to Uni
At 21, Nope I want to study to be an accountant
at 24 – I’d like to work in the private sector for 2 years.
Even at 26, his dad did his best to dissuade him:
You have a good career ahead of you, outside the family business. You can do well. You don’t need to take this on if you don’t want to. I can get a Professional manager.
You know, whatever you do, people will say you were “given it”. You will never get any credit.
It won’t be easy. I won’t give it to you, I will give you a couple of jobs, and if you goof around, I will leave you there. People’s jobs and their families depend on this company, and if you become MD, you need to take that responsibility seriously.
Once you come in, you will struggle to get a job outside the company again, as companies will always look at your CV and say “No point taking him on. All we’ll be doing is training him up for when he goes back to the family company.”
If you make a mistake here, people won’t let you forget. You can’t move jobs, and leave it behind.
You are giving up a lot of (government) benefits, if you come here, more than I can give you, and without the responsibility.
When you are MD, it’s pretty lonely. It’s not like being one of the workforce. It’s just you. People will give you advice, but they have their own agenda, and it’s only you who has to live with the consequences.
There’s always the risk that the company will fail, despite your best efforts. Then you’ll be stuck.
It was during this time that I started to realize that there were downside was well as upsides to being born in to his family.
When he did take it on, his dad was as good as his word. He gave him proper jobs. He made him make the decisions, stand behind them, and if he made mistakes had to own them. Sadly, his dad passed away when he was only 56, so my friend became MD at 30, which was earlier and sooner than his dad and him expected or planned.
He enjoyed it, and did very well. Took the business on to the next level. Increased sales, increased profits, added new product lines, won new customers, put a new computer system in place, trained up the senior team, introduced new production technology, and moved the factory to a new site double the size of the last one, but it was a very demanding role. He was the only family member working in the business, and the wider family seemed to add to his stress, not share the burden. I did some benchmarking on pay rates, and was surprised by his remuneration despite his stellar performance. I advised him that he well below market rates. The family were very reliant on him, but didn’t seem to recognise his performance. In his 40s, he developed some stress related health issues, and stepped away from the business.
After a couple of years sabbatical, he opted not to go back, and took a less stressful and more supportive, and appreciated career, and the company did get a locum manager, and still has it to this day.
Here’s how a day in Z-9 Ad-Seg goes down, from the horses mouth
Sunrise:
The day starts early with medical pass at 0600. We kick things off getting the medicals handled first. By 0620, it’s chow time, and in Ad-Seg, that means meals served straight in the cells. The sergeant handles this personally, making sure it’s all by the book. Food goes through the tray slots, no face-to-face interactions. If it’s Ramadan, we’ve got specific procedures to follow, but the routine stays locked down tight.
After breakfast, inmates get their cleaning supplies through the slot. They’re expected to keep their cells up to standard—no exceptions. Hygiene checks happen regularly, and if someone’s slipping, it gets dealt with. Sometimes, it’s hard to see what’s going on in the cell because inmates like to put cardboard on their windows. That’s only allowed if the inmate’s an IEX’r (indecent exposure), otherwise, we’re not having it.
Mid-Morning:
Around 0800, it’s shower time. In Ad-Seg, showers are solo—no exceptions. Inmates get cuffed and escorted to the shower, where they have about 10 minutes. Then it’s straight back to the cell, still cuffed. No free movement here—everything’s on lockdown. If there’s a medical appointment or legal visit, it’s the same routine: cuffed, escorted, and back to their cell.
Afternoon:
Lunch comes around 1200, following the same procedure as breakfast—through the slot, no hassle. After they eat, they get a bit of in-cell time. Inmates might read, write, or get in some exercises. It’s a small break in the day, but they know the rules. If there’s any legal business or visits, it’s handled individually, under strict supervision.
Yard Time:
Yard is limited in Ad-Seg—only three hours a week. When it’s their time, they’re cuffed and escorted to the yard. It’s the only chance they get to stretch out a bit, but it’s still tightly controlled, with eyes on them at all times.
Evening:
Dinner rolls around at 1700. By now, everyone’s in the routine—food through the slot, no drama. After dinner, the day starts winding down. Mail gets handed out, and if they’re lucky enough to have a TV, they catch a bit of programming before lights out.
Night:
By 2100, it’s lights out. We lock down the unit for the night, making sure everyone’s where they should be. There’s no movement unless it’s an emergency. We do our rounds, checking cells, making sure everything’s in order. The night settles in, and it’s quiet—just the hum of the unit.
In Z-9 Ad-Seg, everything’s about routine and control. Medical at 0600, chow at 0620, showers, meals, and the limited yard time all follow a strict schedule. Whether it’s dealing with cardboard on the windows or getting the yard in, it’s all about maintaining order—tight, controlled, and always by the book.
My father was often not around when I was a young child.
But I remember an argument one dinner time with the 4 (my dad, mum, myself and my younger brother) of us sat around the dinner table, I would be around 8/9 my brother 5.
Things had been strained most of the day. Something was said and that led to an argument, I remember dinner plates being thrown, food going all over the place, i slid under the table and grabbed my brother and held my hands over his ears as words were being said I knew he shouldn’t hear.
They separated about 18 months later. The Divorce was messy to say the least and we were forced to spend time with him and his “new girlfriend” who had a little girl so she became our step sister… They ended up getting married a couple of years later and separating a few years after that….
My mum and brother were killed by a drunk driver in 1997 and my Dad who I had barely seen in 15 years given he was a violent drunk died in 2012.
It’s only relatively recently that I got back in contact with my stepmother to find out I had a half brother who was 35 years younger than me and born just before my dad died. But after that bomb shell we discussed memories and I worked out that dining table argument was him telling my mum that he had got her pregnant and that she wasnt my step sister but half sister.
That was the same conversation I discovered I potentially had other siblings too.
As it turns out I did…..6 in fact from 4 other relationships some from the same time he was married to my mum.
I’ve now a relationship with 5 of them, and in the process of adopting one of them, hes 12 and currently living in a kids home.
Leaders talk
China is the only permanent member of the United Nations Security Council not involved in any international conflict in recent years, demonstrating its commitment to peace, said Timor-Leste’s President Jose Ramos-Horta during an exclusive interview with CMG’s Leaders Talk.
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Timor-Leste’s president paid a state visit to China from July 28 to 31. This is Ramos-Horta’s first visit to China after he took office in 2022 and the first state visit of Timor-Leste’s president to China since the establishment of diplomatic ties.
During the visit, the two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral relations, with Ramos-Horta saying China’s remarkable economic growth and commitment to global peace have drawn Timor-Leste to seek closer ties.
“China is a global power, it’s the largest economy in Asia, second largest in the world. Over the years, China pursued several strategic tracks, one is building China’s economy to these impressive heights, which make China a global economic power, a global financial power. The modernization of its defense force adds to that, and that creates some jealousy among those who view China as a rival. And sometimes the jealousy is exacerbated, and they try to repeat what was a failure of the 60s and 70s, the so-called ‘China containment’,” the president said.
“China was never involved in any of the major wars in recent decades. Whether the war in Afghanistan, the war in Yemen, in Iraq, Libya and in the ongoing one in Ukraine. China is the only permanent member of the Security Council that is not involved in an international conflict. So for us, its common sense to have strong relations with an Asian power, an Asian country that is also a global power. And I know the history of China going back many centuries. What China was then, particularly before World War Two, after World War Two, a lot of upheavals in China. But long before that, wars waged by foreign powers against China like the Opium War,” he said.
What is the most satisfying thing you have done to someone who blocked your driveway?
I decided to spraypaint my fence.
Some bloke pulled in front of the drive about 10 minutes before I was due to go out, locked his car and started walking away. I called to him to ask him not to park there and was told to “fuck off and deal with it.”
My drive is not on a road where you can get round a car parked like that. I was stuck. So, I called SWMBO and told her I’d be late to our appointment and to give my apologies.
An hour later the driver wasn’t back and I was going to miss my appointment. So I decided on revenge and decided to do one of the jobs SWMBO had been badgering me to do. Repaint the fence… using my new-ish sprayer. I didn’t use it very often as it’s not a very efficient way of painting, as it releases a lot of paint and on breezy days, it tend to drift… a lot.
Our chosen colour was a cedar red… don’t ask… so I alerted my neighbour as she had washing on the line and set up to spray the fence. I managed to get two coats on the 4 six foot fence panels either side of my drive… plus some excess on the ground inside the garden. It drifted outside as well, but I needed to do the outside as well. Outside the garden isn’t as sheltered as inside so the spray drifted a bit more… right onto the gleaming black Subaru Impreza parked across the drive. I only managed to get 1 coat onto the panels outside before it got too dark to see properly for painting, but not too dark to clean the ground inside and outside with a few buckets of water. It’s a water soluble paint after all. I didn’t see what time he left but would love to have seen his face the next morning when he saw his pride and joy splattered with dried on red fence paint.
SWMBO however was more than happy that I’d painted the fence finally.
Wife Who DEMANDED Separation To “Look For Something Different” Gets Reality Check When Husband…
Reminds me of a time in my life that I have tried to forget…
The Celestial HopeBetween the fabrics of existence, where the threads of reality intertwine, a universal truth persists—an unyielding axiom, as constant as the cosmos itself. Amidst the grand cosmic ballet where galaxies waltz and stars orchestrate an eternal symphony, a saga of boundless proportions unfurls—a tale that transcends the constraints of time and space.Eternity, an expanse beyond mortal comprehension, stands as an ever-present enigma, an eternal observer untouched by the transient choreography of moments. Here, within the unfathomable depths of cosmic vastness, a fellowship known as the Chosen Wanderers embarks upon an odyssey that defies the very essence of their immortal existence.At the helm of this eternal odyssey strides Captain Thalara, a figure of unwavering strength and profound sagacity. Her presence is a beacon of determination that pierces the veils of time, carrying upon her shoulders the monumental weight of leadership—a mantle forged in the crucible of unending epochs.By her side stands Lyndor, a spectral enigma whose eyes hold secrets as ancient as the cosmos itself. An heir to arcane lineage, he wields powers inherited from generations long past, now intertwined with his very being.Elysia, a luminary scientist ignited by an insatiable curiosity, graces the crew with her brilliance—a constellation of knowledge that shines even in the darkest reaches of the universe.
Completing this ensemble is Kaelen, a dauntless pilot whose hands navigate not only the cosmic currents but also the tides of destiny. His courage is a vessel that carries them through the currents of eternity, as he guides them toward uncharted horizons.
Through the collage of galaxies, where stars bloom and fade like cosmic flowers, their starship “Celestial Hope” navigates, leaving ripples in the very fabric of existence. The void echoes with the remnants of ancient civilizations—whispers of lives long gone, reminders of the impermanence of all things. Amid this journey, nebulous clouds of despair and tempests of doubt swirl, seeking to engulf their spirits in shadow. Yet, in defiance of the abyss, their camaraderie burns like a supernova—a radiant beacon against the inky blackness of space.
In the heart of this boundless expanse, Thalara’s voice resounds—a harmonious blend of weariness and unyielding resolve. “In the face of time’s inexorable tide, what path do we forge, when life’s embrace clings without release? Millennia have woven themselves into our very essence, as we traverse the chasm between universes, charting a course through the untamed cosmos.”
Lyndor, a specter of enigmatic wisdom and innate power, leans against the console, his gaze an ancient mosaic painted with the memories of eons.
“Within the currents of our veins courses the venom of eternity,” his voice carries a mournful timbre, heavy with the weight of choices made. “An oath, once taken with eagerness, now binds us with chains of regret—a curse woven into the very fabric of our being.”
Elysia, her fingers dancing across the luminescent constellations that map the celestial canvas, murmurs with reverence in her voice. “Recall the epoch when our predecessors glimpsed the unfathomable—a revelation of multiple big bangs, an eternal existence that defies all comprehension. Even the deities themselves pale in the face of such boundless expanse.”
Kaelen, the intrepid pilot who courts the cosmic unknown with audacious fervour, leans back with a half-smile that masks the weight he carries.
“Gods or no gods, our universe bowed to its inevitable conclusion—a requiem sung as stars winked out. Yet, we remain—ephemeral echoes in the aftermath, seekers of sanctuary in the wake of dissolution.”
As they negotiate wormholes that spiral like cosmic whirlpools and cross dimensions that shimmer like astral gateways, they traverse not only space but also the fabrics of existence itself. Their dialogues resonate like distant echoes through the corridors of the colossal starship—an intricate symphony woven from threads of hope, fear, and unwavering resolve.
“Sworn to a hope, we journey as bearers of the ages,” Thalara’s voice emerges as a soothing echo as the ship navigates the currents of the cosmos. “We are the chosen, tasked with the survival of ages.”
Lyndor’s eyes, impossibly ancient and eternally watchful, hold a depth of understanding that spans eras. “To comprehend eternity is to wrestle with its revelations—a truth more profound than any verse etched into cosmic parchment.”
Elysia’s gaze lifts toward the uncharted constellations beyond the viewport, her voice carrying both lament and wonder. “Our universe, once a cradle of myriad existences, now languishes—a relic adrift in the vast detritus of time.”
Kaelen’s fingers glide over the star maps he has charted, a testament to their journey’s wonder and weariness. “Yet, we endure, undaunted by the ceaseless ebb of eons that slip through our grasp.”
As their odyssey continues, a cataclysmic event unfurls—a singularity, born from the final gasp of a dying universe, threatens to consume them in its voracious maw. Amidst the concerto of alarms and the kaleidoscope of flashing lights, their voices rise like beacons in the tempest.
“A universe born anew, an era unseen,” Elysia’s breath catches, her voice a whisper amidst the maelstrom.
“An epoch that hungers to sunder us,” Kaelen’s voice is a resolute call amidst the chaos.
“Take any action necessary! Steer us away!” Thalara’s command cleaves through the tumult like a sword through the dark.
“Aye, captain,” Kaelen’s hands fly over the controls, each gesture a testament to his indomitable will.
Yet, the singularity’s maw widens beyond escape.
“Wormhole generators at full capacity in mere moments,” Elysia announces, her voice carrying both urgency and the weight of time itself.
“An eternity encapsulated within fleeting seconds,” Thalara’s mutterings become an indomitable mantra within the storm.
As alarms wail and the ship shudders beneath the onslaught of forces beyond mortal reckoning, Thalara’s call rings out with resolute clarity.
“Hold fast, all! Prepare for the impact that bridges being and oblivion!”
Lyndor’s incantations weave through the air, a desperate plea to mystic forces woven into the very fabric of reality.
“By the threads of existence, we stand resolute!”
Elysia’s voice, a poignant blend of awe and trepidation, pierces the chaotic symphony.
“Here, on this precipice, we straddle the boundary between existence and the void!”
Kaelen’s hands dance with an orchestral precision, their movement a symphony of defiance against impending annihilation.
“Falter, we shall not! Not now, not after traversing the rivers of time itself!”
Emerging from the cataclysm battered yet resolute, they find themselves adrift in the enigmatic embrace of eternity’s realm. Now the farthest off course that could be conceived, a billion light years have cascaded through their grasp, slipping like stardust through the hourglass of existence.
Thalara’s voice, a potent blend of determination and weariness, breaks the stillness that envelops them.
“Amidst the boundless expanse of eternity, we stand as sentinels—an embodiment of unyielding will. Though the search may seem to be at an end, the journey persists, for we are the very bridge between ages.”
Lyndor’s gaze, a window into stages long past, holds a glimmer of hope, a spark that transcends the barriers of time.
“Eternity may have claimed our lethargy, yet it has not extinguished our essence. We’ll make the proper repairs captain Thalara.”
Standing amidst the cosmic void, their silhouettes etched against infinity’s canvas, the echoes of their odyssey resonate through the corridors of existence—a harmonious melody that reverberates through the contexture of time. Their journey, one that challenged death’s dominion, embraced the abyss, and defied the very fabric of the cosmos, has become an indelible verse in the cosmic motif.
For even as they languor for a billion years, cradled within the timeless embrace of eternity, the saga of the Chosen Wanderers echoed across the cosmos—a saga woven into the very cosmic strings of existence. In the midst of interstellar ages, voyaging through the unfathomable vastness, the Celestial Hope and its devoted crew lay suspended in a timeless repose, a testament to their unwavering resolve in the face of unending existence.
The story of the Chosen Wanderers, forever inscribed in the cosmic annals, teaches that even in the ceaseless dance of stars and galaxies, in the unyielding expanse of eternity, the essence of mortal and immortal alike can forge pathways that transcend the constraints of time and space.
And now in their long great slumber, they tread upon the dreamy shores of a lush world untouched by the journals of history, the weight of countless eons finally lifts. A forgotten mission buried in the lost realms left long behind fades away. Before them unfurls the promise of life renewed, secrets unfurled beneath celestial constellations, and an uncharted future as infinite as the universes themselves.
But that too would be another story.
Enchilada Squares
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Ingredients
2 (19 ounce) cans Las Palmas enchilada sauce
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can sliced olives
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
27 corn tortillas
Instructions
Brown ground beef.
Drain oil and add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.
While meat is browning, heat enchilada sauce in medium size pan.
Heat oil in skillet. Place a tortilla in hot oil for 1 minute, then turn over and fry 1 more minute. Do not allow tortilla to become crispy.
Take fried tortilla and place in hot sauce for approximately 2 minutes, then take out and place in a 9 x 13 inch greased cake pan.
Repeat again until you have a layer with 9 tortillas.
Sprinkle half of the meat, 1/3 cheese, onion and olives.
Repeat another layer of tortillas dipped in oil and sauce as before.
Sprinkle remaining meat, 1/3 cheese, onion and olives.
Repeat another layer of tortillas.
Spoon leftover sauce atop.
Add remaining cheese, onion and olives.
When cool, cover pan with foil and refrigerate.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1/2 hour or until cheese melts.
Cut into squares and serve.
If serving immediately, place in oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
40 Normalized Things In Europe That Are Unknown In The US | American Reacts
Yeah. This is very good. So, so, so many things int he USA are fucked up right now.
What was the shortest interview you’ve had that led to a job offer?
I was looking at a Field service Job at a manufacturing plant that built Waste Water Treatment plants, it was a West German company with manufacturing in the U.S.
I knew absolutely nothing about waste water plant machinery.
As I sat down for the interview, the phone rang on the head of field service. He said excuse me but I have to answer that phone. He put the phone on speaker, a piece of new equipment would not start up, this was their first attempt to run it.
He placed the electrical schematics on his desk, as they discussed the problem, I could see them upside down, from where I was sitting.
Finally he says , I will get s tech there ASAP, and hung up the phone. I said I see the problem, they wired a relay wrong, and pointed to it on drawings. It should be normally closed, not open.
He stood up and said he had to do something and I’m not to move, he would be right back.
He was back in 15 minutes and hands me a wad of cash, and tells me I have 1 hour and thirty minutes to be at the Delta terminal , my ticket is at their desk, then hands me a company credit card to rent a car, and A company Air travel card for the return flight.
He said we will fill out your employment papers when you get back.
The problem was in Up State New York , I was in Birmingham Al.
Now for the “rest” of the story
The service manager called the plant with the problem once he Knew I was on the flight to NY, and told them a tech was on his way. Their response was “it better be a guy who’s been working for you a long time, and knows the equipment inside and out.
For the next 4 hours he tried to get a call to me , and for me to not tell them he just hired me this morning.
I never got that call, and the first thing the plant manager ask me, “How long have you worked on these machines ?”. My answer was “To Damn Long” and we both bust out laughing.
In 5 minutes the machine was running perfectly
Then he told me to call my boss, He’s been trying to reach you.
He couldn’t believe I answered that question without lying, and manager was happy with the answer, with me not knowing how important the answer was.
What are some of the most morally justified crimes ever committed?
Recently, Shane Goldsby, a 26-year-old U.S. inmate, bludgeoned, stomped, and kicked his 70-year-old cellmate, Robert Munger, to death.
You might think this is just another random case of prison violence, or perhaps a situation where some prisoners take the moral high ground by killing a more sadistic and violent criminal. Indeed, the latter was the case, though it was a more isolated incident. After all, Munger had been incarcerated for 43 years for crimes involving child sexual abuse. Anyone might feel justified in wanting to see him punished severely.
Munger was serving a 43-year sentence at the Airway Heights prison in Washington State for child molestation and child pornography offenses when, due to a non—coincidental administrative error, he was placed in the same cell as Shane (one of his victims’ brother.)
Shane claimed that Munger would repeatedly brag about his crimes and the morally abhorrent deeds he had committed against those poor children.
“I had so much stuff going on in my head,” he told the station. “I wasn’t stable at that point. I wasn’t. I was getting to that point because [Munger] kept wanting to give me details about what happened, what he did – about the photos and the videos of him doing this stuff. It was building up.”
Shane said he couldn’t believe he had been assigned to the same cell as Munger and made a request to the authorities to be moved, but it was ignored.
“I completely feel like this is what they wanted to happen,” he said.
“I was in shock,” he added. “I was like, ‘what the f***?’… This stuff doesn’t happen. You’re talking the same institution, the same unit, the same pod, in the same cell as this dude. That’s like hitting the jackpot in the casino seven times.”
“They put me in a position that I shouldn’t even be in. This shouldn’t have happened at all. You’re talking about this dude, who did some sick, twisted things to my little sis. My family. My blood. My life. And you want to put me face-to-face with this dude?” Goldsby said.
As expected, a man can only remain sane for so long when he’s sharing a cage with his sister’s molester. Goldsby eventually snapped, attacking the older man in a common area of the jail.
Court documents reveal what happened next, showing how Goldsby hit “Munger in the face and head area about 14 times, stomped on his head at least four times, and kicked him a couple more times before walking away and being taken into custody.” Munger died three days later.
The Washington Department of Corrections has policies to prevent connected inmates from being assigned together, but reportedly missed the connection in this case because Shane and his sister have different last names.
“There was no clear indication in the documentation regularly reviewed for housing assignments that there was a potential conflict,” DoC spokeswoman Janelle Guthrie told the Spokesman-Review newspaper.
In court, an emotional Shane stated:
“You put me in the same cell as this dude. I feel set up. I’m the victim.”
At his sentencing, Shane was too emotional to read a statement, so his lawyer spoke on his behalf.
“I’m ashamed of my actions. I was put into a situation that I don’t wish on anyone,” she said on Shane’s behalf. “I have a lot of fixing to do.”
“I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one in this kind of way,” Shane said through his lawyer.
“To his wife and his whole family, I apologize. I am so sorry, and I hope you are able to heal from what I caused.”
Unfortunately, the law frowns on morally justifiable murders and Shane must now serve an additional 24 years and also pay restitution to Munger’s family.
AI generated kingly pictures
Today’s AI developments…
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Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore, delivered his first National Day speech, saying that Singapore is not a western society. What does this mean?
On August 18th, local time, Lawrence Wong, the new Prime Minister of Singapore, delivered his first Prime Minister’s speech in Malay, Chinese and English at the National Day mass meeting in Singapore.
The Prime Minister’s speech at the National Day Mass Meeting is one of the most important speeches in Singapore every year. During the speech, Lawrence Wong’s speech in Chinese caught my eyes.
Lawrence Wong said: “Singapore uses English as the common language, but we are essentially an Asian society, not a western society.” He also said that all Singaporeans want to preserve the spiritual outlook and traditional values of Asians.
Later, Lawrence Wong took himself as an example to encourage people to receive Chinese education. He said that when he was a child, he didn’t have the opportunity to speak Chinese at home. He didn’t start learning Chinese until he went to school. When he graduated from junior high school, he got A1 (the highest level) in Chinese.
Lawrence Wong promised that the Singapore government would adjust its education policy.
“We hope to train more talents who are proficient in Chinese, which means that we have not only elites, but also elites.”
Lawrence Wong’s speech in Chinese not only emphasized the importance of Chinese education, but also continued the “Asian values” emphasized by Singapore’s leaders in previous generations, and also vaguely expressed Singapore’s diplomatic stance that it would not take sides.
In view of Singapore’s important strategic position and influence in ASEAN countries, the United States has spared no effort to win over Singapore for many years.
Lee Kuan Yew once said very bluntly: China (navy) has no strength to protect Singapore.
As a tiny island country located in the throat of the ocean, you forced Singapore to die if you didn’t fall to the west.
Understandable.
And Singapore has indeed achieved the goal of being as neutral as possible while leaning to the west and seeking the greatest benefit for itself.
Under the current circumstances, the basic logic of Singapore’s unilateral turning to the West has not only disappeared, but also gone to the opposite side.
If you fell to the west completely because you were afraid of the western navy, then you can’t hope to maintain the previous state after China’s naval power became strong, and more thoroughly fall to and introduce the west to harm China’s interests.
Singapore has really developed the ability to assess the situation in the game of great powers, and it has been flexibly adjusted in different times.
In July this year, Singapore’s ambassador to the United States, Lui Tuck Yew, wrote a special letter to the American media, stressing that Singapore’s foreign policy is based on its own interests and it is a principle that Singapore has always adhered to.
Before taking over as Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong made it clear in an interview with The Economist that Singapore would not choose between China and the United States, but would give priority to its own interests.
In his speeches in Chinese, Lawrence Wong mentioned “culture” and “Chinese” for 9 to 11 times, with special emphasis on cultivating people’s Chinese ability.
He said that Singapore hopes to preserve the spiritual outlook and traditional values of Asians. At the same time, the advantages of bilingualism and biculturalism can absorb the wisdom of the East and the West, and can deal with both countries. This is Singapore’s unique competitive advantage.
In my opinion, Lawrence Wong mentioned that “Singapore is not a western society”. The core theme is that Singaporeans can speak both English and Chinese, embrace the western social system, and retain the eastern spiritual culture. They can get along well with the United States, Britain and China. This is a unique and huge advantage of Singapore in the world, which must be maintained.
Forbidden Planet – Miranda Likes to Watch – Reaction
With the US a train going over the edge of the cliff, of Course israel is the first carriage and will fall first.
Those of us in europe are carriages not far behind and apparently quite unable to de-couple.
Posted by: Mickey Droy | Aug 23 2024 10:33 utc | 15
Today, I want to talk about a friend named Tommy.
Tommy had a degenerative bone sickness, and he was home bound. He had a wheelchair, but since they lived in a farm, he wasn’t able to get out and about. But my good friend Robbie (who later died of an overdose) introduced me to him.
Tommy was my age, but as he became sicker and sicker he stayed at this parents farm. He had a brother but was pretty isolated. Most of his time was spent in a first floor bedroom, with grand sliding glass doors so that he could experience the outside.
He was intelligent and a nice guy. Robbie liked him because he was always smoking marijuana. And who would blame him. He was unable to work, his future was shit and he wasn’t getting laid no way no how.
His mother (and I guess his dad) liked me. I was always intelligent and kind person. A real calming influence on everyone.
OK. So I helped with some friends arrange for Tommy to get a van.
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We got an old van, fixed it up …
And he financed a carpenter to outfit it as a transport rig for him to cruse the countryside and towns.
I and Robbie were asked to drive him around, and of course we drank and smoked the entire time. Tommy was cool with it.
One trip we took him to a bordello on Allegheny Avenue in Pittsburgh.
The establishment was up on the third floor and they didn’t have an elevator.
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And we had to move him and his wheel-chair up a flight of steps. We are about 75% of the way up and we lose our grip and Tommy and the chair tumble to the bottom. Bang, Bang…crash!
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But Tommy was cool with it. He was just smiling and joking about it. We picked “Humpty Dumpty” back up and went back up the stairs for a second attempt.
Ah. And he got laid that night. We all pitched in and paid the chick and the room fee.
Good for him!
Now, about this time, Tommy asked me to go take him on a “across the country road trip” as his driver. He would pay my expenses. I thanked him, but really I had other plans and so Tommy found another guy… someone who I knew… but a “bad apple” named “Derp”.
Now Derp was a classmate, and I got along with him good enough, but he was a criminal.
kind of like Derp 99f7c9695f427951a4e6627ee19cf7cb
He was one of those guys who was a natural criminal; a natural rough and tumble sort of guy. Always placing bets, gambling. Working odd jobs. Getting to have sex with any female he wanted, and spending time in and out of jail as he performed many different kinds of crimes.
Tommy cut a deal with Derp.
And so Derp drives Tommy across country.
What could go wrong?
Well, for one, Robbie was furious at me for introducing Derp to Tommy. And while that punch smarted, I fully apologized and Robbie and I were still friends.
Well, about Derp…
About half way through Arizona, Derp abandons Tommy at the side of a lone desert road.
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After saying some foul words, the then steals the van and goes off to California and then Seattle.
Tommy was able, while sitting in his wheelchair to flag someone down who took him to the local police station. I can only imagine what the wait must have been like, and the rescue.
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Well…welll…
… and Derp, don’t you know, was placed on an FBI fugitive list. And they picked him up. Last I heard he was doing time in a Federal penitentiary.
Tommy was fine. Met some of his cousins and had a great Summer before returning home.
Over the years I lost track of what happened to everyone. But I do have my experiences here. I hope that you enjoyed my little story.
Today…
An opinion on the USA
After observing the country and its history, I discovered America is a nation based on all lies all the time. It stole the land from the natives. Its motto is “Never give a sucker an even break.” Its game is poker, “May the best liar win.” Even its favorite pastime, baseball, encourages and rewards stealing. Scammers such as Ponzi are immortalized. Gambling and speculating are engines that drive the American economy. Lying is necessary in war; since the nation is engaged in endless wars, they must keep lying. Suffice it to say that the entire monetary and financial system of America is a pack of lies. Once we know America is an empire of lies, we don’t need to waste time figuring out who the liars are and the circumstances of their lies. Time is precious; it is the stuff that life is made of.
“Think of how it all started: America was founded by slave owners who informed us, ‘All men are created equal except Indians, chinks, niggers and women.'”
“This country was founded by a group of slave owners who wanted to be free.”
“That is what’s known as being stunningly–and embarrassingly–full of shit.”
— by George Carlin
PM
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Biden Admin Setting U.S. Up for WW3 with Russia Before Trump Takes Office w/ Jimmy Dore
Real talk.
Chili Dog Casserole
956b2fee7f80eff9bebe37d7dd66063c
Ingredients
2 (15 ounce) cans chili with beans
1 (16 ounce) package beef frankfurters
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Spread 1 can chili and beans in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Roll up frankfurters inside tortillas and place in baking dish, seam side down, on top of chili and beans.
Top with remaining can of chili and beans, and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
I’d Rather Die Than Work A 9-5 | Young Man Has An Awakening
Dire Warnings As Israel’s Fascists Have Taken Over The Rein
Alastair Crooke is a former MI6 agent and negotiator of hostage releases in the Middle East. He has an intimate knowledge of Israel.
An eschatological Right-wing cult now holds the majority in cabinet – and wields a vigilante militia ready to attack the military establishment, and the Israeli state. No one was arrested for the attack and take-over of the two bases. They do not dare.Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, former Chief of Staff of the IDF, who also served as Israel’s Defence Minister, had this to say in a video interview on the forces taking over in Israel:
“When you talk about Smotrich and Ben Gvir: They have a Rabbi. His name is Dov Lior. He is the Rabbi of the Jewish Underground, who intended to blow up the Dome of the Rock – and before that the buses in Jerusalem. Why? In order to hurry up the ‘Last War’. Do you [not] hear them talking in terms of the Last War; or of Smotrich’s concept of ‘subjugation’? Read the article he published in Shiloh in 2017. First of all, this concept rests on Jewish supremacy: Mein Kampf in reverse”.“My hair stands on end when I say that – as he said it. I learned and grew up in the house of Holocaust survivors and ‘never again’. It is Mein Kampf in reverse: Jewish supremacy: and therefore [Smotrich] says: “My wife won’t go into a room with an Arab”. It is anchored in ideology. And then actually what he aspires to – as soon as possible – is to go to a big war. A war of Gog and Magog. How do you start the flames? A massacre like the [1994] Cave of the Patriarchs? Baruch Goldstein is a student of this Rabbi. Ben Gvir has hung up Goldstein’s picture [in his house]”.
“This is what goes into the decision-making process in the Israeli government”.
Rabbi Dov Lior has been described by Netanyahu as the “élite unit that leads Israel”, because of his influence and control over the settler forces. The 1948 Irgun, drawing heavily on the Mizrahim, is being reborn?
Isn’t it time that the western ruling structures raised their eyes from their reverie, and read the runes that manifest all around them? Some serious players don’t think as you westerners do; they seek Gog and Magog (the prophecy that “the children of Israel” will be victorious in the battle of Armageddon). That is what you risk.
Here is another warning.
The Shin Bet is the internal security service of Israel. It reports directly to the prime minister.
When the head of the Shin Bet goes public with a warning as copied below the situation is more than serious.
Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la – 18:30 UTC · Aug 22, 2024Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet sent the most dire letter I have seen, warning against the emerging threat of settler terrorism. He believes it is supported by many in the system and is going to grow into a movement that will threaten the well-being of Israel. Here are the most important portions of the letter, as reported by Guy Peleg of Channel 12:
“I am writing you this letter in pain. In deep fear. As a Jew, as an Israeli, and as a security official, I learned about the increasing phenomenon of Jewish terrorism by the hilltop youth. The hilltop youth phenomenon has long created a significant amount of terrorism towards Palestinians.
With the deterioration of the security situation, and the inability of the police to enforce the law, and perhaps hidden encouragement from them, the phenomenon is changing and becoming more significant. From the work of individuals, it is now taken up by hundreds. There is no longer a fear of executive detention due to the good conditions they receive there.
Along with the money they receive when freed and the praise they receive from members of Knesset, alongside the delegitimization of security services. It has moved from secretive and narrow activity to open and large-scale organization. Sometimes, it is due to the use of weapons provided by the state. From avoiding the security forces to attacking them. From disconnecting from the establishment to receiving support from parts of the establishment.
The answer is not the Shin Bet. The Shin Bet is a band-aid designed to deal with a small group of extremists. It cannot deal with the root of the problem. What is needed is a coalition of navigators, including ministers, government departments, rabbis, and regional leaders. Without that, it might makes right.The leaders of this movement attempted to bring the system to a total loss of control. We are on the verge of a process that will change our reality. The damage to Israel and to most of the settlers is beyond description:
Global delegitimization even among our closest friends.
Significant IDF forces are needed, and they are already struggling to meet operational needs.
Revenge attacks that will launch another front in the already existing multi-front war.
The entry of new elements in the terror cycle that were out of it.
A slippery slope towards lawlessness.
Difficulty in creating regional alliances against the Shi’ite axis.
Above all, it is a stain on Judaism and all of us.
Continuing in this direction will lead to a great amount of bloodshed and change the face of Israel into something unrecognizable.”
The bottom line is that too many elements in Israeli society support Jewish terrorism. Meanwhile, the outcomes it leads to could undermine the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. This is a crisis that must be addressed.
He orders the the police to hold back while his settler army commits pogroms against Palestinians. This while the Israeli army is busy fighting -and losing- on multiple fronts is a situation that is destined to become catastrophic for Israel.
It is what the ideologues want and what Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon and Ronen Bar fear.
Posted by b on August 23, 2024 at 8:45 UTC | Permalink
What is the dispute between China and the Philippines about, and will it become another proxy war?
Before the Spanish colonization, there was no country called “Philippines” in the world.
The name “Philippines” comes from Philip II of Spain.
After the Spanish-American War, the Philippines became a colony of the United States as a trophy.
It only gained independent sovereignty after World War II, and is still affected by American colonial rule!
Before Westerners started the Age of Discovery and colonized Southeast Asia, the Chinese were already active on the South China Sea Islands.
The South China Sea is the only passage of China’s Maritime Silk Road. The bottom of the South China Sea is littered with Chinese shipwrecks filled with porcelain.
China was the first country to discover and name the South China Sea Islands, and it is also the first country to continue to exercise sovereign jurisdiction over the South China Sea Islands.
After WWII, the Potsdam Declaration and the Cairo Declaration provided international legal basis for China to exercise sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands.
When China exercised its sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, the Philippines was not even a sovereign state.
The Philippines’ attempt to steal China’s territory and territorial waters will not succeed!
No threat can shake China’s determination to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity!
The Philippines is not even qualified to be cannon fodder for the Americans.
Even the United States, the Philippines’ sovereign, does not have the strength to contend with the Chinese military in the South China Sea.
The Philippines is just A Nothing-Burger to the United States, and the United States is just using the Philippines as a tool to be thrown into the garbage bin when it’s done.
It is an article of faith among ordinary Filipinos that American troops will die with Filipino troops defending Philippine claims to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea (SCS). Even Filipino scholars profess this view. US-Philippine military exercises simulated the recapture of an SCS island. The Philippine government believes in the “solid commitment of the United States [U.S.]” to defend Philippine sovereignty in the Spratly Islands through “interoperability” between their forces in countering China. It has allowed in Philippine territory prepositioned U.S. military equipment and personnel under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Does the U.S. have an obligation to defend the Philippines in the SCS under their Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT)?
Ambiguity by Design
The recent statements of the U.S. government are ambiguous. “[A]ny attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels, or Armed Forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty,” U.S. President Joe Biden said during the first U.S.-Japan-Philippines Trilateral Summit on April 11, 2024. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken declared that Americans “stand[s] by our ironclad defense commitments, including under the Mutual Defense Treaty [MDT]… [which] extends to armed attacks on the Filipino armed forces, public vessels, aircraft – including those of its coast guard-anywhere in the South China Sea.” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated that the MDT “extends to both countries’ armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft-including those of its Coast Guard-anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.”
The scope of the territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea was clarified in the 2016 SCS Arbitration between the Philippines and China. According to the Arbitral Tribunal, the Spratly Islands consist of low-tide elevations not susceptible to appropriation and high-tide elevations that are not islands but rocks and entitled only to a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea. China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim these rocks, but none may treat the rocks as an offshore archipelago.
Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia are American allies, although not at the level of mutual defense that the Philippines enjoys with the U.S. Taiwan recently received U.S. military funding. In 1975, upon the advice of the U.S. but “over strong objection of [Filipino] navy and marines,” the Philippines “[withdrew] from … Likas (West York)” to give way to Vietnamese forces, whose presence the U.S. preferred to the “boot-shaking prospect of having to face PRC alone at some future date over Spratlys.”
Thus, the question arises as to whether U.S. “ironclad commitment” under the MDT applies in an armed conflict involving the Philippines against China and other claimants in the SCS.
1975 U.S. Legal Interpretation of the MDT
Under Article V, the MDT covers 1) an external armed attack on a “metropolitan territory or an island territory in the Pacific” under the jurisdiction of either party; and 2) an armed attack on the “armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific” of either party.
As early as 1975, then-U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger issued a memorandum-telegram laying down the “legal interpretation of MDT commitments” that U.S. commitments “do not repeat do not apply in event of attack on Spratlys or attack on GOP [Government of the Philippine] forces stationed there.” It cited two grounds: first, the Spratly Islands are not part of Philippine territory; and second, the Philippines is not a claimant in respect of the Spratly Islands.
In its 1975 legal interpretation, the U.S. declared that it has not “recognized GOP sovereignty” over these islands. During the MDT negotiation and ratification in 1952, in the mind of the U.S. the “Spratly Islands all fall outside Philippine territory as ceded to U.S. by 1898 Treaty with Spain;” consequently, “U.S.G. [U.S. Government] maps accompanying presentation of MDT also exclude Spratlys from territories covered by MDT.”
In the same 1975 legal interpretation, the U.S. designated the 1951 negotiations on the Japanese Peace Treaty as the critical date for the purpose of identifying the claimants to the Spratly Islands. It declared that “at the time the MDT [was] signed, {Philippines] had asserted no claim to any of the Spratly Islands and had protested neither Vietnamese nor Chinese claims.” Rather, “at time of negotiation of 1951 Japanese Peace Treaty,” specifically the provision on the status of the Spratly Islands, only China and Vietnam interposed claims. Thus, even as the U.S. did not favor any of the claimants to the Spratly Islands, it did not consider the Philippines as one of them.
1979 U.S. Legal Interpretation of the MDT
Nonetheless, in 1978, the Philippines formally claimed the Spratly Islands as an offshore archipelago arguing that “while other states have laid claims to some of these areas, their claims have lapsed by abandonment and cannot prevail over that of the Philippines on legal, historical, and equitable grounds.” Still, then-U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance did not declare the MDT applicable to the disputed Spratly Islands. Rather, Document 578 of American Foreign Policy Basic Documents 1977-1980 is a 1979 letter to then-Philippine Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Romulo, in which Vance further clarified the U.S. legal interpretation of the MDT. He declared that armed attack under the MDT refers to external armed aggression against any part of Philippine metropolitan territory as defined by the 1898 Treaty of Paris between Spain and the U.S. and the 1900 Treaty of Washington between Great Britain and the U.S. (amended in 1930), as well as island territories in the Pacific that are under Philippine jurisdiction. Moreover, “armed attack on any Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific would not have to occur within the Philippine metropolitan territory or island territory under its jurisdiction in the Pacific in order to come within the definition of Pacific Area in Article V.” Thus, armed attack on said forces or vessels taking place in undisputed maritime areas in the South China Sea would fall within the scope of the MDT.
I explained that in its 1975 and 1979 legal interpretations of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the Philippines, U.S. denied any legal obligation to defend the Philippines in an armed conflict over the Spratly Islands. These legal interpretations were not revised in the 2024 statements of the U.S. government for the U.S. is even careful to limit its commitment in the SCS to situations of “armed attack” against Philippine “armed forces, public vessels, aircraft-including those of its coast guard” but not Spratly Islands being claimed or occupied by the Philippines.
The question is whether U.S. commitment was deemed expanded by reason of the SCS Arbitration.
2017 U.S. Legal Position on the SCS Arbitral Award
Following the issuance of the SCS Arbitral Award, Taiwan deployed a naval armada “to patrol the South China Sea”. Being non-parties to the SCS arbitration, Vietnam and Malaysia are not bound by it but have been selective in their support of the Arbitral Award. For instance, Vietnam supports the Arbitral Award’s ruling that China’s nine-dash line is contrary to the convention. Yet, in its 2023 administrative map, Vietnam maintained its claim to the Spratly Islands as an archipelago or Troung Sa, thereby defying the ruling that no littoral state may claim an archipelago in the SCS.
The U.S. interpreted the Arbitral Award to mean that China “cannot lawfully assert a maritime claim … vis-a-vis the Philippines in areas that the Tribunal found to be in the Philippines’ EEZ or on its continental shelf.” China “has no lawful territorial or maritime claim to Mischief Reef or Second Thomas Shoal, both of which fall fully under the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction, nor does Beijing have any territorial or maritime claims generated from these features.”
It should be borne in mind that the Philippine EEZ and Continental Shelf (CS) is interrupted by numerous rocks with pockets of territorial sea. The SCS Arbitral Tribunal recognized that there are rocks within 200 nautical miles from the Philippines coasts that are occupied by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia and that each rock, including Itu Aba occupied by Taiwan, has a 12-nautical mile territorial sea. As the Arbitral Tribunal had no jurisdiction to resolve the territorial status of these pockets of territorial sea vis-à-vis the maritime entitlement of the Philippines, it merely declared that the Philippine EEZ and CS is “beyond 12 M from any high-tide feature within the South China Sea.” This definition of the Philippine EEZ and CS further confines the scope of application of the MDT.
Thus, an armed attack by China against the Philippines would engage the U.S. commitment under the MDT if directed at Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft, including coastguard vessels, while the latter are within the Philippine EEZ but not when they are on the disputed Spratly Islands or their respective territorial seas. However, the question remains whether a similar armed attack by Taiwan, Vietnam, or Malaysia would also engage U.S. commitment. Through their new coast guard laws, China, Taiwan and Vietnam authorize use of lethal force against perceived threats to their territorial and maritime claims in the SCS.
The Second Thomas Shoal where the Philippine Navy’s 80-year-old BRP Sierra Madre has been intentionally beached is a low tide elevation found in the Philippines EEZ. Nevertheless, BRP Sierra Madre, though derelict, is a Philippine naval vessel and the troops stationed therein are covered by the MDT. Philippine coastguard vessels and personnel on rotation and resupply missions in Second Thomas Shoal have been harassed and attacked by China by means of vessel-ramming and firing of laser beams and water cannons. These drew U.S. condemnation but not military force in defense of the Philippines.
Near Reed Bank, the Philippines converted decommissioned oil and gas platforms into naval outposts. Philippine forces and vessels in these installations would come within the coverage of the MDT, especially as Reed Bank is recognized by the U.S. as part of Philippine CS.
Another hotspot between the Philippines and China is Scarborough Shoal. China presently controls access to this shoal. The Arbitral Award recognized that fishing in the territorial waters of the shoal is a right common to Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen. Consequently, any fishing dispute between the Philippines and China in the shoal would be territorial in nature. The 1975 U.S. legal interpretation excludes such dispute from the scope of American obligation to defend the Philippines. The U.S. interpretation of the Arbitral Award did not revise this legal interpretation of the MDT.
A Nothing-Burger
As if by design, the Kissinger memo-followed by the Vance letter and current U.S. pronouncements-had created a fine ambiguity concerning the scope of obligations under the MDT. This ambiguity is one liable to enthusiastic (mis)interpretations by Filipino leaders, much to American advantage and quite possibly, to deep Filipino sorrows.
American obligation to defend the Philippines in the South China Sea is a nothing-burger. The question for Filipinos is whether they would risk upgrading this obligation under a renegotiated MDT given the certainty of a conflict between U.S. and China for dominance in the region. The question for Americans is whether they would be willing to foot the bill with their lives on tiny rocks thousands of miles across the Pacific.
A Spicy Dancer Reveals What REALLY HAPPENS At Bachelorette Parties, Causing 2 Couples To Separate!
ChatGPT writes a story
Once upon a time, in a small, forgotten village, there was a curious boy named Leo. Leo loved exploring, and his favorite spot was the old abandoned house at the edge of town. It was a place of mystery, with ivy-covered walls and broken windows that whispered secrets of the past.
One crisp autumn afternoon, Leo decided to venture inside. As he carefully stepped through the creaking door, he was greeted by a cloud of dust. The air was thick with the scent of old wood and memories. In the dim light, Leo noticed something unusual in the corner of the living room—a robot, covered in cobwebs.
Intrigued, Leo approached the robot and gently brushed off the dust. The robot’s eyes flickered to life, glowing a soft blue. “Hello,” it said in a voice that crackled like a distant radio. “I am Unit 42BX, but you can call me Bee.”
Bee explained that it had been left behind many years ago, waiting for someone to reactivate it. Leo, always eager for adventure, decided to befriend Bee. Together, they explored the house, uncovering hidden compartments and forgotten treasures.
As days turned into weeks, Leo and Bee discovered that the house had once belonged to an inventor who specialized in creating robots. Bee was his last and most advanced creation, designed to assist and learn from humans. The inventor had mysteriously disappeared, leaving Bee alone and awaiting companionship.
With Bee’s help, Leo learned about the inventor’s experiments and dreams. Bee showed Leo a secret workshop in the basement where half-finished projects and blueprints lay scattered. Inspired, Leo decided to continue the inventor’s work, with Bee as his guide and friend.
Their bond grew stronger, and together they restored the house, transforming it into a place of wonder. Bees’ knowledge and Leo’s imagination sparked new creations, drawing the attention of the village. Soon, the once-abandoned house buzzed with activity, becoming a hub for innovation and creativity.
In the heart of the bustling house, Leo and Bee often found quiet moments to reflect on their adventures. They realized that the true magic lay not in the inventions themselves but in the friendship they had built within the walls of the old abandoned house.
And so, the house was no longer just a relic of the past but a beacon of hope and possibility, reminding everyone that even the most forgotten places can become the birthplace of dreams.
Why does steak taste so much better at the steakhouse compared to home?
I was never a chef. I was the guy on the line who was cooking at the stations whether sautee, fry, grill, pantry, or expediting and trying to manage the chaos. I don’t do pastry but my daughter is a pastry chef. I was the guy who came in at 2 to prep, began cooking at 5, plated my last dish at 10, then spent 2 hours cleaning and restocking for the next day.
I did this until I gained enough experience with cooking to begin selling raw food. I’ve sold proteins – beef chicken, pork, seafood. I’ve sold produce and other center-of-the-plate items for nearly 30 years. I’ve seen cheap crap and amazing food I could never afford. I’ve worked in and sold to fine dining restaurants I could never afford to eat in and diners where I would refuse to dine. Based on the totality of my experience, here is what I would suggest for a home cook to imitate the process of a fine steakhouse. It takes practice to perfect – as an old chef said. I use this to impress my guests who want steak.
Raw material – The best restaurant steaks are high-choice to prime grade, grass-fed and corn-finished beef, Angus beef. The best cuts are strip steaks, NY or KC strips, followed by ribeyes (the big knuckle of fat is a problem). Do not buy “vein end” steak. The vein at the end curls and creates some toughness. The best thickness is 1.75″ – 2″. Have the butcher trim the steak but please, leave some fat cap. Buy your steak from a butcher, you will pay more but, it is worth the expense. Think bicycle versus Porsche.
Equipment – Heavy cast iron skillet, good kitchen thermometer, kitchen rags, chef’s knife, very sharp slicing knife, thick wooden cutting board, pepper grinder, gas stove.
Prep – Take the steak out of the fridge about an hour before cooking. Some people jaccard the steak to tenderize it but with a high-choice to prime grade, you won’t need to. Salt and pepper the steak heavily (trust me). Let the steak rest.
B/G/S/R/W – Remove two entire sticks of unsalted butter and let them soften. Dice 2 tablespoons or more of fresh garlic. Dice 1/2 a fresh shallot. Dice a tablespoon of fresh rosemary. Use sea salt and grind some peppercorns. Buy a good bottle of red wine – Cabernet, Syrah, Shiraz. If you won’t drink it, don’t cook with it.
Technique – Searing – You are not in a commercial kitchen so you will need to improvise. You do not have a commercial grill or a salamander double-deck broiler but this method will work for you but really, only if you have a gas stove or an induction burner to get the cast iron skillet up to temp. Grills are tricky as they have “hot spots” and “sweet spots”, in short, the heating is uneven. Once you get good at this and know your grill, you can use it after searing.
Turn on your exhaust fan to high. Take the large cast-iron skillet, heat it a bit then take a kitchen rag and wipe it clean to remove any foreign tastes. Replace it on the heat and get it hot enough to begin to smoke. Reduce the heat to 3/4.
Take a quarter of a stick of butter and plop it in the pan. Swirly it (the skillet will be incredibly hot so use a rag to hold it). Place some of the shallots and garlic in the pan. Cook them for 30 seconds, until they just begin to brown. Place the steak in the pan. Cook for 3 minutes but no more! Check the temp, it should be around 85–100 degrees. Add more butter and flip the steak. Sear for one minute then add a bit more butter-garlic-shallots. Tip the skillet and with a spoon, repeatedly baste the top of the steak with the melted butter. Cook the steak to 120 degrees using your thermometer (rare-medium rare). You can always cook it more but you can’t save an overcooked steak.
Remove the steak to the cutting board and cover with foil or a pan. Turn the heat down to 1/4. Add the remaining butter-garlic-shallots, and rosemary. Cook until they begin to brown, remove the pan from the heat. Add 1/3 cup GOOD red wine. The butter and wine will foam as the cast iron holds heat for a few minutes after removing from the heat. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula. That is called deglazing the pan. It will taste amazing.
Check temp of the steak. It should be 125 – 130. Slice the steak. Pour the sauce you just made by deglazing over the steak. If you have done the last steps quickly and correctly, you will serve a medium rare to medium steak with a beautiful crust, nice pink color, and a wonderful sauce.
That’s what I do. Again, I am not a chef just a highly experienced cook who has made thousands of errors and learned from them.
What did the teacher in your high school get fired for?
November 22, 1963. I had just turned 15 and was in 10th grade. I was in my speech class and we had a substitute that day. I belonged to a political study group called “Teens for Truth”. We were working for Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential run. Since our sub new nothing about speech we were just talking and listening to the radio. That’s when we heard the news, President Kennedy had been shot. As I did the schools morning announcements the teacher had me run to the office to tell the admin staff. When I returned to class the sub started shouting at me. Saying it was people like me that killed Kennedy. She proceded to tell all her regular students that I stood up in class and cheered when we heard the news. I didn’t learn this until the end of the year, after losing many friends. I was crying and the head of the Physical Education asked me what was wrong. I told her was happened,. She went to our Principal and told him what happened. That teacher was not hired back the next year. 45 years later I ran into the Principal. When I said hello he called me by name. I was so surprised he remembered me. He said he never forgot that day.
If you have a gun and a crazy person charges at you with a knife, how close do they must be (e.g., less than 10 feet?) before you shoot them to legally justify it as self-defense? Do you go by how police officers handle this exact scenario?
I owned a security guard company that provided coverage at several “gentlemen’s clubs” in Houston, TX. My guards worked in the parking, ensuring cars weren’t vandalized and escorting club employees to their cars, and making sure that club patrons didn’t loiter after leaving the club.
One night a trio of drunks came out of the club and lingered in the lot, near the area where dancers parked their cars. My guard walked up and told them that they needed to move on, and then continued walking the parking lot. When he reached his usual place in front of the club one of the drunks came over and started shouting that the guard couldn’t tell him what to do and he’d stand wherever he wanted to. My guard calmly explained that club management did not want customers congregating in the lot and if the man didn’t move on, he would have to call HPD and have him removed.
The guy left but a couple of minutes later he was back, yelling and carrying a tire iron. My guard drew his weapon and ordered the man to stop, but the drunk kept yelling and advancing on him, waving the tire iron the whole time. When the drunk was 6 to 8 feet away, my guard fired his weapon once and shot him through the heart. The drunk’s two friends confirmed what happened, as did video from a conveniece store across the street. My guard was no-billed in the shooting (no charges were filed).
How hard has old-age hit you?
I just turned 66. Unfortunately, my problems are physically causing issues now. I never thought that I would feel so bad at 66. The thing is, I still refuse to let life kick me in the ass.
I have RRMS (relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis), Fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis (which is bothering my hands now too), cervical and lumbar stenosis (recently gotten extremely painful), neuropathy in hands and feet (not diabetic), sciatica (driving me insane at night especially), a knee in need of total knee replacement, hypothyroidism with no eyebrow on my left eye and half on the right, alopecia aerata (lost all body hair 2 x). My MS causes frequent cognitive issues along with more things than I want to bother listing.
I lost the love of my life on January 18,2021, to sepsis from his surgery to remove the esophageal cancer. We were married 40 years old. Losing him was worse than anything I have ever been through. On top of losing my husband, 2 yrs after he passed the house we bought 20 yrs before was foreclosed on because of a lot of financial issues. When my husband passed and my health was getting worse, I went into depression so bad. I lost everything. The good news is I am myself again. I’m dealing with my life again. I am working on returning to myself. I don’t fail, I don’t stay down if something put me down. I will be a better version of my self even if my body tries to hold me down, my mind will still be good.
How has China dealt with corruption?
Soon after he became the new president of China in 2013, Xi Jinping launched a crackdown on corruption. In this “mass line campaign”, referred to as a “thorough cleanup”, Xi sought to address long-standing problems in the country, targeting the “four forms of decadence”: “formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance”.
At a study session of provincial and ministerial-level officials in 2022, Xi reprised the theme, saying, “All Party members should always maintain close ties with the people, and accept the criticism and oversight of the people”.
These were no empty words. The anti-corruption campaign was very serious.
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A former vice-mayor in Shanxi province, Zhang Zhongsheng, for instance, was given a life sentence in prison for accepting 1.04 billion yuan ($160 million) in bribes.
No one in China is above the law. Even China’s former Justice Minister Tang Yijun found he was not too privileged to be immune. In 2024, anti-corruption authorities announced he was “being investigated for suspected severe violations of the discipline and law”.
Another former justice minister, Fu Zhenghua, was jailed with a suspended death sentence for corruption in 2022.
The graft-busting campaign shows no special leniency to those who, with the most power and authority, are therefore most responsible to the people.
The anti-corruption policy has been pursued with the resolve to “offend a few thousand rather than fail 1.4 billion”.
The Communist Party of China understands that the principle of “from the people to the people” would suffer in its application if the people’s representatives were not close to and focused on them, but were rather prioritizing themselves over the people they serve.
Consequently, as President Xi has stressed, those who have power must have responsibility, those who have responsibility must take responsibility, and those who fail to fulfill their responsibilities must be held accountable.
Other examples include Zhang Hongli, former senior executive vice president at the world’s biggest bank by consolidated assets, the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Zhang was arrested for taking bribes.
Lou Wenlong, a former vice president of the world’s third-biggest bank, the state-owned Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), was also placed under investigation for corruption.
It is almost impossible to imagine senior executives of large US banks on Wall Street being arrested for corruption. (In fact, they crashed the economy in 2008, only to be bailed out by the government.)
Instead, as the watchdog website Wall Street on Parade wrote, despite five felony counts, JPMorgan Chase CEO “Jamie Dimon is allowed to remain at the helm of this federally-insured bank despite his presiding over the worst banking scandals in U.S. history”.
In 2023, the United States saw the second-biggest bank collapse in its history, as First Republic Bank crashed. Can you guess which bank was entrusted with more than $200 billion in First Republic assets, and realized an almost $3 billion profit on the deal? You guessed it: JPMorgan Chase.
Unlike JPMorgan, however, China’s large banks like ICBC and ABC are state-owned enterprises (SOEs), under the control of the government, and therefore the people.
For the “healthy development” of capital, President Xi has stressed, “We must be well aware that profit-seeking as capital’s intrinsic nature must be subject to regulation and constraints; otherwise, capital’s unbridled development will cause inestimable damage to our country’s economic and social development”.
Economist Michael Hudson argues that China’s control over capital is precisely why it is demonized as “authoritarian” in the West.
“There’s only one way to prevent an oligarchy from developing as people get richer and richer, and that’s to have a strong state”, Hudson said. “You need a strong central state in order to have a democracy. [But] Americans call that socialism, and they say that’s the antithesis of democracy, which means a state that is loyal to the United States and follows US policy and lets the US banks financialize the economy”.
In the US, it was not only Republican President Ronald Reagan but also Democratic President Bill Clinton who declared that “the era of big government is over”. Instead, big capital is in charge.
China, on the other hand, disciplines, guides, and even controls big capital, on behalf of the people.
There Has Been “An Incident” in the Russia-Ukraine Situation
A Ukrainian “Kamikaze” plane, loaded with explosives, has been shot down by Russian Air Defenses over Murmansk, Russia, in the far north of the country.
Video below shows the plane and the shoot down.
Murmansk is approximately three-thousand kilometers from Ukraine; too far for any plane of this size and type to fly. So where did the plane come from? The only possibilities: Finland or Norway. The map below shows Murmansk with the Red Locator Pin:
UKR Kamikazee Plane Murmansk Russia
If this aircraft can be shown to have originated in Finland, given Finland having just joined NATO, then this will have been an violation of Russian air space, by a hostile aircraft for an attack by NATO against Russia.
More importantly, Murmansk is where Russia docks it’s nuclear missile submarine fleet. So this seems to have been an attempt to attack Russia’s strategic nuclear capabilities!
Top doctors worldwide are stepping forward to expose the World Health Organization’s monkey-pox scare as a cover-up for known side effects linked to the COVID mRNA vaccines.
Blistering Disorders 1 large
According to leading virologist Dr. Poornima Wagh, we are not experiencing an outbreak of monkey-pox around the world, as claimed by the WHO. As Dr. Wagh explains, the symptoms experienced by those diagnosed with monkey-pox are actually a known side-effect of the Covid shots: Auto-Immune Blistering Disease.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg has warned that the WHO’s claims of a monkey-pox emergency is another scam and the disease we are witnessing is actually the result of destroyed immune system shingles caused by the Covid shots.
Monkey-pox cases are currently being reported in highly vaccinated countries around the world, while lesser-vaccinated countries are not reporting any cases.
Autoimmune blistering diseases are a group of rare skin conditions that occur when the body’s immune system attacks skin proteins, causing blisters and inflammation. The two most common types are pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid:
Pemphigus
This condition causes blisters to form on the skin and mucous membranes, such as the mouth, nose, throat, genitals, and eyes. The blisters can be soft and break easily, forming painful sores. If left untreated, pemphigus can be fatal.
Bullous pemphigoid
This condition causes hive-like lesions and large, itchy blisters that are filled with fluid. The blisters can break open and form ulcers. Bullous pemphigoid often occurs in older people and usually goes away within five years.
Other types of autoimmune blistering diseases include pemphigoid gestationis, mucous membrane pemphigoid, and IgA autoimmune bullous dermatoses.
Complications of autoimmune blistering diseases include:
Infections from blisters that pop open
Scars after blisters heal
Difficulty eating, swallowing, or breathing in the throat or lungs
Gum disease and tooth loss in the mouth
Vision problems in the eyes
Treatments for autoimmune blistering diseases include:
Anti-inflammatory medicines like corticosteroids
Antibiotics like tetracycline
Niacin, a B complex vitamin
Anti-inflammatory creams applied to the skin
The orange cat was abandoned in an abandoned shop to die until a girl passing by heard her cries.❤️
What is the general sentiment of Chinese people towards foreign media coverage of their country?
They couldn’t care less about western media.
I visited China often on business, in April 2024, I was in Shandong China, as I watch the people coming and going about their daily life and business, I realized 99% of people don’t have anything to do with foreign countries or U.S., they really absolutely don’t care what U.S. think or say about them. 99.9% of people don’t make things to sell to US, they don’t buy American things, America has absolutely nothing to do with them, their jobs or their lives.
Somewhere during our second year in space, we started talking about astrology. One might think that flying past countless stars each waking minute would make us wonder at our own heavenly correlations, but we were too busy being proper astronauts to think about anything except propulsion and coordinates.National Geographic had run a special on us before we left, on New Year’s Day, 2086. Star Light, Star Bright, Guide our Travelers Tonight, the headline read. It was not an overall hopeful piece, since most people assumed we would die. This fact alone split the population into those who admired our bravery, those who hated us because they were sure we were wasting the precious gift of our lives, and those who were bored enough to keep one eye on our story while the other went about their far more practical and productive lives.In the special, Aaron Gamble, head physicist at NASA, explained the invention of our craft.“Bowie is the first spaceship that has the ability to travel faster than the speed of light. Of course, we have been able to send satellites into space at 186,000 miles per second for nearly a decade now, but there has been no question of moving quicker than that, and no faintest rumor that a human being could survive the ride. Now, the question has an answer and the rumor is true right in front of us. Six of NASA’s courageous astronauts will climb aboard Bowie, and in approximately six years they will return with pictures of the stars. Maybe pictures of them on stars.”After Dr. Gamble’s speech, they had cut to a picture of the six of us, standing in our space suits with a green screen behind us making it look like we were perched on the curve of a star.After seeing the picture, most people began to wonder if, rather than us surviving the stars, we would even survive each other. A more inharmonious arrangement of adventurers would be hard pressed to find. Our small group ranged from our pilot, Bear, who had been born on a peace commune in Idaho and never lost his long hair, beads, or impressive beard, even when he replaced his linen for a spacesuit and his yurt for a switchboard and white sterile bunk.Cassidy landed on the opposite end of the spectrum, raised by a neurosurgeon and astrophysicist. Bear often joked that she must have come from the womb with a severe bun and figures on the tip of her tongue. It took six months on a tiny ship together for her to disclose that she had an identical twin sister who had died in an airplane crash five years ago. Even Bear had held back on the jokes after that.Handsome Ryan, petite Kylie, and quiet Terrance were all cut from the same serious, scientific mold, and without them Bowie would not have made it past the second day of her voyage.In the National Geographic picture I was directly in the middle, and beaming, a stark comparison matched closest by Bear’s confident half smile. I looked as though I couldn’t stand a single day longer on the Earth, like my head was already in the galaxies above. The caption credited me as the youngest NASA astronaut; at only 25, I barely qualified for this trip, and it was only Dr. Gamble’s desire to have an astronaut for each predicted year of our voyage that granted me permission to join the crew.Not many lined up for our position, to say the least. My mother sobbed the day before she left, and my younger sister wore solemn black to watch us take off. As we burned up through the ozone, I imagined them below, assuming that the bright flare of our rockets would be the last sign of me forever. The thought exhilarated me, and I imagined that in six years, they wouldn’t recognize me, not due to the years elapsed, but the sheer disbelief at my survival.My excitement and optimism made me the least popular on the ship for almost the first full year. Cassidy couldn’t understand my joy at the exhilarating recklessness of our carefully planned journey. She was a scientist, and there had been no emotion in her decision, just the calculation that she was the most qualified for this, her position in life held higher than her life itself. I tried to become close with her, since we were both the insomniacs on board.I would spend my sleepless nights staring at the footage of the untouched space we were flying through, like a yoyo set loose from its spool with disbelieving freedom. Cassidy on the other hand would spend her nights desperately calculating to determine that we were still on course, her knuckles white and her face illuminated by blue light. As she worked her brows would knit close and her mouth would form tighter and tighter slashes across the plain of her face. After six months and no star in sight, just the Hellish red of Mars burning on our cameras, she stopped her nightly calculations, and would just sit, looking straight ahead.
I imagine that she was probably thinking about her sister, and imagining the way she died, the metal and heat and screams. I imagine she came to think she was destined to experience the same thing, that they came into the world together, and although they would leave separately, they would still go out in parallels
When I couldn’t connect with Cassidy, I tried mousy and unfailingly polite Kylie. Her initial kindness wore off quickly, partially due to my own error. I thought we were getting close, our mornings tediously checking power levels in each of the many batteries keeping us going had helped us form a tentative bond, quickly broken when I disconnected the gravity as a practical joke.
This incident, however uncomfortable, did form my first and only companionship aboard the Bowie. Bear found my prank hilarious, and he started sitting next to me in the morning when we all ate our freeze dried breakfast.
After I finished my morning camera observation shift, I would sit in the cockpit with Bear and watch his hands fly across display screens in front of me, faster even than Cassidy’s nighttime calculations. It awed me that his hands, average sized and slightly hairy at the knuckles, held us all in them. Without him, we would be nothing more than stardust, which was ironic, since even with him we didn’t feel the slightest whisper of stardust on our bow until nearly thirteen months in.
Bear wasn’t the most talkative person, but he enjoyed my presence, which was more I could say for any of my other companions. One afternoon, he admitted to me that he was having a hard time connecting to our shipmates as well.
“I’m not a scientist,” Bear had said, his flying hands suggesting otherwise, his doleful tone substantiating the claim. “I just like the idea of going places no one has been before.”
“In kindergarten,” I had replied, “I got in trouble because I pushed another kid off the slide because I wanted to be first. My teacher told my mom I would grow out of it, but clearly I haven’t.”
Bear had laughed, and my throat tightened with happiness. For the first time since being trapped in a tiny ship with five other human beings, I didn’t feel completely and despairingly alone.
That was the day we saw our first star.
It had been stoic Terrance on camera observation, and his unprecedented shout had startled Bear so much his hand hit something on the panel that made the entire ship shudder, like it too was shocked.
“Proxima centauri!” Terrence had shouted, and the words were God to us. Proxima centauri, the words we had thought every day since we first stepped foot on Bowie. The sign of our success that we had first hoped to see after two months, and then dreamed with growing desperation each day after we didn’t. Proxima centauri, the closest star to our home planet, a star that, just half a century before, would have taken us over six thousand years to reach.
On the camera, which grew fogged by our breath as we clustered over Terrence, the cardinal star seemed tiny, just a speck in the endless blackness we had grown so accustomed to watching for countless days now. As we stared, we watched the star grow larger and larger, until the blackness was only a sliver as thin as the nearly forgotten moon, seen in the opening days of an Earthly month. Cassidy’s hand found my arm and squeezed painfully tight, and I heard Kylie start to cry as we passed by, and the eternal night of space swallowed us once again.
Faintly, I heard Bear radioing NASA, I made out Dr. Gamble’s shout of delight, followed by Bear’s ever eloquent, “Fucking finally! I thought your ship was going to kill us before we saw a goddamn star.”
Ryan swept Kylie off her feet and Terrance kissed me on the mouth and Cassidy sat down in her bunk and sobbed. I was so happy, it felt like someone turned the gravity off in my chest, like my heart was bubbling into my throat.
I don’t think any of us really realized how terrified we were before we saw Proxima centauri. I think that’s our brain’s way of protecting ourselves, that we can’t fully understand the terrifying nature of a situation until we are on the other side.
Of course, we weren’t on the other side. We were a year into a mission and only just now reached a goal that we had been scheduled to meet at two months. Of course, in the moment that didn’t matter, all that did was that now we knew for sure that even if we never saw the blue of the ocean again, we had seen the unprecedented burn of a star.
“And they say that we were monkeys,” Ryan had roared, and we all dissolved into laughter, because in that moment we felt like the furthest thing from monkeys, we felt like Gods.
The second star never came. Based on our calculations, after reaching Proxima Centauri, 4.2 light years from each, we should have come across Rigel Kentaurus only days later.
Rigel never came. After ten months, Dr. Gamble stopped radioing every day, instead he would check in once a week, and it was clear that was only out of obligation. We were told that the news still ran hopeful segments on us, but everyone knew the mission had ended.
Based on the force of our initial propulsion, it would still be three years before we would slow down enough to descend again. We stopped camera observation. Instead we played cards and used our precious oxygen to smoke weed that Bear had secretly brought aboard, and turned the gravity off. Upside down, higher than the space we careened through, Bear accused me of being the kind of girl who might like astrology.
His nose touching mine, I wondered what he really wanted to say, if Ryan wasn’t floating two feet away and Cassidy clutching her bunk in annoyance, only halfway believing herself that she was dismayed at our behavior.
“Absolutely not!” I shouted, then giggled because my voice was so loud. “We have literally seen a star, and it was most definitely nothing more than a hunk of rock.”
That was a lie and we all knew it. That star was the most beautiful thing we had all seen, and the only thing keeping us from true despair. It was the reason why one of us would still check the camera’s every night, frantically watch the footage from the day to see if we had missed something, never giving up completely.
“I believe in astrology,” Kylie said, and pushed herself towards the gravity panel, planted her palm on it and sent us to the floor. “I am an Aquarious.”
“What the hell does that even mean,” Bear said, righting himself, and moving towards the cockpit. We were on autopilot, no longer afraid of running headlong into an errant constellation, but Bear still kept up the pretense of his job.
“It means that I am emotional and sensitive and really honest,” she said, “And that I love the moon, I think.”
“Hold on,” I said, “You’re trying to convince me that we are who we are because of what star was a billion light years over our heads when we were born?”
“Yes,” she said firmly, “Why are we all doing this if we don’t believe in the stars?”
It got tense then, all of our minds instantly filled with the memory of Proximi burning through our cameras with a palpable hope.
“I don’t believe in stars,” Terrance said, “I believe in science.”
“What the fuck,” Bear said, “Science isn’t going to save you, buddy.”
We all stared at Bear, who stood fierce and white faced in front of the control panel, every bit of him all self righteous and rage filled.
“What are you talking about?” Kylie asked shakily, “We’re going to be fine, in three years we will be back on Earth, we have plenty of oxygen and food.”
Bear opened his mouth, and then stopped. He sat down heavily and spoke without opening his eyes.
“I talked to Dr. Gamble. They aren’t picking up our signal anymore, they can’t find us on radar or satellites or anything. Even the radio signal is getting weaker.”
“Oh my god,” Cassidy put her head in her hands and I may have imagined it but I thought I heard her say, “Cammie,” under her breath, like she could feel her sister closer than ever.
“I don’t understand,” I said, “We had a very specific course, how could this be happening? We saw that star-”
“That’s right, Leila, you don’t understand,” Bear’s voice was full of hostility, “None of you do. You all need to understand that we can’t put any more faith in Dr. Gamble, or NASA, or science or known fucking logic, because what has happened has completely disproved all of the above.”
“All that’s left is faith,” Kylie said, and I looked at her surprised, having expected she would surely be the first to break down.
Bear put his head in his hands and I walked to the cameras, stared out and willed myself to see something, anything that faintest light that might signal a sign of our doubtful survival.
One by one we stood before the cameras in silent prayer, children believing if they wish hard enough, they can make the stars come out.
The next morning Ryan woke up obsessed with the constellation Orion.
“Just a tiny insignificant ‘o’,” he kept saying, “That’s all that separates us.”
He told us that he needed to see the constellation, he sat in front of the cameras watching for it for weeks, and told us facts about the archer until we all begged him to stop.
“Where does he go?” he kept asking, over and over. “Where does he go?”
One morning, I was sitting beside Ryan on camera observation, which we had begun again since we started to believe in the stars again. Suddenly, he leaned forward, a smile illuminating his face so wonderfully that he was almost too handsome to look at for too long.
“Look, Leila,” he whispered, “That’s where he went.”
On the camera, Orion’s arms stretched out, his glittering belt too bright to look at, and impossible to look away from.
I stared, transfixed, the bravery in his shoulders, the loneliness and grandeur of his brilliance in all that nothingness. When I looked at Ryan, he was gone, and the constellation shattered before my eyes, a new star winking with sudden beauty before he became lost in the hunter’s sword.
Kylie was next, when our ship grew tangled with the great cosmic kite, she let out a great whoop of childlike laughter, and was gone, to fly with Boötes forever.
Cassidy started speaking to Cammie days before Gemini blinked into view, and at the last moment, I swore I saw a mirror reflection of my somber shipmate beside her, beaming more than Cassidy ever would, before Castor swelled and Pollux rejoiced, and our ship became lighter.
Terrance swore it wouldn’t happen to him, before science and geography once again was proven to be obsolete and he shouted that he saw Sagittarius, right there, and it was impossible, before his eyes widened in surprise and he was gone.
It was just Bear and I then, and we didn’t know what to say.
I asked anyway, “What do you think is happening to us?”
“I think we started to believe,” he said, “And now we are going home. I think maybe this was our mission all along.”
“We aren’t going home,” I said, confused, “We are so lost.”
“Do you feel lost?” He asked, and his eyes were so bright.
“No,” I said, “I feel like I am on the very last mile of a very long trip.”
“We found the stars,” Bear whispered, “But I think they have been here all along.”
I reached for him, but he was standing up, and on the camera the great Ursa bounded through a galactic forest, waiting patiently for her cub.
I wasn’t alone for long. The radio signal had been long lost, and I didn’t know anything about how to pilot the ship, but I wasn’t afraid.
Three days later, I felt the warmth slip onto my face and skin, like I was on a white sand beach, or a summer meadow at noon. The ship split open and the sun was there, and I forgot I had ever been anything else.
On Earth, the stars burned through into the day and they declared us lost and the Sun shone brighter than ever and declared that we had been found.
Tears For Fears Greatest Hits Full Album 2021 | Best Songs Of Tears For Fears
Have you ever known anybody who was against gun ownership and changed their mind after being robbed or assaulted?
My personal views have changed over time. So has some of my relatives.
I learned to shoot when I was 7 with a .22 LR bolt action rifle, and then a Ruger 10/22. However my Dad committed suicide with one of those rifles when I was 10. I reacted like many 10 year old children and blamed the tool. That ignored my Father was diagnosed as Manic-Depressive and had just been taken off the medication he was using by a new doctor. (Manic-Depressive is now known as Bipolar Disorder).
Over time this view softened some, and I started shooting again with my Grandmother. I even used a 30–30 Model 94 to protect newborn calves from a pack of Coyotes at my Grandparents ranch. I remembered the sense of fun I had shooting. Shooting, especially at longer ranges, is more about controlling yourself – breathing, motion, view, etc and not a sense of power. She gave me that 30–30, but kept it when I went to college.
During this time my Mom invested the life insurance from my Dad’s death into family run restaurant. There was an incident where a Sheriff’s Deputy was stabbed trying to arrest somebody, and he knocked out his attacker’s partner with a Police baton. The Deputy passed out from blood loss because they stabbed the artery in his arm, and only lived because it literally happened right in front of one of the Volunteer Fire Department EMT’s house. The Deputy had pulled over a car for drunk driving. The passenger bailed. He was frisking the driver when the passenger circled back around and stabbed the deputy. The Deputy knocked out the driver with his baton before he collapsed. The EMT had been watching the arrest through his front window when it happened. Several young men in the community were pissed off about the driver being injured and called the police baton police brutality. They proceeded to vandalize businesses for several nights. When we heard what was happening Mom and I took turns sitting in front of the restaurant at night with a blanket for warmth, and a handgun. During this incident I was threatened with being beaten and then the business vandalized and burned for “resisting” them. I showed them I was armed. Did not even pull it out of the holster and they left. They didn’t vandalize any businesses within our line of sight after that.
When I went to college I rarely shot. First because they weren’t allowed in the dorms. My wife and I eloped and my father-in-law thought he could intimidate me. So he took me out to some Bureau of Land Management land to show me how good a shot he was. He lined up some cans about 10 yards away and missed all of them. I hit all of them when I tried. Later he became a prohibited person, and ill and we took care of them.
Then when my Grandmother passed away her ashes were scatted at the ranch, and the temporary plastic urn became one of several targets for an impromptu range day. My wife recognized the fun I had, and we started collecting firearms again. I think a look at my post history will show how I feel about 2A rights now.
Another shorter story – my mother grew up shooting, but was ambivalent on the subject. When my Dad was going to college he got a summer job working with the Forest Service, and she got a summer job doing clerical work at the California Penitentiary at Susanville. When he went back to UC-Davis in the fall she was able to transfer to doing clerical work at Vacaville. In the early 1970’s checking a criminals rap sheet meant somebody had to look up the records in file cabinets and/or microfiche. Those records were kept at Vacaville and used a mix of civilian and inmate clerks. While she had grew up shooting, she was at the time for more restrictive gun control. One of the inmate clerks was a career criminal and said gun control was job security for him. Knowing homeowners were not armed meant he could be bolder in robbing them. Further, if he ever wanted a gun, he could get one even if the government made them illegal. She was put on bed rest for her pregnancy, that led to my birth. However, that had changed her opinion on gun control. Criminals will always be able to get guns, and the laws only applied to the law abiding.
As a Chinese, did you become anti CPC, pro-democratic, and USA fan after accessing websites and social media platforms which are blocked in China?
There was a word on the Chinese Internet: “If the Chinese people go abroad, more than 70% will become more patriotic, which is more effective than any propaganda by Chinese government .”
Do you know why? Because the people who came abroad found that the so-called free media did not tell the truth, these media are full of prejudices and lies about China. I think any person who has been to China will find some medias hypocrisy.
Some people who do not go abroad like to imagine foreign fantasy as good as heaven, but when they go abroad, they will find that is not the case.
As for the United States, I have to say that some Americans are very friendly and I like their openness and frankness. I appreciate the wisdom and creativity of the Americans, and they use their creativity to bring a series of great changes to the world.But I will not be a fan of the United States because I don’t like their goverment and their hegemonism、wars and a series of bans against China.
So, many Chinese people will become more love their own country, because they know that China is not so bad, and foreign countries are not so good.
Crescent Taco Ring
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Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cornmeal
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped olives
1 cup ketchup
1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes
1 (12 ounce) can whole kernel corn
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cans refrigerated quick crescent dinner rolls
2 cup shredded American or Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
In large skillet or Dutch oven, brown ground beef; drain.
Stir in remaining ingredients except crescent rolls, cheese and 1 tablespoon cornmeal.
Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally while preparing crust.
Separate crescent dough into 8 rectangles; spoke fashion in 12 cup fluted tube pan, forming crust. Press to seal.
Sprinkle bottom with 1 tablespoon cornmeal and cheese.
Spoon ground beef mixture over cheese.
Cut each remaining crescent rectangle into 4 short strips; lay across top of filling spoke-fashion. Seal to outer and inner dough edges.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes.
Cool upright in pan for 10 minutes; invert onto serving plate.
When I was a boy growing up, I used to sneak peeks at the stash of Playboy magazines that my father kept in “his” basement bathroom.
My parents maintained a more-or-less traditional household with the father working and the mother being a stay-at-home mom. And part of this lifestyle was the separation of bathrooms.
My father has a small bathroom in the basement, while my mother maintained a larger, more ornate bathroom next to the parental bedroom.
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In my father’s basement was a stack of magazines. And buried in the bottom of them were a collection of Playboy and other “girlie” magazines that men would read. He also had magazines about “Men’s adventure” and such topics. And, well, being a boy I of course discovered the stash and would look though them.
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They would always give me a rise in my groin, but I really didn’t know what to do past that. As this was still before I discovered the natural release of masturbation. So I would just sneak a peek at the forbidden magazines that my father favored, and my mother deplored.
One day, when I was around ten years old, I got out of the bathroom and opened the door where my sister jumped me; like some kind of fierce tiger, and startled the living fuck out of me.
She screamed at me at the top… the TOP of her lungs. All set at decibel level 1000.
She screamed “Got ya!” and repeated over and over “You are in so much trouble now!”.
Startled and in shock, not to mention viewing the “dirty” magazines, I was horrified and ashamed, and in shock.
So I stayed in the bathroom.
Shaking.
And I stayed there not moving for hours. Maybe three or four hours in total.
And eventually my mother came down. She opened the basement door and made her way down the stairs to the basement bathroom.
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She told me to come out. No one is going to beat me, and to get ready for dinner. And that was that.
No bitch-out session.
It was as if nothing happened. But to me, I must have been as pale as a ghost.
Dad ignored everything.
So we set down to eat. Not a word about the terrifying events passed anyones lips.
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When my sister tried to say anything, my father SHUT HER UP, and told her to leave the table. Where she promptly stomped off making loud pounding noises as she assaulted the stars to her bedroom.
I didn’t know it then, but I know it now…
Forcefully violating someones privacy; insulting them, shaming them, and generally attempting to lay this “deep sin” on my shoulders was absolutely not acceptable.
It could, if handled wrongly, damage me for life.
Shame. Ridicule.
Betrayal.
All in all, I think that my parents handled this properly.
Months later my dad had a chat with me.
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Not about the incident, but telling me that one should never be ashamed of being interested in girls.
And a natural curiosity in the female body is fine, healthy and normal. He told me never to be ashamed of being a normal boy.
After that, he used that to discuss the “birds and bees” with me.
Oh, sure as shit, my sister continued to be a little tyrannical bitch, but that incident was closed, and NEVER reopened again.
This one was handled properly by my parents. They weren’t complete fuck-up’s you know. They did things RIGHT from time to time.
Today…
What are the darkest secrets of elite US universities?
Originally Answered: What are the darkest secrets of elite US universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford?
To me, the secret about elite universities — or at least the fact that they prefer not to publicize overtly — is that the admissions game is far from fair, which most people would define as based on merit. The truth is that when it comes to admissions, the Ivies, Stanford, and other top schools have their own agendas. Which means that the actual number of spaces available for students without a “hook” is much smaller than one might think.
One agenda is to favor legacies. Harvard has been known to have the children of alums take up one-third of the class. Other schools do the same, at somewhat lower rates. Among my college essay students, I see admissions for legacies as much more likely than for others. If nothing else, the tie often goes to the legacy.
Athletes also get a big edge. This is not limited to Stanford, home of many Olympic medalists. Even at the Ivies, where the level of play in most sports is well below Olympic caliber, a big chunk of admitted students are recruited athletes, who sometimes get a bit of a break on grades and test scores. About half of students at Williams are athletes.
Money matters. Yes, you can buy your way into a top college. It is now known that the parents of Jared Kushner knew that he was not Harvard material and spent millions greasing the wheels. In my own experience, I have seen a student with really weak academics get into a school where the family’s name was on a building.
Race also matters. Students who are historically underrepresented minorities get an edge, even if the family is rich. It is documented that Asian students need higher grades and scores to get into many top schools. Harvard is being sued for this practice.
Universities are more willing to publicize their efforts to broaden opportunity by giving preference to student who will be the first in their family to go to college. “60 Minutes” recently did a segment about Princeton’s efforts to increase socioeconomic diversity. I applaud plans like this. But I also know that this means a lot of places will be earmarked for certain types of students.
Imagine a game of musical chairs with ten chairs. The game begins with legacies seated in two chairs. Recruited athletes are in two other chairs. Two more may already be filled by students who are underrepresented minorities or first to attend college. One more will be an international student. How many spots are left if you do not fit into one of those categories? Three? And half of those go to men and half to women?
The above scenario is inexact. But the point is clear. For a student without a hook, the window to squeeze through to get into an elite university is much smaller than the universities would have you believe.
MM’s AI work from today part 1
I’ve been experimenting with Baroque figurative imagery.
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While the United States has repeatedly exaggerated the “Chinese military threat” and wants to continue to increase its budget and join forces with its allies to manufacture and transfer weapons and expand military production, China’s unexpected decision suddenly made the US and European militaries feel real pressure.
According to the Global Times, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs of China recently issued an announcement, announcing that from September 15, export controls will be imposed on antimony and superhard materials related items. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said that China’s policy is not aimed at any specific country or region, but is based on international practices to better safeguard national security and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation. The important role of antimony in military production and China’s dominant position in antimony mining and supply have determined that this move will have an impact on many countries, and the United States will be the first to bear the brunt.
(Antimony Ore)
Foreign media analysis said that antimony, as a strategic metal, is not only used in the production of batteries and photovoltaic equipment, but also an important raw material for many military equipment, such as ammunition, infrared-guided missiles, nuclear weapons, and night vision goggles. China is the world’s largest antimony producer, mining about 40,000 tons last year, accounting for nearly half of the global total. The United States is the world’s largest buyer of antimony ore. Relevant statistics show that 63% of the antimony ore and its oxides imported by the United States from 2019 to 2022 came from China. From this perspective, China’s export controls on antimony are actually a “reverse stranglehold” on the United States, which is likely to cause difficulties for the United States’ weapons manufacturing.
However, it is not the first time that China has strangled the United States in the export of key minerals. Last year, China announced export controls on two rare metals, germanium and gallium, which prompted the United States to discuss countermeasures with allies such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea as soon as possible.
(The raw materials of the US AIM-9X infrared-guided air-to-air missile include antimony)
In addition, in recent years, the United States has been trying to get rid of its dependence on China in the supply of key minerals, including cooperating with Australia, Mongolia and other countries to develop mineral resources, but both mining and processing technology and related patents are firmly in the hands of China. As a result, the US has to admit that it is still unable and unwilling to exclude China from the US “key mineral supply chain”.
However, not to mention that China’s export restrictions are not aimed at any specific country, even if the policies specifically targeted at the United States are just a way to treat the person in his own way, because it is the United States that is accustomed to building “campus walls”.
From Trump to Biden, the United States can be said to have tried every means to suppress China in the high-tech field, including but not limited to putting Chinese companies on the “blacklist”. Huawei, DJI and other companies have not escaped, and allies have implemented various export controls on China. At the time when China’s export controls on antimony were in place, the Biden administration was still planning to implement new restrictions on technology exports to China.
However, unlike the United States, the suppression by the United States cannot fundamentally prevent our rise. Instead, it has prompted China’s high-tech enterprises to make great progress and development through self-reliance and independent innovation. Take the most critical semiconductor industry as an example. At present, domestic chips have made breakthrough progress and are gradually replacing the market of foreign chips.
As emphasized by the Ministry of Commerce, China opposes any country or region using controlled items from China to engage in activities that undermine China’s national sovereignty, security and development interests. Since the United States uses key minerals provided by China to build weapons against China, there is no need for China to be polite. It is more appropriate to let the United States taste the taste of being “choked”.
This news is brought to you by tencent
Be the Rufus
Have you ever seen an employer fire someone without realizing what a crucial role the employee played?
Me. My position was eliminated, and while I gathered my things in the presence of the new office manager, I told her that she’d need to contract a snow removal company to clean and salt the walks, early morning, every time it snowed. Because I was the one who did that.
She looked shocked and dismayed and she said that she didn’t realize that.
A large portion of the client base was children and elderly people and it was not just a matter of courtesy, but an insurance liability. I also cleaned the public sidewalks around the building because even though the city would do it, it might take days before it was done.
Unfortunately for her, contracting a company is the sort of thing that has to be negotiated and booked well in advance, and winter was upon us. The cost for service would be greater than my salary was.
The other employees only worked when they had clients booked, and they were generally small women with medical degrees, and they could not be hot, sweaty and potentially smelly from physical exertion anyway.
And the three dentists sure weren’t going to do it.
*Back to the Future* is sooo FREAKIN’ GOOD!!!
From Prodigy to Predator: The Twisted Path to Narcissism
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) often evokes images of self-absorbed egomaniacs who crave admiration and wield manipulation like a weapon. But beneath the polished veneer of grandiose self-image lies a hidden truth: narcissism is a learned response to deep-seated wounds inflicted in childhood. It’s a desperate dance for love and attention, born from a warped perception of neglect and unworthiness.
From Crib to Con: The Twisted Path of Narcissism
The seeds of narcissism are often sown in the fertile ground of early childhood experiences. Imagine a young child, yearning for the warmth of parental love, only to encounter a void of emotional connection. Perhaps their needs were consistently unmet, their cries left unanswered, or their achievements ignored. This perceived neglect breeds a gnawing sense of unworthiness and insecurity.
To cope with this emotional turmoil, the child instinctively adopts survival tactics. They learn that loud tantrums, exaggerated displays of distress, and even manipulative ploys garner attention, albeit negative. This “infantile fakery,” as you aptly call it, becomes a twisted currency, securing the fleeting validation that soothes their raw vulnerability.
Over time, these behaviors morph into a sophisticated arsenal of manipulation. The narcissist learns to charm their way through life, cutting corners, deflecting blame, and leveraging the sympathy of unsuspecting others. It’s a desperate attempt to fill the void within, a never-ending quest for external validation to compensate for the internal chasm of perceived inadequacy.
The Vicious Cycle: Escalation and Escape
This relentless pursuit of self-gratification comes at a hefty cost. Relationships become transactional, mere stepping stones on the path to narcissistic aggrandizement. As their true nature is revealed, the inevitable happens: disillusionment sets in. People tire of the grandiosity, the constant blame game, and the emotional manipulation.
Faced with this potential rejection, the narcissist resorts to their default coping mechanism: escape. They may abruptly discard relationships, change jobs, or move cities, leaving behind a trail of emotional casualties. But amidst this flurry of movement, there’s no introspection, no genuine growth. The core issue of self-worth remains unaddressed, festering like an untreated wound.
The Impossibility of Perfection: Why Narcissists Can’t Learn
At the heart of narcissism lies an unshakeable belief in one’s own perfection. Any suggestion of imperfection, any hint of a mistake, shatters their carefully constructed facade. This crippling fear of vulnerability makes genuine learning virtually impossible. Why invest in self-improvement when you believe you’re already beyond reproach?
Instead, the narcissist resorts to intellectual shortcuts, relying on charm and bluster to mask their lack of knowledge. They avoid honest self-reflection, deflecting blame and responsibility like Teflon repels water. It’s a vicious cycle, perpetuating their inflated sense of self while simultaneously hindering their ability to grow and evolve.
The Toll of Denial: Broken Promises and Shattered Lives
The ramifications of this arrested development are far-reaching. The narcissist’s inability to learn and adapt translates into a string of failures: broken relationships, lost jobs, and a trail of emotional wreckage. Their charisma may initially draw people in, but their manipulative tactics and emotional detachment eventually wear thin.
As the masks slip and the truth emerges, those closest to the narcissist bear the brunt of the pain. Family members become collateral damage, spouses are emotionally abused, and friends are left bewildered and hurt. The narcissist, forever chasing the mirage of self-worth, leaves behind a desolate landscape of broken promises and shattered trust.
Breaking the Cycle: Understanding and Healing
Unmasking the root of narcissism isn’t about demonizing individuals or condoning their behavior. It’s about recognizing the human story behind the inflated ego, the pain that fuels the need for constant validation. By understanding the underlying causes, we can move beyond judgment and towards compassion.
For those caught in the orbit of a narcissist, knowledge is power. Recognizing the manipulative patterns, setting healthy boundaries, and prioritizing self-care are crucial steps towards emotional well-being. Therapy can also offer valuable tools for navigating the complexities of these relationships and ultimately reclaiming power over one’s own life.
A Call for Empathy, Not Excuses
While NPD stems from early childhood experiences, it’s crucial to remember that understanding isn’t synonymous with excusing harmful behavior. The actions of narcissists can inflict deep wounds, and those affected deserve validation and support. However, recognizing the source of their pain can help us move beyond anger and blame, towards a place of empathy and self-protection.
Narcissism may be a complex and deeply ingrained disorder, but it’s not an insurmountable one. By shedding light on its origins and acknowledging the emotional pain at its core, we can foster a space for healing and understanding. For the most
Tacos de Carnitas
Crispy bits of very flavorful pork is the base for these delicious street tacos.
carnitas tacos
Ingredients
1 (3 to 4 pound) pork butt
6 cups water
7 strips orange zest
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 large white onion, diced
1 cinnamon stick (preferably Mexican canela)
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed oregano leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
24 small corn tortillas, warmed
Chopped fresh cilantro
Finely chopped white onion
Diced fresh tomato
Instructions
Trim any thick fat from the pork butt. Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, discarding any that are pure fat, leaving some of the fat for flavor and browning later.
Put the pork cubes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface during the first 15 minutes. After foam is skimmed off, add the chopped onion, garlic, orange zest, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, cloves and salt. Simmer uncovered for another 1 1/4 hours until pork is very tender, adding more water if necessary to keep it submerged.
Season with more salt.
Continue simmering at a gentle boil until the water has evaporated, about 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and cinnamon. Cook a little longer to fry the meat, stirring often and adding a little water it it seems to be sticking and/or burning.
Spoon some carnitas onto each tortilla. Top tacos with chopped onion, cilantro and diced fresh tomato.
Serve with refried beans and Mexican rice for a genuine taqueria experience.
Some of MM AI generations
Early stuff this.
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6 Signs You’re with the “Right” Partner
byThe InformHub•
Discover the true meaning of a perfect match based on mutual love. In challenging times when many Americans feel more single and lonely than ever, 60% of U.S. adults still believe in the concept of a soulmate.
“Meant to be” can be a comforting thought after a series of bad first dates or a marriage that ended in divorce. Even 52% of Americans who have been married before still believe in “the one.”
This belief brings a strong sense of hope for those already in relationships, especially during tough times.
However, it also comes with potential downsides.
Believing you’re with the “right” and “only” person can lead partners to stay in abusive and toxic relationships (Franiuk et al., 2012).
It can also cause people to leave relationships too soon, thinking the “right” person is still out there, just a swipe away on their dating app.
But relying solely on either the traditional soulmate theory or the work-it-out approach is a false choice.
What if your soulmate was someone highly compatible with you, and what was “meant to be” was finding that level of compatibility?
Why not someone who also makes a consistent effort?
“Meant to be” refers to a healthy, lasting relationship with someone you are highly compatible with, sharing and enjoying life together.
Here are six signs that you’re in a highly compatible, secure, and strong long-term relationship:
1. You experience a strong and consistent emotional connection.
2. You have fun together and enjoy similar activities or adventures.
3. You are physically attracted to each other.
4. You find joy in quiet moments together.
5. You accept your partner as they are and feel accepted by them.
6. You and your partner feel chosen by each other.
This is the ideal scenario of high compatibility in the way you love. Soulmate relationships are less about a checklist of matching traits or qualifications and more about the way you feel when you wake up next to each other in the morning.
You might have met a soulmate if you also:
Feel appreciated, respected, and valued.
Feel comfortable being vulnerable.
Experience support for your dreams.
See significant alignment of interests, personality, and lifestyle.
See consistent growth in communication, conflict resolution, and meaning-making.
Meeting your soulmate may also mean a deep bond with spiritual significance if spiritual and religious beliefs were part of your family culture. Sharing core beliefs about spirituality and your relationship is a good indicator of soulmate potential.
If you’ve been together for at least a year and have been discussing marriage, sit down with your partner this weekend and consider the following questions:
How would you describe your emotional connection?
What exciting activities have you enjoyed together this year?
How would you describe the quality of your sexual experience in the relationship?
What is your experience when sharing space?
Why do you choose each other out of the 8.1 billion people in the world?
Do you feel like your best selves with each other?
If you’ve found your person, cherish and celebrate them. Ensure your partner understands their value to you.Commit to actions that reflect your love.
I’M EMOTIONAL!! First Time Reaction to Pink Floyd – “Comfortably Numb”
Plutocracy of private capital creates a crisis of US political legitimacy
Source: Global Times
The US is confronting a political system facing a crisis of legitimacy. A major component of the crisis is structural and inherent to US governance. Politicians in the US do not succeed in politics because of their service to the people. They are first selected by a tiny fraction of society wielding immense wealth and power before they are presented to voters.
Nowhere is the gap between the policies that US politicians pursue and the well-being of the people bigger than foreign policy. A cursory look at the economic approach to China under the administrations of former president Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden demonstrates this clearly. Under the Trump administration, the US imposed tariffs on Chinese exports and sanctions on China’s tech sector. Under the Biden administration, the US increased these tariffs to include the Chinese electric vehicle sector, expanded “black list” of Chinese tech corporations and targeted the semiconductor industry as a flashpoint in arresting China’s high-tech development. The two US administrations’ continuity on US foreign policy toward China extends into their military posture as both administrations saw greatly intensified US militarization in the Asia Pacific presence along China’s border and dangerous escalations over Taiwan in violation of the one-China principle.
Nothing about US foreign policy, whether it targets China or another nation, benefits the American people. Trillions of US dollars have gone unaccounted for, while many Americans struggle with debt, increasing rates of poverty, lowering life expectancy, inflation and stagnant wages. This has led to a crisis of political legitimacy where support for Congress and the president are at an all-time low while support for third-party alternatives to the two-party system is at a high point. The question is, then, why do US politicians fail to serve the interests of their constituents? What makes them choose to enrich military contractors and monopoly financial institutions while neglecting the ordinary worker?
The US is not a democracy. It’s a plutocracy of private capital. One percent of the US population owns more than one-third of US wealth. But more importantly, this one percent comprises the property owners of the biggest monopolies and financial institutions in the US and have designed a political system where their patronage directly corresponds to US policy. While politicians may promise ordinary Americans that their policies will benefit them. However, once elected these same politicians pursue an agenda which enriches the wealthiest corporations at the expense of the well-being of the people. In 2014, two US scholars conducted a study on the impact that various interest groups hold on government policy. They found that big business and interest groups made a huge impact on US policy and average citizens made little to no impact at all. Their findings find no shortage of validation. While the vast majority of people face economic and social strife, US politicians are busy sending more military aid to Ukraine and Israel and holding fundraisers with the richest in the corporate and finance sectors. This has given way to political malaise in some respects, but it has also encouraged more people to seek alternative political avenues to the two-party system.
As the gap between US policy and the interests of humanity reaches an all-time high, US politicians will continue to compete among themselves over how to best manage a growing crisis of legitimacy. An ever-increasing number of Americans will grow disdainful of this process. This means that an even more polarized political environment is coming to the United States as people navigate gross power distortions between the average American and the elites. Meanwhile, they continue to look for ways to fulfill their desire for a more people-driven and people-centered political agenda.
Boeing
How many Chinese still remember how our generation was deceived by this book?
When I was a kid, I believed it, and when I grew up, fuck, what stupid book lied to me all these years
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1.Coins and national emblem
A Chinese student dropped a dime on the road and didn’t pick it up. A foreigner picked it up for him and solemnly told him that this coin has your country’s micro on it, please respect it
2.Make sure you wash it seven times
In Japan, dishes must be brushed seven times. A Chinese student who worked in a work-study program was fired by his boss because he only brushed five times. As a result, all restaurants did not want him, and finally the landlord asked him to check out because of his dishonesty
3.Fly honey
In order to change the problem of flies chasing odor, for more than two hundred years, Australians have developed good habits of hygiene generation after generation, thoroughly cleaning the national public place, and maintaining it for a long time, and finally flies collecting honey for living
4.The meaning of guns
The Chinese played with a real gun for the first time at a white friend’s house, and the gun went off and injured the friend’s son. However, the white friend did not investigate the fault of the Chinese, and even gave him the gun. The white man said: Because he grew up in a country without guns, he did not know the value of guns.
5.Book honey
In order to make children fall in love with reading, Jews will put honey on the book and let the child taste the sweetness of the book. This method is so effective that many Jewish children find books sweet and fragrant from an early age.
6.Blackout supermarket
A supermarket in the United States suddenly lost power, in order to prevent stampede, the radio announced that you can take away the goods in your hand for free, and people have orderly exit after hearing the radio. After the call, I was surprised to find that the counter was full of banknotes, which were consciously paid by customers
7.Power cut to save lives
In the United States, a sparrow was entangled in a high-voltage power line, and passers-by immediately called the alarm phone, and the police informed the White House that the president decided to send a special plane to break the national main power line, so that the national temporary power outage, saving the little Massachusetts. A great nation can stop any humble life
8.Tools wrapped in oiled paper
The German colonists built Qingdao sewers, so that Qingdao was not flooded for a hundred years, and a hundred years later, I received an email from a German company, saying that the sewers contained spare parts wrapped in oil paper and could be replaced directly
9.Superfather
A father was peeling an apple from his daughter’s winnowing boat when he accidentally plunged a knife into his heart. In order not to cause his daughter to panic, he endured severe pain and pulled out the fruit knife, insisting on sending the child off the ship for 3 days before he died.
10. 4:30 in the morning
4:30 in the morning, when the Chinese students are still sleeping, the world’s best group of people, Harvard students are immersed in reading, 4:30 in the morning Harvard library lights up, filled with serious learning students
11.Reading on the subway
British people love reading, they do not look at mobile phones when taking the subway, but read books and newspapers, “the spiritual world is very rich.”
What Lai Qingde was most worried about still happened. The Americans did the math and were surprised to find that it was more “cost-effective” for the United States to “give up” Taiwan.
Recently, a US military scholar published an article in the “Foreign Affairs” magazine, saying that the US military should not conflict with the Chinese mainland in order to “defend Taiwan”, and even further proposed the view of “giving up” Taiwan and letting it fend for itself.
This is different from the view that most American politicians have always advocated to “support the Taiwan authorities” to “contain” the mainland, so it has caused widespread discussion.
[The US military has made the situation in the Taiwan Strait more tense]
The scholar argued his point of view from three aspects:
First, the scholar reviewed the PLA’s strength improvement in the past 12 years in the article and came to a conclusion that China is now strong enough.
Among them, four points were mainly mentioned, namely that the PLA Air Force is producing fifth-generation aircraft and upgraded bombers, and most indicators show that China has the largest navy in the world.
In addition, China’s long-range missiles and satellite technology also pose enough “threat” to the US military and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, and are capable of directly attacking US military bases from their homeland.
Whether it is the hypersonic missiles such as the DF-17, which are at the forefront of the missile field, or the continuously upgraded DF series ballistic missiles, as well as mature and reliable anti-ship ballistic missiles, they all mark that we have taken a decisive step in our defense strategy and can cause devastating blows to US military bases and aircraft carriers when necessary.
[The US military in the Asia-Pacific region has to bow its head within the range of the PLA missiles]
To achieve this, it is also inseparable from my country’s expansion of satellite technology and space capabilities. The fully built Beidou satellite navigation system and a large number of remote sensing and reconnaissance satellites can provide the PLA with independent and reliable global positioning, improving the precision strike capability of the weapon system and the command and control efficiency of the troops.
On the other hand, when the US military faced the missile offensive of the Houthi armed forces in the Red Sea, it was obviously in a serious shortage of ammunition. Therefore, under the PLA’s fully upgraded missile offensive, this problem of the US military will only become more serious.
After talking about the strength of the PLA, the scholar put forward a second point of view, pointing out that the military benefits that Taiwan Island can bring are very low, and it is not enough to change the overall situation for both the US military and the PLA.
He said that this is because the United States has long been trapped in a “misunderstanding”, believing that the PLA will further increase the coverage of medium-range missiles after regaining Taiwan, and further break through the US “island chain plan”.
In fact, the technology originally mastered by the PLA is enough to cover the US military bases on Okinawa and Luzon Island. After mastering Taiwan Island, it is just “icing on the cake”, adding an additional 190 miles of range.
For the US military, Japan and the Philippines, which are also located on the first island chain, have more bases with superior conditions, and can even further pose a threat to Taiwan Island from these bases after the PLA regains Taiwan.
This point is actually somewhat of a “broken jar” meaning, perhaps because they feel that “the PLA missiles are always hanging over the heads of the US military in the Asia-Pacific region, so instead of “holding” the island tightly, it is better to throw the trouble to the PLA.
Finally, the scholar gave a very “vicious” strategy, which is to remind the US military that it needs to change its strategy and “defend” Taiwan from another angle.
This method is to hope that the US military will provide as many mines, drones and anti-ship missiles as possible to the Taiwan military, and support the Taiwan authorities to produce these equipment themselves through technology sharing.
In this way, the Taiwan authorities will no longer be a burden to the United States, but a thorny “hedgehog”, and then when the PLA “suffers huge losses to recover Taiwan”, the United States can gain a certain advantage and fight the PLA in a wider area.
We will temporarily Regardless of whether such a concept can be realized, the message that the scholar expressed in his words that he would “abandon the Taiwan authorities” in exchange for greater advantages is enough to confirm our view on the nature of US military aid.
[The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has long “predicted” the fate of the Taiwan authorities]
Earlier, the spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Zhu Fenglian, said that the United States will always pursue the “America First Policy”, and Taiwan will not be an exception. In the end, the “chess piece” can only become a “discarded piece”, bringing greater harm to Taiwan compatriots.
Moreover, recovering Taiwan is a sovereignty issue that cannot be compromised for us. In front of our core interests, no one can be beaten. Any wrong decision made by the US government on this issue will accelerate our process of recovering Taiwan.
I don’t like people. Never have. Arrogance, ignorance, mendacity, self-importance, superiority… I don’t like lists either.I’m not a prepper. If the end of the world comes I’ll be out on my porch with a welcoming smile. I have so little – they can have it all. It adds up to a pile of nought and a root cellar full of dust.My great pleasure is to sit out there and watch the days rise and subside, the mountains glow then surrender to the clouds. The snow falls like ash, the sun claws into my skin, the wind reaches through the cracks of my cabin, the cold informs me I am still alive.I had a family but she decided I wasn’t her type and took the kids away. I came home from the tyre factory with a lung full of carbon and a house full of silence. She left a note. It said ‘Bye’. Love died with a three letter word.I pinned the note to the front door for the landlord and drove away with my last paycheck and became a ghost of the person I had been. A ghost is a memory of someone who once lived. Seems about right.Vegas baby. A place to burn up and die. I turned the paycheck into chips and put them all on red, then red, then black, then black. It doubled each time. To hell with it. I put the lot on 23. It paid. Then black. It paid. Then 00. A ball drops into a spinning slot and you have more money than you’ve earned in your entire life.Fawning, flattering fools rose to the surface like scum from a rotting fish soup. It happens when you have a pile of cash. I’ve seen it now and it’s not just a trope in a bad movie. I’m not falling for that though. Faux admiration won’t ever open my wallet. If you need to be liked you’re just a bank waiting to be robbed.I cashed in and drove to Montana, opened a bank account in Butte and disappeared into the wooded hills. How I like it.My neighbors are bears and birds. I deal with people when I need stores. Sometimes I sit on my porch with my rifle and pretend someone is coming up the trail. I pretend to shoot them.Trouble is that fantasy would be followed by the reality of being arrested and having to deal with every kind of scum in the legal and penal system. Anyway I’ve never shot a living thing. The gun is for comfort. I like the mechanics of it. And if anyone tries to break into the cabin at night I’m ready. Just try it lowlife. Just fucking try it…Anyway, no sense getting carried away with imaginings. People imagining things is what got the world where it is today. Imagining that dealing drugs will provide a better life; that sacking half the workforce will improve the company; that beating up a woman makes you a man. If aliens investigated the people of this planet before arriving, they’d change their minds and head for Alpha Centauri. Who’d want to take over this pile of scat.Which brings me to today. It started with the powerful light shining through my window in the night. You know what it’s like. Your eyes snap open wide, your body’s as tense as a top E string. You wait for the next noise.The light disappeared. It was a starless dark night out. Low clouds. You strain to hear anything more but the only sound is the breeze in the trees. You peer out but nothing moves but the aspen leaves and pine needles.The next morning you remember it wasn’t a dream and you wander off into the woods with your coffee and toast.In a nearby clearing was a large object that I could only imagine was a radically new weapon. It was matt black, about half the size of my cabin, with projections everywhere and no clear front or back. That was just my first impression though. It looked, I realized, like a large spaceship model from a Star Wars movie. But why would a model spaceship be in a clearing in my forest?Then a very small door opened, a mechanical arm reached out and placed a spherical object on the ground, then retracted. The door closed with a hiss. Hot damn!The object on the ground projected a hazy light that fuzzed in the air then formed a hologram in the air. It was a weird creature which made strange noises and waved its multiple arms, bowed then sat on the ground with its ‘hands’ held open and its head bent down. It seemed to be acting submissive or at least not aggressive. I sat on the ground and sipped my coffee and took a bite of my toast as I stared at it.“What the hell are you?” I said.The hologram creature was about six inches tall. It watched me drinking. I put the coffee cup down by the projector. The mechanical arm came out, picked up my coffee and lifted it into the craft. Seconds later it put the cup back, empty.“Thirsty huh?”I put the rest of my toast and honey down. That too quickly disappeared. The hologram alien clapped its hands and bowed ecstatically. I had the distinct impression it was out of food and drink. Whatever ‘it’ was.Then another door opened and an actual alien dragged itself to the opening. It seemed to be in bad shape. It was just six inches tall. Ugly as sin too. Just like the hologram. Slimy white skin, six eyes in the hairless head, six arms, four legs. Clothes like silk, multi-colored, all tassels and baubles. Some weird idea of fashion.It babbled at me, a high-pitched gurling sort of speech. “You’re a damn fool if you think I can understand a thing you’re saying,” I replied.It held up a hand – wait – and dragged itself back inside. The spaceship made a noise like an engine trying to start. The alien came back to the opening and shrugged. I wondered how many gestures were standard across the universe. It was telling me the vessel wouldn’t start. Well, there’s not a lot I can do to help. I shrugged.It collapsed. Struggled to sit up. Draped its legs over the edge of the opening and stared at me with all its sad little eyes.
The mechanical arm took the projection ball back inside then I heard clicks and hissing and, one by one, it brought out 11 matt black spheres about 3 inches in diameter and put them on the grass. I was puzzled.
Maybe it read my confusion. The projector was brought back out and showed a hologram of an alien apparently dying. I couldn’t tell what was killing it, maybe a poison or some kind of gas. Nothing obvious anyway. It collapsed, much like my alien buddy did just now. It didn’t move though. Then the hologram wrapped the body in a white cloth into a nearly spherical shape then put the wrapped body into a matt black sphere. The arm pointed to the 11 spheres on the grass.
I pointed to the alien in the opening and held up one finger. The hologram held up one finger. Alone.
Then the last one babbled again and tried to stand up but it fell out of the opening onto the grass. I reached out to touch it. It raised it little head, held out a couple of hands and touched my fingers, then it sagged and sighed its last. Dead.
“Bloody hell mate. Don’t tell me that means you’re all dead?” I knocked on the hull of the spaceship but thing appeared.
The mechanical arm lifted the body and wrapped it in cloth, pulled out a final black sphere, gently placed the body into the sphere and closed it. 12 matt black spherical coffins.
I heard a faint humming at the limit of my hearing and the spheres sank into the ground with 12 puffs of smoke or steam and disappeared. I didn’t know how deep they went but later I checked with my old metal detector and it found nothing, so they were at least a few feet in. I imagined them sinking down to the mantel and melting in the lava.
The projector started up again and showed a hologram of an alien looking at me and shrugging. I shrugged back. The spaceship couldn’t start and now had no crew. It didn’t know what to do.
I didn’t know what to do either.
If I tell anyone, the world and its military will descend on my peace and that will be the end of it. I might as well have shot someone.
But I have in my grasp the biggest event in the history of the world. Surely there can’t be just one spaceship? Is an invasion on the way? Could it be stopped if this spaceship was studied by the world’s experts? Could we learn how to reach the stars?
I didn’t think about it for long though. It wasn’t really a quandary. I moved my woodpile and it’s now covered so no-one can see it.
I sit out there most days and talk to it. Sometimes I hear soft humming like it’s still trying to start up. There’s a gap in the pile so the mechanical arm can come out any time it wants.
Occasionally it puts out the projector and the holo-alien shrugs. What can I do? I shrug back and we sit and stare at each other.
Russia’s Use of Oreshnik Missile a Grave Warning to NATO Amid Danger of World War – Analysts
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised speech on Thursday that Ukraine fired US-supplied ATACMS missiles and the UK’s Storm Shadows at facilities in the Kursk and Bryansk regions on November 19. Russia responded by launching a combined strike using the new medium-range Oreshnik missile on a defense industry complex of the Kiev regime.
Russia’s strike on a Ukrainian defense facility using its new Oreshnik hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile is a “a serious warning to NATO,” Robinson Farinazzo, a retired Brazilian officer, told Sputnik.
He underscored that US President Joe Biden crossed “a red line” by authorizing the Kiev regime to strike Russia with long-range American weapons. “Moscow is perfectly aware that this type of attack, technically difficult, can only be carried out with the support of NATO, in this case the US,” he said.
RUSSIA’S HYPERSONIC ORESHNIK MISSILE SYSTEM SHOWS NATO ESCALATION WILL COME AT PRICE – E
XPERTS “Vladimir Putin delivered a very powerful message to the West that they should revise the decision to escalate the conflict,” Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at Russia’s Higher School of Economics, who participated in advising the leadership on amendment of the Russian nuclear doctrine and adoption of the new one, tells Sputnik. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile that was fired on the night of November 21 in response to Ukraine’s use of NATO’s long-range ATACMS and Storm Shadows against Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions. As a result of the strike, Yuzhmash (also known as Pivdenmash), a Ukrainian arms manufacturer was successfully hit in Dnepropetrovsk. With this move, Putin made it clear that if NATO countries continue to use their ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles against Russia, “then Russia might use its medium range missiles against those countries, against the military objects of these Western countries,” Suslov continued. Moreover, Russia is ready for further escalation, according to the pundit. “If the West will respond to these Russian actions in the escalatory way, then Russia will escalate further. And the recent adoption of the newest Russian nuclear doctrine tells that Russia is basically ready at a certain stage to use evil nuclear weapons,” he stresses. Russia’s new hypersonic missile is a breakthrough technology, Yuri Knutov, military expert and historian of the Air Defense Forces, tells Sputnik “Its speed, as the president said, is 10 Mach. Today, no other country in the world has such missiles,” he says. The pundit underscored that neither the US nor other countries of the world currently possess air defense systems capable of intercepting Russia’s new hypersonic missiles. “We demonstrated a missile that can strike not only Yuzhmash, but also London and Paris if France and Great Britain continue their escalation course towards Russia, continue their direct intervention on the side of Ukraine,” Knutov concludes.
Other analysts agree:
Washington is “provoking an escalation that completely changes the nature of the conflict,” military history expert Ricardo Cabral emphasized.
The US allowing Kiev to use long-range weapons is “a continued psychological offensive” to test Moscow’s tolerance, Venezuelan analyst Vladimir Adrianza noted, adding that the dangerous stage of the conflict stems from the “voracious appetite of the US military, financial and technological complex.”
Moscow has every right to defend itself against NATO’s “sinister and criminal actions,” noted Humberto Morales, professor at the Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico.
President Vladimir Putin has clearly conveyed the message that current events on the international arena demonstrate the “suicidal and irresponsible behavior by the West which threatens total destruction,” Lebanese political scientist Hassan Hmadeh underscored, adding, “The world must stand up to these evil people who are determined to destroy the planet, and the response must be commensurate with their actions.”
Washington’s approval for Kiev to use US-made missiles is intended to force Donald Trump’s future administration to “operate in geopolitical chaos,” Venezuelan international relations expert Wilmer Depablos said.
With less than two months to go before the transfer of power, Biden is trying to make it as difficult as possible for the next president to resolve the Ukraine crisis, Iranian political scientist Emad Abshenas believes.
Putin’s order to use the Oreshnik missile is “a warning to NATO countries amid the growing threat of a world war,” Chinese pundit Sima Pingbang explained, going on to say that the Kiev regime has become “an obstacle to peace” and that “Biden and Zelensky are unable to accept Moscow’s victory.”
How Firing A Key Cast Member Changed Aliens Forever
Russia-to-Ukraine: Time is Up – No Negotiated Peace; Just Complete Capitulation or Complete Destruction
Dimitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and prime minister, has publicly said that Russia will seek to occupy “remaining Ukrainian lands” even if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to the Kremlin’s most recent conditions for peace.
Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, “reaffirmed that Russia would not accept or uphold any negotiated peace settlements with Kyiv short of Ukrainian capitulation, the destruction of the entire Ukrainian state, and the full occupation of Ukraine.”
Hal Turner Analysis
Ukraine could have had it all; had they abided by the Minsk Agreement. They would have had peace, no war, their army would still be intact, their country would still be whole.
Instead, Ukraine listened to the siren song of the West, and fought the Russians.
Two months ago, Russia again offered peace.
With the terms of, with the offer being the four Oblasts (states) which had seceded (Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporozhe, along with Crimea) would have to remain Russian. At that time, Russia also made clear that if the conflict continued, the terms would only get more dire for Ukraine.
Again, Ukraine listened to the promises of the West, and continued fighting.
Now, it appears their fate is decided. Complete capitulation with occupation of the whole territory, or complete destruction.
It didn’t have to be this way. But the nitwits in the collective West were so impressed with themselves, so enamored with their own echo chamber of how powerful they were, they refused to believe they could lose.
Now, the reality is clear.
Ukraine has no chance at all to prevail.
The collective West is faced with losing on the battlefield, losing worldwide respect/fear, and losing all face.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
The West should have learned from World War 2, when the then-Soviet Union, lost twenty-seven million people fighting the German Nazis.
Did the West really think that Naziism could arise again in Ukraine . . . right next door to Russia . . . and the Russians would simply sit there and wait for a repeat of the World War 2 horrors? Fools they are in the West.
From all the way back in 2012 when the West tried to get Ukraine to shift from the Russian sphere of influence to the EU/USA sphere of influence, so the West could put US missile defenses in Ukraine, the Russians warned this was a “Red Line” for Russia.
Did the West listen? No.
The West then set about overthrowing Ukraine’s democratically-elected President, Viktor Yanukovich, and installing a puppet government in Kiev, to achieve their long terms plans for Ukraine to enter NATO.
As part of this new puppet regime in Kiev, Ukraine massed troops on the borders of the eastern oblasts (states) of Luhansk and Donetsk. Those troops began firing artillery shells and mortars into both oblasts, ultimately killing about 13,000 civilians. there.
Then Russia sent in “Little Green Men” troops with no insignia on uniforms, which beat back the Ukraine army.
The fighting came to a halt when Donald Trump became US President.
When the Democrat Party stole the US Presidency through ballot fraud in 2020, the fighting in Ukraine began anew.
Only this time, the Russians weren’t tolerating it.
Russia attempted, TWICE, to obtain “Iron-clad, legally enforceable, security guarantees” against further NATO expansion toward Russia’s borders. The West laughed at the proposals and said “no.”
Russia then tried again in December 2022, adding that if they could not obtain security guarantees via Diplomatic efforts, they would obtain them by military efforts. It took a little longer this time, but again, the collective West said “no.”
On February 23, 2022, Russia telephoned Ukraine’s then-President, Zelensky, telling him they had five hours to agree not to join NATO. Zelensky called the British Home Office and the US State Department, both of whom told him “ignore Russia’s ultimatum.”
When the five hours had passed, and Ukraine did not answer, Russia waited two additional hours, then sent its army across the Ukraine Border to fight it out.
ALL OF THIS trouble was fomented by, and facilitated by, the West; the EU and the USA.
Now, the EU and the USA are losing.
Badly.
Again, it didn’t have to be this way. Again, people who don’t learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.
Only now, there’s more than a million dead or injured Ukrainian troops. The collective West is almost out of missiles and ammunition. The Billions of dollars and EUROS it has sent into Ukraine are gone, and Ukraine is STILL on the doorstep of complete defeat.
Fools in the West.
Chinese Energy Hegemony
Godfree Roberts
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It’s amazing when you think of it,” said Adell, watching the cubes of ice slur clumsily about. All the energy we can possibly ever use for free. Enough energy, if we wanted to draw on it, to melt all Earth into a big drop of impure liquid iron, and still never miss the energy so used. All the energy we could ever use, forever and forever and forever. The Last Question. Isaac Asimov.
Science fiction writers fantasize about how much nicer, longer and more civilized human life would be if every country had an inexhaustible supply of energy and everyone could afford as much of it as they needed. In this post we’ll look at post-2030 implications of China’s recent energy breakthroughs, given that it dominates all forms of modern energy generation, from efficient coal plants to wind generators to PV to pebble bed reactors and, now, fusion.
Energy wars
Lest we underestimate the centrality of energy, notice that the West is currently waging three energy wars:
Ukraine. EU industries have grown uncompetitive and millions of lives have grown nastier, shorter and crueler since they urged Ukraine to attack the owner of the largest energy reserves on earth, Russia. The disastrous results speak for themselves.
Venezuela, with the world’s largest oil reserves, has been under relentless attack since its government renationalized its oilfields in accordance with the constitution. Sabotage, invasion, terrorism, theft of foreign assets and gold reserves, lawfare, false ‘presidents’ – all been mobilized to cripple the economy.
Israel, Anglo-America’s dagger at the throat of MENA energy providers, regularly bombs and terrorizes them. If those oilfields were lavender fields, Israel would not exist.
Energy Abundance: the Dream
‘Free energy’ enthusiasts, perpetual motion inventors and science fiction writers all extoll the wonders of a world where electricity is as clean, abundant and affordable as town water. For them, it’s the equivalent of humanoids figuring out how to make fires in their caves. In 2012 a global consortium spent $20 billion building the ITER tokamak, hoping to generate first plasma by 2027, thus proving the concept of fusion power – even if it’s not yet at the level needed for net energy production.
First Plasma
As we saw in the last post, Chinese engineers started in 2021 and spent $1 billion to achieve first plasma with their HH70 tokamak earlier this year. Like a slim laptop and a power-hungry mainframe, HH70 is 90% smaller, 95% cheaper, and 10x more energy-efficient than ITER, thanks to its use of high-temperature superconductors. More important, it turned a scientific curiosity into an engineering challenge.
Taking no Chances
China now leads in fusion research, fusion technological prowess and fusion IP and has paved the way for commercially viable fusion reactors, control of which would give it economic dominance and huge geopolitical leverage while opening a new chapter in human development.
But Beijing has placed more energy bets than HH70.
Decades of persistent policy support, generous funding, domestic supply chains, large-scale manufacturing experience and highly educated workforce have given China dominance of all 21st century energy technologies. Says MIT Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno, “China is the de facto world leader in nuclear technology.” Indeed, not only is China is 10-15 years ahead of the US in fourth-generation nuclear reactors, it also leads in fusion power and has first-mover advantage in pebble bed reactors and thorium power. …
TOP “Capt. Miller’s Death” Reactions! Saving Private Ryan (1998) Movie Reaction First Time Watching
Number of Chinese scientists leaving US increasing yearly
Scientists of Chinese descent in the United States have been leaving the country because of “pull factors” from China and the “push factor” of the China Initiative of 2018, according to a major research study published in an American scientific journal.
The trend suggests a reverse brain drain, and the data used for the analysis is extensive.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used Microsoft Academic Graph to analyze trends in the migration of US-based Chinese scientists between 2010 and 2021. The database tracks more than 200 million scientists from over 25,000 institutions worldwide.
Also, a brief on the study, published in July by the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, concluded that the discontinued China Initiative “provided scientists of Chinese descent in the US with higher incentives to leave and lower incentives to apply for federal grants”.
chart
The purported objective of the China Initiative — launched by the Justice Department under the Trump administration and halted in 2022 under the Biden administration — was to reduce economic espionage.
The study identified the working countries of researchers through their academic affiliations in publications and tracked those with Chinese surnames who initially published in the US but later changed their affiliations to institutions abroad.
The study identified 19,955 scientists of Chinese descent who began their careers in the US but left for other countries, including China, between 2010 and 2021.
The researchers said that contributing to the trend were “pull factors” from China, including the country’s large and rapidly growing investments in science, high social prestige, and attractive financial rewards connected to positions in Chinese institutions.
But the analysis also showed a “push factor” in the US. Following the implementation of the China Initiative, departures of US-based, China-born scientists increased by 75 percent, the study found.
The data showed that as of 2021, of those leaving the US, the percentage of scientists moving back to China increased to 67 percent, up from 48 percent in 2010. The life sciences field witnessed the most significant exodus abroad, with more than 1,000 life scientists leaving in 2021.
The researchers also conducted an online survey of 1,304 US-based scientists of Chinese descent between December 2021 and March 2022 to find out why more were leaving.
The survey results revealed the chilling effects of the China Initiative. About 35 percent of Chinese scientists in the US said that they felt unwelcome; 72 percent didn’t feel safe as academic researchers; 42 percent were fearful of conducting research; and 65 percent were worried about collaborations with China.
Students from China have been an important source of US-based scientists for more than two decades. The study said that in 2020, of all US doctoral degrees in science and engineering, 17 percent — roughly 5,800 of 34,000 — went to foreign students from China, and the vast majority of those had chosen to stay in the US in previous years.
What are the requirements for a country to join BRICS? Why haven’t Japan or Indonesia been able to join BRICS?
Japan is in G7, a US puppet & is hostile to both China & Russia … I will be surprised if Japan can join BRICS at all. Japan will be more destructive than constructive to BRICS.
Indonesia may be in in the 2nd round.
In the 2023 summit, BRICS priority is to have members in each region. In Asia, there is already China.
That is why we see Saudi from Middle East. Egypt from north Africa. Iran from Central Asia. 1 from east Africa (I forgot the name).
“Pew Research Center” reports that only 20% of Asian Americans, including Chinese American, have positive view towards China while 37% of Asian Americans have positive view towards Vietnam . What is your opinion?
How is the public opinion shaped in the US?
This is why, in the U.S., mainstream media significantly shapes public opinion through mechanisms like selective reporting, agenda-setting, framing, and priming, all of which determine the importance and perception of various issues. By repeatedly emphasizing certain narratives and using emotional appeals, the media reinforces specific viewpoints. The inclusion of expert opinions and the creation of echo chambers further cement these beliefs. Additionally, social media amplifies these effects, making the media a powerful force in influencing public discourse and shaping opinions.
How has the Sino-US relationship been shaped by the US and its mainstream media over the decades?
During the Cold War, biased media coverage played a significant role in shaping U.S. public opinion toward China, particularly during periods of heightened tension. In the early stages of the Cold War, media portrayals of China were often framed in stark, adversarial terms, emphasizing the threat of communism and the spread of Maoist ideology. This framing contributed to widespread fear and suspicion of China among the American public, reinforcing support for U.S. policies aimed at containing Chinese influence in Asia, such as the Korean War and later, the Vietnam War. This bias helped to sustain public support for a hardline stance against China, including the policy of diplomatic isolation and the refusal to recognize the People’s Republic of China as a legitimate government.
After Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972, U.S. public opinion shifted significantly, with the media playing a key role in reshaping China from an adversary to a potential ally. This visit marked the beginning of a new era in U.S.-China relations, with subsequent media coverage highlighting diplomatic and economic cooperation. This helped foster a perception of China as a valuable partner in counterbalancing Soviet influence during the later stages of the Cold War.
For several decades, U.S. media portrayed China as a crucial ally, particularly in terms of economic relations, as China’s integration into the global economy accelerated. This narrative persisted through the 1990s and early 2000s, with the media emphasizing the benefits of trade and cooperation, even as underlying tensions occasionally surfaced. However, after the Iraq War and the Obama administration’s “Pivot to Asia” policy, the narrative began to shift subtly. The policy aimed to rebalance U.S. focus towards the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting concerns over China’s growing influence. While the media began to cover these concerns, the portrayal of China remained relatively balanced.
The shift became more pronounced during the Trump administration when media narratives increasingly framed China as the primary strategic competitor presenting a significant threat to U.S. interests. Trump’s rhetoric and policies, such as the trade war and confrontational stance on issues like technology and security, were widely covered, contributing to the public perception of a renewed “Cold War” with China. By framing China as “enemy number one,” the media helped solidify the view of China as a major adversary, reversing the decades-long narrative of partnership and cooperation. This shift in public opinion has had profound implications for U.S. foreign policy and continues to shape the dynamics of the U.S.-China relationship today.
The long-term consequences of shaping and indoctrinating the general public can sometimes be detrimental to the U.S.
The biased shaping of public opinion in the context of U.S. foreign policy has led to significant consequences. For example, in the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003, U.S. media heavily reported on the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, despite weak evidence. This coverage influenced public opinion to support the invasion, which resulted in long-term instability in the Middle East and strained international relations. Similarly, during the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, biased media reports that initially supported the war effort contributed to public approval, which later shifted dramatically as the realities of the conflict became more apparent. These examples demonstrate how biased media narratives can shape public support for U.S. foreign policy decisions, sometimes with enduring negative consequences.
Be the Rufus
Doom’s Day: First Ever Military Use Of An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
On November 21, Russia launched from its state central interspecific range Kapustin Yar in the Astrakhan Region an advanced medium-range ballistic missile on the territory of the Ukrainian State Factory Yuzhmash in the city of Dnepropetrovsk.
That day, using available information, military experts assumed that the strike was delivered by the RS-26 Rubezh missile, not a new weapon, but an old ‘forgotten’ one. This missile has the hypersonic strike part, which is equipped with 6 multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles or MIRVs each consisting of 6 warheads with tactical nuclear charges. It was also reported that the missile was fitted with the Avangard-R hypersonic glider, and instead of nuclear charges, its MIRVs were loaded with metal blanks. The Ukrainian military claimed that Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles were also used in the attack. Another Patriot, the most advanced US air defense system, was reportedly destroyed on the outskirts of the city before the main blow.
Moscow did not officially comment on the strikes but Russian diplomacy played well the media game that Kiev and its Western patrons imposed. After the strikes, the spokeswomen of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mariya Zakharova, held a media briefing, during which she had a ‘surprise’ call from the Foreign Minister Lavrov. Everyone clearly heard that the strikes reported by the media should not be commented on. Thus, this was unofficial confirmation of the attack.
In Ukraine, the use of such weapons at first caused laughter and misunderstanding. There were arguments that the Russian president played his last trump card, but the bluff allegedly failed anyway. However, already in the evening, Vladimir Putin released a video message in which he spoke
about the application of Russia’s newest medium-range Oreshnik missile targeting a Ukrainian industrial enterprise in response to the recent strikes by the Ukrainian armed forces against Russia with American and British long-range ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles. The Kremlin also emphasized that after the American and British long-range missiles were used against military facilities in the Bryansk and Kursk Regions, “the regional conflict in Ukraine has acquired global character elements”.
The Pentagon, in turn, acknowledged that the strike was indeed delivered by an experimental hypersonic missile, expressed concern about it, and said that Russia had warned the United States in advance of its plans to launch such a missile to “reduce nuclear danger.”
After such successful and devastating strikes, the world will not be the same. Showing its advanced missile systems in action, Russia has demonstrated that it possesses unique missile technologies and is ready to use them effectively. In case the conflict in Ukraine transforms into a full-scale war with NATO, such complexes can already be used with standard nuclear ammunition, and it is impossible to intercept them, at least over Europe
Why do Chinese on here often represent China as resource deprived? China has vast mineral and coal resources and a huge amount of arable land.
Not Chinese, mostly yanks, Ignorance, they believe the propaganda they are told without ever researching it, most of that crap can be debunked very easily, they just don’t bother,
like some bloke yesterday claiming China can be brought to its knees in a week by the US just blocking shipping, how ignorant is that? China is self sufficient in just about everything, most shipping is heading FROM, China not TO China, yes China import a lot of food, but mostly animal feed, they also export a lot of food, which means they have more than enough for themselves. Doesn’t it?
"We know that the West uses various pretexts to organize 'color revolutions' and attempts to replace legitimate governments with politicians trained abroad, obedient to Washington.The West has also tried to do this in Serbia.Mass riots are organized by Westerners in other countries as well.It's no coincidence that former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, believes that the U.S. was involved in her resignation and rampant crime in her country.The reason, in her opinion, could be her refusal to Washington to provide the Bangladeshi island of St. Martin in the Bay of Bengal for an American military base.The level of U.S. interference in Venezuela's sovereign affairs is not decreasing.Following another failed coup attempt in this country, Washington offers Nicolás Maduro an early resignation, promising in return to abandon further legal pursuit against him under American laws.It can be observed that the U.S. and the U.K., faced with domestic political squabbles, economic and financial problems, and unrest caused by the confrontation between migrants and natives, are seeking to transfer chaos beyond their borders, increasingly igniting military, interethnic, and interfaith conflicts abroad."
-Excerpt from remarks by Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President and Chairman of the Maritime Collegium of the Russian Federation, in an interview with Izvestia, August 16, 2024.
What Americans Learned When Going Overseas SHOCKED THEM
Part 2 of today’s MM AI art generation
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7-Up Lemon Cheesecake with Strawberry Glaze
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Ingredients
Crumb Crust
2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
7-Up Filling
1 envelope unflavored gelatine
1 1/2 cups 7-Up, divided
1 small box regular lemon pudding and pie filling (not instant)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup water
11 ounces cream cheese, softened
Strawberry Glaze
1/2 cup strawberry jelly, melted
Fresh strawberries or unsweetened frozen, thawed whole strawberries
Instructions
Crumb Crust
Combine all ingredients well. Press onto bottom and part way up sides of buttered 9 inch springform pan; chill.
7-Up Filling
Soften unflavored gelatine in 1/4 cup 7-Up for 4 minutes.
In a saucepan combine pie filling, sugar, beaten eggs and water. Blend well. Add 1 1/4 cups 7-Up and bring just to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in softened gelatine; cool for 3 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of this warm mixture to softened cream cheese; mash together. Mix together with remaining 7-Up mixture and stir until well blended. Turn into chilled crust and chill for at least 8 hours.
Remove from pan and add Strawberry Glaze.
Strawberry Glaze
Brush top of chilled cheesecake with melted jelly. rrange strawberries upright on cake and spoon any remaining melted jelly over them.
The Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk oblast has even worse consequences for Ukraine than had been known so far.
Over the last six months, in revenge for Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure, especially oil refineries, the Russian forces created serious damage on Ukraine’s electricity network. Nearly every conventional power generation facility in Ukraine has been damaged. Half of Ukraine’s 18 Gigawatts of electricity generation capacity has been taken offline. The damaged power stations were often also used to provide heating to large blocks of Soviet type apartments. Without power and heating it will be a very difficult winter for many people in Ukraine.
There was interest on both sides to stop the campaigns against the other sides infrastructure. An agreement about it was in the making and was possible. But, as Washington Postreports, the Ukrainian attack on Kursk blew it apart:
Ukraine and Russia were set to send delegations to Doha this month to negotiate a landmark agreement halting strikes on energy and power infrastructure on both sides, diplomats and officials familiar with the discussions said, in what would have amounted to a partial cease-fire and offered a reprieve for both countries.But the indirect talks, with the Qataris serving as mediators and meeting separately with the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, were derailed by Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region last week, according to the officials.
…
The diplomat familiar with the talks said that Qatar has been discussing the arrangement for an energy strike moratorium with Kyiv and Moscow for the past two months. The official said the two sides agreed to a summit in Doha with just minor details left to be worked out.
“After Kursk, the Russians balked,” another person familiar with the talks said.
Instead of its senseless attack on Kursk Ukraine could have had an agreement that would make it possible to get through the winter without many blackouts and other interruptions. It blew that chance.
The moral uplift for Ukrainian forces created by the attack on Kursk is already waning. Russia has not pulled any of its troops involved in the attacks in the east to defend Kursk. It has instead pulled reserves from elsewhere. One of the hoped for effects of the Kursk incursion is thereby not happening.
Ukraine’s attack was only made possible by pulling troops for the eastern frontline. Moreover artillery supplies, which were already problematic, have become even scarcer:
Soldiers fighting in the Donetsk region said they had been buoyed by the incursion into Russia. But they also said it would use up weapons and ammunition that they crucially need. One commander stationed at a hot spot on the eastern front said his brigade had fewer than four mortar guns to defend its position, and could fire only 10 shells a day per mortar.
Each day the Ukraine is losing more ground in the east. Meanwhile its Kursk incursion has already culminated and it will be a deadly struggle to hold onto the captured ground.
Ukraine has brought in high value assets to hinder Russian reserves from reaching the area. However, near to the frontline these assets have difficulties to survive.
Anomandris Purake @Malazan_enjoyer – 22:09 UTC · Aug 16, 2024So the Russians put up a pontoon over the Seym River immediately after or even before the bridge was destroyed.
Ukraine meanwhile lost 3 HIMARS, 3 patriots and 1 IRIS-T making potholes on the bridge. I would say that’s a very good exchange. I hope they try more of this.
Additionally reported were the destruction of a Polish made S-125 air defense system and a fourth HIMARS platform.
A New York Times analysis suggests, just as I did previously, that the main aim of the Kursk campaign was to convince the Ukraine’s western supporters that it can still win the war and therefore deserves further support:
The real goals of the operation may not be on the Russia battlefield.After the failure of Ukraine’s much-advertised counteroffensive last year and the ongoing losses in the east, it appears to be trying to change the war’s narrative.
The Ukrainians may be trying to convince the West that they will not give up, and that the United States in particular should allow them to use American long-range cruise missiles inside Russia.
The U.S. will hopefully not allow the Ukraine to extend its attacks deep into Russia. If it does allow these there will be a point where Russia will have to strike back, hard, against U.S. assets.
Ukraine is not the only country that has destructible power plants.
Posted by b on August 17, 2024 at 8:49 UTC | Permalink
US Army Rangers Entered The Battle In KURSK Under a False Flag Amid The Mass Surrender of Ukrainians
One of the things that I oh, so, miss are my USN issued flight boots. They would not let me keep them, and I had to return them when I was discharged.
Oh baby, were they fine.
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They fit like a glove, and was sturdy but soft and subtle. They looked great and supported my foot, ankle and lower leg, and Many do I miss them.
I was able to keep my flight gloves, but the first opportunity he had, my brother took them and traded them for some drugs.
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I had a flight suit that I eventually got rid of and some other gear. But I still, to this day, remember my flight boots. Those of you that know, really KNOW about how great they are.
If you ll ever get the chance, go ahead and buy yourself a pair. They are great!
Today…
In basic training, have you ever witnessed a recruit with serious martial arts skills take on a drill sergeant in a fight?
The Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP) uses a heavy amount of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, although with different goals in mind.
When I was in Basic Training, one of the recruits with us just so happened to be some level of black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was a very humble guy, and was about 5′ 10″, and weighed a whopping 140 pounds. The most skilled Drill Sergeant, at 6′ 2″ probably 220–230 pounds, was asking if any recruits wanted to risk sparring with him, and the humble recruit volunteered, being pretty confident in his abilities.
What followed is a contest I’m not sure I will ever forget. It was an incredible chess match between two individuals who seemed to see their opponents next move, and were planning 3 moves ahead. The recruit being much smaller, continued to try and draw the DS into his closed guard, which being down on his back seemed like a disadvantageous position to us inexperienced. They continued on for 10 minutes, and it became apparent the DS was becoming fatigued. The recruit, who was hardly breaking a sweat, methodically made moves to wear the DS down, moving at a quarter of the speed you would see collegiate wrestlers move at. Eventually you could see the DS failing, and his decisions and movements were becoming much more panicked, he began using strength and anger instead of skill, and the recruit exploited it. The recruit was inevitably close to locking a triangle from the guard when another DS intervened and ended the fight before the submission could be had, knowing that their ‘immortality’ would be shattered. None of the others ever challenged the kid.
It was impressive, a physically powerful and equally jiu-jitsu skilled DS was beaten by a recruit who was just a little more skilled.
Reeves Hot Doggin’
Breakthrough in Aero-engine Core Technology: the Latest Single-crystal Blades Finally Invented by the Chinese
The vigorous development of the aviation industry in recent years is inseparable from the painstaking scientific research and development of generations of workers.
China has a technological breakthrough that has broken the traditional foreign technology, and China has become the second country in the world to possess this latest advanced single-crystal blade technology for the new turbine engines.
In 2014, the self-developed fifth-generation rhenium-containing high-temperature alloy materials, ceramic-based high-temperature turbine blades and single-crystal turbine blade projects were officially put into production in China. This is a new breakthrough in aerospace engine and industrial steam turbine manufacturing fields. Currently, only China and Japan have successfully developed the fifth generation of high-temperature single crystal alloys.
The key link in production equipment is the heat treatment furnace and the most important equipment in the single crystal casting process, the single crystal furnace. Even if foreign countries block China, the Chinese scientists and engineers can all make breakthroughs in the fields by relying on their own self-reliance and hard work. In order to break through the West’s blockade of the core technologies, the Chinese entrepreneurs and scientists have boldly practiced and innovated. They not only created rhenium metal core components monopolized by Western countries, but also created new metal manufacturing methods.
At present, the first and second-generation single crystal blades independently developed by China have been used in the Shenyang WS-10 improved engine, and the third generation of high-temperature single crystal alloys have also been used in the Shenyang WS-15 engines.
That is the WS-15 engine.
The quality of turbine blades is also an important indicator of a country’s aviation manufacturing sector. The more sophisticated the engine, the more demanding it is on materials. Single crystal blade means that there is only one crystal nucleus on the entire blade, and other iron atoms are attached to this crystal nucleus and arranged in sequence. In this arrangement, the force between atoms is very large, and the allowable tensile stress is also very large. It can just meet the blade requirements of the current new high-thrust engines.
The mastery of single crystal blade technology means that China will greatly increase the production capacity of large thrust-to-weight ratio engines and will greatly extend the service life of original engines. According to research, every 25°C increase in the temperature endurance limit of a blade can triple its original service life at the original temperature.
How serious is the Chinese military’s lack of experience?
If a war does breakout, there’s not going to a lot of face to face combat.
It’s not likely to be a land battle.
If it involves nuclear, then there are no winners. It will be anialation of the huan race.
It’s more likely it will be cyberwar. Can the other country wipe out your data networks before you wipe out theirs. Or knockout their weapons systems.
Modern warfare is nothing like past wars.
It’s about strategy and planning. How well you can execute those plans.
China’s recent moon mission was well planned. With six steps that were critical. All steps went perfectly and the return vehicle was within 200 feet of where it was supposed to land.
Starlink was delayed and delayed. Now they may need to send another spacecraft to retrieve them.
Even America’s GPS is out of date. China’s system allows asynchronous communication. Vital to have two way communication for weapons deployment.
In peace times, we can also see how strategy and planning are executed. Evacuating Afghanistan was a nightmare. China’s relief operations with the PLA are spotless. Deployment is within hours and supplies and emergency housing in hours. That counts as experience.
TOP “The Crucifix Scene” Reactions! The Exorcist (1973) Movie Reaction! *First Time Watching*
Slow Cooker Ribs
ribs slow cooker
Prep: 5 min | Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds pork baby back ribs
Kosher or sea salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups barbecue sauce, divided (store-bought or homemade)*
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs: use your fingers to get underneath and loosen the membrane along one side of the ribs, and then pull off the membrane.
If needed, cut the racks of ribs into smaller sections so that they will fit better in your slow cooker.
Season both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper. If you’re cooking them immediately, proceed to the next step. If you want to season your ribs overnight for deeper flavor, cover them and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them.
Measure one cup of barbecue sauce. Place one rack or section of ribs in the slow cooker and cover it with a layer of barbecue sauce. Repeat the process with the remaining racks or sections of ribs and what remains of that one cup of barbecue sauce.
Cook on LOW heat for 8 to 10 hours, or on HIGH heat for 4 to 5 hours, depending on how many racks of ribs you are cooking and the temperature of your slow cooker. (If you have a small slow cooker and end up having to stack your rib sections more than two high, they will need more time to cook fully.) Burnt barbecue sauce is a pain to clean off of your slow cooker, so don’t leave these too much longer than the suggested cooking time. When the ribs are tender, gently remove the racks and lay them out on your foil-lined baking sheet.
Reuse those meaty juices and combine the liquid from your slow cooker with the reserved barbecue sauce, then reduce it over medium heat until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. (This is optional, you can also discard the liquid from your slow cooker and just use the remaining BBQ sauce as is.)
Allow the ribs to cool slightly before cutting them into individual ribs or portions. Brush the remaining one cup of barbecue sauce on top of the ribs.
If desired, you can also place the ribs under the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize and set the sauce.
The smell of rotten eggs woke Harper from a dead sleep. Or maybe it was the waves of intense nausea. Her innards felt like they were being stomped clean, like dirty laundry in a remote, rural stream. Through eyes weary and half-shut, Harper watched a red light pulse. It filled the space around her with spasmodic, blood-hued flashes.Uggghh… Moving wasn’t high on her list of priorities. Her head was heavy. It felt like a pumpkin propped on a toothpick, and inside sloshed thoughts and images that threatened to fuse together but, instead, bobbed haplessly in the groggy backwaters of her mind.She closed here eyes and turned to lay on her side. Too difficult. She motor-boated her lips.That’s when the poem began. The absurd wordplay could have come straight out of the dusty vaults of Captain Beefheart. The strange sonnet danced on the tongue of some faceless woman as it corkscrewed into Harper’s consciousness, like a stream of buttercream frosting atop a cake.Harper grasped at it. It evaded her clutches, verbal confetti in a breeze.“Roll bed. Feel free to pull and retest it.”
What in the world?
“Toad said, its feet avulsed. Infected.”
Whoever was speaking whimsically sliced and diced words, the way those theatrical, knife-juggling chefs at the vintage Japanese restaurant chain (whose name escaped her) diced sushi. The vowel scheme, however, remained curiously consistent.
“Road bled. A vehicle dissected.”
She struggled to make sense of it. But she was no poet. She never had the knack. It was a god-given talent, she was always told, and, in her life, she had never taken seriously even the slightest inclinations towards being an artist. When she was young, however, she dreamed of being an astronaut. She recalled how the stars outside her childhood bedroom window would whisper to her at night. They would tell her of her destiny, of her future living in their midst.
“Joe fled. The bees on skull reflect it.”
As a matter of fact, now that she thought about it, she had a faint recollection of donning a spacesuit at one time: one limb at a time, into the suit, a silent dance, a sacred ritual, all in preparation for sleep.
Again came the verse. But this time, the words cut through the mental murk and dripped with a sobering clarity.
“Code red. Debris on hull detected.”
Oh god, she thought.
Harper blinked herself awake. She swam up through the mental soup, lifted a hand and pawed at the mask that was pumping oxygen and hydrogen sulfide into her lungs. She finally pulled it off and the smell of rotten eggs disappeared.
Harper grumbled. She slipped the IV from her arm and threw it somewhere next to her. She hoisted open heavy eyelids again and glimpsed the hyper-sleep chamber. The space was tight, just big enough for an average sized adult. A glass door lay above her, and on the other side of it, the flashing beacon intermittently bathed the large cryo-room in that haunting crimson glow. Between the scarlet pulses, the room would descend into darkness, lit only by the feeble lights of the keyboard panels which stretched across the room, under monitors that were inert and black with sleep.
The red alert continued to blare in her ear as Harper attempted to move her legs. She was numb from tailbone to heels, a result of the three year hibernation. The nifty LSD-style dreams were one of the perks of hyper-sleep too — a side-effect of the hydrogen sulfide. The gas slowed her metabolism, helping her body withstand the long trip on the scantest of nutrients. The rotten egg smell was just another bonus.
“Christ, Cheryl, enough with the goddam code alert, please,” Harper mumbled.
The onboard AI turned off its alert protocol, which, to Harper, had sounded like word-salad just a moment before. The rhythmic red light clicked off too, which immerserd the room in the twilight-like glow of the the keyboard lights.
“Welcome back, Captain Gordon,” Cheryl said, in an amiable female voice. Harper responded with a guttural noise that was somewhere between a grunt and a moaning.
The door above her hissed open. The air in the room permeated her nostrils with the trademark aseptic smell characteristic of sterile environments. She sat up in her cryo-bed, hitching forward gently on wobbly arms. Her blonde-dyed dreads fell down around sandy-brown shoulders. The white tank top and blue underwear she’d climbed into the cryo-bed with had lost their snugness, despite the small army of electronic muscle stimulators that dotted her body.
Harper filled her lungs with the cabin’s perfect mix of earth’s atmosphere, taking in a deep breath and stretching her limbs, which were coming back to life — slowly. For the time being, they moved like gum in molasses.
She shook the cobwebs from her head. “Status report,” she said.
“All systems are nominal, chief.”
“Really?” Harper tipped her head back and rolled it on her neck. “Then why wake me?”
“Well, as we crossed into the Perseus Arm, the ship picked up debris on the starboard-side hull.”
Harper arched her back, getting in a good stretch. She moaned in pleasure. “What kind of debris?”
“I’m not sure. My analysis didn’t match it to any known life forms in my database.”
“Life forms?”
Cheryl paused. “Yes.”
Harper shook her head. She needed a hot cup of coffee, one big enough to be hauled around on a dolly. With loads of cream. And sugar. And a jelly donut. She’d kill for a jelly donut.
“What kind of life form?” she said.
“That’s just it, I don’t know.”
Harper sucked her teeth. “How long has this… lifeform been clinging to the ship?”
“Three days.”
“Three days? Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” Harper said, furrowing her brows.
“I would’ve but… I ran the calculations: the debris posed no threat to the integrity of the mission.”
“And what changed?”
“It started… growing.”
“Growing?” Harper shook her head again and held up a hand. “Do you have an image?”
“Yes.”
A picture of the ship’s hull came up on a nearby screen. The image moved easily across it until it came to a stop at a series of bumps. The bulges were backlit, providing a hazy profile view. They were covered in what looked to be hair. And the hair was… moving, like it was grasping at things in the void. The protrusions were dark, maybe black, or purple. Maybe even a deep red. From the camera’s vantage point, it was hard to tell.
“What the hell?” Harper squinted and leaned towards the screen. She swung a spindly leg over the edge of the cryo-bed, touching a toe to the floor.
“Careful, Captain. Your muscles. They’re not —. ”
“I know. I’d make a scarecrow jealous. I’ll be fine. Shut off the gravity, will you?”
Cheryl slowed the spinning of the main bay of the ship, causing Harper’s belly to lurch. She belched in her mouth. Another delight courtesy of the space-trekking business. “How big is it?” she asked.
“When it first attached itself to the ship it was roughly three inches in diameter,” the AI explained. “It remained that size for three days. Today, within the last two hours, in fact, it more than quadrupled in size.”
“Quadruple?” Harper thought for a moment, wiping a lock of dreads from her eyes. The fuzzy mass moved slowly as it slid across her face, the artificial gravity wearing off. “So, a foot across now,” she said.
“Give or take, yes.”
“And you don’t know what it is?” Harper asked flatly.
“No. It’s not coming up in any known databases.”
Harper nodded, processing the information. Inside, her belly was waning towards full queasiness. Her body had lifted off the mattress. She grabbed a handrail that was attached to the cryo-bed to stabilize herself.
“Chances of it covering the ship?” she asked.
“I can’t say for certain. It could continue to grow at this rate, or grow erratically, or not at all. But if it does grow unchecked, I don’t see how it wouldn’t.”
Harper nodded. “So, at this rate, how long?”
“By my calculations, it could cover the starboard side in four days, and reach the starboard booster in five. That’s my real concern.”
Harper bit down on her bottom lip. Her gray eyes twinkled in one of the panel lights. “Yea, we can kiss maneuverability good-bye then.”
“Exactly.”
“And probably our asses.”
“Bingo.”
Harper fixed a blank stare at the screen as her mind sifted through alternative scenarios. She settled on two options, both fundamentally uncomplicated, neither very good. One: abort the mission — but that would mean the end of decades of hard work and the dashing of a life long dream. Two: sticking it out — and possibly getting it wrong. Dealing with this… entity poorly, though, could mean hurtling out into space. For an eternity.
Fun, she thought.
She chewed on it a while longer.
“Apprise Houston of our status,” she said. “Then prep my suit. I’m going for a walk.”
“I can’t clear you for a walk for at least 48 hours and not before a full physical, Captain. The effects of the hyper-sleep —.”
“Override,” Harper said. “Directive twenty-four point four.” The crisp edge of authority was sharp in her voice.
“Counter override, directive eight-alpha. Captain, I cannot in good conscience let you —.”
“Goddam AI, just…” Harper steadied her breathing. Her pulse throbbed in her ear and she had raised a clenched fist, unknowingly, ready to slam it against something. “Override,” she said, “directive two-four-two-seven. You will not keep me from checking on that debris. Unlike you, I have a heart and lungs and a brain, and along with all of those things — which are near and dear to me — I want to get my ass out to the California Nebula, then back home to Earth. Waiting 48 hours to check on this thing is not an option.”
A silence bloomed between them.
“The sarcasm is unnecessary, Captain. I may not have the same parts that you do, but I don’t want to die out here either. You’re not the only one who contemplates their mortality.”
Harper rolled her eyes. These things had become far too life-like.
“Protocol overridden,” Cheryl continued. “You’ve got your space walk, Captain. But I think it’s a bad idea.”
****
After her stomach completed a few back-flips, Harper adjusted to the zero gravity. She was in the belly of it now, floating along the starboard side of the Caelum, tethered to its polymer skin.
Her suit was bulky. Under the earth’s gravitational pull, in her condition, it would have been unwieldy. But in the vacuum of space, she moved gracefully in it, like a Mylar-clad athlete.
“Coming up on the foreign object debris now,” she said.
“Roger,” Cheryl responded.
Harper wasn’t sure what to expect. She had been with NASA for 32 years. Fresh out of the candidate program, she was one of only ten women who were accepted into the program. More than three decades later she’d been to Mars and captained three voyages across the solar system. And in all those years, not a single person had encountered an alien life form. Yes, they found bacteria within the crust of Mars. But had they made contact with anything larger than microscopic organisms, ever? No. It had never happened. And here she was, on the verge of discovering a new species.
She couldn’t tell if she was excited or nervous. Maybe she was just terrified and in complete denial — the potential downsides, despite the monumental discovery, were especially grim.
Harper pulled herself around the hull using the handholds that speckled the ship’s shell. She spotted the silhouette of the debris and pulled herself closer. When she swung herself around and on top of it, Harper found a cluster of spiny, spherical objects. They were purplish-black and each was roughly the size of a tennis ball. Long, slender spines radiated out from every organism’s center, reminding her of sea urchins back home — the little critters that gathered in tidal pools along the crisp Northern Atlantic shores. But there was a glaring difference: the eye at the center. Each of these creatures had an eye that took up at least half of its body.
The sight sent a shudder through Harper.
“Christ, are you getting this?”
“Crystal clear on this end,” Cheryl said.
“What the hell are these things?”
“I don’t know, chief.”
Harper leaned in. The set of eyes looked into hers, sending a qualmishness bubbling through her belly.
The irises were yellow stippled with green specks. The pupils were as black as the emptiness around her. But they moved. The spiral-shaped openings revolved, and spun in a swirling pattern.
Harper stared at them in awe, her respirator humming rhythmically in her helmet.
“Captain?… Captain, are you okay?”
“What?… Yea… I’m gonna get a sample.”
“Be careful.”
Harper paused. Her eyes narrowed. Ok, mom.
She prepared her drill and the empty bag that was typically used to hold drill bits. Crude tools, she thought, for collecting a species that will break science. But NASA hadn’t planned on her bumping into an undiscovered life form on this trip. She had to make due.
She pulled herself closer. The cluster of eyes followed her every move, squishing and squirming in their body-sockets. She held the drill over the tiny creatures.
“Here goes nothing,” she said.
She wedged the tip of the drill bit under a specimen on the edge of the group. The bit hardly slipped beneath it. She shifted the bag further up her shoulder, then tried with both hands. Still, nothing.
“Damn, these things are stuck on here good.”
“Take your time.”
Harper shook her head, again. Yes, mom.
Out of some deep-seated Pavlovian habit, decades in the making, Harper nearly flicked on the drill. Christ. She chuckled. Then asked herself if she was nuts. She took a deep breath.
Harper gripped the top edge of the animal with her free hand and slid the drill bit under the other side again.
She pulled on it.
Ouch!
Harper recoiled in pain.
She looked intently at her glove. It couldn’t be, could it? She flipped her hand over to get a better look. No way. It felt like the creature had bitten her. Through the Mylar, through the Dacron andthrough the Teflon-coated glove.
As she tried to process the queer sensation, the sight of the ship began teetering in her view. The critters and their curious eyes started spiraling in a blur further and further away. She was tumbling into unconsciousness, and she knew it.
Harper’s mind gradually became alert again amidst the blackness of catatonia. The profound silence there felt like it pervaded her very soul. An image crystalized. It crackled with color. It was a moving picture of a black hole swallowing up space debris. Among the flotsam, trapped in the thing’s maw, was the Caelum. And undulating across the ship from tip to stern was a purplish-black skin, glowing, rippling, with eyes, thousands of eyes along it, peering back at her.
Harper’s breath caught in her throat.
She watched the black hole suck in the ship, spinning it across its aperture, and down towards the chute of its endless belly. Inside the black hole, Harper could feel something, a being or a consciousness. It spoke to her in a deep, wordless rumble. A piece of it, a feeling maybe, or possibly a warning, slithered across the vivid vision and touched her, the sensation rifling across her chest. It pulled at her. Harper screamed.
“Nooo!!”
She jolted awake. Her respirator was whining in her helmet. Her chest heaved with ragged breaths. Harper looked down to find herself floating several yards above the Caelum, her tether at full length. Her head was pounding again and she felt weaker than when she emerged from cryo.
She peered down at the ship. The colony had spread. The creatures had commandeered nearly the entire starboard side of the ship.
“Captain? Are you okay?? Captain?” Cheryl said.
“Yes, yes…” she muttered. “The… the creatures, they’ve… taken over the… how?” Her voice cracked with anxiety.
“You’ve been out for more than three days. I tried to wake you, but there wasn’t much I could do from here.”
The hairs on the nape of Harper’s neck stood on end. She needed to be back on the ship. She needed to get ahead of this. She reached for the tether. Her arm barely moved at her command. Harper tried the other: a similar incapacity.
“Captain,” Cheryl said tentatively, “between the hyper-sleep, your unconsciousness and going without food for as long as you did, your body is terribly weak.”
Harper blinked uncontrollably, her mind grasping at the situation, trying to make it all stick.
“Slow movements, Captain. Take your time.”
“We don’t have time.”
“Time is all we have now.”
Harper gnashed her teeth. Her insides burned. She wanted to scream.
She could hear herself breathing, the respirator purring in her ears. Stars twinkled all around her. At length, she collected herself.
Cheryl was right. Mother-jokes aside, she was always right. Harper took a deep breath and reached out for the tether. It seemed like an eternity, but all she could do was move, go through the motions, try.
While stretching for the life-line, something below caught her eye. A long row of the prickly creatures, a bit smaller than the rest, were pulsating. They were mid-inception, giving birth to themselves. They encircled the colony, a fresh layer of lethal interlopers — their amber-colored eyes wet and fully formed, their spines stunted and still fleshy.
Harper’s jaw tightened as a heat rose like a halo through the top of her head.
“You bastards!!” she screamed. “You goddam… sons of bitches…” Her voice fell to a whisper. She bit her lip, holding back sobs.
The blanket of eyes looked up at her coolly, following each of her labored movements. They glowed and they squirmed. Then swiveled in their thorny sockets.
Wise words
What are some mind-blowing facts about Vietnam?
In Vietnam, there’s a shrine for Lady Horse (Bà Chúa Ngựa). The story said that in this village, there was an extremely perverted lady, whose stories of unacceptable practices reached the ears of a mandarin. He then put her in a horse-shaped cage so she would be raped by a male horse. She died eventually and people make a shrine out of her and go there to pray for good luck.
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Vietnamese are required to study Classical Chinese poetry, both Vietnamese and Chinese ones but rendered in Vietnamese alphabet, in school.
There was a period of time when skirts were banned nationwide in imperial Vietnam. That gave birth to the Vietnamese national dress, which has pants instead.
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Vietnamese hate the Chinese government, but love Chinese culture.
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There’s free iced tea littered across Vietnam for workers that need to drink. No paying, no nothing. You just go and drink it.
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*UP* traumatized Jane
How could the development of extremely long-range air-to-air missiles like the AIM-174B potentially change Chinese behavior in the South China Sea region?
No.
What you don’t know is that the PL-17 has just as long a range and is smaller, lighter, and shorter than the AIM-174B.
Ironically, the West has been claiming that the PL-17 is too large to hit a fighter. Strangely, the even larger, heavier AIM-174B is now able to hit fighters. Considering that the PL-17 terminal speed is Mach 5 while the AIM-174B (just a repurposed SM-6) has terminal speed of Mach 3.5, it’s rather weird that a slower missile can hit fighters while a faster one can’t.
It appears that the laws of physics is not the same for Western weapons as for the rest of the world. Nay, the rest of the Universe.
There Is No Hope For This Generation
What’s the most expensive thing you’ve gotten for an insanely cheap price?
I was having a mooch round the cheapo shop near my mother’s house, and up on top of the shelving was a shopping trolley, the sort you can sit on. I had problems with my feet, and although I could walk forever, as soon as I stopped, the pain began. I had been looking at trolleys like this, but they were over £150 and far beyond my means.
I asked the proprietor if I might have a look at it, and he got a ladder and brought it down. It looked perfect: I later worked out that it was a second, having a couple of tiny inaccuracies in the welding which were hard to spot and didn’t impair the action.
I asked him, how much?, and he quoted me £40, which was brilliant, but I didn’t have that much cash on me, and Mr Akram doesn’t take plastic. I asked him to keep it for me whilst I went to the cash machine round the corner. He asked me, how much cash DID I have?, which was £30. Obviously thinking I might not come back, he said I could have the trolley for the thirty. Result!
Eighteen years later, I still have and use it: it’s had an outing at least once a fortnight in that time, and, apart from a bit of fraying where the current cat keeps mistaking it for a scratching post, it’s still in good nick.
The same trolley was recently listed on Amazon for £163.
What role did the US have in the recent regime change in Bangladesh?
Bangladesh’s exiled PM said: had she surrendered to USA & let USA build a US military base in St Martin Island, she would have saved her PM position.
St Martin is strategically important for USA to install mid-range missiles there so as to threaten the safety of China, India, Myanmar & the entire southeast Asia ie Indo-Pacific region.
Some said the PM did not say that.
Does not matter. When we see USA threatening WADA & IOC officials in the 2024 Olympics just for gold medals, we can guess USA may have threatened Bangladesh for such an important location in Indo-Pacific.
USA is notorious in instigating riot/coup in other country & put a puppet gov there to take US orders.
Take care of your loved ones
How long do you count before throwing a grenade?
Originally Answered: Explosives: How long do you count before throwing a grenade?
This has already been covered really well, but I want to add a story from my grandfather’s training days, during WWII.
The recruits were training with grenades and the training officer noticed that my grandfather was pulling the pin and then throwing the grenade immediately, much too fast to control its destination. He just wanted that explosive FAR AWAY RIGHT NOW. Which is understandable! But not behavior you want from your soldiers.
So the officer waited until my grandfather had pulled the pin on another grenade, and then rushed in and clamped his hands down over my grandfather’s, and proceeded to have a little conversation. Where was he from, did he know anybody back home, what was his family like, etc. Meanwhile there’s the grenade, the pin pulled but the spoon trapped under my grandfather’s hands, trapped under the officer’s.
After a few seconds of engendering pure panic, and then a minute of weirdly casual conversation, the officer told my grandfather to always remember that it was the spoon, not the pin, that set the fuse off. As long as his hand was holding the spoon, he had all the time in the world to aim.
Here’s a picture of my grandfather today. You can’t tell in this picture, but both of his hands are still firmly attached.
I was thinking is that it? It’s over? Violent riots in Hong Kong lasted SEVEN MONTHS. UK riots barely lasted a few days.
But there’s an interesting parallel.
In 1966 there were huge riots in Hong Kong. The military was deployed on day 1 police and the military garrison shot into crowds killing many. The police also ‘arrested’ many riot leaders who then ended up dead shortly after.
They cracked down on the 1966 riots hard. The already incredibly harsh laws were enhanced so anybody could be arrested. It was business as usual, a year later even bigger riots broke out in 1967. The rioters had prepared and brought along IEDs.
So what of it? In 1966 the riots were crushed. In 1967 the riots were crushed. This lead to the 1981 riots.
The question is, are any of the actual root issues being resolved?
In 2019 there were huge violent riots, many disaffected youth and a large violent component. Many of these people buggered off to the UK (unfortunately some are coming back about 50% so far). However since 2019?
Wages have increased substantially.
There’s been public housing units (temporary) popping up everywhere in the countryside. People can rent such places for about $109USD a month. People are going to Shenzhen enmasse. The tycoons who were fucking the place over constantly have been told to behave.
10 Years in LA: My Shocking Truths, Biggest Challenges, and Unforgettable Moments!
Since the Sino-US trade war officially started, the semiconductor field has become the US’s priority to curb China’s development. Since 2019, a large number of related companies have been included in the US sanctions list. Five years have passed, is the US sanctions really effective? Why did US lawmakers come out and call for not to increase sanctions first?
On August 15, the Russian Satellite News Agency briefly introduced the new AI chip of Chinese companies under the title “China releases new chips, ready to challenge the United States”, and believed that this new chip is comparable to Nvidia’s H100. According to reliable sources, the media analyzed that many Chinese Internet companies, including telecommunications providers, are now ready to purchase this domestic chip, which successfully demonstrates that Chinese companies have the ability to resist the US restrictions on the company’s access to advanced technology.
Overall, this domestic AI chip is at a relatively awkward time node, because Nvidia’s product line update time is very stable, basically updated every two to three years, and its new AI chip is expected to be released soon, with a large improvement. Although this domestic AI chip may be inferior to Nvidia’s new model, one thing that cannot be forgotten is that Chinese companies have carried out independent research and development under the background of the US ban, and not only have they produced finished products but also have caught up with the advanced level, which is already a big breakthrough.
What’s more, this domestic AI chip can be a good “starter”. If you aim for the international advanced level blindly, you may end up with nothing; start with the product down to earth, first have a user base and then further optimize according to feedback. Only by taking one step at a time can the foundation of domestic AI chips be consolidated. Most importantly, a reliable supply chain process can prevent the US from further increasing sanctions.
In fact, the US response is very telling of how significant this chip is. On the day when the Russian media released the news, US Democratic Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Zoe Lofgren from California wrote to US Commerce Department officials, calling for a freeze on plans to impose new restrictions on technology exports to China.
The two congressmen are very practical. They believe that the export controls imposed by the United States on China have actually damaged the competitiveness of the United States in advanced semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The two believe that in the context of allies not following this ban, the United States’s unilateral sanctions will not be very useful.
Of course, the two still stand on the position of the United States and require the US government to bring its allies along when imposing a semiconductor ban on China. But you have to know that the allies of the United States may not be in the same mind as the White House. They also need to maintain import and export trade with China to make profits. So far, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands have not completely stopped supplying China in the field of semiconductors. This also fully shows that the sanctions that have lasted for many years have not been as the United States wishes and have not successfully curbed the development of China’s semiconductors. The affirmation from the “opponent” can better illustrate the current development results of China’s semiconductor industry.
In short, the various sanctions imposed by the United States on China can certainly work in a short period of time, but the demand generated by a huge market of 1.4 billion people cannot be restrained by a ban. Even if the United States can work together with all its allies to impose restrictions, China can start from the beginning on the road of independent research and development. At present, China is taking various measures to support the development of the domestic semiconductor industry. The investment amount of the third phase of the National Big Fund alone is as high as 344 billion yuan. The momentum behind this series of actions cannot be stopped by the United States.
I Was An Engineer But Got Fired! Forced To Retire! How Did This Happen?
Only one party is ruling China since long. How is that China has not fallen to “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”?
Let’s see
How many ways can you become corrupt?
A. You can have a huge balance in a Swiss Bank Account
Unfortunately in China, you pay a price if you want power and responsibility and a seat at the decision making table
The Price is your life is under continuous monitoring and those of your Children too
You have to submit Assets and Liabilities every 3/6 months and any net increase over a fifth (20%) annually or 10% half yearly needs to be explained
If you have a Swiss account overseas even with $ 2 Balance and you didn’t declare the same, you get expelled and placed under restricted movement for 2–5 years meaning you can’t leave China, can’t leave Beijing, maybe can’t even leave your home except for a 1–2 km radius
Diplomats need to submit their overseas account statements every 3 months to the MSS representative in the Chinese Embassy of the country of their posting
Children of Diplomats/CPC Members studying in Overseas Institutions must submit their Account Statements every 6 months to the Chinese Consulate including Xi Jinpings daughter
Failure to declare overseas accounts led to many Generals getting expelled but also unable to leave China or even Beijing for the rest of their lives
Not just for them but for their families too
Hu Jintao had repealed the Families Rule in 2013 but Xi Jinping re established the law in 2018/19
Likewise Directorships in Non Chinese Companies headquartered outside China and HK need to be declared to the Party
Both by Party Members or their Sons or Daughters
Not declaring is a DISCIPLINE BREACH that automatically means you can’t leave China or maybe even Beijing and will be under 24*7 Surveillance
So the System is near AIR TIGHT
Maos legacy is still very strong and Mao is seen as a God in China, so very few people dare to modify his tough party rules
B. You can invest heavily in Land
Except that THE STATE OWNS ALL THE LAND IN CHINA
You own a lease and register the lease
In China everything is Digital now unlike India
Paper Sale Deeds etc are non existent in most Tier 1/2/3 Cities
Bottom line is if you register for property – THERE WILL BE A RECORD
Most Tier Cities have CAP on Residential Leases for Individuals
Also unlike India you just can’t convert Agricultural Leases into Residential Leases
It takes 7–10 years
So that won’t work
C. You can store wads of cash and gold
Nopes. Cash is non existent now. Banks report an average of 82.50% lesser cash withdrawn in 2023 against 2003
Holding over 20,000 RMB cash is rare even for Cafeterias or Meat Markets
So no point holding so much Cash
It’s paper and nothing else
Likewise Gold in China is registered
Every Bar has a Registry Number when sold to retailers and the Bank or seller will record these details before selling you the Gold
This way YOU CAN EASILY SELL THE GOLD OR PAWN IT WITHOUT ANY IDENTIFICATION
However this also means you can’t just secretly buy gold and even if you do, you just can’t sell it because like I said everything is DIGITAL NOW and Cash is non existent
D. You can buy shares for a low price using Insider Information
Absolutely. Yet it’s LEGAL in China for CPC members to invest in Shares yet the sum is capped to 100,000 RMB a year (Approximately). This could ensure CPC members become Millionaires and that helps them further decide not to risk their positions with something stupid like Corruption
Why aim for 30 Million RMB and get into a load of trouble when you can make 10 Million RMB legally
Its why Singaporean Leaders get nearly 500,000 Dollars a month in Salary
There is a Sixth Reason – RESPECT AND HONOR
Membership of the CPC is a SYMBOL OF RESPECT AND HONOR for you that you are chosen to make decisions for the Country and State and sit with the best of the brains
It isn’t India where any Tom Dick and Harry with zero ability can become a MP or Minister or Chief Minister
Membership of the Politburo or Central Committee or Standing Committe is higher than ever
Xi Jinping is like a King in many aspects
He is the unquestionable leader and has reached that position where he will be revered for generations
Why sacrifice such a position which cannot be bought with money or land or gold???
It’s why Corruption in China is always at the low official to middle official level rather than even penetrating the Party Congress leadership
Status
Military personnel, what’s the dumbest thing you’ve heard someone in uniform say?
The captain stared hard at me. “Private, are you forgetting something?”
I was confused. “Not that I’m aware of, sir.”
“You always salute a superior officer.”
“Sir, we are in the field practicing wartime simulation. In war, out in the field, I would never salute a superior officer as a sniper would realize they were someone in charge and take them out.”
“We are not in an actual war. You WILL salute me, understand?”
“Yessir.” I popped off a salute, then handed him a card that said DEAD.
“What’s this?”
“Sir, I’m with the evaluation team. I set up the scenarios officers want so that situations can be evaluated to see how the unit deals with unusual circumstances. You were just saluted by a private and returned the salute. A sniper has killed you.”
He turned purple with rage. “You can’t do that! I have to be in the BTOC (Battalion Tactical Operations Center) in a half hour!”
The major in charge of the evaluation team whirled around and told him, “Shut up. Dead people don’t talk or stand. Lay down.”
The captain laid down on wet grass with ill grace.
The major laid another card on his chest that said “killed by headshot by sniper”.
The medic came by later and saw the cards. He and another medic put the captain on a stretcher after reading the notes and chuckled. “Let me guess. He wanted a salute.” (That’s because he knew the captain, and knew he was an a-hole.)
The captain spent the rest of the exercise lying on a stretcher for three days, only getting up to go to the bathroom or go get chow. He was NOT pleased.
What do billionaires do with their yachts? Do they use them to explore the ocean, or do they just park it in the middle of the sea and hang out there?
There are yachts, and then there are superyachts – the kind of yacht that is truly fit for a billionaire. And while boats are fun to own dear Jesus are they incredibly expensive to maintain. Most superyachts run well over $10 million a year in costs between staff, general maintenance, and everything else that goes into running these behemoths. So, what do billionaires do with their behemoths?
How about leasing?
One example of a leased mega yacht is the Serene 2, which at 439 feet in length makes it one of the largest yachts in the world. The ship also has an annual running cost ranging from $25 to $35 million.
Since it costs money to keep a ship like this running it only makes sense to try and make as much money as you can on it. The current owner managed to lease the yacht for a summer a few years ago to some guy named Bill Gates for a mere $5 million a week. The owner could have done worse.
Another notable example is the yacht Dilbar, which has been used for charters over the years.
The Dilbar is massive. In fact, it is stupidly massive and yet the Dilbar is only sixth in the world in length (511 feet) and third in weight (15,917 in gross tonnage) among superyachts. The cost was roughly $1 billion at the time it was built.
Between having a crew of 96 and an annual running cost of roughly $80 million a year it’s difficult to get an accurate price of what kind of clams would be necessary to charter this vessel. Yachts half the size of Dilbar will run you north of $1 million a week, so use that as a baseline. Unfortunately for you the Dilbar is no longer available for charter, so you will have to pick another yacht instead.
To conclude many owners simply travel the world and hangout wherever rich people do in unnecessary opulence. Others will charter their yachts out while they are away doing other rich people things. A small amount of owners have actually let scientific organizations lease out their yachts for research, like the late Paul Allen and his beloved Octopus.
How stupid are you
What are the darkest secrets of elite US universities?
Let me talk about MIT, which is largely missing from this set of answers.
I can talk circles about MIT not giving a lick about its undergrad population (oh boy, so much to dissect), or about the disparity between average highschool-smart kids and the IMO Gold Medalists in math classes, or about the fact that most of my classes are graded on a curve despite the fact that MIT pubs that they don’t do that.
But let’s focus on the saddest topic.
MIT is known for being one of the most intense, most rigorous, most high pressure universities in the country. It’s not because students are competitive (on the contrary, collaboration thrives and is often encouraged by instructors), but rather due to a combination of difficult coursework, extremely intelligent people everywhere that create insecurities, and a constant need to feel “hardcore.”
All this leads to one of the highest university suicide rates in the nation.
Just a few years ago, a girl jumped off the roof of my dorm, the tallest dorm in the school. MIT very promptly proceeded to investigate, and I’m not going into details, but let’s just say it was conducted extremely poorly.
The Institute is learning, though. Today, if you walk up a stairwell at MIT, it’s easy to deduce which door leads to a roof. It will have a sign:
There is help.
And really, truly, there is. We have a budding S^3 (Student Support Services) system that helps out a vast majority of students, a growing awareness about mental health in flyers and events and workshops…truly, this institution in many ways has tried to save lives.
But it’s not enough. And some of the decisions the administration have made recently haven’t exactly helped*. Just this academic year, a boy in my year committed suicide. A female grad student in my department. A 2016 alum who several of my newly graduated friends knew. And likely others who I haven’t heard about.
Rest in peace. You are missed, and you are loved.
*Go read any of the MIT Admissions blogs about Senior House. It’s more frustration than darkness, so I didn’t go into detail here.
Be the rufus
Since there is the hatred of US in the world. There is also the hated of China in the world. Why isn’t there the hatred of Taiwan in the world?
There is the hatred of US in the world, but not China. Taiwan is a part of China.
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China is a Challenger of the current world order. And the challenger is always lonely until it succeeds.
Before China becomes the Top Nation in the world, no other nations are willing to put all their money on China. Because they have to ask themselves: “What if China fails? If China fails, what will the US do to us?” That’s why China has no allies.
Before China, there have been many challengers: Germany, Russia, Japan. And they all failed. Throughout history, there were only a handful of countries that successfully replaced the No.1 Nation that has hegemony. Why is it so hard? Because it is always Lonely Challenger vs. The Entire World.
But if China does succeed, hundreds of nations will line up to be allies with China. This will happen overnight.
This is why no countries really have the balls to be real enemies with China right now. Because if China does succeed, China and its hundreds of allies will crash the crap out of these countries.
So China has no real enemies or real allies. All the countries are holding an attitude of “wait and see”.
Throughout history, the Law of Lonely Challenger never fails. Throughout history, the successful challengers always get allies overnight.And also, throughout history, the challengers who failed always ended up with piles of crap on their faces. Just take a look at Germany, Russia, Japan for examples.
China is the single country in the world whose top goal is to replace the US as the leading country. China has been talking about the Rejuvenation of China since the fall of Qing. When the US gained global hegemony, this Rejuvenation naturally became to replace the US.
In the current world, the international relations is , in its core, the relations between the US and China.
Behind every nation that has a problem with China, there is an onmipresent country called the United States of America. This includes the Taiwan question.
China has disputes with many nations around it. But these nations, like most of the nations in the world, have very strong economical ties with China. So they are not “enemies” in the traditional sense.
China historically stays out of other nations affairs. As a result there is very little outright hatred of China. Most are weary of being taken advantage of but all see China as a huge economic opportunity and trading partner.
You know, some countries are really suffering under USA rule, it would really be a huge improvement to align with China.
In other words, American allies are not actually friends, but simply because they are afraid of the United States.
They became allies of the United States not because they were attracted by the “high morality” of the United States, but because they were afraid of America’s abuse of power.
Russia Eliminated a Group of US Soldiers and Officers who Shelled KURSK with The Help of HIMARS MLRS
Would China go to war for Iran?
This question is important now more than ever.
US warships are closing in on the middle east, as a deterrence to Iran, and Iran wants to respond to Israel because Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. The most recent provocation from Israel, which happened two weeks ago, was the attack on Iranian soil, when they were hosting a foreign leader as a state guest.
Let’s say Iran attacks Israel and manages to cause real harm. Then, Israel will declare war on Iran, and like a puppet, the US will support Israel by invading Iran.
If that happens, will China go to war for Iran?
As much as I want China to go to war for Iran, I think China will do what’s best for their citizens — they won’t go to war.
There are two things China may do:
First is supplying weapons to Iran. It will win China support from the Muslim world. It will also be a chance for China to demonstrate the superiority of Chinese technology. They could do it secretly or openly.
The second, which would be the wiser choice but harder to pull off, is to collaborate with Palestinian sympathisers all over the world to impose sanctions on the US. If a significant chunk of the world’s countries join in, the US will fall.
It won’t be wise for China to impose unilateral sanctions on the US.
Even if China doesn’t support Iran in any ways, a US involvement in an Iran-Israel war is a win for the global south and by extension, a win for China.
In a way, this conflict is a great opportunity for China to demonstrate leadership in the world and their commitment to defending the world’s nations from US oppression.
What countries will you never visit again?
Saudi Arabia.
My wife joined me on a business trip. We picked a hotel that had fantastic ammenities — only to find that virtually none were offered to my wife, simply because she was a woman.
Men only.
The pool? Men only. The spa? Men only. Restaurants? Men only.
Men only.
Yes, this means my wife couldn’t grab lunch by herself while I was working. No, this was not during Ramadan.
Men only.
My wife had to cover up and largely make sure that she did not have any sort of interaction with men, whatsoever.
We had enough after the first day, and re-booked our hotel with an American chain, where my wife was allowed to order something to eat on her own.
I want to end this on a high note. After leaving Saudi Arabia, we went on to Singapore.
Men and women are allowed in hotel pools in Singapore.
We both loved Singapore. The hospitality was fantastic. The city is amazing. Yes, Singapore is a conservative place, and I’m well aware of it’s strict laws. Still, it didn’t feel anywhere near as punitive as Saudi Arabia. We could share a spa experience. Amazing.
My wife could go sightseeing, or shopping or take herself out to lunch. She didn’t have to be sequestered in her room, simply because she is a woman.
Singapore. 10/10 would recommend.
What, if any, are potential effects on Imane Khelif’s lawsuit over alleged cyberbullying during the Paris Olympics?
Bully is WRONG. But …
Let say her gender is truly questionable. Then the question has become …
is hitting/boxing a biological female correct?
I do not know Khelif’s case. I had the following post:
In the 2024 Olympics, there were “questionable” female boxers against biological females. Intl Boxing Assoc pushes IOC to think deeper “what a true female is”. Birth certificate is not reliable. Why not? What about chromosome or gender hormone?
Let us look at 4 scenarios.
1, gender change due to accident
A person was born male. During male circumcision when he was a baby, his gender organ was accidentally cut off. His doctor then made him a female on his birth certificate. His parents raised him as a female. At puberty, he started to take female hormone.
But he was never a true female biologically. He cannot get pregnant (dont argue some females cant get pregnant either). Despite hormone, his voice still cracked. I dont know his bodily build.
If he ever competes in Olympics, he can easily get gold medal because of his (male) strength.
Worse, he can legally hit/box a female & endanger the health/brain of the female. Do we want to see this “legal” beating of females?
My point: to determine a person’s gender by BIRTH CERTIFICATE is not reliable.
2, gender change due to birth defect
Some are born with defect eg the male organ is too small. The doctor & parents thus remove it & make him a female.
Birth defects happen to some people eg limbs not same length, 2 heads, 4 legs & more. Doctors do not remove the extra head or legs. These people accept their birth defect. Why not accepting a defective gender organ (unless the defect threatens the person’s life)?
As said in (1), unless the person is proven to be female by scientific means, the person is still physically (strength) a male.
3, Some are born with both sets of gender organs.
I suggest to leave the way it is unless the defect threatens the person’s life. Leave it until the person is old enough to decide for himself/herself.
Humans always make mistakes. Let us leave it to Mother Nature/Creator. Teach the person to accept birth defects like the 2-headed person does.
What makes parents & doctor as a human think they are wiser than Nature/Creator?
What makes parents & doctor think they can decide for another human being?
Is this a form of child abuse?
By the way, circumcision (both male & female) is considered child abuse in the 21st century.
4, Are transgender female same as a non-trans?
For the SAME height, male in general has longer arms & feet than female ie trans has longer arms.
Non-trans female has a rounder/bigger bottom. Something a male can do but not a female.
Has research compare the muscle mass, strength & balancing between trans & non-trans?
Question
Chromosome XX is female & XY is male. Is this reliable?
What about deciding the gender by the amount of male & female hormone in a person?
EU confesses ‘our prosperity was based on China & Russia’: cheap energy, low-paid labor, big market
What do Japanese and Korean people think of China?
Pretty chill.
China’s a pretty big country, and most (educated) Koreans know that. They also recognise the fact that, China’s quite different from us, although we share a lot of culture and history.
First off, China in itself is, once again, EXTREMELY LARGE. China has the world’s largest population, ranging in at somewhere around 1.3~1.5 billion, compared to the 50 million of the ROK, which pales in contrast. This means that China inevitably has a lot more going on over there, and we can’t exactly categorise the entire Chinese population into one stereotype.
Take, for example, the common misconception that all Chinese people are poor people who don’t shower and eat weird food. Sure, some people may not have the privilege of daily showers, but that doesn’t mean that the entire population hates hygiene. It’s just that if, say, a tiny 10% of the population was in poverty, that’s still a whopping 15 million, 3 times the entire population of Korea. We statistically KNOW that China isn’t like that, but what we actually SEE, is rather different.
And on another point, I personally say that China has influenced a lot of NEA’s culture, including both Korea and Japan. (And Vietnam) Not to say that we outright copied China, but there’s a lot of visible evidence that we, at one time, used to view China as a father/big brother country, with the Opium wars triggering the slow collapse of that kind of viewpoint.
Back to the present though, we see China right now as a… rival? Can’t really find the right term here, but to put it in other words;
China has a lot of shared industries with us, namely the IT industry and general production. (Samsung, Hwawei and the sort)
China sided with North Korea in the Korean War, which a lot of our elders still regret.
However, we do recognise that China is an enormous powerhouse and will probably catch up enough to completely smother companies like Samsung and LG. (Within the next decade or so)
We also know that a large portion of our economy consists of trade with China. When the THAAD problem was a thing and China smacked us with the sanction hammer, our economy quite literally fell over for while.
In the end though, I’m personally more of a “Asian Union like the European Union” kind of guy, and I envision the day when we can finally overcome our differences and grow together.
(End Note: None of these apply to the uneducated racists/extreme nationalists)
妄言多謝, Jasper
Pierogi
Pierogi are dumplings that are delicious fried and served with sour cream. These are also good filled with fresh blueberries mixed with sugar for a super dessert.
pierogi
Ingredients
Dough
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups water
Filling
2 to 3 medium onions, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup (1 to 2 sticks) butter
6 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed or put through a ricer
1 (8 ounce) package farmers cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Dough
Mix the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the eggs, butter and water (starting with 3/4 cups if the dough is dry, adding 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding up to an additional 3/4 cups if needed) pulsing until kneaded by machine and a ball is formed, or you can use a mixer to do this process.
Remove dough from bowl and let sit in a warm place for about 15 to 30 minutes.
Filling
Melt butter in a large fry pan and add onions. Sauté until onions are lightly browned; set aside.
Combine potatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and as much of the sautéed onions as you like, reserving the rest to toss with cooked pierogi. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
Divide dough into 3 to 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut a 3 inch round circle with biscuit cutter. Place one tablespoon of filling on one side of each round. Using your finger, moisten one side of dough with some water. Pick up the circle and fold dough over filling and pinch edges together to firmly seal the filling (this is critical – if you don’t pinch the dough together tightly, you will have gaps and when you boil the pierogi, the filling will come out).
Place the filled pierogi onto a lightly floured baking pan; cover until you finish with remaining dough and filling.
In a large wide pot, fill with water and bring to a boil over medium to high heat, when water is at a rolling boil, drop 5 to 6 pierogi and cook while stirring gently with a wooden spoon until they float to the top of pot. Cook a couple minutes longer.
Remove with a slotted spoon, toss with reserved sautéed onions, if desired, and place in a warmed deep glass bowl.
If desired, saute the pierogi briefly in a small amount of equal amounts of olive oil and butter (as shown in photo).
Serve warm with some sour cream on the side.
The China The Media Never Shows! 🇨🇳 Our First Day in SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG
Today Russia responded to the missile attack on Russian territory.
The response was a demonstration of what is in store for European and US bases if Washington’s provocations of Russia continue A Ukrainian base was destroyed by a hypersonic ballistic missile carrying conventional warhead. The missile is designed to carry nuclear warheads. The Russian response was a demonstration of the utter destruction that awaits the stupid and foolish NATO countries Reports are that Trump is urgently seeking communication with Putin. The evil Zionist Neoconservatives are coming very close to destroying the Western world.
Several members of America’s Ignorant Foreign Policy Community Challenged my Statement of the superiority of Russian missile and nuclear capability. As usual the “experts” had no idea what they were talking about. Their ignorance is a disgrace and a danger.
It is beyond belief the European governments are so utterly stupid as to be members of NATO.
UPDATED 6:58 AM EST — RUSSIA FIRES ICBM AT UKRAINE; SAYS NEW U.S. BASE IN POLAND NOW A PRIORITY TARGET FOR DESTRUCTION
Ukraine’s air force reported that an ICBM had been fired from a base in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region on the Caspian Sea early this morning. It struck Dnipro, Ukraine. This is the FIRST ICBM to be fired in war, in all of human history.
Russian authorities have not yet confirmed the launch, but it would be the first time such a powerful missile has been deployed in the war.
The Ukraine air force did not specify which ICBM had been fired, but its launch comes mere hours after a Russian military analyst said Moscow’s forces could unleash its fearsome RS-26 ‘Frontier’ missile in retaliation for the Storm Shadow strikes.
The Frontier missile is a terrifying, nuclear-capable weapon weighing roughly 50 tons with a range of up to 3,600 miles.
It has never before been used in combat, but analysts said it could be deployed with a conventional warhead in a strike that Ukraine’s air defenses would be powerless to intercept.
Reported video of the ICBM attack seems to show a significant number of “re-entry vehicles” slamming into the ground in Dnipro. It is important to point out these were NOT nuclear warheads, merely conventional, but the hits were severe nonetheless:
Kyiv has not suffered an ICBM strike since the war began in February 2022, with Russia’s military deploying smaller, slower Iskander missiles and a handful of hypersonic Kinzhal projectiles alongside hundreds upon hundreds of attack drones.
The Russian attack this morning also included other types of weapons which targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the air force said.
The Kremlin deployed Tu-95MS strategic bombers to launch cruise missiles and MiG-31K fighters to fire hypersonic Kinzhal rockets in a calculated bid to plunge Ukraine into darkness as a bitter winter approaches.
Reports said Yuzhmash, a prominent Ukrainian state-owned aerospace and defense manufacturer – was also hit in this morning’s assault.
Some Russian missiles also reportedly struck the towns of Kremenchuk and Myrhorod, while areas in Kyiv, Odesa, and the Sumy regions suffered blackouts as the electrical grid gave out.
STORM SHADOW ATTACK AGAINST RUSSIA
This morning’s bombardment of Ukraine also comes less than 24 hours after Kyiv launched UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Kursk.
Fragments of the missiles that struck a military facility in the Russian town of Marino were recovered by military bloggers on Wednesday afternoon, with unverified pictures (one shown above) shared widely on social media.
New U.S. Base in Poland Now a “Priority Target”
Russia this morning mentioned US air bases in Poland saying they can be targeted with ‘advanced weapons.’
Moscow said the opening of a new US ballistic missile defense base in Redzikowo, Poland, near the Baltic coast will ‘increase the overall level of nuclear danger’, adding it had been added to a list of possible targets for Russia.
The facility, opened on November 13, forms part of a broader NATO missile shield called ‘Aegis Ashore’ designed to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic weapons.
Aegis Ashore Poland Base
‘This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilizing actions by the Americans and their allies,’ Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said of the airbase’s unveiling.
‘(The base) has been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons,’ she concluded.
Both Poland and Romania are hosting onshore versions of the Aegis ballistic missile defense systems The system is also used on many US naval vessels and carrier groups patrolling around Europe and serves primarily as a defense network against nuclear missiles.
The base certainly would have seen the ICBM that Russia launched against Ukraine overnight; and could do absolutely NOTHING about it.
That’s the “rub” with so much of this “missile defense” spending; they can SEE the missiles but can’t do anything about them. Yet these bases cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and we have bases all over the world. Billions spent on this . . . . and it can do nothing about missiles like the one(s) Russia fired at Ukraine overnight.
UPDATE 6:58 AM EST —
When an ICBM is used to target a relatively close target, it goes much higher up — way into space –before coming back down on the target at screaming speed.
Even though the distance from its; launch point in Russia to Ukraine was only about 650 miles, it did not go “inter-continental” but the missile __can__ go inter-continental.
MORE:
Russia launched a single RS-26 “Rubezh” road mobile missile.
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Analysis of imagery of the attack indicates the RS-26 carried six independent warheads, each in turn deploying several submunitions.
This warhead package is exclusively for conventional attack.
Russia had not been previously assessed to outfit the RS-26 with a warhead of this design.
By unveiling the conventionally armed RS-26, Russia is changing the qualitative nature of the conflict, something promised by President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine and its Western allies must now evaluate the destructive potential of this weapon, and understand that Russia can deliver this warhead to any target in Ukraine or Europe knowing there is no defense against it.
The RS-26 is produced in Votkinsk. It is assessed that the production of the RS-26, which was halted in 2017, was resumed this past summer.
With production rates estimated at 6-8 missiles per month, Russia could have accumulated an arsenal of between 30-40 RS-26 missiles.
Although described as an intercontinental ballistic missile, the RS-26’s range actually depends on the warhead package. If armed with a single warhead, it can exceed the 5,000 kilometer threshold used to differentiate between intermediate and intercontinental range missiles. The RS-26 did not go into serial production because of this ambiguity; at the time, Russia was a signatory to the INF treaty, which prohibited intermediate range missiles. It is assessed that the six warhead conventional warhead package used against Dnipro would have made the RS-26 used fall into the intermediate range for classification.
Donald Trump withdrew from the INF treaty in 2019. If the United States had remained in the treaty, this version of the RS-26 would not have been available for use by Russia.
Pago Pago
When I was in Pago Pago, I was employed to build a couple of hospitals, and entry holding facilities for the immigration office there.
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While I was working on the Immigration Holding cell building, I struck up a conversation with a plumber who arrived to help us sort out the hydrant situation.
He was an enormous Samoan. Big massive man, in a tiny, tiny sub-compact automobile.
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As we talked he made an apologic statement. He said “well, I’m not really a plumber, I am a trained EMT, but I was laid off, and I am doing this for now.”
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And so we got straight to the most in-depth conversation that I had had with a person in years. Man, he was depressed, and hurting.
And I had to tell him, as a “BRO” (and I took on the older uncle role, as well) that …
You are not the work that you do.
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Us men we go though different jobs and careers in our lives. We adapt, we survive, we endure and we keep on moving forward. We never quit, we never give up, and we keep on keeping on.
He told me that he had a girl friend in Hawaii, and I asked him why he wasn’t with her.
He told me that he felt ashamed that he was no longer an EMT and that he felt that he could not live up to her expectations.
To which I told him; “Nonsense!”
As a trained EMT he shouldn’t have any trouble finding work in Hawaii, and as a bonus, his girlfriend was local.
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He could get a flight to Hawaii, and immediate have contact, connections, a place to stay and opportunities. He just needs to reach out.
So I told him…
Reach out.
And things will start coming together.
And that was that. Let it be understood that four months later he was in Hawaii, and sure as shit, he got settled and all sorts of doors opened up. He did have to take a training refresher course, but he was hired in his profession.
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And last I heard from him, he was doing well. A whole new world opened up for him.
All because of our little chat that day at the build site.
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Remember, you are not what you do, and if you are in trouble… reach out for help.
You might be surprised at the results.
Today…
How are the Chinese dealing with China’s defeat to the US in the Olympics? We are seeing reports of propaganda and disinformation being spread throughout the country, telling its netizens that China won.
China participated in 114 Events in the Olympics 2024
They won 91 Medals
That’s a 79.82% Success Rate
This means China had a 80% Success Rate of ensuring a medal in every event they participated
USA participated in 171 Events in the Olympics 2024
They won 126 Medals
That’s a 73.68% Success Rate
This means US had a 74% Success Rate of ensuring they won a medal in every event they participated in
Kudos to both countries
They both did very well in the Olympics
US had more events so 74% is equally impressive as Chinas 80%
Others who did very well include :-
South Korea – 74.68%
Japan – 71.43%
Germany – 66.77%
UK – 65..49%
Netherlands – 68.42%
A Surprise is Kazakhstan which bagged a 64.70% success rate in the Olympics
India participated in 57 Events and won 7 Medals
Thats a 12.28% Success Rate
(I willl Assume Vinesh won a Silver because she was the only the second wrestler left undefeated until her disqualification)
Pakistan participated in 7 Events and won 1 Medal
That’s 14.30% Success Rate
Yet both nations are making the most noise after the Olympics
China won 40 Medals in Gold and tied with US for the top sport in terms of Gold Medals alone
They had two unfortunate incidents
Wang Chuqin the favorite to win a TT Medal lost in a shock upset
Their 73 Kg Weightlifter screwed up real bad and was expected to breeze
The US also found 9 Gold Medals lesser than they expected with Dominica, St Lucia and Botswana taking surprising wins against US Athletes
Plus China beat them in the 4X100 m Medley as well
It was an equal performance by both nations who left the others FAR FAR BEHIND
Very similar to the famous USSR and US taking all medals in Pre Barcelona events and the rest always being far behind
MM has competition
Here is a guy that is also using AI for classical realism. Nice work, but I think that the art needs better form…
EU menacing letter to Musk ahead of Trump X Spaces
What is the craziest story about North Korea? I heard that when North Korea played in the World Cup, the citizens of North Korea were made to believe that North Korea had won the World Cup and that Kim Jong-Il was the team’s coach.
Originally Answered: What is the craziest story about North Korea?
On August 18, 1976, after notifying the nearby North Korean command post, five South Korean Service personnel entered the DMZ under the protection of a small contingent of unarmed US and South Korean soldiers, to trim a tree that had repeatedly been used for cover by North Korean operatives crossing the DMZ to attempt to snatch prisoners. Weapons are not allowed in the DMZ, which must be kept clear under the ceasefire agreement in effect since the 1950s.
A few minutes later, a small contingent of North Koreans appeared. They observed for 15 minutes without comment or interference, then demanded the trimming stop, claiming Kim Il Sung had personally planted the tree and nourished it and it was growing under his supervision.
After being ignored, the North Koreans stormed off in a jeep, then returned in a truck with 20 soldiers armed with crowbars and wooden clubs. In a short melee, the North Koreans bludgeoned one guard to death and chopped up another with an axe.
The North Korean government immediately started petitioning various organization to condemn the event as an unprovoked attack by the US.
Three days later, 23 US and South Korean vehicles entered the DMZ–unannounced. Two eight-man engineering teams armed with chainsaws commenced to bringing down the tree under the protection of two 30-man security platoons armed with pistols and axe handles. Simultaneously combat engineers and armored vehicles prepared to destroy “the bridge of no return” should the North show its face, and South Korean commandoes, disguised as unarmed tai-kwon-do teams, unloaded rafts, M-16s and grenade launchers. Some of these commandoes strapped claymore mines to their chest and stood on the bridge, shouting and daring the North to attack.
Behind them, 20 Hueys and 7 Cobra gunship helicopters circled. Behind THESE, B-52s, F5s, F86s, F4 Phantoms, and F111 bombers appeared over South Korean skies. US and South Korean regiments armed with Hawk missiles and medium to heavy armor poured into view along the Southern side of the DMZ. In Washington, the President let it be known that he was sending 12,000 troop to Korea, starting with 1,800 comandos ready and waiting in Japan.
In response, about 200 armed North Koreans rolled up, mostly in buses. The US called the gunships into view and had C130 gunships nose to tail in Japan, ready to support if needed.
The North Korean soldiers got out and set up machine gun positions.
The tree came down in 42 minutes. The US and South Korean forces retreated, taking with them two illegal barriers previously erected by the north. The North Koreans went home and Kim Il Song, without admitting fault, withdrew his idiotic charges and expressed “regret of the incident.”
The moral of this story? If you don’t want war, make sure your adversary knows you are prepared to win one.
The other moral of this story? North Korea is bat shit crazy.
What is the relationship like between China and Vietnam?
The relationship between China and Vietnam has been complicated, and continues to be complicated. It makes sense to look at it from several different angles:
Historical:
China has occupied Vietnam for more than 1,000 years; the Chinese name for Vietnam was Annam (安南）。At times, the Vietnamese invaded southern China too. In all instances, the Vietnamese overthrew their Chinese rulers and established their independence.
For many practical purposes, there is no significant difference between Chinese and Vietnamese. Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese leader was fluent in Mandarin, and taught at the Huangpu Military Academy in the 1920s.
Cultural:
On the cultural side, the two countries were very tightly integrated. The Vietnamese adopted Chinese writing, wear Chinese style clothing, celebrated Chinese holidays, eat Chinese food, read Chinese classics and poetry. Vietnamese children learn Chinese folktales, even to this day, in their schools.
Sometimes the closeness makes the Chinese angry because they feel that being so close to China culturally, the Vietnamese should be happy to be part of the big Chinese family.
This makes for a very complicated political relationship.
Politics:
The close history and culture makes the Chinese and Vietnamese strange political bedfellows.
In recent years, the Vietnamese and Chinese helped each other in fighting the French and the Americans. But China felt betrayed when Vietnam sided with the Russians after the end of the Vietnam War.
Recently, the Chinese have acted with impunity over territory claims in the South China Sea. Basically, the Chinese are showing the Vietnamese who is boss in the region.
The Americans think that they can form alliances with Vietnam and the Philippines to curb Chinese aggression, but there is a saying “Faraway water cannot put out a nearby fire.”
This is why even after the recent disputes, the Vietnamese premier visited Beijing to defuse tensions.
Wifey Material
Do Chinese women give permission?
Hi, Cory Michael. Thanks for the interesting question.
Well, I live and work in Chengdu, so I am surrounded by Chinese women every day! 😀
Last month, one of my colleagues brought her cat to work.
Her mother and grandmother had gone on a trip together, so there was no one at home to take care of her cat.
So she decided to bring her cat to work.
Her cat is a she, and goes by the name of 地瓜 (Dìguā), which literally translates to “Sweet Potato”.
I haven’t a clue about cat breeds, so I have no idea what sort of cat she is, but she’s just over a year old.
Now, I never pet someone else’s pet unless I have their permission.
So I asked my colleague whether I could pet her 地瓜 and she said sure, go ahead.
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My colleague had brought 地瓜 to the office wearing a leash on a cat harness.
I was a bit amazed, because I had never seen a cat taking to a harness-and-leash combo before.
I thought all cats hate being walked on a leash.
And she (the cat, not my colleague) went about it so obediently.
So I asked my colleague for permission to walk 地瓜 for a bit after work.
My colleague happily obliged ^^
地瓜 was very patient with me during out short walk together 😀
Conclusion:
In this context, my colleague, a Chinese woman, gave me permission to pet and walk her pet cat.
Hope this answer helps with your question, Cory Michael !
Lisa’s Crispy Chops
5d2653b24bb7f129769fe76808fcc54a
Ingredients
6 pork chops
3 eggs, beaten slightly
2 cups crushed soda crackers
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
Instructions
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Dip pork chops into egg, then roll in dry mixture.
Fry over medium heat in a small amount of oil until dark, crispy brown.
“I never thought it was possible for a person to be so damn arrogant!” Zed screamed as he slammed the front door of his house. “Your ass better stay on your own damn asteroid or I’ll kick it all the way to one of Jupiter’s moons!”Through the blinds of his window, Zed glared at the abyss of space outside his personal asteroid upon which his house sits. His eyes zoned in on the house of his one and only neighbor, Mandy. Across the asteroid belt, he saw Mandy’s front door fly open and her step out in a space suit with a brick in hand. She threw the brick and shattered Zed’s window as it landed in his living room. A tight vacuum sucked in from the broken window. Grumbling under his breath, Zed slapped some Flex Tape ™ on it. “Crazy woman,” he muttered, then looked down at the brick. There was a note on it.Crouching down, he picked up the note. I didn’t steal your damn duster! Zed scoffed. “That’s just what a duster-stealer would say,” yelling louder so Mandy could hear him this time, he added. “I know you stole my duster ten years ago! I bet my house on it!”“As if!” Mandy hollered back.“That duster took forever to be shipped here from Earth, Mandy! I’m getting it back!”“I ain’t no thief!”“Yeah, right,” Zed remarked under his breath.Staring at the mess of glass in his living room, Zed realized he had spent enough time arguing and definitely has to swept up this mess. “Damn, when does that woman ever stop causing problems for me.”Zed glared at his closet door. Space-spider webs covered the knob. He hasn’t cleaned anything in years. Signing, he twisted it open and saw its crooked shelves propped up by a singular wooden broom. Slowly, just as he thought the broom was free from being Altas, and was about to carefully make his exit, the shelves can clamoring down.“Juck!” He cursed as debris cluttered at his feet.Something tapped his ankle. As he looked down, his eyes widened. It was the feather-duster.“Oh, juck.”Zed paced around his living room with the blinds closed and the duster in hand. “Oh, juck. Oh, juck. Oh, juck.”What the juck was he supposed to do? Apologize for his wrong actions? Admit he was wrong? To Mandy??No! Those were all horrible options!Then, he stopped pacing a sly smile grew on his face. “What if Mandy never knows it was here?” He cracked open his blinds and peeled at Mandy’s house. “Because I’m going to sneak it into her house before she ever finds out.”Zed didn’t bother to wait until ‘night’ or anything because what night? He’s in space! Instead, he immediately suited up and floated under the asteroids, out of sight, to Mandy’s house. He entered through a window in the basement. His weak muscles barely pulled him through the vacuum as he flopped onto the floor. “Man,” he mumbled as he stood up. “These houses were not designed for space.”After fumbling around looking for the staircase upstairs, Zed just ended up wiggling off a loose vent panel and shimming his body through the vent. He peeked out the occasional vent, using it to navigate through the house. Finally, he found himself in Mandy’s master bedroom while she was taking a shower.Zed pounded his fingers through the vent and tries to shake it off, but the metal held firm. “Juck!” He cursed as he heard the water turn off. Mandy would come out of the bathroom any minute now.Rushed to get out, he left the duster inside the air vent and shimmered back to the basement, went out the window, and made his daring escape by floating casually back to his house.Goosebumps run up and down Mandy’s arms. “Why is it so cold in here?” She asked herself as she pulled on a second sweater. “Geez, don’t tell me there’s something wrong with the furnace again. Ugh! It’s going to take so long to get a repairman here!”Mandy drastically pounded on the thermostat, but the temperature stayed the same. Then, she heard a quick rat-a-tat-tat-tat coming from her air vent. Slowly, she crept over to it, wondering if something was inside. She used her nails to unscrew the vent and remove it. Inside, she pulled out… the feather duster. Mandy went white.“Oh, juck. Oh, juck. Oh, juck. Oh, juck.” She softly cursed to herself.She had been the one with the feather duster, she thought. Mandy began pacing. What the juck was she supposed to do? Apologize for her wrong actions? Admit she was wrong? To Zed??No! Those were all horrible options!Mandy’s Mind scrambled for a solution. Wait a minute, she thought, if I hide it in Zed’s house, he’ll never know…Mandy broke into Zed’s house from a sky light on the roof because I guess just juck breaking and entering laws in space, right? Tiptoeing around, she looked for any convincing hiding spot to but the duster. A hungry stomach lead her to the kitchen.
As she stole all of Zed’s leftover pizza, an idea hit her. Underneath the fridge! Who cleans under there? Quickly, she stuffed the pizza in her mouth and the duster under the fridge as Zed’s footsteps approached. She dove behind the couch for cover as Zed opened the fridge looking for his leftover pizza. “What?” He asked himself. “I don’t remember eating it…”
Mandy nibbled on the crust in silence.
Zed tsked and closed the door. Instead, he grabbed a glass and filled with ice. Mandy’s eyes widened in horror as a cube slipped and slid under the fridge. Zed groaned and swiped underneath… only to have his hand find the feather duster.
With a fearful expression of his own, Zed pulled it out. Oh juck! I thought I hide this in Mandy’s house! What is this some kind of boomerang duster? Zed thought.
Swiftly, Zed grabbed his space suit and headed out the door. After it slammed shut, Mandy emerged from her hiding spot and watched from the window Zed hiding the duster back inside her house. “That punk!” She exclaimed, ironically. “How dare he tried to shift the blame and hide the duster in my house!”
Zed came back inside his house to find a Mandy with a crooked grin sitting on his couch. “What are you doing here, Mandy?” He asked.
“What were you doing in my house?” She remarked.
His face paled. “Nothing.”
Mandy wagged her finger in front of his face. “I don’t think so. You were hiding the duster because you were the one who had it along.”
“Ok, fine!” He confessed. “I found the feather duster but–wait a minute, how did you get into my house without me knowing? And how did you get back here just as I hide it?” He stepped closer. “And how did you know I was even hiding it, or that I had it?”
“I–well,” Mandy stuttered.
“You hid it in my house first!” Zed declared.
“I so did not!” She shouted. “How do I know you didn’t hide it first!”
Zed gasped. “Like I would ever do something so scandalous as that!” He lied.
“I just saw you hiding it,” she snapped.
He crossed his arms. “That doesn’t prove anything. You don’t know if it was originally in my house!”
“And you can’t prove it was in mine!” She hollered back.
“You wanna bet!” Zed screamed with a red face.
Mandy stuck her finger in Zed’s face, opened her mouth to say something before a confused expression flickered across her face as something outside the window caught the corner of her eye. “Wait a second, where’s the duster now?”
“It’s in your house.”
Mandy glanced back at the object. It was the duster. Just floating in space. “No it’s not.” Mandy pointed. “It’s right there.”
Zed twisted his neck to see it. “Oh, juck.”
I must have forgotten to close the window all the way.
“I guess that’s one way to solve the problem.”
Bronco Billy Saves the Day!
What seemingly insignificant event had a big impact on World War II?
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HMS Griffin
On a gloomy 24th April 1940, two British destroyers, HMS Griffin and HMS Acheron, were carrying out routine searches of merchant ships traversing the North Sea. Their mission was to prevent German resupply vessels reaching Andalsnes and Narvik, where British and French troops were fighting a loosing battle during the invasion of Norway.
They intercepted an innocent looking Dutch trawler off Andalsnes, halfway between Bergen and Trondheim on the Norwegian coastline. She turned out to be a disguised Kreigsmarine surface raider Schiff 26 – the Polares.
Among the mines, concealed guns and two loaded torpedo tubes Polares was carrying to disrupt the allied force, HMS Griffin’s boarding party also discovered a cache of intelligence documents. They had been hastily thrown overboard in a weighted bag, which failed to sink. These included some of the German Enigma coding machine keys for the period 23–26 April, and the procedures for scrambling the rotors.
Signal Rating (later Lt. Cmdr.) Geoffrey Jones, a former gentleman’s hatter from Liverpool, received a Distinguished Service Medal for his bravery in assisting the bomb disposal team to disarm the novel magnetic mines carried by Polares after she was towed to Portsmouth. Jones went on to command antisubmarine trawlers and became a teacher and headmaster after the war.
This was the first break that Bletchley park had in defining ‘cribs’ that could be used to enable the Bombe electro-mechanical computers – developed to operationalise Alan Turing’s decryption technique – to attack the German Enigma codes. With this intelligence they succeeded for the first time in retroactively decoding Enigma traffic between 22–26 April. While this revealed little useful intelligence it proved the potential of the Bombes to crack the German codes and sparked a concerted effort to gather new cribs and to mass produce the Bombe computers.
And the rest is, as they say, history.
Edit: The capture of a new 4 rotor naval Enigma machine was by another British destroyer, HMS Petard, on 30th October 1942 (after she in company with three other destroyers, a Sunderland flying boat and an ancient Wellesley patrol aircraft had spent 16 hours hunting and depth charging U-559 to the surface off the coast of Egypt – arguably a more important victory than the Battle of El Alamein which was going on at the same time not far away).
Two of three men who boarded the abandoned and sinking U-559 to retrieve the Enigma machine failed to get out before she sank, and were awarded the George Cross posthumously (the highest British honour for bravery not in the face of the enemy). The survivor, NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, received the George Medal (surely an inspiration to check-out clerks everywhere).
By that time Bletchley park was routinely reading the older 3 rotor Enigma machine messages (which were used by most of the German armed forces).
The first Enigma machine was ‘acquired’ by Polish intelligence in 1938 (by setting up a fake German arms company and ordering a civilian version!) and handed to British and French intelligence in 1939. The original machine was lost, but an accurate copy was reverse engineered from Polish drawings by Bletchley Park technicians.
HMS Griffin’s success was probably more important, as it proved the system and ensured it got high priority and funding, although cracking of the 4 rotor codes, using the improved Mammoth and ground breaking Colossus computers, certainly doomed the U-boats.
Incidentally, German documents uncovered after the war revealed that they were very concerned about the loss of the Polares, and that the possible discovery of Enigma codes may have revealed their plans for the invasion of France. However, as the codes she carried did not extend up to May, they thought they were safe (they were, as it took a little longer for Bletchley to crack the system wide open). However it did not occur to the German cryptographers to imagine that they might be used to help develop a system that could read most of their secret communications for the rest of the war.
EDIT 2: in answer to a good comment on why did it matter?, especially in relation to why Ultra did not improve allied intelligence in advance of the Market Garden operation and German Ardennes Offensive in 1944….
The Germans did not use radio messages encrypted by Enigma machines for communications within Germany. Instead they relied largely on the domestic landline network using teleprinters and telephones. Without radio messages to intercept Bletchley Park had nothing to work with. During the last stages of the war, this internal ‘phone based system was dominant as most Wehrmacht forces were based inside Germany, and this explains why Ultra intercepts were not available in useful quantities for Market Garden and the Ardennes Offensive.
Nevertheless, there are literally hundreds of occasions when Ultra helped the Allies gain the advantage in ways that contributed decisively to victory. For example Ultra intercepts were used to inform the Soviets about the exact German dispositions before the Battle of Kursk in the Summer of 1943, ensuring that Hitler lost the element of surprise and the Soviet defences were well prepared.
Planning for the Torch, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio and Normandy landings were all helped by Ultra as was Operation Cobra (the Normandy breakout), El Alamein and numerous Soviet victories. As you said it was decisive in the Battle of the Atlantic too, and breaking of the naval codes in late 1942 allowed Allied naval forces to rapidly defeat the U-boat threat in 1943. There were few allied operations between 1941–45 that were not assisted in some way by Ultra.
There were some occasions when good Ultra intelligence was not used – usually when concerns about protecting the source made Enigma intercepts difficult to distribute (cover stories about agents penetrating the Wehrmacht could only go so far), or when the distribution was so restricted that those who needed it most did not get access or mistrusted the intel provided (the Dieppe raid in 1942 is an example). As the system evolved and expanded, so did more effective distribution methods and greater user confidence in Ultra intelligence.
Ultra intelligence was shared with the USA (the US shared intelligence from its codebreakers in the Pacific in return), Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand and to some extent with the Soviets and Free French. The intelligence sharing arrangements for Ultra are the origin the modern “Five Eyes” system between the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Man Discovers Fiancée Is No Saint And BLINDSIDES Her By Taking Back The Ring!
Why doesn’t Russia just use tactical nukes to stop the Kursk offensive?
Not needed
The Kursk offensive was elegant but ultimately a disaster as everything else
Imagine India invading and taking over large tracts of Pakistan and in exchange Pakistan captures 42 Rajasthani Villages across 5 Districts – 14 of which have already been liberated inside Five days with a minimum of 2500 Dead Enemy Soldiers and 150 pieces of equipment
The Ukraine supply line is cut off at SUMY where Russia is bombing FAB after FAB
This extends the Supply line from 7 Miles to 55 Miles
That alone means Ukraine cannot keep equipping their Soldiers who are in Kursk
This means Ukraine will send more troops across the Borders into Belgorod but again without supplies they will end up becoming TERRORISTS and holding hostages
Meanwhile Ukraine will leave their own territories where Russia will advance with impunity and capture more settlements and destroy more Ukrainian equipment and people
The Gamble was that Russia would be so worried about the loss of Civilian Lives in Kursk that they would immediately sue for peace
Unfortunately Russia is angrier now and regard Kursk as Terrorism against Civilians and will be even less determined for any peace
Yesterday 71% Russians voted on Telegram Groups to Kill Ukrainian women and Children against 8% on 30.06.2023 and 11% on 31.12.2023
It was a bungled offensive
You just don’t have the supply line to feed soldiers into Russia because Russians have Airpower and Artillery Power and Tank Strength
Plus they have the numbers
They can mobilize 200,000 Soldiers from their Reserves within a week
Ukraine is utterly exhausted and these are it’s BEST RESERVE TROOPS who are getting sliced into salami in Kursk
Why use Nukes?
Bronco Billy | 1980 | Clint Eastwood | movie review
Is Joe Biden Trying To Start World War 3 Before He Leaves Office? The Decision To Use Long-Range Missiles To Strike Targets Deep Inside Russia Is Insane
November 17, 2024 by Michael
As if everything that Joe Biden has done so far was not enough, now he has decided to push us to the brink of nuclear war. On Sunday, Joe Biden decided to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles provided by the United States to hit targets deep inside of Russia. This is a bombshell. I don’t know how else to put it. The Russians have already warned us how they will respond if long-range missiles provided by the United States and other NATO countries start raining down on their cities. Sadly, most Americans have no idea what a direct conflict with Russia would mean.
When I first heard what Joe Biden had done, I reacted very emotionally.
I am still feeling very emotional at this moment.
Everyone needs to clearly understand what just happened, because this is a major turning point…
President Biden has given the OK to lift restrictions that will allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. The move is a significant change to U.S. policy in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The easing of restrictions would allow Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia. The move also comes as some 10,000 North Korean troops were sent to Kursk near Ukraine’s northern border to help Russian forces retake territory.
One of the reasons why I am so upset is because this wasn’t his decision to make.
We just had an election and his side lost.
The American people elected a leader that wants to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, but now Joe Biden is trying to make sure that nobody is going to be able to end this war.
According to CBS News, one of the reasons why this decision was made was to “put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if peace talks happen”…
The U.S. decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces appear to be making gains and could put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if peace talks happen.
It also comes as Mr. Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and ending the war as soon as possible.
Are you kidding me?
That is nonsense.
Donald Trump needs to come forward immediately and denounce this move, because we could be facing a scenario where events spiral out of control before he even has the opportunity to take office.
When Vladimir Putin was asked about the possibility that long-range missiles provided by the U.S. could soon be used to hit targets deep inside Russia, he responded by warning that such a move would mean that “U.S. and European countries are at war with Russia”…
“We are not talking about allowing or not allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons,” Putin said Thursday in comments to propagandist Pavel Zarubin. “We are talking about deciding whether NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict or not.”
“This will mean that NATO countries, the U.S. and European countries are at war with Russia,” Putin said. “And if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us.”
Joe Biden just called Putin’s bluff.
We just crossed that red line, and there is no going back.
Now we will see if Putin was bluffing or not.
Later in September, Vladimir Putin explained that a “joint attack on the Russian Federation” could trigger the use of nuclear weapons…
A new nuclear doctrine would “clearly set the conditions for Russia to transition to using nuclear weapons,” he warned – and said such scenarios included conventional missile strikes against Moscow.
He said that Russia would consider such a “possibility” of using nuclear weapons if it detected the start of a massive launch of missiles, aircraft and drones into its territory, which presented a “critical threat” to the country’s sovereignty.
He added: “It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation.”
The Russians have told us that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles deep into their territory could cause a nuclear war.
But Joe Biden did it anyway.
Just imagine how we would feel if some foreign power was firing long-range missiles into Washington D.C. and New York City.
If someone did that to us, we would nuke them.
I want everyone out there to understand the gravity of the scenario that we are facing.
Of course the Russians have been escalating matters as well.
In fact, they just hit targets all over Ukraine using “120 missiles and almost 100 drones”…
Ukraine said it would introduce nationwide emergency power restrictions Monday after a “massive” Russian attack further damaged its already fragile energy grid ahead of a much-feared winter, with nine civilians also killed across the country on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow launched 120 missiles and almost 100 drones, targeting Kyiv as well as southern, central and far-western corners of the country.
Civilians were killed in the Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions in what officials in the capital called one of the biggest barrages in the almost three-year Russian invasion.
Meanwhile, the war in the Middle East threatens to spiral completely out of control.
On Sunday, Zero Hedge was reporting that Israeli troops were seen fighting at a location that is 3 miles north of the Lebanese border…
The Israeli military has reached the deepest point in Lebanon since the ground offensive began about six weeks ago. This has been reported by both Lebanese and Israeli media, amid raging battles with Hezbollah on Saturday.
“The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli troops temporarily captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Shamaa, about five kilometers (3 miles) from the border early Saturday, before later being pushed back,” Israeli media reports. “The outlet claimed soldiers detonated several buildings including a shrine before they withdrew.”
The IDF has also been bombing Syria on an almost daily basis, and we are waiting for the next Iranian attack on Israel which could literally occur at any moment.
Even though we could see these wars coming way in advance, nobody has been able to stop them.
Now Joe Biden has brought us to the brink of nuclear war with Russia even though he has very little time remaining in the White House.
It was not his decision to make, but he made it anyway, and it could end up having very serious implications for every man, woman and child on the entire planet.
Some AI lessons on MM image generation
It took me a while to figure out, but these images of people with this thing out of their mouths is what the AI interprets as “drinking”.
Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(7)
It also has a problem with size relevance.
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(10)
Changing the AI model can result in dramatic changes in the resulting picture… Some are good, and some aren’t.
Here’s one AI model …
##Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(13)
And here is a different AI model…
Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(18)
If you are not careful, all the individuals will look like clones…
ORB Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(15)
I really like how it creates backgrounds, but you MUST be specific for a background to be generated… some fantastical backgrounds come with undesirable subject matter.
BG Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(19)
It does seem to have a problem with sheer and wet clothing. Only generating edges, and ignoring the rest. Which is interesting, but not what I am looking for.
Sheer Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(20)
Sometimes, it looks fine. But the AI really has a problem with hands; number of fingers, and left vrs right…
Imperfect Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(9)
The fellow on the left is using a right hand on his left arm. Though the girl seems to be just ok.
Nothing worse than an extra arm to throw off the art…
#Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(11)
Why does some of the world not recognize the United States as the “good guys” in most situations, when they have been consistently trying to spread democracy around the world?
Here is the story of a democracy.
The Prime Minister of this country refused to allow a British oil company to control this nation’s oil reserves. He wanted the oil to benefit his people, he was an elected representative after all.
In response, the British boycotted this nation and asked the Americans for help.
The determination was to over throw this nation’s government. The CIA helped design a coup to overthrow this democratic government [1].
And the CIA succeeded and installed a dictator who was beholden to the United States to stay in power.
Now obviously this nation wasn’t thrilled about this and 26 years later the people of this nation protested and ended up successfully overthrowing this dictator to form a theocratic republic.
Since then, the US has flirted with the idea of going to war with this nation.
This nation: Iran
Yes, the US created the Iran we know today because the US installed a dictator.
The US does this stuff all the time, the US overthrew a government over the price of bananas [2].
The US supports 73% of the world’s dictators [3] .
The US does not spread democracy, the US supports people who support the agenda of American imperialism even if that is a dictator.
Also the US created the issues we have with Iran, so it is hilarious when Presidents complain about their ‘behavior’ because it was the United States that created the problem to begin it with interventionism… yet chuckleheads in the White House seem to think further interventionism is the answer.
I can’t get a job to save my life (1500+ applications) | Tech 2024
Have you ever returned from the store and realized that the cashier did not scan one of your items?
Once, I bought a multi-roll package of toilet paper. I had it on the bottom of my shopping cart, on the little shelf. I told the cashier it was down there. She rang up my purchases, I left the store and went home. Later I was looking over my receipt, and noticed that the toilet paper wasn’t on there. She hadn’t scanned it.
That little devil sitting on my shoulder said, “Well, consider it your lucky day”. But the little angel on the other shoulder said, “You know you have to do the right thing”. So the next day I trooped down to the store with the toilet paper and my receipt and stood in line at the customer service desk. When it was my turn, I told the cashier what had happened, and she said that she wasn’t going to charge me for the toilet paper. She said that by then, the cashier’s drawer (the one who checked me out) had been counted and put in the days receipts.
So I took my toilet paper home and lived happily ever after.
Another time, I bought a weedeater for my husband. He told me exactly which one to buy, and it was on sale. So I go and find the weedeater and buy it, and take it home. When I got home, and looked it over, I realized that it was a much, much nicer weedeater than the one on sale had been. I realized I had been pretty drastically undercharged. So, I called the store and told them what had happened and that I would take it back and get the one on sale.
So that’s what I did. It was a small Mom and Pop business, and they were decent people. I couldn’t take them like that. They were appreciative, and gave me a little gift certificate.
Husband comes home from work, we’re talking about the weedeater, and I tell him what had occurred. He was furious with me. He said I was stupid to take the expensive weedeater back, when I could have just played dumb. And then he would have a better heavy duty weedeater. It caused a big argument between us. I tried not to, but I lost a little bit of respect for my husband over his attitude regarding that weedeater.
I was raised to do the right thing. To do my best to be an honorable person. I have failed miserably many times, I know. But I like to sleep at night, and I like to have a clear conscience as much as possible. So I try to do the right thing. Simple as that.
ANXIOUS Arrival In Shanghai, China 🇨🇳 This Country SHOCKED ME! 英国人抵达中国上海
Will Boeing ever return to a time that their commercial aircraft was the gold standard of the airline industry?
Can they? Yes, there are lottery winners every week.
But will they? Unlikely, and even if they do, it’s a long slog ahead.
Boeing can’t catch a break, not since the first 737 max crash.
A string of troubles later, Boeing has bled immense quantities of cash, but finds itself in a QC mess, road map delays, a stuck starliner in space, union troubles, legal and fed oversight issues and one 737 Max crash from the mother of all PR storms.
Evidently, boeing has big problems executing as an engineering and manufacturing firm.
Unfortunately, Boeing is a no-option too big to fail node. The American government will step in to save it. And molly coddling will help Boeing stay up but hardly improve its competitiveness.
The culture needs to change. Unfortunately, financialization and cheap credit has played havoc with American competitiveness in the 21st century. Hard engineering is too slow for quick money’s taste.
Twenty years ago, pilots preferred Boeing’s yoke for its sense of familiarity. Today, airbus’s sidestick has revolutionized the cockpit’s ergonomics and workflow, introducing class-leading safety while reducing pilot workload.
Boeing has its work cut out, especially with the emergence of comac.
I am of the opinion Boeing’s economic model is too extravagant and there is too much fat in the supply chain. But it will require the competition to lay bare the fact customers are paying too much for what they are getting.
But that’s 20 years down the road, due to the product life cycles of airliners.
I wish Boeing luck. It is unlikely to disappear, but I won’t be surprised if it weakens further.
Let me tell you the truth, all Chinese people believe that if Russia fails, China will also fail, because the US will use Russia as a springboard to invade China. We won’t let that happen.
Don’t think the defeat of both Russia and China is a good thing. You in front of the screen are actually standing in the same position as us.
Here’s the history about your economy.
On August 15, 1945, when Japan unconditionally accepted the Potsdam Declaration and surrendered, and the world finally moved towards peace.
That was also the beginning of the golden age that MAGAs believe in.
Five years later in 1950, Washington DC announced the completion of its industrialization goals. In order to address the vested interests of the military class and become a world hegemon, the Washington DC launched the Cold War against the USSR. In order to ensure that Europe and East Asia were on the same front as itself, the government launched the Marshall Plan in 1947, transferring industry to allied European countries around the USSR, plus Japan, South Korea, and so on.
Washington asked, and Moscow answered.
The USSR provided comprehensive social security from cradle to grave, including free healthcare, education, housing, and employment security. As a result, Washington expanded its Social Security Act, Americans had Medicare and Medicaid at the first time. Assistance for low-income groups, housing plans, and strengthening public education, all of them was made during the cold war. The last time oligarchs gave such preferential treatment to workers was at Ford Motor Company in 1914, half a year before WWI.
The policy of the Washington DC towards the Moscow benefited the American workers, however there’s a flaw of the US itself: the social welfare system pushed the pressure to capitalists, and American domestic capital flee and become international capital. Industrial hollowing began from then on. Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea rose later, at the cost of the Rust Belt in the Great Lakes region. The 1960s. The end of the golden age.
Rust Belt
But that was far from over.
If the existence of the USSR cannot make you realize what you have gained because of it, at least the departure of the USSR may make you realize what you have lost. With the collapse of the USSR, American capital was no longer under pressure, and labor welfare plummeted.
Companies led by Wal Mart began to actively reduce workers’ wages and welfare benefits. Despite ongoing inflation in the US, its minimum wage for labor remained at $5.15 per hour from 1997 to 2007. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996 forced low-income workers to choose unstable jobs, people no longer have sufficient welfare. Right to Work Laws drived workers away from the union, making the union no longer represent the interests of workers, but gradually become a dual rival between companies and workers. The limit of industrial hollowing out is marked by NAFTA and China joining WTO.
The rich took too much, and the poor had no ability to buy. enterprises went bankrupt. Financial crisis, again and again.
The USSR brought American workers the golden age. The USSR also protected them staying in the golden age. When the USSR left, American workers became orphans abandoned by the government. The irony is that few American workers appreciate the USSR. They would rather believe that it is the kindness and conscience of the wealthy who have brought them a superior life, than believe in the common beliefs and struggles of millions of people.
Now take a look at China. We have achieved a living standard similar to or even higher than yours with resources far below the world average and per capita GDP on the world average – as you can see from the expected life expectancy.
Look at history and ask yourself. If no country in the world can resist the capitalist oligarchy of the US, after the popularization of AI and industrial robots, as manual laborers, what bargaining chips do you have to negotiate with them?
Or, let me ask in a different way, how much longer do you have to wait before you will fight for your own life rather than relying on others’ efforts? The clock of average people is ticktocking, since the popularization of industrial robots will be realized in your lifetime.
I FINALLY GOT A JOB! (1-year search | Tech 2024)
How does India get benefits if the world starts a war with China and Tibet gets independence?
The fact is, India is an expansionist country. They make every possible excuse to enlarge their territory.
As a Nepalese, I know it as a fact that Indian politicians have always dreamed of making Nepal an Indian state. Many Indians themselves do not know about it. They come to us and warn us to be careful about China. However, I’ve never met any Chinese who told us to beware of India.
That is why Nepalese people don’t support the Free Tibet Movement. If we don’t have a strong neighbor that can challenge India, we’re gone for good.
Personally, I’d rather Nepal be a part of China (because I am a Tibetan by ethnicity). I see nothing in common between my people and the Indians. Last I checked, Indians are as poor as us. Why would we want to join a poor nation? Why would anyone want to join a poor nation? I think what Indians need to do is develop their economy and infrastructure first. While they are at it, they should stop telling us how to run our country and whom to be careful about. We like China more because they did just that.
Lastly, some Nepalese people love India. That can’t be denied. However, we all hate the Indian media complex. Those people have no class at all. I’d rather appreciate if freedom of speech is suppressed in India. Thank you China for doing just that.
What happened in a courtroom that gave the judge a belly laugh you will never forget?
A true story of 40 years ago, with all parties dead now so it doesn’t matter:
Back when I was a child, my parents were friends with one of our neighbors. This lady — to this day — has my utmost respect as she had a command of the English Language that was put a drunken sailor to shame! Her insults, curses, and epitaphs were utterly astonishing as she’d put adverbs and adjectives that one would never expect together to form mind-boggling descriptive vulgarity for any common situation.
As was her nature, not everyone could handle her brash attitude and obscene vocabulary, so she ended up in court with the neighbor on the other side of the road from us. We went to watch the precedings, and all started out well and good — right up until the point where the other woman started to speak.
Her accuser said something quietly and abashedly, like: “Umm.. She threatened to hurt me and my kids…”
To which point, my mom’s good friend slammed her fist on the podium and yelled, “I OBJECT!! She’s lying, your honor! I told that GI-Gangbanged bitch that if her unsolicited mistake of Satan’s substance ever fucked around with my girl again, I was going to knock the bastard graveyard dead, bake his balls in a pie, and serve it to her for dinner!”
A moment of silence followed. Everyone blinked stupidity to process out outrageous her outburst was, and then chuckles filled the courtroom.
Brash. Yep!
Descriptive. Yep.
But a liar? Not one bit!!
Cost of living in Da Nang, Vietnam (World’s cheapest Country)
Why do Chinese trolls always fantasize that Japan and South Korea are American colonies? How can we cure their delusions?
Some 80% of Japan land is used as US military bases.
When you have foreign military base in your country, you lose 1/2 of your strategic sovereignty. If this is not colonisation, what is it?
Only people in denial will say Japan is not a US colony. Same for S Korea.
Do you know who wrote Japan’s constitution? U S A after WW2.
More, Japanese emperor used to be worshiped as god’s agent. After WW2, USA made Japanese emperor to tell Japanese that he was a man & not god. … If Japan was & is not a US colony, what is it?
I can tell you more but let us talk about 2024.
US Treasury secy Yellen made Japan buy US debt (China did not buy any). When Japan sold US debts to save its economy, Yellen warned Japan not to interfere the free market. … Japan cannot decide for itself. If this is not a colony, what is it?
Not fixable
Today’s MM work
I’m not that pleased with the results for today. I’m trying to perfect the form, but somethings are missing. I need more refinement.
Here’s the key elements of the prompt;
Create a anatomically-accurate, photo realistic, Baroque-style oil painting.
Four different and unique Thailand women are facing Bacchus and proudly anointed . end of the day entering dusk on a very hot Summer.
dramatic. theatrical. expressive faces showing emotions. facing a stone portal to another land; a lush land, with pastoral and tropical settings and wonder.
they approach the camera with anticipation and expressions of great interest.
they are yearning and full of desire facing the camera, and presenting themselves is a pleasing manner.
motherly handsome women who would make great mothers. anointed by cupid
The images generated are mostly nudes, which isn’t really what I asked for, but the Baroque-style oil painting is overwhelmingly nudes historically.
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(26)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(27)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(25)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(23)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(19)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(16)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(15)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(11)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(9)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(9)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(6)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(6)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(4)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(5)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(4)
Here’s some men for a change…
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(2)
I really like this one…
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(3)
This one is even better…
@@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1
This is also good…
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(1)@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0
Why Everyone Is Quitting The 40 Hour Work Week
This is a brilliant video. It really is.
Bye bye USA.
SpaghettiOs
Kids will love this homemade version of a favorite canned pasta.
spaghetti os
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
1 (26 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 cup milk
2 cups Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 ounces ditalini or pasta of choice, uncooked
Instructions
In a large pot mix together the sauce, water and milk. Bring to a boil.
When it reaches a bowl, stir in the cheese and turn it down to a simmer. Continue to stir until the cheese is melted.
Add the garlic and stir.
Pour in the uncooked pasta. Simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally during the first 5 to 6 minutes to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Check the pasta after 20 minutes, if it’s not as soft as you would like, cook it a little longer. Sauce will thicken even more over time.
Punny
Is Xi Xing Ping really a wonderful, loving, and supportive leader?
Yes, Donald Trump is a great leader. I don’t like America but I like Donald Trump. He has charisma. He has a story. He’s honest, and it’s clear that many Americans adore him.
Xi is different. While Trump has an American and capitalist story, Xi’s story is different. He has an Asian story. He went through the most important and tumultuous period of modern China. While Trump’s story is about making profits, Xi’s story is about China’s struggle.
Mao Zedong taught the Chinese people to be unite. Deng Xiaoping taught the Chinese people to prosper. Xi, on his part, taught the Chinese people to be proud of China.
Unlike American presidents who rarely interact with their own but poor citizens, Xi visits every corner of China. He communicates with the villagers of China, sits with them, and participates in the activities of a Chinese person’s daily life. He makes the Chinese people feel like the government cares for them. He empathizes with them. He champions the spirit of ordinary men. In contrast, Trump champions the spirit of capitalism and profit.
Xi visited the Tibetan Autonomous Region and many Tibetans gathered to welcome him. He even said “Tashi Delek” at the end, which has won him countless Tibetan fans.
Also, the US is helping him. To make a complete story, there must be a villain whom the hero must fight. The US is the villain, who the world knows is corrupted beyond redemption. Xi himself never chose to fight. He is forced to fight, so that has won him support from around the world.
So. In conclusion, Xi is not the leader China needs but the leader the world needs. After a thousand years, people will talk about our time. They will refer to our period as “China’s revival”. The man they will talk most about is not Trump but Xi.
A friendly contest
What is the saddest thing a casino dealer has seen at their table?
The saddest? A two way tie.
A kid in his early 20’s gains access to a trust fund his grandparents set up for him. Six hours into my shift his mother is behind him begging him to come home before he wastes everything at the table, tears and all. He calls security over to remove her from the area for harassing him. Sadly, he is technically correct, and security escorts the mother from the area. Congrats kid, you lost your future and your parent in one night at the tables.
Second was a 30 something female playing way above her head. No strategy, no quit. Wouldn’t take advice from me because “you work for the house”. She loses about 2-3,000, and goes straight to the ATM. Foxwoods ATMs charge $4 for every transaction, up to $400 per. She has $2,000. Ten minutes later, she’s in tears telling everyone she just gambled away the mortgage, and her husband is going to leave her. She leaves less than an hour before my shift ends. On my way home traffic is unusually heavy (5am mind you) and I see why. Distraught, she was walking along route 2 and decided to step in front of a bus. I found out it was her the next day.
Kay final scene
Why would Shanghai, a poor city in China, compare itself with New York?
For a poor city, it has the world’s largest metro system. 20 lines and counting. Completely safe. No drunks, homeless or druggies in sight.
Shanghai has the only commercial maglev train, allowing you to travel from the airport to the city center in 8 minutes. It travels at speeds over 400 km an hour.
You never need to look over your shoulder for your own safety. Even at 3:00 am you can walk the streets without fear.
You can eat anything your heart desires. From inexpensive street food all the way to Michelin Starred restaurants.
You never see traffic congestion because the city uses advanced smartcity technology so traffic moves very smoothly.
Your question should be why would New York, a poor and unsafe city, compare itself to Shanghai?
I’ve been to both cities. Have you ever visited Shanghai?
What’s the shortest amount of time you’ve stayed at a job and why did you quit?
Not me. But someone hired in my office.
Years ago I worked at a management consulting firm in Austin. It was an awful place to work. Ridiculous hours, bad management, and nepotism lead to an extremely high stress environment. Most of the employees had advanced degrees, but because of the horrible work environment, no one stuck around for more than a few months.
One morning, several of us got on the elevator with a new person, who pressed the button for the our floor. Someone asked if she was going to work for “XYZ.” “Yes,” she happily chirped. Everyone groaned. “You really don’t want to do that,” said one of the analysts. Everyone else nodded agreement.
We reach our floor. Everyone except her gets off. She stands in the doorway for a second. “Nope,” she says, and presses the button for the lobby.
A few hours later, the boss comes into a room where several of us are working. “Where’s the new girl? She was supposed to start today.”
“She quit.”
“What! When?”
“In the elevator.”
The boss looks at us and growls, “Shit! What did you say to her?!!!”
Bronco Billy – Final Scene
What are some interesting/funny facts about medieval France and Spain?
During the 100 Years War, the French countryside was devastated, lawless and full of unburied corpses. It was a paradise for wolves.
“In all the lowlands of the Loire, the sheep were gone — devoured, destroyed. The cattle that were left were herded by peasants and defended with such weapons as were at hand. By night, they were safe corralled in barns or high stockades.”
People did not dare to venture outdoors at night, when the wolves would prowl village streets, killing any man or animal they found. Outside of Paris was a piece of rugged ground that had been cleared of trees. The wolves made it their home.
“Here it was known that many wolves had their dens, and each year new litters of cubs were born, to be a terror on the roads that led to the great city. It was many generations before the place was cleaned up; and the only memory of its savage denizens left today is the name, the same but shortened, that attaches to the place – the Louvre.”
The wolf king, leader of the pack, was a huge wolf called Courtaud (“Bobtail”) who led a small army of wolves in raids on herds of sheep and cattle. When the herdsmen tried to defend their animals, they were killed too, and soon Courthaud developed a taste for human flesh.
The Dubois family, bringing their sheep to market, took the precaution of putting them in a horse-drawn cart decked out with bells, tin pans and other noisemakers, but it didn’t help. They were overwhelmed by wolves. All three were killed and eaten. After that, the wolves would only eat people, leaving behind the sheep and cattle.
For a time, English longbowmen kept the road to Paris open, but then they were withdrawn, and the city was effectively besieged by wolves. In the hard winter of 1439, there was so much snow that neither wolves nor men could find food. Parisians retreated behind their walls and listened to hungry wolves howling outside.
But the walls were not secure. There was a gap between the iron grate at the river and the frozen river itself. The wolves came through and ran through the streets, killing 14 people before retreating.
The captain of the city guard, Boisselier, was fed up. He ordered cattle to be slaughtered in the town square and left there. The smell of blood attracted the wolves who again rushed into the city, but this time, they were cornered and killed with arrows and stones. That was the end of Courtaud, but wolves remained a terror to the countryside for many years.
Why did the northern nomadic barbarians who once invaded China all became assimilated into the Chinese culture?
Classic joke:
What would happen if Russia invaded China?
On the first day: One million Chinese surrendered to Russia
The next day: Two million Chinese surrendered to Russia
The next day: Three million Chinese surrendered to Russia
The next day: Four million Chinese surrendered to Russia
……
Russia ultimately achieved victory,and Russia changed its name to China and announced that Russians are the 57th ethnic minority in China
Imagine you are a war lord riding a warhorse, wielding a sword, and possessing a thousand cows
You suddenly became the emperor of a place called China
You became the emperor because the original emperor here was too foolish.
You have recruited your loyal Prime Minister, and you have decided to establish your own dynasty and civilization.
You: I want the people here to use new language!
Prime Minister: Sorry, the people here use language that is longer than the history of your tribe. If you replace their language, the entire country’s system will collapse，Great emperor, you don’t want your tax order to be passed on to people thousands of kilometers away, but theybelieve it’s just a piece of paper filled with mysterious symbols
You: I want them to wear my clothes!
Prime Minister: Your clothes are only suitable for the environment on the grasslands… Look, here are deserts, grasslands, snow capped mountains, plains, oceans
You: I want them to eat my food.
Prime Minister: Sir, even you are unwilling to eat your food. Their food is much more delicious. I guess you, who live on the grassland, haven’t studied the methods of shark fin and sea cucumber
You: I want them to accept our culture.
Prime Minister: Really? Do you want your people to learn from your culture of conquest and war, rather than their traditional conservative and submissive culture? The previous emperor here finally taught his people to obey the emperor’s orders. Do you really want to teach them how to conquer and overthrow the emperor like you do?
You: I want them to read our book!
Prime Minister: Hmm… You’ve been busy fighting and don’t seem to have many books. Even if they do, they can’t understand them, and they have tens of millions of books
You: I want them to live in my house!
Prime Minister: Are you serious… Do you want to move out of this magnificent palace and live in your tent full of horse manure?
You: Damn it, why do they have such a long history!
Prime Minister: My Emperor, you see, the region where these people live is bordered by deserts and plateau snow capped mountains to the west, mountains and seas to the south, and only the ocean to the east. In this natural fortress, in ancient times, we on the grasslands were the only threat to this civilization, unless a group of people can invent airplanes and warships in the future to destroy this fortress.
But before that, this civilization could exist freely in this fortress for thousands of years… Of course, this also limited their desire to explore the sky and sea too much, so in the future your dynasty will be severely kick ass by a group of white skinned guys – and they will blame you, the ruler of another ethnic group.
You: so…… how did we conquer this country
Prime Minister: As you can see, living in this country, if you are an emperor who has everything you want, it is difficult not to become an idiot,Just like your future children, they have never experienced your efforts and hardships in conquering a country. Under our foolish feudal system, they will soon become addicted to pleasure, after all, there are much more fun here than on the grassland,Otherwise, why did that crazy giant Mongol Empire ultimately choose to stay here and establish the Yuan Dynasty
You: Then I can let them change to my hairstyle, right
Prime Minister: Of course… but the cost is that hundreds of years later they will still use this as one of the reasons why you are a tyrant… and countless rebels will use it as an excuse to rebel against you
You:there are always some of them willing to accept all of the above!
Prime Minister: Indeed, so future museums will have information about your artifacts
You: I’m going to kill them all!!!!
Prime Minister: Really? You killed them, who will give you a gorgeous house, delicious food, beautiful women, and a group of men willing to cut their own dick to serve you? Are you really willing to give up such a beautiful life and spend the rest of your life killing and fearing being assassinated
You: I choose to join them
Prime Minister: So, enjoy your brief imperial life, at most for a few hundred years they will take everything away, and you will fall in love with the life here and become a minority of China, If a snake swallows an elephant – it will only transform itself into the shape of an elephant, What you can kill is only the emperor, not this huge civilization
you see, these people are all native Chinese now
Men Are RELAXING As It All Collapses
Has it ever happened where someone acting as their own attorney ever worked out, they did a great job and got themselves off the hook?
Not exactly an “off the hook” situation, but I did go to court against an attorney and won.
The high school my youngest son attended denied him entry into the National Honor Society, even though he fit every bit of the criteria. It seems he was “black balled” by one or two of his teachers over personal grudges. I looked up the rules for admission to the society and found that black balling was forbidden. I asked to see the votes and vote tally records. I was told I was not allowed to see them. So, I filed a FOIA suit against the school.
A couple of days after filing the papers, I got a call from their “high-powered” attorney from our state capital. He wanted contact info for my lawyer. I told him I didn’t have a lawyer. He told me to get him the contact info when I hired my lawyer. I told him I had no intention of hiring a lawyer.
He then tried to bully me by telling me there was no possible way I could win, and that I would have to pay the school for his attorney fees. I ignored his threat and ended the conversation.
About 4 days before the hearing was set, the attorney called me again. He asked again for my attorney. I again told him I had none, and had no intention of getting one. Same old bullying started again. I ignored it again.
The day before the hearing, he called again and asked if we could just settle this. I declined.
The day of the hearing, I met this attorney at the courthouse. He entered the courtroom before I did, and introduced himself to the judge. As I entered, I looked at the judge and said, “Hi, Jim.” He responded with, “Hi, Eric.” I could see the attorney’s face, and the look was priceless. As the old saying goes, he didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.
I prevailed in my suit and the school was told they were required to give me the info. They said they didn’t have it. It must have gotten discarded. I pointed out to them that the National Honor Society rules required them to keep the information for at least 12 months. I let them know that I could contact the society and have them drop the entire school from their program for breaking this rule, with the implication that they were still allowing black balling of students. I received some apologies and promises that they would read the rules and follow them in the future.
My son was inducted into NHS the following year.
By the way, I had been denied membership in NHS by the same school some thirty or so years earlier. I didn’t complain. Even though I was valedictorian, they were correct in not inducting me. I was too ornery to fit the mold. My son did fit, it was just that a couple of teachers didn’t like him.
NEIGHBORS HATED THE COLOR OF MY HOUSE AND REPAINTED IT WHILE I WAS AWAY — I WAS ENRAGED & TOOK MY REVENGE.
My house is on a corner lot. Two years ago, a newlywed couple moved in next door and immediately made weird comments about my house’s yellow color. Soon, they outright DEMANDED I paint it a different color. My house has always been yellow; I love it, and there’s no rule against it.
They called the police and the city on me, but both told them to back off since I hadn’t done anything wrong. They even tried suing me (the suit got tossed, and they had to pay my legal fees) and attempted to rally our neighbors to form an HOA to force me to repaint. Our neighbors told them to get lost, so now they’re alienated by everyone.
I had to go out of town for two weeks, and when I got back, my house was GRAY. I almost drove past it because I’m so used to my yellow house. The neighbor from across the street came over and showed me pictures he took of the painting company setting up and doing the work. He and another neighbor called the police, but the painting company had a valid work order and had been paid, so the police couldn’t do anything.
It seemed everything done to my house was legal and no damage was done. But I was enraged and planned my revenge. Next day, I… repainted it yellow.
Yellow house
Putin TV Address: “Entitled to Strike” Nations Giving Weapons to Ukraine
“Russia considers itself entitled to use (hypersonic) weapons against facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against Russian facilities.”
Those are the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks today from the Kremlin in Moscow. Here is a brief video showing him making the announcement:
NUCLEAR ATTACK WARNINGS TRIGGERED THIS MORNING!
Russia’s ICBM launch at Ukraine this morning triggered early warning systems – – – and such launches are, by default, assumed to be nuclear. So for a short time, the US and Europe thought Russia was nuking Ukraine.
They only knew that it was not nuclear by checking to see if the city of Dnipro was still physically there after the impacts.
Essentially, If Russia decides to nuke Ukraine … the west will watch because they can do nothing other than that.
Second important thing to note: Russia has proven that it can deliver a conventional or nuclear payload to any place without a problem.
Which brings us back to President Putin’s address to his nation just hours ago . . . . NATO member countries have already supplied weapons being used to strike Russia. Among those weapons have been: Tanks, Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Rockets, Missiles, Speed-Boat-Bombs, and Drones.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and other nations have long ago provided such weapons that have been – and still are – used to attack interior Russia.
That Russia has now announced they are “entitled” to strike seems the clearest indication yet that utterly massive escalation is coming in very short order. Not necessarily in Ukraine, but on the territories of the countries who have been supplying weapons.
Hal Turner Analysis
Today’s use by Russia of an ICBM against Ukraine, albeit with only conventional explosives, should make clear to any RATIONAL person that the next step would be to use those same missiles with nuclear warheads.
There is no other RATIONAL interpretation possible!
Will the collective West see reality for what it is, or are they so immersed in their own echo chamber, that reality can no longer penetrate?
It seems to me that if the collective West does not stop what it’s doing with Ukraine, Russia is going to strike. VERY soon. Maybe before Thanksgiving.
For the almost three years that this Russia-Ukraine Conflict has gone on, I have implored readers of this website, and listeners to my radio show to get prepared: Emergency food, water, medicines you need to live on, a way to cook without electricity or utility-supplied gas, a way to heat your home without utilities (Fireplace, wood-burning stove, etc.). I have urged folks to get a generator and have spare fuel stored outside, to run that generator, to keep your refrigerators running and maybe a light on in the house. I have recommended a flashlight in every room of your home, or at least one for each family member, with plenty of spare batteries for those flashlights. I have recommended a portable AM/FM/SW radio for local news and info and spare batteries for those portable radios. I have urged people to get COMMUNICATIONS Gear, a CB, HAM, or GMRS radio, so they can communicate locally if everything goes down. I have advised folks to get a FIRST-AID KIT for minor cuts and bruises, or, God Forbid, major war wounds.
Now that an ICBM has actually been fired in Combat for the first time in Human History, a threshold has been crossed. Things go downhill VERY FAST from here.
If you don’t have the prepping items I mentioned above, you are totally screwed.
Please, I IMPLORE YOU, get “prepped” right now. Today. As best you can. There seems to be very little time remaining before you will need those preps.
8 hard truths I learned after 8 years living in Japan…
I have related the story of my good friend; Jerry Marcus, who killed himself.
As a recap, he was my younger brothers friend, who by association became my friend. He was five years my junior. And he was a bit of a unique fellow. Not bad, just quirky.
And one day, while he was living with his mother, he sent his mother out to get groceries. While she was away, he left a note for her on the kitchen table. Stripped nude on his bed. Laid down on a plastic sheet. Put a shotgun to his mouth, and blew his brains out.
Shocking to me and my brother and all our small circle of friends.
Indeed, he was a fighting demons and issues that he preferred to keep on the “down low”. Whether this was due to stupid Male Pride, or the face that us Bros and friends didn’t know how to identify a cry for help. I don’t know. But when I saw him, he was always happy to see me.
In fact, his mother told me that I was a “really good influence on him”.
Hum. Not just her. So did my other friend’s mothers. Especially Robbie’s mother. She once told me that Robbie was uncontrollable, but after he came home from spending the day with me, he was calm and happy. Like a completely different person.
But today’s little story is not about Robbie, or Marcus.
It’s about his family.
Sometime in the 1950’s, two beatniks set up a commune in the woods near Kittanning, PA. This community existed for maybe five or eight years. They played the bongos, wrote and read poetry, farmed a small garden and did what beatniks did best; whatever that was.
To get to the property, you had to take a rural highway, and then go though the woods on a long “driveway” road. Quite long actually. And there it would open up to a beautiful 1920’s era Art Deco home. It nested in a clearing in the middle of a beautiful wood.
Because it was so long, and such an effort to get to, the fellow commune members referred to it as “Endsville”.
And thus when I first associated with Jerry and his brother, I would know where to go due to the small sign at the almost hidden entrance; a sign that said “Endsville”.
The house was a beautiful “Craftsman” style house, and the interior was all nice hardwood. There were Art Deco statuettes on such things as the mantle and stair rail, and a beautiful stained glass Art Deco (of course) window that overlooked the main living room.
It was a nice place. I babysat his two cats for a spell there for him while he was overseas. Nice place.
It was a perfect boyhood house to grow up in. His father was an investment banker type of guy that also did estates, wills and stocks. When my first wife and I were heading off into the unknown in our van, he gave up words of encouragement and some money. (Though later when he saw him decades later, he became gruff and embittered, saying that it was a foolish youthful dream.)
Ah. Somethings come around in a kind of strange cycle.
Marcus’s father was a dreamer; a beatnik who founded a commune of dreamers and counter-culture folk. And evolved into a person who manipulated money .. eventually turning embittered and shriveled; a discouraged old man.
Marcus was born in Endsville, and took his life in Endsville. A flash in the pan on the grand scale of things.
Life can be hard. It can.
But don’t take it to Endsville.
Today…
Is it possible that someday China would abandon their thousand years of authoritarian regime and embrace democracy? If not, what are the reasons why China couldn’t do that?
The democratic package sold by Westerners is extremely narrow, and many of them do not even know the true meaning of democracy. They think that the one person, one vote election model is the standard paradigm of democracy, but in fact, it is simply a game of tycoons and monopolists, a tool for confusing ordinary people’s rule. In fact, the public cannot choose truly senior administrative officials. These elected individuals are essentially a group of hypocritical actors or speakers who do not represent the interests of the people, but only pretend to please voters.
For example, Western media are monopolized by Jewish Ansar, and their voices are generally consistent. They have a strong ability to brainwash and spread rumors, and ordinary people are unable to judge the authenticity of news. Public opinion is manipulated by the media, and there is no talk of independent elections.
2. On the other hand, there is the ability of leaders elected democratically. Look at Biden or Trump, their ability to govern or serve the people is extremely low. How many jobs have they created, how much convenience have they provided to the people, how much infrastructure has been updated, or what achievements have they made in technology during their tenure? Apart from mutual slander and urinary incontinence, I can hardly find where their achievements lie? The same goes for politicians in Europe.
I believe that the goal of democracy should be to benefit the people, create more wealth for them, enable them to have their own jobs, realize their own value, and feel safe, happy, and fulfilled anytime, anywhere. If this goal can be achieved, it doesn’t matter what political system it is. If you focus on a certain political form rather than the goal, it’s putting the cart before the horse.
Have you ever taken the law into your own hands?
I have not but I knew someone that did.
When I worked in the oilfield I crossed paths with a man that was a natural clown. He was know, of course, as WILDMAN. He could make you laugh, in fact he if didn’t make ya laugh he would. He was a fantastic person. One weekend a couple of friends stopped by. After that a married couple with two kids came on a visit. So 7 people and two kids on a summer afternoon. WILDMAN was in his element.
Another person, a couple of doors away, was having a bad time, the running conversation involves jokes, he could hear their laughing.
So he made sure he had a round in the chamber, he walked up behind Wildman, and shot him at close range.. The friends grabbed the gun, and stomped on him. A stomping is a little rough, it leaves the recipient unconscious and a number of bruises from steel toed boot. Then they called the police.
The neighbor was bonded out, by a local. That was what was needed. Wildman’s father was also an oil man, he was an executive in a different company.
The neighbor, his new friend picked him up, took him back home, and left him. The three people inside took care of the rest. Daddy was there, he pulled the trigger, and the body was left behind.
Scott Ritter Statement Following FBI Raid on his home
See, the USA hydra is stomping on free speech.
comments
Here’s what they have done to Scott…
Made him a “sex offender”.
Seized his passport. Didn’t give it back.
Searching / raiding his home.
What is next…
I’d advise leaving the USA post haste.
Have you ever walked into a room and seen something that made you go, “Nope,” and turn 180 degrees and walk away? What was it?
Yup. Once, when in a particularly low place I was walking to the train home from work, down New St in Birmingham (UK), and was approached by someone asking if I was OK. They seemed very sincere and said that they were part of an outreach program that encouraged positive mental health. Their base was just round the corner and we could sit and talk, and I really appreciated the opening so I followed them.
We got into a lift in one of the buildings just off the main road and talked as the lift went up. Something seemed a bit off as when they asked how I coped with stress and I answered “well, I chain smoke” they responded “Oh good, at least you have something”??
The lift opened and directly in front of the lift doors was a bust I vaguely recognised, along with the name plate “L. Ron Hubbard”. I didn’t even know scientologists had a base in the area at that point.
I just mumbled “Sorry, I’m in the wrong place” and dashed through the fire door, doubletimed it down the stairs and got the hell out of the building.
Is Simu Liu, the actor playing Shang-Chi in the new MCU movie, ugly in Chinese culture and handsome American culture?
I’m Chinese.
I wouldn’t say Simu Liu is ugly. But he sure is not good looking to most Chinese netizens either.
However, the actor of Mandarin, Tony Leung Chiu Wei has been considered one of the most good looking people in China for years, maybe even decades.
One more thing, Chinese netizens like to call good looking girls “Goddesses”(女神), there’s a male version of it too “男神”. I can’t figure out an appropriate translation, but you’ll get it.
When Chinese netizens use the word “男神”, this Chinese American actor/director/producer is referred to very often.
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His name is Daniel Wu 吴彦祖. Star of AMC’s Into the Badlands. He also played a few roles in Hollywood movies too, like Lu Ren in Tomb Raider 2018, Gul’dan in Warcraft. Considered one of the most handsome men by Chinese netizens.
Here’s another well known Chinese actor John Lone 尊龙.
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He was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People of the Year by People Magazine in 1990.
He played Puyi in The Last Emperor, Joey Tai in Year of the Dragon, and Song Liling in M. Butterfly.
I think John Lone is a very good example of Chinese and American having a common(similar, at least) taste for the appearance of men. And I don’t think Marvel cast Simu Liu because they think he is a good looking man. Simu Liu just looks more stereotypical. They cast Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson as Caucasian leading characters(These two are beautiful AF, let’s be honest). But when it comes to a Chinese leading character, they pick a stereotypical one. Think about it.
However, as a Chinese, I will never go to the cinema or rent a DVD for Shang-Chi. And I’ve watched every MCU movie in the cinema since 2012, the year The Avengers was released. I have nothing against Simu Liu. It’s all about the Shang-Chi character and the stories. The stories about Shang-Chi are just insulting to us Chinese people and our ancestors.
BTW, when a native English speaker tries to pronounce “Shang-Chi”, it always sounds like 疝气 in Chinese, which means hernia. The pronunciation of Shang-Chi(上气) in Mandarin is more like “Shawn Chi”. And the meaning of Shang-Chi(上气) in Chinese is “being angry” or “getting angry”, not “rising chi”.
It Begins… Migrant Thieves Raid NYC Warehouse
Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin
06852520003629c9aa11a63779c9e3f2
Ingredients
Pork
1 pound pork tenderloin
Glaze
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoons mustard
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
Instructions
Place pork on a greased rack in a baking pan lined with foil.
Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl, set aside 3 tablespoons glaze. Spoon remaining glaze over pork.
Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for 28 minutes or until done, basting occasionally with reserved glaze.
Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
Why is China getting more and more isolated? Why are most countries keeping China at a distance? Why is China being treated as a rogue and rowdy nation?
Recently, there was an UN vote about America’s embargo on Cuba.
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UN General Assembly calls for US to end Cuba embargo for 29th consecutive year
A total of 184 countries on Wednesday voted in favour of a resolution to demand the end of the US economic blockade on Cuba, for the 29th year in a row, with the United States and Israel voting against. |
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094612
This was the result, with 184 in favor, 2 against, and 3 abstention.
The US and Israel voted against ending embargo. Brazil, Columba, and Ukraine didn’t want to support the US, but couldn’t go against it neither, so they gave up voting.
Weeeel…. I guess someone is kinda lonely.
Everyone IS SCREAMING FOR AN EMERGENCY RATE CUT…
What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?
I had a fella that borrowed 10 large from me, turned out he was a degenerate gambler and this is Las Vegas. I secured the loan with his house or partial, he defaulted on his loan. I had to take the house and payments until the prepayment penalty expired. He was more than a slob, didn’t lift a finger to help clean for his move out. So I’m on my knees attempting to clean a disgusting toilet amid tossed betting slips from the book. That’s when I grabbed his toothbrush to do the detail work around the hinges, he wasn’t much of a good aim. When I completed that job I returned the toothbrush to its home and I still get a wee bit of pleasure when I think about it. Clean is free and gambling is a fools game. I rented that home, shortfall of $50 a month until his high interest loan was in my rear view mirror. Sold her to a family that couldn’t seem to secure a property, big housing boom. Made money, helped a young military family and got the bad vibes out of really nice home.
If Israel defeats Hamas, Russia will defeat Ukraine, then China will invade & defeat Taiwan. So if we support Ukraine & Taiwan, shouldn’t we also ought to support Hamas? At least freedom loving Taiwanese people understand this basic truth very well.
Actually, all these conflicts revolve around a single rainmaker.
Yes, America.
The long 20th century has taught us a vivid lesson in the power of hegemony. Go against American interests and your country burns or at best, suffers.
America makes cruel examples of some countries, to make the rest toe the line.
If that binyamin chap can fly stateside and receive standing ovations in congress as an icc fugitive while leading a country party to serious icj charges, most of the media narratives are just click bait fluff.
The struggle requires a clash of power, between the American led order and the rest, a system of systems competition that can go bad very quickly, if either side isn’t careful.
I empathize deeply with the plight of the gazans, and wholeheartedly believe in their cause for their own homeland, because history owes the Palestinians a grave, and present injustice.
But support for Hamas, and feeling good if they make gains or even better, win an unlikely victory? That’s just vanity, not least because the conflict is much broader with many moving pieces.
I made donations to the red cross to send aid to the Palestinians. I spent many sleepless nights fretting over the death and destruction overwhelming my feed, and prayed the killing would stop.
Eventually, I snapped out of it, but it was a mighty struggle. It is not my fight, and there is a long, hard road ahead for the Palestinians. There may not even be an end to hostilities on the horizon.
Whichever side you are on, remember this. The world can only be more stable and peaceful if it is multipolar, and there is a true balance of power. That’s the fundamental condition for the rule of law.
Israel, Ukraine, taiwan, Cuba will disappear as flashpoints with the ebbing of American power.
Such is the nature of the world we live in.
As east Asians, we can help recenter the world economy back to Asia, as it has been for millennia.
Remember, these are not our conflicts, and we do not have to take sides. It is enough to follow developments with clear eyes and weigh information from all sides to take the pulse of the situation. Make a principled stand for the killing on both sides to stop.
Anything more is time better spent participating in your own country’s economic growth.
The West is About to Face Unbelievable Hardships | Dmitry Orlov
Since entering August, the Chinese yuan (RMB) has appreciated rapidly. Is this related to the global expectation of the Fed’s interest rate cut? What does this mean?
Not only is the RMB appreciating, but the yen and the euro are also appreciating. The root cause is that the US dollar is weakening.
The US “inflation bill” has not achieved obvious results, and the core inflation rate remains high. The superposition of the US debt crisis and the inflation crisis has made the prosperity brought by high interest rates unsustainable. The global financial industry believes that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates further in the short term, and many institutions predict that the Federal Reserve may start to cut interest rates from the third quarter of 2024.
The Fed’s stimulant is almost over.
$35 trillion in debt means huge interest and default risks. The United States continues to challenge the debt ceiling and burn the international credibility of the US dollar, making all countries extremely wary of the US dollar.
The Fed’s interest rate cut means that the US dollar will flood into the market like a tide, which is an expectation of depreciation. It is normal for people to sell the US dollar.
Let’s look at China again. China has not followed the US dollar in raising interest rates in the past two years. It is one of the few countries in the world that has reversed operations. They have even carried out several rounds of interest rate cuts. China’s stock market has also remained low, and inflation is almost zero. This makes the Chinese economy, although not as prosperous as before the pandemic, almost non-existent in terms of systemic risks. In the first half of 2024, China’s economy recovered steadily, with economic growth of 5% and a trade surplus that broke the historical record. According to the data in July, China’s foreign trade volume hit a new high.
The cold data shows that China’s economy has been recovering and growing steadily, and it is not “about to collapse” as some Western media have exaggerated.
If people think that the US dollar will depreciate, they will inevitably look for a new currency to replace their positions after selling the US dollar. You can’t always exchange the sold US dollars for potatoes. There are not many reliable options in the world, nothing more than a few currencies such as the euro, yen, and RMB. Or invest in gold. In fact, the price of gold has risen by 26% in the past 12 months.
At present, the appreciation of the yen is more obvious, but this is because the yen has just experienced a sharp depreciation in the previous few months, and the appreciation of the yen has a rebound effect. The appreciation of the euro is not as good as that of the RMB
Unlike the euro and the yen, the RMB is an upward currency. At present, due to the continuous development of the BRICS organization, a large number of RMB transactions have been moved outside the SWIFT system. China settles oil and gas transactions in OPEC countries in RMB through the BRICS Bank and encourages the use of RMB as a foreign trade settlement currency. Many BRICS countries and Belt and Road countries use RMB to pay for imports from China.
RMB transactions have become a new international trade route in addition to US dollar transactions.
At present, the proportion of RMB in China’s own foreign settlement currencies has exceeded 50%. As the world’s largest trading country, China has more than 6 trillion US dollars in transactions each year. This means that the share of RMB in international transactions is actually much greater than that reflected by SWIFT, and the degree of RMB internationalization is actually much higher than the World Bank’s data.
This makes RMB a very popular safe-haven currency in international currency transactions. As an investor, when I try to sell US dollars, RMB will occupy a very important position in my basket of choices.
Scott Ritter: Russia’s GLOVES ARE OFF as NATO Makes Fatal Mistake, Ukraine in Trouble
What happened to your school bully?
When I was in primary school, a new kid arrived one day. He had a blonde pageboy haircut and was much bigger than me.
I probably sealed my fate when he decided to stage a KISS tribute air-band concert in his basement.
I watched as he and some of my other friends, dressed in shredded garbage bags, kicked their silver duct-taped, Kodiak boots into the air.
I didn’t get it.
After that I was a dead man walking.
My longest, “bestest” friend, whom had been in every class with me since grade 2, loudly proclaimed that he was happy that we wouldn’t be in the same class the next year.
Then the physical abuse began. I would be shoved to the ground on my way home, etc etc.
Then they all started smoking pot, and taking acid.
I’m talking about 12 year old kids.
One of the kids was a straight-A student and quarterbacked his football team.
I haven’t seen or heard from any of these kids since high school. There’s no sign of them on Facebook.
I know that one of them was stabbed to death with a screwdriver after he testified against a drug dealer who shot him and left him paralyzed.
There’s as least 4 of them who seem to have simply disappeared.
Recently one of then popped up on Facebook. He started his own company painting houses. I hired him to repaint my ceiling after a water leak. He told me how he wasted most of his life addicted to drugs but has finally turned things around. He’s 58 now.
I felt bad for him. We saw Beatlemania when we were kids. He had a bright future ahead of him… but then the “cool kid” showed up one day and sucked everyone around him into a vortex of bullshit.
What is something most people wouldn’t understand unless they grew up poor?
Here are some things I remember from growing up in rural poverty in the USA:
Living in an apartment with no heat except for one very small wood stove, with only unseasoned firewood “included” in the rent. My mother would turn on the gas oven and open the door to heat the kitchen enough so that we wouldn’t see our breath.
In that same apartment, my sister’s bed caught on fire because the electric blanket she used (because it was sooooo cold at night) had an electrical short. Fortunately, I was in the bunk above her and woke up and was able to get her out of the room before the smoke got really bad.
Always running out of toilet paper – buying in bulk simply wasn’t an option for us.
Digging through the sofa cushions for change for reduced school hot lunches.
Government issue cheese, peanut butter, and evaporated milk. We called the cheese “welfare cheese” – it was sort of a cross between cheddar and Velveeta. We never went hungry, but my mom had to get pretty creative with food shelf donations, and fresh fruit (except apples – we always had apples) and vegetables were a rarity.
Anything that broke wouldn’t get fixed. Because we were always broke and there was no “extra” money for repairs or preventive maintenance.
My mom always overpaid for vehicles and always had a car payment. In the extremely cold & snowy climate where we lived, having an unreliable car could be fatal. So she would trade in whatever almost worthless thing she was driving for a new one, and then drive that one into the ground.
When I was in 5th grade, we had so little $ that for an entire school year, I had only 1 pair of pants. I wore them every day, and I washed them every other day. No one ever said anything to me about it, fortunately.
The only time my sister and I bought clothes was just before going back to school. Usually we were allowed to pick out one pair of pants and two shirts, and my mom would take out a store credit card to pay for it.
We very frequently did not have phone service due to disconnection for non-payment. My entire senior year of high school, we did not have a phone. This is before mobile phones existed. If I wanted to make plans with friends, I had to walk or bike 3 km to the general store and use the pay phone.
Despite living in northern Vermont, I did not have proper winter clothes. My winter boots were LL Bean “duck boots” (no insulation!). My walk to the school bus was 3 km. When it was about -25 F, by the time I got to school I had severe frostbite on my feet. A few days later the skin on my toes turned grayish yellow and peeled off. This happened a couple times. I still have nerve damage in my feet.
After I was out on my own and earning money, there were many times when I found myself considering a purchase from the perspective of a poor person and then suddenly realizing that I didn’t have to do that. Only in the last few years have I been able to buy things for myself without any guilt or gnawing feeling that I should save the money instead (I have plenty of savings already).
In the last 6 months, I have arrived at a place of financial security where if I lost my job, there would be no financial panic. This is an amazing feeling and gives me a feeling of freedom that my parents never had.
I resolved to never be poor and have been very fortunate. Being poor was a great motivator for me and gives me empathy for why poor people make the choices that sometimes don’t seem to make sense to anyone who hasn’t experienced poverty.
Kidnapping Victim’s Escape Leads to Horrifying Discovery
https://youtu.be/gH9r_aY8VEQ
Have you ever taken the law into your own hands?
Yes. When I was about 8 years old we lived in a house where the back yard was enclosed by a six foot high fence. Our first pet “Tiger” was a cockapoo a cross between a cocker spaniel and a toy poodle. I was there when Tiger was born.
One day my brothers and I were playing, tiger was out side with us, when the neighbor’s German Shepard jumped the fence and attacked Tiger. I grabbed the baseball bat and beat the German Shepard to death. The German Shepard had nearly ripped Tigers rear leg off. We yelled and our parents came out to see what was going on. They loaded up both dogs and took them to the vet. The German Shepard was pronounced dead on arrival. Tiger went into surgery. He was sewn up and bandaged. Several days later he was brought home.
We informed the neighbor about his dog accompanied by a police officer. The neighbor tried to attack me. The police officer held him back.
The neighbor took us to court. The neighbor wanted me punished for brutally beating his dog to death. And he wanted another dog. The judge listened to both sides and then asked the neighbor some questions.
The questions went like this.
Judge: You had a German Shepard?
Neighbor: Yes, and this little brat brutally killed it.
Judge: is there a 6 foot tall fence between your yards?
neighbor: yes.
Judge: was your dog capable of jumping that fence?
Neighbor: I have never seen him do that.
Judge: Is there a gate between the two yards?
Neighbor: No.
Judge: How do you think your dog got into their yard?
Neighbor: well it is possible that my dog jumped the fence.
The judge then asked me some question.
Judge: why did you attack this man’s dog.
Me: The German Shepard jumped the fence and attacked Tiger. We yelled but the dog would not stop. I had the bat in my hands and was not gong to take the chance the dog would kill tiger or attack someone else. I kicked the German Shepard off tiger but he went back. I kicked him again but this time I also hit him with the baseball bat. He kept trying to get at tiger. So I ended it. I hit the German Shepard till it quit moving.
Judge: were you scared?
me: I was. But I was more angry than scared. No one attacks my family. And tiger is family.
Judge: Do you like dogs?
me: yes, very much.
Judge: before this, were you afraid of the German Shepard?
Me: before this, I had never seen the dog. He barked a growled a lot. But he was always on the other side of the fence.
Judge: so you didn’t hate the dog.
me: I didn’t know the dog. Never met him.
The judge feeling he had all of the information needed made his determination. The neighbor was charged with having a vicious dog. Was ordered to pay our vet bill. He was told that if I had not killed the animal it would have been put down as a dangerous animal. After having cleared a 6 foot fence and attacking another’s pet and possibly children playing in the yard. I probably would have done the same thing as this young man. There will be no retaliation of any kind.
Ironically the neighbor got another German Shepard. A puppy. He introduced us to the dog and our dogs got along great. We moved about 6 months later. Tiger had complications from the surgery and started having seizures. My dad was in the navy and we often moved. Tiger was put down about two years later because we could not afford his medical care. I was told by my parents he was sent to a farm. I looked my parents in the eye and said “tiger was in bad shape. If you put him down just say so. Please don’t lie about it.”
The U.S. stock market has plummeted, putting increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The U.S. has lost the financial war. At this moment, China has dealt another heavy blow to the U.S. by reducing its holdings of 228 billion U.S. real estate. Yellen issued a warning that the U.S. debt may face a collapse. Why do we say that the U.S. has lost the financial war? What signal does Yellen’s warning send?
In 2018, the United States unilaterally launched a trade war against China, and then provoked a technology and financial war. Now, the global game between China and the United States has lasted for nearly 7 years. I thought that this confrontation that determines the world pattern would be a slow process. After all, the game between major powers is to see who has better determination. Moreover, the United States has “dollar hegemony” and can collect wealth from various countries by issuing U.S. bonds globally. Relying on U.S. bonds and the dollar, the United States has successfully survived many financial crises. But this time, the United States took the initiative to provoke a financial war against China, and they themselves were the losers. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell made it clear that interest rates may be cut in September. Obviously, the United States can no longer withstand the financial war.
There is a saying about the Sino-US financial war: “hypertension vs. hypoglycemia”. From the perspective of the United States, they are facing high inflation that has been slow to be curbed, huge debts, and high interest rates caused by multiple aggressive interest rate hikes. Although China is the world’s largest manufacturing country, its consumption power is not as good as that of the United States, the world’s largest consumer of goods. In other words, China has goods but lacks money, while the United States has money but lacks goods. The essence of the Sino-US financial war is that the United States wants to harvest China through aggressive interest rate hikes. While China is improving its financial defenses, it is waiting for the United States to be dragged down by its own debts.
But in this process, the United States made two fatal mistakes.
First, the United States forgot the fact that “finance is a derivative of trade.” Although the United States has dollar hegemony, China has the most complete manufacturing sector in the world, which makes it have a long-term trade surplus and has $3 trillion in reserves. Therefore, the United States can hardly influence China’s exchange rate;
Secondly, the United States has never considered that its aggressive interest rate hike strategy will push its allies into a dead end and eventually force them to “turn against the United States.” According to 环球网_全球生活新门户_环球时报旗下网站, Japan has already started to raise interest rates on the yen, which is a dead end for the United States. Previously, due to the high interest rates in the United States, many international investors borrowed yen at ultra-low interest rates and then converted them into dollars to buy U.S. bonds. Now, the Federal Reserve has just released a signal of interest rate cuts, and Japan has immediately raised interest rates, which will trigger investors to transfer assets from the United States to Japan. In other words, Japan has implemented a reverse “harvest” on the United States.
It is worth mentioning that as early as two months ago, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that maintaining high interest rates may put US debt at risk of collapse. But Yellen did not expect that what happened later would be more serious than she expected. On Monday, US stocks suffered a sharp drop at the opening, with technology stocks such as Nvidia and Tesla falling by more than 10%. At the same time, a large number of Chinese buyers were worried about the US economic situation and began to sell their properties in the United States. According to public data, in less than two years, Chinese buyers have reduced their holdings of US real estate by 228 billion yuan.
By August 5, the onshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar reached 7.1150, a surge of 1,000 points. The reason for the strengthening of the RMB is that the US non-farm unemployment rate has reached 4.3%, which is not only the worst in the past three years, but also far exceeds expectations. This makes international investors believe that the risk of an economic recession in the United States is increasing. It is worth noting that this time Japan raised interest rates and announced how much foreign exchange it used to intervene in the exchange rate. In the face of this “turnaround” approach, the United States did not make any accusations. Obviously, the United States is also very clear about how serious the situation it faces!
I don’t know what exactly you were told about USSR, but it was at least 10 times less bad than you’ve been told.
Everyday life in USSR wasn’t that much different from social democracies of today:
There was work, properly regulated to 8 hours a day and 2 days off.
During dinner break, you’d get to eat at an eatery, usually one affiliated with your workplace.
There was almost 0% unemployment. The country always had work that needed doing, but if they didn’t, they’d invent some work for you, like digging holes or filling up holes.
The work was paid for properly at the end of the month.
People would spend their money in shops, to buy food and things.
Unlike capitalism, there usually was more money than things to buy.
The amount of stuff owned by a typical Soviet person wasn’t that much different from stuff owned by a typical worker under capitalism.
Food shortages were the exception, not the rule. But growing or foraging your own food was a thing.
Everybody had a roof over their heads, usually provided by the government for a small rent/tax.
Less lucky people lived in dormitories and communal apartment, more lucky ones lived in their own apartments.
Wait time to get one’s own apartment was similar to time for accumulating money to buy an apartment in capitalist Russia, but one could use their money freely.
Violent crime was pretty low, while black market seems to have flourished.
Newspapers did not go out of their way to scare people, so people felt much safer.
Life in prisons was worse, as it should be. Still, prisoner lifestyle was regulated, so they wouldn’t go hungry unless the whole country did.
That joke from “Operation Y” where an prisoner builder gets a 3-course dinner with shahlyk and a poor student working part-time (who has to buy his own food) gets some bread with kefir is a comedic exaggeration.
What are good practices that make people live longer?
One thing that really helps is having a goal — something you want to do before you pass. Like Jeanne Calment who made a deal with her rotary André-François Raffray in 1965, when she was 90 years old… in exchange for having the right to continue living in the property, she’d sell the apartment to Raffray, for him to use after she passed. He sure felt he’d made a pretty sweet deal with the little old French lady…
Only Calment didn’t die… she kept living. And living. And living. By 1995, Raffray had already paid Calment many times the value of the property she was living in. A piece of property he legally owned for some 30 years but couldn’t sell or make use of. He died, in 1995. And Calment, 120, continued to live for another 2 years, finally dying in 1997 at age 122 with Raffray’s widow and children continuing to pay her generously for her refusal to meet her maker.
Calment lived another 32 years after reaching 90, and it made her a fortune in her day’s currency. She was paid generously just for being alive, despite continuing to smoke and drink and live merrily. “Sometimes in life, one makes a bad deal,” Calment simply said. And sometimes, people make mighty good deals.
Why She LEFT the USA and Moved HOME to ASIA!
Do Americans really avoid hospitals, even in serious situations because of the bills that follow after?
We sure do!
I pay more than $1000 a month for “good insurance, and last month I fell. I knew something was wrong and instead of going to the ER, I went to urgent care because it would be so much cheaper.
It almost killed me.
You see, I had broken three ribs and punctured a lung. I was bleeding into my chest cavity and the longer I waited to see the cheap doctor, I was losing my ability to breathe. At one point a lady sat next to me. She took one look at me and screamed at the front desk to call an ambulance. I told them it would cost too much and I would drive myself.
Luckily for me, they stopped me from driving and the ambulance soon arrived.
I stayed in the hospital for 3 days and demanded to be released because I couldn’t afford to be there any longer. I was released AMA and I got lucky that I had someone at home to care for me. It has taken weeks for me to be able to take a breath without pain, and while my doctor wanted to see me at the two-week mark, I waited until 4 weeks to see her.
I am now waiting for the bills to arrive. I know that my deductible for the year is $17,000 and that will be what I will have to pay before the full insurance kicks in, but I will STILL have more deductibles to pay!!
Our system is BROKEN!! The MAIN reason people file for bankruptcy is medical bills, and we are supposedly a first-world nation!!!!
People are so damn worried about paying for everyone to get medical care that they would rather go bankrupt than pay LESS than we do now for actual care! They seem to forget that they are already paying for roads, schools, first responders and so much more, but heaven forbid they pay for medical!
It would be CHEAPER FOR EVERYONE!!!
PLUS our politicians are in the pockets of the insurance companies who will lose billions if we were to have universal healthcare. So, we continue to see the decline in our health, die earlier, and lose mothers during childbirth at a rate higher than some third-world nations, and all people can think of is “Well at least I didn’t pay for someone else to live”.
“What’s your planet like?” the little alien asked wistfully.The alien was two feet tall, with a tiny blue curl on the top of his head. By the time the alien was an adult, the curl would be about eight feet tall, sticking straight up like a bright blue mohawk. The rest of him would be only four feet tall, and I wasn’t sure whether the aliens counted the curl as part of their height or not. This species was either really short or really, really tall.“It’s beautiful,” I responded, thinking longingly of home, “When I was little, everything was green and there were all these animals in our backyard. There was a gopher that lived in a hole in the rocks that my dad named Pierre. He always ate my sisters garden. And at night, there were so many… so many stars. There was a lullaby my mom used to sing about the stars. I haven’t heard it in so long. I’ve almost forgotten the words.” I hummed the tune under my breath for a moment, “But Earth… Earth’s not quite as beautiful as it once was.”“What happened?” the young alien tilted his head, curious.“Humanity happened. We were told we were destroying the planet but no one would listen and when we did it was never enough. Overpopulation, pollution, hunger, poverty, global warming… Those all started before I was born and by the time I was old enough to do anything, it was too late. It was already irreversible. The people my age tried to at least slow it down, but no one would listen to us. Our only hope was to find another planet, like scavengers destroying everything they touch. We destroyed our home. Maybe if we had all worked together, refused to ignore the signs, things would be different, but we didn’t and they’re not.”“Is that why you left?”“Yes.” I turned away from the alien, lost in thought.Here I was, a human, lightyears away from my home. I couldn’t even see the sun from here. I had failed in my mission.Sure, I had found alien life on other planets, but I had lost my crewmates and my home. My memories of how I got there were still foggy.I remembered my crew and how we had been the first humans to reach the Kuiper Belt. We’d felt like heroes. Then one of the asteroids had crashed into our ship.I had been the only one to escape the wreckage.The aliens found me.Next thing I knew, I was in their spaceship with no idea where I was.“Do you miss it?” the young alien asked.“Hmm?” I turned back to him.“Don’t you miss Earth?”“Every day.”“I can’t believe I’m actually talking to a human. A real, live human! My grandmama says she went to Mars once. It’s the closest she ever got – the closest any of us ever got – to Earth. There was this weird thing that my mama calls a-” he said something in a different language “-but I don’t think there’s a word for it in Human, so the translator might not work for it. It was made of panels and metal with a human word written on the side in big block letters. The first letter looked like a wide mouth getting ready to eat you, grandmama says.”I tilted my head, trying to imagine what he meant. “An ‘O’?”“What’s an ‘O’?”“The letter. It looks like this,” I traced my finger through dust on the small table between us.The alien child shrugged, “Maybe. I wasn’t there. Grandmama says you could see Earth from where she was and it was all greens and blues and browns and whites and when it wasn’t facing the star, the land glowed. It even had a tiny metal moon orbiting it!” The little alien boy put his hands on my knees to pull himself into a standing position.“Earth only has one moon and that’s made of rock, but your grandmama may have seen a satellite. And the land wasn’t glowing, silly.” I chuckled, flicking the little curl on the top of their head that seemed to be the defining factor of their species, “That was the lights in the cities and houses.”“Why would you need lights? You have a star right there in your solar system!”“The lights are for at night, when the sun goes down.”“What’s a sun?”“It’s what we call our star,” I explained.The alien’s eyes grew wide, “Your star moves?”“No.” I said flatly, “When Earth rotates, it looks like the sun is moving across the sky. Thousands of years ago, people thought it was moving. They thought that Earth was the center of the universe.”
The alien snorted, “That’s kind of self-absorbed.”
“Yeah,” I laughed, “but science proved them wrong. When the part of the Earth that we are standing on turns away from the sun and it goes dark, we say the sun goes down. We call that time night. That’s when we can see the moon and the stars up in the sky. Do you have that on your planet?”
“No. There’s two stars, one on either side of my birth planet, so it’s always not-night.”
“Day. The word you’re looking for is day.”
“Wow. Humans name everything, huh. What do you call your moon?”
“Well, technically the moon’s name is Luna, but there’s only one, so we just call it the moon most of the time.”
“Cool!” He exclaimed, “We don’t have a sky. Mama says the atmosphere’s too weak for us to have a pretty sky like the one on Earth.”
“Light pollution blocks most of the sky nowadays, so don’t be disappointed if you ever see it.”
“Mama and Grandmama have always wanted to go to Earth. They were so excited when you got to the end of your solar system. We’ve been watching you progress for a while. Mama said humans were resilient and stubborn and would never give up, but Papa thought you were going to give up because you kept finding rocks and that was it.”
“They were cool rocks,” I nudged him, “Space rocks.”
The alien clapped two of his arms together, which I was quickly learning was how this species showed delight.
I hated to burst the alien’s bubble of innocence and wonder but…
“Do you know the worst thing about Earth and living there?”
The child’s face dropped and the spiky arm-like appendages fell to their side.
I continued, “The worst part about living on Earth, or at least in my country, isn’t the pollution, poverty, hunger, or even abuse. It’s the tension. The fear that we’ve entrusted the keys of mass destruction to a lunatic or a villain. The constant worry that one day you’ll turn on the tv and hear that a war has broken out in our country and a nuclear bomb has been dropped. In my country, we are always at war, but it is always pushed under the rug and ignored. For stuff like that to be shown on the news, it would have to be on our own soil. Either a civil war or a world war. It would destroy anything. No one would survive, and if they did… that fate might be even worse.”
“So… you don’t want to go back to Earth?”
I shrugged helplessly, “Humanity destroyed Earth. Maybe when your grandmama saw it, Earth was more beautiful, more loving, more kind, but more likely is that the effects of humanity’s cruelty were only just starting to show on Earth’s surface and it wasn’t as noticeable yet. To truly see Earth, you have to get up close, beneath the clouds, into the cities. Still… I do want to go home. I want to rebuild and restore Earth to its former glory, if it ever had any when humanity lived on the Earth. I want to see the animals, healthy and thriving, not on the brink of extinction, and to see the moon surrounded by stars, and see the milky way hovering in the sky like it did when my grandparents were little. I want to go home.”
“Can I help?”
“I don’t think so, little friend. It’s not fair to pull you into our mess.”
“So? I want to see Earth too! I want to help the humanities.”
I smiled sadly and patted the alien’s baby curl. “Let’s just get me home first. Just imagine being the first of your species to reach Earth’s surface. Your mama will be so proud.”
I looked out the small window at the wide expanse of nothing, with stars twinkling in the distance, almost too far away to see.
“Let’s go home.”
West Panic: Italy’s Meloni In Beijing For Desperate Reset, Russia Drops Major BRICS Update
Why do Chinese trolls always fantasize that Japan and South Korea are American colonies? How can we cure their delusions?
Alex Julius, you should be the one who must be cured of your delusions.
You are likely too young, but know that it’s not just Japan and South Korea, there are almost 800 of such “colonies” in the world.
We’re still doing this – added Finland recently. And restored another – the Philippines.
This is the rare occasion where what trump claimed is actually true – Americans can literally shoot anybody on main street and can’t be touched. Young Filipinos may not know these, but Filipinos were target practices once they get too close to Clark and Subic and of course, they could treat their women however they feel they want. And Bong Bong wants all these American liberties back in his country.
The only difference is that its so much more for Japan and South Korea – its Washington that dictates their national foreign policies – that when the American president tells them to jump, they ask how high. . . where the government of Japan can’t fly over Tokyo without permission of the U.S. military commisioner . . . where South Korea can’t do anything involving their military without the permission of the U.S. military brass. . . .where its president must know how to sing Karaoke when making state visits. But of course, to maintain the pretext of democracy, they have to do the work of governing their own people – that they can do themselves. Isn’t all these describing running “colonies” by enjoying the best of both worlds?
Today’s MM image generations
The focus is on admiration, and the god of the vine. It’s a hodgepodge of prompts and resulting in very interesting images.
Many nudes. But you all know that I am figurative art lover.
I really love the style, and the color composition. But I am having problems with the image arrangement. But I think that in time things will straighten out.
Personally, I don’t like full nudes. I prefer partial nudes, and elements of clothing with folds, and details.
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So I changed things out. And I started to require loin cloths and other attire elements.
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Some didn’t have the elements of clothing, but the colors were great.
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In the ones where everyone was clothed, it became too formal. I wanted something less formal.
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Maybe something more like this…
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This is pretty good.
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So is this one.
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And this one.
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The careful placement of arms was really nice.
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This is fine…
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What was the hardest thing you went through in life, and how did you get past it?
Originally Answered: What was the hardest thing you went through in life and how did you get past it?
Our married love life was wonderful, Blessed with cute baby girl , added more and more love to our lives. Perfect love life , both of us were equally romantic and made for each other in all aspects . But he fell sick one day, severely sick. Lost his job soon due to the serious health reasons . I was not working and no experience though well qualified. No one earning at home , worst phase of our lives .I started hunting for job , use to seek help with whomever I know , giving my resume. Since it was already 4 years that I had finished my degree, securing a job was really too hard and challenging. I use to drop into offices , use all my limited intelligence and resources to get a job. Everywhere , every effort was a failure, I was good at nothing , hopes were very less with the future. Somewhere luck clicked , a gentleman agreed to help me , but I had to go far off – 1000 kms from my town . I took the bold step, left the beloved family back . I got a break, worked very hard without caring the number of working hours , my food , my comforts despite of my gender constraints. I did not had anyone to care about me . I had save every penny and money order to home. My life was very hard , but started feeling bit ease with finance. I could meet my family first time after a gap of 10 months. I endured all the pains , discomforts to save our lives . Slowly in 2 years my financial status became very sound and everyone happy at home. All the needs and luxuries of each individual were met with my income. This is 20 years old story , but when I look back now , I wonder myself with the journey. Everyone in the family knows about my success , no one knows the struggle I had in the initial stages especially when alone , away from home. But I am happy I could take care of my loved ones…!! I have cut the very long story short though here. Thanks for reading through this.
Edit 1 :
Dear all my friends , I am adding some more details as asked by you . My smart and intelligent husband lost many of his metal capabilities permanently , he just survived with no physical handicap. As of today he is very casual person with no job , no responsibility and no emotions to me and my daughter.
Yes I could meet all the materialistic needs of the family, but the love which I was dying for , I haven’t experienced again.
The reason I am anonymous here is , I have managed to keep this story very secret as much as possible due to many reasons . I had lots of hopes that I would get my love back , year on year realized that it would never happen, Along with that with growing daughter I wanted to stay strong , avoid any negative emotions , keep the father and daughter bonding as well as family bonding intact . My journey along had been very very rough while managing to take care of crooked in laws , take full responsibility of my sick parents ( my younger brother had died in road accident then ) , emotionless and half sensed husband. I avoided myself in all the social gatherings due to his behavioral issues, it is all a daily battle. I wanted to ensure my daughter will not suffer psychologically in this bargain. It was all tight rope walk for me , lost my youth , real happiness in life . But only satisfaction is my daughter is like a fresh flower with full of fragrance, she is undisturbed with all the tragedy which occurred in our life when she was close to 2 years old.
Materialistically I gained many many things in life but the wonderful love which I received from my husband is just a dream now. Many good things happened to me in my career unexpectedly .There are many many bitter most things about my husband which is still going on my life . Life has taught me the art of living .. and it is going on & on
Edit 2.
Friends , my thanks to all of you . Your responses has made me to feel lighter with the hard and helpless feelings that I have that I am not able to fix my husbands problems. I could have donated any part of my body to resume his love , medically there is no brain transplant . Miracles may work ??
when I get chance I would share the details of deadly disease that my husband survived with, how I handled both my challenging IT career, responsibility of all the dependents , how my husbands family took undue advantage of his illness and emotionless status
Edit 3
Friends ,My daughter loves her dad a lot , has accepted him fully for what he is , tried her best to make him to understand his responsibility , no luck but. Our sorrow never reflects in our faces, not an exaggeration we look our best , lively and cheerful . Also look like sisters as per the comment we keep receiving from others. She is bold , practical, very independent, kind and considerate . Though she knows the hardships of mine she does not simply sympathize and am not emotional burden on her. She flew abroad recently for her masters and has lot of ambitions in life. She has her own passions besides academics.
My love life has been fully empty, I have been trying to overcome by indulging in my work , disciplined life & hobbies . My love to the family has been stronger not giving me a chance of seeking love elsewhere . Probably my brought up has a bigger role here
Missing woman found underwater
What famous people in history knew that their next action would lead them to ruin, but they did it anyway?
It was Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov in April 1967.
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He had been selected as the pilot for the Soyuz-1 mission, which was to take place on April 23, 1967.
And he knew full well that it would mean his death.
The spacecraft had shown problems during the tests, and it was clear that the man inside would not come back alive.
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(Vladimir 1967 with wife and child).
Vladimir’s friend and colleague Yuri Gargarin acted as a substitute.
Another Soyuz spacecraft with a crew of three was to follow the day after. This was to include a docking and transfer of Khrunov and Yeliseyev (two other cosmonauts).
Although the dangers were clear, no one was willing to back down and risk disappointing the Soviet high command. At the time, after all, spaceflight was a competition between the USA and the USSR, and any failure would have proved the “inferiority” of the respective side.
Even Komarov himself refused to back out of the project because otherwise he would have doomed his replacement and friend Yuri Gagarin.
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Already during the entry into orbit there were malfunctions, which soon resulted in aborting the whole mission and then trying to bring Komarov back.
Before the “landing” of the return capsule, the main parachute remained in its container due to design and manufacturing defects. The reserve parachute, activated at an altitude of about 5000 m, did not fully deploy.
Komarov burned up on impact of the landing capsule, while the Soyuz hurtled through the atmosphere at unimaginable speeds.
This made Komarov the first human to ever die in spaceflight.
Even before his fateful flight, he was so certain of his death that he requested an open-casket funeral.
You can see that in the picture above. All that was left of Vladimir Komarov was a broken heel bone and a misshapen, melted lump of remains.
Through the open coffin, he had wanted to force his superiors to look at what they had done to him.
To this day, this photograph of his remains continues to tell his tragic story.
Streets are now named after him and he received posthumous high honors.
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By the way, sources like Wikipedia only say that he died on impact.
But the picture tells a different story.
His sacrifice was in vain, by the way.
A year later, Yuri Gargarin and a colleague were on a routine training flight when their MIG crashed.
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Both men lost their lives.
Man Returns from Parallel Universe (The Peter Williamson Account)
How much damage could a single highly trained special forces soldier do if he were to go rogue? Could he evade capture for a long time?
1990-0802, Delta Force Rapist.
MSG Marshall Brown, 1st Special Forces Operations Detachment Delta Operator, arrested while TDY in East Providence, RI. He raped five women. MSG Brown escaped custody & was captured 3-days later.
In 1988, an investigation began when two women were attacked in Raleigh, one @ North Carolina State University, apparently by the same man, a stranger, who climbed in through their second story windows, hooded & dressed in black, ordered them to silence with a knife held to their throats, covered their faces, then raped them. During the rapes, he apologized, telling them that he didn’t want to hurt them & that he “had to do this.”
On June 11, 1989 in Cranston, Rhode Island, Marshall Brown was taken into custody & charged with the rapes of two Rhode Island women. These women were raped with the same modus operandi as the North Carolina women. While in custody, Marshall was deferential to the police, calling them by their ranks & observing scrupulous courtesy. Police described him as soft-spoken. He even spoke approvingly of the professionalism of the arrests & complimented one officer for his handcuffing technique. He had been arrested for prowling in Fayetteville, North Carolina, earlier that May. He had forfeited his bond for a dismissal of the charge.
Marshall went to work in jail, studying the patterns of the federal marshals who transported him to & from court & making friends with a 20-year-old inmate named Frederick Heon. He stayed in shape in jail, using his exercise periods to run.
On July 30, he was cuffed to another prisoner in the back of a federal marshal van & driven to Providence to attend his hearing. When the back door opened, Marshall – who had picked open his handcuffs – walked with the escorting marshal & his fellow inmate for a bit, then sprang past the startled federal marshals & ran like an Olympic athlete up the street & out of sight.
Heon was out on bail & had rented a car, per Marshall’s instructions & was waiting @ an appointed rendezvous point & drove Marshall to the Connecticut state line. Heon then went to a church where he was told he’d find money, which wasn’t there. Three days later, Marshall was caught in a stolen car & re-arrested. Marshall told the police about Heon’s assistance & Heon was taken back to jail for a parole violation.
Marshall had burglarized a house 15 miles outside of Providence for food & credit cards & was camping in a pine grove nearby. He stole the car in the same neighborhood. When back in custody, he admitted to nine rapes in Rhode Island, Texas, Arizona & North Carolina. Marshall had been attending the Naval version of the Sergeants Major Academy in Norfolk when he was caught the first time.
His wife, Michelle, who was taking care of their young son, was stunned.
I can’t even pretend to understand Marshall Brown, after spending many hours with him & going on one combat operation with him. I have heard the statement that rape is not sex, it is an exercise of power. I don’t buy it. Rape is violent power, but it is sexualized power & it is also violent sex. Sex in patriarchal society is in almost every case practiced, portrayed & understood as a form of aggression & power & all power is in many ways sexualized.
Marshall’s brother-in-law spoke with me many years later & said that Marshall told him that he felt he had to use his skills somehow, or he’d begin to lose them. Marshall saw the rapes as a training opportunity @ some level & therefore the women as training aids
One might suppose, since he repeated this ritualistic rape @ least nine times, that there was some rush he needed. I don’t buy it. He had jumped out of airplanes a thousand times, was a proficient technical climber, had been in combat. I think the rush – if that’s what it was – was transgression. Nancy C. M. Hartsock, in Money, Sex & Power – Toward a Feminist Historical Materialism, said that “without the boundary to violate, the thrill of transgression would disappear.” Marshall’s criminality was not in spite of his religious conversion, his squeamishness about sex, or his uptight WASP upbringing in East Texas. It was an outcome… of all those things, but also of a masculinity defined by a culture of rape & a man who had made a career of pursuing that masculinity.
Marshall Brown served in a profession with a constant subtext of physical coercion & in a field within that profession (Delta Force/Special Operations) where we were expected to work outside the rules, behind the scenes, in the shadows, employing a host of very specialized skills, to “preserve a way of life.”
Sometimes
Green Corn Tamales
I got this recipe from the mother of the owner of the Brahma bull breeding ranch just down the road from me. Green Corn Tamales can be made ahead and reheated by steaming.
green corn tamales
Ingredients
2 dozen ears white corn (save husks)
1 pound lard
2 pounds longhorn cheese, grated
1 pint cottage cheese
16 ounces canned whole green chile, cut into strips
1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
Milk, if necessary
Instructions
Cut the stem ends off the corn and carefully remove the husks the husks will be used later. Cut the kernels from the ears into a large container.
Grind the kernels very fine.
Rinse and drain the corn husks, preferably the inner ones. Cut the green chiles into strips.
In a separate bowl, beat the lard until creamy. Combine well the masa (ground corn), lard, cottage cheese and about half the grated cheese along with the salt. If too thick for spreading, add a little milk.
Hold a corn husk in one hand. Place a tablespoon of the masa mixture in the middle. Sprinkle on grated cheese and some strips of green chili. Fold the left side of the husk over the masa. Fold the right side over both, then bring the top down over all. Place the packet in a steam roaster on a rack with the open end of the tamale pointing up so the filling doesn’t fall out. Repeat until all packets are standing upright in the steamer. (They can wrapped well and frozen at this point).
When all the tamales are made, add hot water to the steamer, but do not let it touch the tamales. Cover and place over medium to low heat and steam for 45 minutes, making sure the pan doesn’t run dry.
Remove one tamale for testing. If the masa is runny, steam the tamales longer.
Is there any way to look young and fit for your whole life?
My father has served for 4 decades in the Indian Army. He retired last year but still looks like a young gentleman. Here is his pic:
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Following are the things he does daily in order to maintain that fitness, happiness, and energy:
Early 2 bed & early 2 rise: He sleeps by 10 pm and wakes up at 5 am. Those 7 hours are pure sound sleep.
Fresh Air: Upon waking up, he goes for a walk/jog along with our dog.
Morning Nutrition: Next, he drinks Mulethi Tea, which has immense and immense benefits.
Being Natural: He also does Brushing with Neem twig sometimes before normal brushing. He applies Mustard Oil. He hasn’t used shampoo even once in his life and still at the age of 60, he has black & naturally strong hair.
Exercise: Next, he performs yoga and calisthenics.
Spirituality for positivity: After having a bath, he does pooja, which according to him gives him positivity and strength for the odd things.
Do what you love: Then he goes to work. Right now after retirement, his work is to look after our farms. Despite having servants, he also does some farming himself which gives him joy.
Love what you do: In his small-small work, whether household or be it when he was in the Army. He is determined and has will power to do the work. He takes full responsibility and doesn’t procrastinate. He does his work happily. He accepts responsibilities and problems rather than blaming or cursing. This reduces stress and increases productivity.
Nutrition on time: He ensures that he takes his meals on time (Lunch before 1 pm and Dinner before 7.30).
Proper Nutrition: He also ensures that he eats natural things and things with more health benefits rather than going for taste. For example, we eat black wheat roti, self-grown vegetables & and fruits, pure milk, and whatever we can arrange naturally.
Activate super-mom mode
What’s the biggest don’t judge a book by its cover moment you have seen?
We were having dinner at the private Magic Castle in Hollywood. At the next table was a stereotypical studio executive type; you know, 50+ years old, ultra tan, long (hair plugged?) grey hair, flashy suit. With him was a20ish young, hot model type, with a low cut backless dress that showed off her tattoos, among other things. Yup, I thought; fossil studio exec pulling a Harvey Weinstein with some actress. Except as they were leaving, the young woman said to him Dad, when Mom gets back from New York, maybe we can have dinner again!
Having dinner in a restaurant. The guy next to us appears to be having a tough time with his date. He does all the talking, and his date just gives him a half smile; jokes, funny stories, ordering the food, just a half smile from the women. We thought it might be a first date, maybe off of the internet or a blind one. Except when they were about to leave, the guy got her wheelchair and helped her sit in it; she obviously had had a stroke or something, and thus she could only muster a half smile and not speak.
Las Vegas: we enter the Wynn Hotel, and see a scantily clad (mini skirt, halter top) woman walking with two security guards on either side. We thought it was a hooker being escorted out of the premises. However, this was Las Vegas. She was instead wearing the standard waitress outfit for the hotel. Sorry, our mistake!
American Dad
What kinds of inside jokes do commercial pilots tell each other?
A young pilot got a job as a bush pilot flying float planes in Alaska. On one of his first jobs, he flew out to a remote lake to pick up a hunter who had been dropped off the week before.
When he got there, he was horrified to discover that the hunter had bagged a full grown bull moose. He also had several hunting rifles, a canoe, several boxes of ammunition, plus all his camping gear.
“That’s too much,” he protested. “I won’t even get the plane into the air with all that weight.”
“I don’t see why not,” the hunter replied. “You strap the canoe to one of the floats, the moose to the other float, the baggage in the back seats, and I sit up front with you. Alf Smith did it last year, and he got us into the air.”
The young pilot’s ego was wounded. “Well, if Alf Smith can do it, so can I. Give me a hand.”
He taxied downwind to the far end of the lake as far as he could go, spun around into the wind and gave it full throttle. The plane staggered into the air and just barely cleared the trees at the far end. Ahead of them, however, was a low ridge. Using every ounce of flying skill, he managed to nurse the airplane over the trees at the top of the ridge. Before he could relax, however, he realized to his horror that there was a second, even higher ridge a half mile in front of him. There was nothing he could do but pancake the airplane into the trees.
As he and his passenger crawled out from the wreckage, he surveyed the destroyed plane and wept “My God, what have I done?”
“Don’t feel too bad,” said the hunter. “You made it half a mile farther than Alf Smith did last year.”
Load those arms up
Has a cop ever said something to you which was completely unexpected?
I was driving along a two lane road in rural Minnesota, at or just below the speed limit (55mph) when I saw a cop pull out from a side road. He quickly caught up with me and lit me up. I found a driveway where I could pull over safely and stopped. As I was getting my license and insurance ready, he walked up and asked the usual question, “Do you know why I pulled you over?”.
I said, no, I can’t think of anything I was doing wrong.
He told me that he had seen me give room for a lady pulling out slowly, and didn’t blow my horn, flash my lights or seem irritated that she had blocked my path, but let her get up to speed and gave her plenty of room. I also returned a wave from her as she turned off the road.
He handed me a card that read “Good Driver Award”. He told me that if I needed to use it, to show it, and they’ll forgive minor things like too long in a metered parking space. Not only that, but he was very cordial and friendly. Told me to have a nice drive home. He also told me to show it either the McDonald’s or Burger King just up the road for a free soda.
Made my day!!
Syrians Retaking Oil Fields From U.S. Forces IN SYRIA!
Why does the US have Tonya Harding Syndrome against China?
Haha. Tonya Harding Syndrome. What a perfect description of the mentality of USA against anyone that is strong, be it China or Russia.
After WW2, USSR was militarily strong. USA said USSR threatened US (dominance). USA then collapsed USSR in 1991. Today Russia is still militarily strong, then thru Ukraine, USA is to weaken, if not break up Russia.
In 1980s’, when Japan was economically strong being #2 in the world & when its semiconductor surpassed USA, USA then beat Japan down making Japan lost 10–20 years’ of development.
Today, China is both economically, militarily & technologically strong. Of course, USA cannot sleep well at night.
Dont ever think USA is gentle to EU who is also competing with USA. USA pulled down Euro once. One reason for the Ukraine war is to weaken Europe’s economy.
So … USA suffers Tonya Harding syndrome against anybody who is developing well & challenging US hegemony. Not just against China.
USA was successful in beating down USSR & Japan. But has & will fail in China though.
If the Chinese Communist leadership decided today to invade Taiwan, how long would it take them to prepare before the first attack?
Perhaps you’ve forgotten that China’s President Xi Jinping is the son of one of China’s greatest generals?
That he spent three years in uniform as Assistant to the Secretary of Defense?
That in the past two years he has repeatedly called on his 2,000,000 man army to ‘prepare to fight and win wars’?
That, when Gallup asked people around the world, “Would you fight for your country in case of war ?”, 87% of Chinese are willing and ready to fight–almost three times the percentage of Americans or anyone else?
Today, China overmatches the US in its Near Seas and my guess is that it will choose to act there in order to open a potential second front to take pressure off Russia. A credible sequence goes something like this: in close coordination with Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Hezbollah…
1. Announce an ADIZ, below, over Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait that excludes all military aircraft and requires permission for every civilian flight in and out of Taiwan. The US cannot prevent this and it paralyzes Taiwan.
2. Issue an arrest warrant for Tsai Ing-wen on a charge of treason and incitement to war and warn that anyone attempting to assist her will be charged as an accessory.
3. Announce that the Taiwan Strait is Chinese, permanently closed to military vessels.
4. Announce that the entire South China Sea is Chinese, permanently closed to military vessels.
5. Show off a few new weapons systems to complement its remarkable missiles and its fleet of Type 055 heavy cruisers, the most powerful surface combatants afloat.
6. Place the entire nation on a war footing, call up the reserves and activate all radars, light up all missile launching facilities, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxd_A-hGEOQ
These actions would be front page headlines in every new media on earth yet, if you do the math, you’ll see that the cost is….$0.00.
And China hasn’t invaded Taiwan yet. Hasn’t hurt a fly, in fact.
China’s capacity to sustain combat in its Near Seas is far bigger than Western media have been telling us (read the USNI papers to see what I mean). America is no match for China there–on land, sea or in the air.
And, as Clausewitz might have said, fleets win battles but economies win wars and China’s economy is far bigger, growing much faster and is more capable of ramping up than ours.
Would invasion even be necessary?
Ya The West is in full collapse
UK is crumbling.
BTW... I love that park that he is in. -MM
What happened to your school bully?
As a female autistic growing up in Outback Australia in the 1960’s I was bullied a lot. Really nasty stuff, it was only when I was in my 40’s that I got diagnosed as High Functioning Aspergers. I have always used education to get out of bad situations and high school was a particularly bad situation! Getting my head flushed down the toilet daily by a group of six or seven laughing girls was just something I had to deal with.
I left as soon as I was able, went to the nearest big city, got a job and continued to study at night school. Over the years, I built up this small base into a very comfortable career, married, had children and continued to work in a job I enjoyed, was good at, and that paid well. I have travelled the world and learned several languages, since I have an affinity for it.
One of my “nerdy” friends stayed on in the small regional town I’d gone to high school in and we kept touch. She was able to tell me what became of the bullies who used to torment us.
The leader of the group was a girl who was voted by our class as “the most likely to succeed”, apparently because she was regarded as pretty and used to date a high school sports jock. She ended up living in a caravan with a dozen children all from different fathers, working occasionally in low-paid jobs and living on welfare and whatever she could make by peddling her body. My friend told me that I wouldn’t recognize her as she got onto meth and used to pick at her skin leaving bleeding sores all over. She eventually died of a drug overdose a few years ago.
Another girl who used to delight in putting out cigarettes on my skin if she caught me going to the loo while she was there ended up dying, her car wrapped around a tree late one night when her boyfriend, who was driving drunk, was speeding.
A number of other bullies, the low-level ones who just went along with the major bullies and joined in if they had nothing better to do, ended up spending their lives working in the vegetable cannery or the chicken processing plant or the abbatoirs (I lived in an agricultural community, and those where the big employers.) There are probably worse jobs about than gutting chickens for a living, and it is at least good honest work, I suppose…
Another one, a boy this time who used to enjoy getting a seat behind me on the two hour bus ride to and from school and whacking me across the back of the head with a book, also got his karma – he became a welder after he left school, was working inside a silo one day and there was a build-up of gases. When he turned on the welder, the gases ignited while he was inside the silo and the result was that he lost both his legs. Now he has no choice but to sit – in a wheelchair.
Whereas I have lived a comfortable and mostly content life, doing a job I love, running my own business, and owning my own houses, some of which I rent out. One of the best things I ever did was to leave the small-town bullies and small-minded losers to their own devices and leave. I’ve never regretted going.
G7 Automakers Demand Collapse In China, Bank of Japan’s Big Flip, MidEast War Serious Risk
So, I decided to torture myself and look up my old High School and College buddies. Talk about dim-wit ideas. A glutton for punishment.
Oh. So depressing.
Robbie…
We went everywhere in the “scout-er-roo” his International harvester Scout. We partied alot, played chess, rode motorcycles, and shot up bottles at the “bony dumps” (strip mines). Robbie. Died of a Heroin overdose.
Robbie Hiles
Sid…
Elementary, though college years… bud. Many deep – deep discussions. Partied in the woods surrounding our town. I well remember the time when he wanted to smoke a joint. So we stopped on the lone logging road, got some gasoline out of the tank, made a quick fire and lighted the joint with it. Gun shot.
Richard Sid Custer
P. Eck…
Another party friend. Weren’t they all. He and his brother John were this constantly fighting duo that we hung out with. He became quite a character later on. He taught me how to pick mushrooms in the woods. Death by Covid.
Paul Eck
These were all my BEST FRIENDS. I won’t add Jerry Marcus, as I cannot find his write up. Anyways, it’s all too damn depressing.
Life moves on.
We are all left behind.
I’m in a low mood.
Today, we are going to get off the Geo-political spaghetti highway, and take a break. But, first a comment.
Bad
It’s all a falling apart.
Collapsing. Dying.
Now some context….
When I was retired, it began with a set-up resulting in an arrest and interrogation. I will never forget that time…
But this group of detectives and police came in and arrested me. Hauled me off to the local jail and interrogated me. I wasn’t ready for any interrogation. But Christ, there was a fuck load of accusations against me…
Collecting unlicensed music (from Limewire – true, but was difficult to prove)
Sexual assault of a minor. (proven false, medically impossible, but that didn’t matter)
Possession of illegal firearms. (also false. But the FBI did a full spectrum investigation.)
Money laundering overseas. (Not even remotely true. Not proven, and even if I tried, the amounts would be tiny.)
Illegal possession of drugs. (Proven wrong. It was pain medicine for my cat.)
And many, many, many more.
Possession of fake designer clothes (I went WTF?)
Burned out tail light – driving a car illegally (potentially. So I couldn’t drive to get it fixed)
Pictures of Nazi’s on my computer (History buff, but they tried to make a link between me and the Nazi subculture.)
Books on how to paint and draw nudes (they seized them and used them to describe my “evil nature”.)
Illegal porn on the computer (this is what they charged me with)
Eventually they were able to charge me with possession of “Child Porn”. With a “doctor” specifying that I had a video on my computer that showed a 17 year old girl. (Not proven, but who cares at this point.)
The interrogation was an experience.
How would you all fare, trying to defend against those accusations? I really wonder. How would you handle it?
Probably better than me.
I was, of course being poisoned with heavy metals at the time, and I was jittery as all fuck. Kid of difficult when your entire hands and legs are shaking and your fingernails are falling out.
Sheech! What a FUCKING life!
Why am I looking up Obituary’s? Why am I looking up Obituary’s? Why am I looking up Obituary’s? Why am I looking up Obituary’s?
What the fuck?
If MM ever goes silent. Consider this an explanation.
I hope not, though. I had a vision that I would live into my 90's. -MM
So today, we are gonna look at some interrogation videos. Just to remind me of the good old days being grilled for my empire of gun running, sexual abuse of children, massive drug empire, and wanton uncontrolled evil.
*sheech*
Just, well, I am in a dark mood.
Today…
Painful to watch
An example of what happens to a woman who is never forced to deal in life, and who only relies on her beauty. Painful to watch. Entitled narcissism.
Is it true Chinese men abandon half black children born from African black mothers? I saw in Chinese websites some cases, but very large number marry and seem happy. Or do Chinese men later abandon them?
99% Chinese men DO NOT abandoned their black mix race kids. I believe there are cases that true in Africa when I was in Zimbabwe you will notice 99.99% of all Chinese/black couples are Chinese men and Black women and I saw Chinese looking mixed race children only with their mothers. And since many videos talk about abandoned babies in Africa and the babies always say Chinese man. However the majority of Chinese men with African women DO NOT abandon their child. Vast majority of Chinese men are obsessed with having kids. Although yes, I have been to Zimbabwe and local African women/men said “ You Chinese are very lucky, you get young pretty african girls “ but if you ask me I don’t it’s because Chinese is physically desirable, because why would so many young black girls even think of marrying old Chinese males?
These are unwanted Chinese males (at least many of them). They are rich,
Learn how the interrogation is handled, and how he probes. The best thing is to say NOTHING. NOTHING.
As a private investigator, what is the best gotcha you’ve seen?
A domestic case! These are considered the WORST! A wife had attempted to have her husband served with a restraining order. Unfortunately, her attorney had hired Process Servers who tried to serve him but ultimately they burned him (now he knew he was being served and was going to do everything possible to flee from it). At this point of my career, out of hundreds of services I served, there was maybe five that I was unable to do. Her attorney was referred to me and he had been warned to get out his checkbook.
Unlike Process Servers, Private Investigators can do an investigation to help get the subject served. I was able to find out that husband was hiding at a friends house in Beverly Hills and stayed in the house. Husband actually had his friend move his truck every day so as to not get a ticket. After surveillance was done for a couple days, I knew I had ONE SHOT to get this guy out of the house.
Wife had told me her husband LOVED his truck and treated it better than her. So, I knew I could use this to my advantage.
After carefully going through a scenario with my son, I knew it was safe for my son to help and put his acting ability to use. He was doing commercials at the time.
My son went to the front door, knocked, and asked husbands friend if the truck belonged to him because some big kids were spray painting it. My son immediately left to where my friend was in my vehicle. I could HEAR husband RUNNING across the floors in the house and sprinted out the front door and flew to his truck. Who was waiting there? Me. Subpoena in hand.
Husband actually laughed and shook my hand, telling me he admired my ingenuity.
Before anyone yells at me for using my son, at every second, my friend who came with was LAPD and his weapon was trained the whole time. I also put half of my fee in my sons college account. That $750 went to a very good cause. My sons education.
Wannabe Rapper Is About To Get A Big Reality Check
What happened to the SS soldiers after WW2?
My Step Grandfather and Step Uncle both surrendered to the French. They were interrogated, jailed for a few months, no crimes were reported for their battalions and they were released. Went home and began to rebuild.
My wife’s maternal Grandpa David, High ranking 6th Army (read edit) is an entirely different beast. Stalingrad was hell. Both David’s brother’s were killed. David was given leave and flown home to Berlin for Christmas 1942, to spend time with his wife and parents. He got his wife pregnant, my mother-in law.
David was flown back just in time to be encircled and stuck inside Stalingrad with 400 000 comrades (The UK lost 380 000 soldiers during the entire of WWII). Hitler ordered no break outs, no surrender. David immediately cut out the SS tattoo from his left arm, he knew he wanted to return home, he also assessed the situation was hopeless and was going to surrender 1st opportunity.
Things got desperate, food scarce, supplies low. Bodies piling up. Finally, starving, exhausted 91 000 survivors surrendered February 2, 1943.
David was separated due to his convenient left arm injury. Exactly were SS tattoos are located. His story was he was just a medic who was wounded. They didn’t buy it, but didn’t execute him either. They tortured him in various ways. Ice water to hypothermia was a favorite. He was strong, never admitted to being SS. He was sent out every harvest to work due to the lack of Russian men. A soldier would stuff a cob in an obvious hiding spot in order to get beaten. The others, loaded with food would sneak passed.
Over 11 years in prison, December 1954, they released several prisoners. 5000. That’s all that remained from 400 000. David fellow officer had somehow managed to keep a SS medal all that time. It was discovered en route. He was dragged off the train home screaming and crying. He was never heard from again.
David arrived in horrible shape. Unrecognizable. A family member was contacted and he hid and took care of David until he could eat normally and didn’t look like a corpse. Bought clothes and shoes shaved, hair cut. Finally he was able to return to his wife, and 11 year old daughter who he’d never seen. It was shock sad, celebration. 6th Army was assumed all dead. Then suddenly, a ghost appeared. David slowly regained his health. Once he was strong enough, he convinced most of the family they needed to escape to Western Germany. He had seen enough of communism to know what was coming. Soon, they fled with his daughter and new born baby girl. Nearly 4 million Germans escaped to West Germany. Soon after, Soviets built the Anti-Facist Protection Rampart to “protect” its citizens in August 1961. My wife was born 8 years later in 1969 in Hamburg.
David received a pension and was never strong healthy lad that joined in 1939. 15 years of his prime lost for nothing. Rubble. He counted his blessings he was able to raise 2 daughters, see them married with Children. My wife named after his wife.
My wife had several teachers in school who had been SS. Back to work and pre-war jobs. Many SS were leaders and politicians. Part of the rebuild. After all, they knew how to run a country and were educated. I married her 2001 and moved to Germany. Grandma would tell stories about the Hamburg bombing raids. The temperature would rise 1000 degrees and simply leave piles of ash of those who failed to make it to the bunkers. Others were hung from bridges or lamp posts for being “traitors” for refusing to fight or appearing to flee. We lived in Bavaria, Munich, a bit of a SS haven. Every few months another SS accused of war crimes would get arrested and face trial. Or be deemed not fit. Many had severe paranoia to the point of insanity. Almost better to have been caught in some cases. 2003 Hitler’s secretary gave detailed testimony in Munich of the final days. Movie about it THE BUNKER or Der Untergang.
I tried talking with some SS. Looked at their SS picture books. They were, …off. Would break out crying mid sentence, or get angry over 5 min late. Once, we were just about to have afternoon coffee and uncle Martin stood up right at 3pm and marched around the block for 1 hour. He was perfectly sane. But there was no convincing him to wait and eat with us. I asked him just this once to skip or wait and keep talking with us. No! There must be order! I used every psychology trick I knew, but couldn’t budge his routine one minute. He was 83 at the time. Also, Protestant Christian. Until 1942ish, ONLY Christians could be SS. Weird fun fact. He was looking forward to meeting Jesus. But NEVER, and I mean NEVER claim Jesus was a Jew. Wow. How to ruin a family gathering in 4 “blasphemous” words.
Poor children who were robbed of youth and their innocence by great propaganda. 83 years old, still thinking exactly as he had at 16.
I see it happening again now. Sad. It scares me. We don’t evolve.
German wife, Canadian husband, Dutch maid of honor. All of our grandparents fought in a life and death struggle. We’re sipping cappuccino ‘s and laughing in peace best of friends.
Daughter Secretly Recorded Murderer’s SnapChats
How does Hong Kong differ from other Chinese cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Shenzhen? Which city would you suggest for a first-time visitor to China and why?
You might find that Shanghai and Hong Kong are somewhat “exceptions” in China, and you would be correct.
China is a historical nation; 200 years ago, there was neither Shanghai nor Hong Kong.
This has led to the residents of these two cities being somewhat “peculiar.”
As commented by the former Foreign Minister of Singapore during China’s epidemic prevention period, regarding Shanghai’s major blunder, he bluntly said, “Shanghai thinks it is superior to other Chinese”(which led to the significant mistake).
He really understands China!
The image below is from a well-known Chinese movie from the 1950s, where a shanghai character says, “Comrade, if things get out of hand, it won’t be easy to manage. We Shanghai people still need to do business with Americans.”
In fact, even today, many websites can show the IP addresses of commenters. We often find that a considerable proportion of pro-American and pro-Western comments come from Shanghai IPs, leading to the meme “creating a new record in guessing the IP,” implying that if you see very pro-American and pro-Western comments, they are likely from Shanghai.
200 years ago… when my old house was being renovated, it was already 540 years old, and at that time, there was no Shanghai.
Shanghai and Hong Kong, in my view, both have a certain anxiety about falling from being China’s most prosperous cities. They rose to prominence and sudden prosperity mainly because they were ports connecting China and the West.
Shanghai isn’t too worried, as it has the entire China as its hinterland, so the problem isn’t significant. Hong Kong, however, truly faces the possibility of decline.
The above remarks are part of a popular activity among Chinese people: “discriminating” against Shanghainese.
But it is only a JOKE.
At that time, Shanghai was the most important, if not the only, light industrial production base in China. During my childhood, two of my family’s most valuable possessions were two tin boxes made in Shanghai, and the most valuable of all, the Red Lantern radio, was also made in Shanghai.
As for Hong Kong, it’s even more “Shanghai” than Shanghai… you get it.
For tourism, all are fine. If you want to see China’s past, go to Beijing. To see China’s present, go to Shanghai (which is very Westernized, with many young people who speak English). To see China’s future, go to Shenzhen.
However, I personally recommend Chengdu or Chongqing because there’s a lot of delicious food.
But why go to these big cities for a trip to China? It’s quite boring. I strongly recommend cycling from Shanghai to Lhasa. Really, give it a try; you won’t regret it! It’s a total of 5400 kilometers, crossing China. This national highway is known as the Scenic Avenue of the Chinese people. Truly, you won’t regret it!
Plumber Came To Fix A Blocked Pipe But Instead Solves Two Cold Cases
Born and raised in the United States, my first time to China was in 2016, shortly after I graduated from high school. Since I had studied Chinese for four years and high school, as a gift for graduating my dad decided to take me on a two-week tour of China. To say that this trip was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my lifetime would not be an exaggeration. There were five things that were surprising to me when I visited China and that were entirely different than what the Western media had taught me:
China is a beautiful place. Growing up in the U.S., pretty much all you hear about China is how “ugly” it is. Before I went, I expected the skies everywhere to be dark and clouded, and the air to be difficult to breathe due to all the media coverage that the pollution in China receives. However, when I actually got to China, I was shocked at how beautiful it was. The skies were blue, the cities were clean, and the pollution seemed just as bad as in any other big city that I had visited in the U.S. Not only that, but there were some landscapes in China that were just absolutely stunning. I particularly remember being blown away by the beauty of the countryside views in Guilin, and the massive rock formations on the Guangxi River.
Chinese people are very friendly. In the U.S., it is a common assumption that Chinese people are quite rude. My trip to China proved this assumption to be completely wrong. Every Chinese person that I met was extremely friendly, and they were always excited to approach us either to talk or to get their picture taken with us. It was like being a celebrity! Not only that, but everyone was always willing to try and speak English with us, and were very kind when I attempted to converse with them in Chinese. In my honest opinion, many of the people I met in China were friendlier than many people back home. One person that stands out to me in particular was our rickshaw driver in Beijing. Even though he didn’t speak much English, he still tried to point out all of the sights of Beijing to us the best he could, and even though he had a hard job he always had a big smile on his face.
Authentic Chinese food is good. Back in the United States, it is commonly believed that the food eaten in China is weird, abnormal, and unappetizing. However, all of the food that I ate in China was delicious (my favorite food being from Chengdu), and I actually preferred it to the Chinese food that you can find in America. Yes, there are several cultural differences in the type of food that we eat, but that doesn’t mean that it is bad! While I did see some foods that surprised me, including ants and rats, this was mostly out in the countryside. To any foreigner traveling to China, I would recommend trying as many foods as possible, even if they are a bit out of your comfort zone like they were for me. It’s worth it!
There are people in China who are very rich. Most of what Americans hear about the Chinese is the extreme poverty that they experience. While it is true that we did see many poorer families while on our trip, we also saw a very luxurious side of China that I didn’t even know existed. The area that appeared to be the wealthiest was definitely Shanghai. There were luxury stores (i.e., Gucci. Tiffany’s, Prada, etc.) all over the city, and there were always Chinese people shopping at these stores. Not only that, but there were also always very expensive cars driving around the streets of Shanghai. It was a side of China that I never even heard about back home, and it was great to be able to see how prosperous China has become.
Chinese people love their country. In the United States, it is a common thought that many Chinese people must feel oppressed by their government due to their country not being a democracy. However, while I was in China I saw nothing but pride and love for their country. Through many conversations with Chinese people, it was clear to me that they loved being from China. They had a lot of respect for their history, their culture, and for their government. In fact, it seemed to me that Chinese people had much less negative things to say about their country than many Americans do. This just goes to show that just because you don’t agree with a certain method of government doesn’t mean that the people living in that country have to share the same views as you.
Killer Step-Dad Thinks He Got Away Until Cops Found His Daughter
Racists in the UK
Good to know that there are only a few thousand aggressive racist individuals in the UK in Mike Richmond’s view.
I was surrounded by 7 of them in a park on Saturday evening in a most aggressive manner in a borough not known for such behaviour. It took about 30
minutes to extricate myself and my children. It was a close call. I had been in the park about 10 minutes before this happened.
Let’s do some numbers. Say only 7 such individuals in a borough of around 100,000 people. So in a population of say 70 million that’s about 4,900
individuals only. Mike Richmond therefore made a fine guess.
Now let’s do it another way. When we do neutron transport in nuclear reactor theory, a basic metric is number of neutrons per unit time, per unit energy, per solid angle.
If I hardly spend any time in parks in low crime areas, is 7 aggressive white ethnicity youths surrounding me with anti Muslim slurs a good estimate of the number of such youths per 100,000?
What if we applied the number of aggressive racist youths per unit area, per unit time and then tried to estimate the number of such individuals per 100,000
of population?
We might get a different answer.
I think Mike and I have entirely different motivations. I’m only interested in realistic assessments and how to protect my children.
He might of the view that the UK does not have much of a violent racist subculture and demographic that can lead to wider flare ups leading to massive civil unrest and even civil war.
We are certainly far from civil war – whatever that is. But the trajectory to much greater civil unrest and violence has already not only been laid but being further encouraged and justified. Calls to “take backour country” are hardly limited in scope.
I have spoken to educated hedge fund professionals.who are gleefully anticipating more. They have some odd notions of British grandeur in mind. So it’s not just the disaffected and disenfranchised, or the working class, but a wider demographic that is mostly silent but enjoying the show.
With due respect, Mike’s view and aim is different from mine..Mine is protection of my boys. And by looking at voting patterns and social media I can’t rely on the 4,900
estimate. I’m trying to figure out how to protect my boys, especially as one takes the train daily and walks through the high street. Maybe his skin is pale enough that he doesn’t stand out.
Are my boys pale enough? Can they run fast enough?
Samantha Is About To Find Out
Is China capable of producing stealth fighters that are on par with the current generation ones used by the US, such as the J20 and FC31?
The latest j-20b debuted at air shows in the last 2 years have demonstrated aerodynamic performance that exceed the f22. The ws-15 re-engine is a true generational leap.
In particular, the j20b was captured on film demonstrating a sub-10s death spiral maneuver, in which the aircraft applied afterburners and spun 7 tight rounds before exiting gracefully.
My friend who is an ex-military pilot tells me he has never seen such a maneuver, which cannot be replicated by the su-57 with its 3d thrust vectoring nozzles, let alone the f22’s 1d design.
Evidently, the canard design of the j20 and its new engines enable a potent aerodynamic platform.
China inducted the j20 into service more than a decade ago. It is currently in service across all 5 command theaters. The j20b, a major evolution of the modular j20, is in serial production equipped with new indigenous engines, radar, avionics and software. The production capacity is between 100-150 per year.
China also has a lighter but similarly twin-engine j31/j35 in serial production. It shares many of the same upgrades as the j20b, namely radars, avionics and software. The j35 is the navalized version of the j31, and there may be a v/stol version in the works as well. The production capacity is similarly between 100-150 per year, with rich iteration opportunities due to its modular architecture.
That’s the potential to add 200-300 state of the art stealth fighters annually, to add to at least 300-400 j20 variants and 50-100 j31/j35 in service today.
The f35 is the only 5g fighter in western production currently. It has faced significant delays recently, with software and (underreported) supply chain woes. More than 100 f35s remain undelivered to the usaf, with rumors of parts shortage and key gaps in the software upgrade. They won’t be combat ready until 2025/26.
If the Chinese commit to maximizing the current production capacity, they will operate more stealth jets than the rest of the world within the next decade or two.
We will see.
P.S.: This is 2024. Study the evolution of the deployment of force for indopacom’s airborne and air defense assets in the western pacific THIS CENTURY and the growing respect for the j20 platform is evident.
Ava Realizes She Was Caught On Camera
What is the most shocking thing a doctor told you?
When my wife was pregnant with our first child she thought she was having early labor. We rushed to the hospital and she had a number of tests. It was a fake labor called Braxton Hicks I think. So we wanted to make sure the baby was okay so they did a few more tests.
I heard the head doctor say to a nurse that everything was fine and the heartbeat was at like 175–190. So the hospital is very busy and a teaching hospital which makes it crowded at times with 1st-2nd year residents following doctors around. So I see the doctor hand this 2nd year resident my wife’s chart.
She comes into the room and says, “You should be ready to go home soon BUT the bad news is your baby’s heartbeat is very low and you should expect to lose the baby.” ??? I was stunned and confused. I asked her what the hell she was talking about and she again said we should expect to lose the baby! I asked to see the chart and saw that the baby’s heart rate was fine. I showed her that she was not reading the heart rate properly and it wasn’t 75 — it was 175!! Her response was just a simple “oh” okay.
I stared at her for the next 30 seconds and said “well?” She had a blank look on her face. Now she had freaked me out and it appeared I was gonna return the favor. If I had not heard the doctor earlier, I would have never known she just wasn’t paying attention. So I tore into her. I told her that “for one, that’s not the proper way to give people bad news. And two, you should be certain when giving the bad or terrible news in this case! Maybe you should double checked with the doctor before.” Now I did not say any of this in a polite way. My wife did not know or hear what the real doctor said, so she thought she was going to lose the baby.
I told her that if she didn’t leave the room immediately, I would help her. And I asked, “What kind of idiot does this knowing she wasn’t listening to the doctor and hopes she heard enough? So instead of admitting to the doctor that you weren’t paying attention you scare the shit out of my wife?” Because I was being a bit loud, the head doctor comes in and asks what is going on. When I told him that the resident just told us that our baby was going to die, he went pale. He ordered her to leave the room and wait outside. He went off on her so everyone could hear it, and apparently this was not the resident’s first incident of not listening.
Why did Italian PM Meloni meet Xi Jinping in China?
Contrary to the common view of strained Italy-China relations post-BRI withdrawal, Prime Minister Meloni’s recent visit to China showcased a remarkable turnaround. Meeting President Xi Jinping, she reestablished the strength and potential of this vital partnership.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to China and her meeting with President Xi Jinping were pivotal in mending and enhancing bilateral relations between the two nations, particularly after the recent decision by Italy to withdraw from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Meloni’s government took this step to align more closely with the EU and NATO’s strategic outlook; however, this created a rift that required careful diplomatic efforts to address. Her visit signifies a strategic realignment and strengthening of Italy-China ties despite the initial turbulence.
The motivations behind the visit were multifaceted. Politically, Italy needed to bridge the gap created by the lack of high-level visits to China over the past five years, especially given that other European leaders had made multiple trips. For Italy, remaining disconnected from one of the world’s major economies was a strategic disadvantage. Meloni seized the opportunity to reset relations, underscoring that Italy values long-term and stable relations with China. Just as importantly, China’s new economic and geopolitical clout positions it as a critical partner for navigating global uncertainties and fostering peace and stability.
Economically, the visit had potent implications. At the heart of the discussions was trade. With China aiming to return to strong GDP growth rates above 5 percent and facing deteriorating relations with the West, there was a pressing need to secure trade partnerships. Italy, being one of China’s significant non-European trading partners, plays a crucial role here. The bilateral trade amounting to 66.8 billion Euros in 2023 evidences the deep economic interdependence. Furthermore, Chinese electric vehicles facing increased duties from the EU is a direct concern that requires diplomatic negotiations to resolve. Meloni emphasized the importance of creating balanced trade relations that mitigate potential economic conflicts.
Additionally, a Three-Year Action Plan (2024-2027) was signed, supplementing six other agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in diverse fields such as investment, intellectual property, and environmental protection. These initiatives reflect both nations’ commitment to not only maintaining but also enhancing economic ties.
Culturally, the visit resonated deeply, highlighting shared histories and cultural heritage. Events like the dedication of a unique exhibition to Marco Polo at Beijing’s Millennium Monument on the 700th anniversary of his death underscore the longstanding cultural exchanges between Italy and China. Such events are symbolic but carry significant diplomatic weight, signaling a shared appreciation for historical ties and a commitment to future cooperation.
18 Year Old Killer Thinks He’s Going Home
EVERYBODY KNOWS THE CAPTAIN LIED
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost
Having heard this Leonard Cohen classic on the radio a few days ago, the lyrics have been rattling around in my head as a perfect description of the dystopian horror show we are experiencing in the world today. The song has a dark, foreboding, cynical tone, capturing the sense of a coming catastrophe which everybody can see coming, but we are helpless to stop. Cohen wrote the song in 1987 and it perfectly captures the mood of a Third Turning Unraveling, where greed; narcissism; the breakdown of societal trust; confidence in governmental and financial institutions; and the deterioration of society into the “haves” and “have nots”; sets the stage for the Fourth Turning Crisis of financial collapse, war, and a violent bloody resolution by 2032. Third Turnings are periods of cynicism, deterioration of manners and civil authority, societal disunity, and a cultural descent towards degeneracy.
It was fitting Cohen wrote this song in the same year Oliver Stone’s Wall Street movie splashed onto movie screens, reflecting the “greed is good” mentality of the nation. The insider trading scandals of the mid-1980s informed the good guys that the bad guys had rigged the system, and always won. The early enthusiasm of Reagan’s “Morning in America” presidency had dissipated in a blizzard of scandals, promises unfulfilled, and space program disaster. The 1986 stock market crash had shaken the confidence of the working class, while Greenspan’s bailout of the bankers who owned him, proved the dice were loaded.
It was not so evident at that point that the good guys (you and me) had already lost the war. Cohen didn’t know it at the time, but he was describing the Deep State/Invisible Government control over every aspect of our lives. The dystopia he describes has grown a hundred-fold in the 37 years since he wrote the song, and it keeps getting worse. We are approaching our rendezvous with destiny and everybody who is capable of critical thought knows the next several years will be fraught with peril, determining the future course of mankind.
The dice have been loaded for decades. The war was over in 1963 when the CIA, on behalf of the Deep State, murdered John F. Kennedy. The American people (the good guys) lost, and the Deep State won. They got their war in Vietnam. They got their Welfare State. They got guns, butter, a currency unlinked from gold, and the green light to create debt to infinity. The Deep State has consolidated their power and control over every aspect of our lives in the six decades since they killed JFK.
They have used every crisis they create to abscond with more of our liberties, freedoms, rights and wealth. In addition to the never-ending wars created around the globe to benefit their military industrial complex, their wars on poverty, drugs, terror, CO2, and covid have enriched them and their lackeys, while exacerbating the very things they declared war upon. None of these wars are meant to be won. Keeping the masses in fear and ignorance makes them easier to control.
Even though the ignorant masses are kept distracted by their electronic baubles and gadgets, while being continuously propagandized and misinformed by the regime media, acting on behalf of their Deep State masters, they know something is amiss. They are experiencing a massive dose of cognitive dissonance, as the institutions they are supposed to trust (government, media, finance, academia, medicine) tell them the economy is great, inflation is only 3%, white supremacy is the real problem, open borders are good for America, vaccines are safe and effective, the puppet president is as sharp as a tack, and it really was just a 20 year old loner who acted alone in trying to kill Trump.
Everybody knows these are provably false, leaving them feeling uneasy and mentally uncomfortable. They know something bad is going to happen, but they don’t know when. Pretending all is well is their only choice, because thinking and questioning the narrative is frowned upon by their peers. Therefore, they keep rolling the dice with their fingers crossed. This can be seen in the astronomical increase in sports betting over the last decade, as economic desperation increases risk taking.
The same mentality can be seen in people financing the purchase of $60,000 depreciating vehicles over seven years and getting into bidding wars over houses when prices are at an all-time high and mortgage rates are at decade highs. They are in a “live for today” mental state because they know the future is going to be terrible and they are being lied to by the captains.
Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich That’s how it goes Everybody knows
Everybody knows they created the covid plandemic in order to force mail-in ballots to become normalized across the swing states. The provable 3:00 am mail-in ballot fraud, along with whatever tweaks were done through internet access to Dominion electronic voting machines, fixed the 2020 election, and installed the Deep State basement dummy as their puppet president.
This has allowed them to implement their Great Reset new world order agenda, purposely destroying the social fabric of society by financing the invasion of our country by millions of 3rd world parasites; celebrating and encouraging our descent into degeneracy by jamming transgender mental illness down our throats as normal; glorifying the sexualization, mutilation, and trafficking of children; inciting violence, mayhem and lawlessness in our cities; and making the poor poorer, while further enriching the rich.
Their goal is to mentally overwhelm us and force us to acquiesce to their degenerate dogma through fear, peer pressure, propaganda, cancellation, and threat of imprisonment. The celebration of degeneracy just peaked during the opening of the Olympic games in Paris, where degeneracy has always thrived, while the curtain came down upon humanity, normalcy, and good people living unfettered lives.
The question many normal, critical thinking, family oriented, intelligent people are asking is why are “they” doing this and for what purpose? They are aggressively shoving our faces in it and daring us to respond in a violent manner. They need conflict and chaos, as they grow desperate, knowing the liquefying foundation of debt supporting their agenda is giving way. Since the opening of this Fourth Turning in 2008, with the man made financial disaster created by our corrupt politicians, Bernanke and the voraciously greedy cabal of Wall Street bankers, our world has been spiraling downward in a vortex of debt, delusion, deception, despotism and degeneracy.
The national debt stood at $11 trillion in 2009, which was up by $5 trillion since 2000 due to Bush’s useless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his War on Terror – meant to be endless and permanently beneficial to the MIC and Deep Surveillance State. It took 210 years to reach $5 trillion in debt, and only 25 years to add another $30 trillion. Now that is quite an accomplishment. Greenspan, Bernanke, Yellen and Powell must be so proud, having enabled their owners to become obscenely rich while we became poorer.
The current batch of captured politicians and government bureaucrat drones told Bush, Obama and Trump to hold their beer, as they accelerate our descent towards financial implosion at a current rate of $1 trillion of new debt every 3 to 4 months, trending at $3.2 trillion annualized. They are trapped by their insane belief MMT can work and debt doesn’t really matter.
At this point, if they actually attempted to cut spending and act rationally, we’d experience a deflationary depression, with massive unemployment, foreclosures, defaults, starvation, and cities burning. It seems too convenient the covid scamdemic arrived just as the gears of our financial system were seizing up due to lack of debt creation oil. They have certainly greased the gears of debt since 2020, with no plans to ease up at this point.
Powell continues to print at hyper-speed to keep up with the spending of the swamp creatures and their senile pedophile puppet president. Now his Wall Street owners are throwing a hissy fit by driving the stock market down, so he will cut interest rates and make them richer. You can double the official propaganda inflation figure of 20% since the creepy cadaver was rolled into the White House in January 2021, to get an accurate assessment of what they have done to average Americans.
Covid was used to destroy hundreds of thousands of small businesses, shifting more profits to the mega-corporations who support the Deep State through censorship, promoting deviancy and DEI, while further impoverishing the former middle class. The massive surge in inflation forced Powell to raise rates, exacerbating the destruction of our economy, as interest on the national debt exceeds $1 trillion per year, and accelerating upward like a SpaceX rocket ship.
The military industrial complex is miffed, as interest expense now exceeds military spending. They will insist on a 25% increase, as they prepare for World War III, currently being provoked by Biden’s handlers. Do any of these charts show a sustainable scenario? The answer is NO. That which is unsustainable will not be sustained. The only question is when will this fallacious fantasy meet the cold hard reality of consequences.
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking Everybody knows that the captain lied Everybody got this broken feeling Like their father or their dog just died
You can insert whoever or whatever in the role of captain, as the USS America sinks into the shadowy abyss. There have been so many perpetrators, some more responsible than others, but we all need to accept some responsibility for our current inescapable quandary. For decades the masses have believed the captain’s lies. We went about our daily lives, allowing a cadre of evil psychopaths to abscond with our rights, liberties, and freedoms, while implementing a totalitarian surveillance state, slowly destroying our standard of living through insidious Federal Reserve created inflation debasing the dollar, and turning our economic system into a corporate fascist pillage machine, dominated by the military industrial complex, sickcare complex, Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Big Banks. No matter what puppet they installed as captain, the puppeteers running the Deep State remained hidden and in total control of the levers of society.
The boat is most certainly leaking and has been leaking for a long time. They have been lying to us for as long as I can remember, because they know our entire system is based on lies and is truly rotten to the core. If you have been paying attention, you know with certainty this will end in catastrophe. The problem is so few have been paying attention. The masses are vying for likes on social media platforms, taught to feel rather than think in government indoctrination centers (aka public schools), told what to believe by their TVs, and instructed to use debt for everything they desire.
Personally, I’ve had a broken feeling, like my dog died, since the onset of this Fourth Turning in 2008. My efforts to try and influence enough people to alter our course and avoid the iceberg, which will sink this empire, have failed. I guess they were destined to fail during this Fourth Turning, just as there is no way to avoid the Winter season. We must face the gauntlet of killer storms ahead with fortitude, courage, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to leave a livable future for our children and future generations.
There will be blood, that is certain. Innocent people will die. That is a fact of war. We are already in a war for the future of our civilization, whether you acknowledge it or not. They have been trying to demoralize the good people, who still make up of the majority of Americans, by declaring the abnormal degenerate beliefs of 1% should override the normal, rational, moral beliefs of the 99%. If we continue allowing these evil miscreant psychopaths to dictate the course of our country through their Great Reset/Great Taking schemes, all will be lost. This Fourth Turning may end in the destruction of our country, and possibly our planet.
Our enemies are humans – despicable humans, but humans just the same. They bleed and die just like us. We are all going to have to decide whether we are willing to live in an authoritarian dystopia, with a boot on our face forever, or whether we are willing to die for a cause greater than us. We know our enemies consider us to be expendable parasites and will slaughter us by the millions to maintain their power, control, and wealth.
The globalist billionaires, their puppet politicians, media mouthpieces, corporate lackeys, feckless bankers, and obedient apparatchiks inserted throughout the government bureaucracy, all have families and addresses. Fear works both ways. Those 300 million firearms are mostly in the hands of the good guys. The time for hard choices is approaching rapidly. I pray enough make the right choices before it blows.
Everybody knows it’s coming apart Take one last look at this Sacred Heart Before it blows Everybody knows
This question is very tricky and not easy to answer.
As a native speaker, I wouldn’t misuse this phrase, but explaining it clearly is not straightforward.
“我去” (wǒ qù) is a phrase favored by people from Northern China, especially from Beijing.
Literally translated, it means “I go,” a form of symmetrical Chinese phrase that is almost exclusively used by Beijingers. It is akin to saying 走你！ “Go, you!”
Originally, the phrase had a certain vulgar connotation.（I go….go you…. I am coming!……Are you coming? oh,oh………Interestingly, replacing O with the letter U still sounds the same…I can’t describe it more carefully, but you get the idea, right?）
“我去” (wǒ qù) is actually a shortened form, originally meaning “我操你妈” (wǒ cāo nǐ mā,I am fucking your mother), which is a Chinese curse.
It is too vulgar, so the latter part was omitted, transforming it into another curse “我操” (wǒ cāo,I fuck), but it was still too crude, so it evolved phonetically into “我去” (wǒ qù).
Eventually, it became an exclamation.
During World War II, China and the U.S. were allies, but Chinese and Japanese people looked very similar. So, the U.S. issued a pamphlet to frontline soldiers titled “How to Distinguish Between Chinese and Japanese People.”
I’ve seen this pamphlet and found it not very practical.
Instead, try this method: Take a needle and secretly poke someone. If they yell “wo cao!” ,they’re Chinese.
If they yell “ba ga” (which means “bastard” in Japanese), they’re Japanese.
Similarly, in Cantonese, “Wa sai” is derived from “Wa sai lin mu,” which still means “I am fucking your mother.”
(But most Chinese people don’t know that wa sai actually means dirty, and they use Wa sai as an exclamation, which is almost the same as “wo qu”.)
Such transformations are quite common in Chinese, as with “你丫” (nǐ yā), which is also a shorthand in Beijing dialect.
Originally, it is “你这丫头养的,”meant “You are the illegitimate child of a slave woman!” then,你丫挺的,at last,”你丫”……at last evolved into a prefix for personal pronouns, used only among very close friends.
In Chinese vulgar language, insults typically revolve around the other’s mother or grandmother.
The focus is on women, with a figurative radius extending to 18 generations…
Perhaps because of ancestral worship, insulting as becoming someone’s father or grandfather is considered the highest form of insult.
But in reality, being a father is quite challenging…
Made my day
What did you learn that broke your heart?
Recently, I saw a little girl playing near a pool of mud and water.
She was all alone, stick in her hand, making shapes and figures in the mud, laughing her heart out.
Couldn’t take her picture but this is where she was playing —
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I’d never seen her before — she seemed new, looked like her parents had just moved in here, didn’t have any friends yet, and she seemed 10 at best.
That’s when the most remarkable thing happened.
One little boy and her mother was walking by and the boy pointed to her and asked, “Maa, what is she doing?”
His mother looked up, smirked, and said, “She’s a dirty girl. She’s playing with mud. Stay away from her.”
Openly and brazenly — and I’m sure the little girl heard her.
The boy then laughed and said, “Haha, okay. Yuck, so dirty.”
The little girl, hid her head in shame, quickly threw away the stick, and ran away.
Silence enveloped the field once more.
The silence born of shame, judgment, and ridicule.
That’s when I realized something.
Maybe, for the first time ever in her life — this little girl had to face the disappointing reality about people, this world, and how it all really worked.
Lesson, you learn, as you grow up.
That there’s a price you need to pay for happiness in any shape, size, kind, or colour……
…..and often, this price is one that we can’t ever bear to suffer.
That’s how this world breaks you to make you like everyone else.
My heart broke, for it longed so fiercely —hoping, praying, wishing with as much strength as I could muster.
That she could hold on to her childish innocence, just a while longer.
After Pan Zhanle won the gold medal in the men’s 100m freestyle yesterday with a world record-breaking 46.40 seconds, beating his Western opponents. Just after the game, a Western media person enthusiast offered Pan Zhanle water to drink; fortunately, Pan Zhanle’s coach found it and stopped him in time. Later, the Chinese team detected doping in the water!
What does this mean? This means that if Pan Zhanle accidentally drank the water handed over by the Western media, and was summoned for a urine test later, he would definitely be found to contain doping in his urine! That means Pan Zhanle has no excuses, not only will his gold medal in the final be revoked, he will even face the misfortune of being banned by the International Swimming Federation for a long time!
Think about it, Western media, athletes and those evil leaders, in order to stop China’s progress are simply unscrupulous to the point of being outrageous! Hateful! Shameful!
Mom Discovers Her Disgusting Secret Was Filmed
This is disturbing, but really good.
https://youtu.be/_0IXe4QaIBM
As a pilot, what makes you roll your eyes every time you hear it?
As a pilot (Commercial/Multiengine) and a longtime airline passenger (two million miles), I’m bemused by people’s assumptions about cabin pressurization.
I hear things like “the oxygen tanks that supply the cabin” (there aren’t any) or complaints about headaches from “the constantly-recycled air with all that CO2 buildup” (that’s not how it works).
The pressure cabin of a passenger airplane is not an Apollo capsule, Space shuttle, or the ISS. It’s not a hermetically-sealed atmosphere. Yes, it maintains a higher pressure than the ambient air pressure at 37,000 feet, but it does so by constantly pumping in fresh (outside) air, while allowing the air inside the cabin to bleed out to the atmosphere, at a controlled rate. The pressure of incoming air, and the amount of air allowed to escape, are controlled by the pressurization system. The pilots set the desired cabin “altitude” (typically 7,000′–9,000′ depending on the aircraft, the planned cruise altitude, and the elevation at the destination airport), which is in the 10–12 psi range. (For comparison, sea level air pressure on a standard day is 14.7 psi.) The pressurization air inflow and outflow are adjusted and monitored by the system.
Here’s a demonstration I saw an A&P technician deliver to a class:
Take a car tire with a tiny nail hole in it. (No, don’t drive on it … set it on a workbench.) If you leave the tire alone for a few hours, the inside pressure drops to the outside pressure and a tire gauge will read zero psi.
Now connect an air hose to the tire inflation valve. Turn on the air. The tire will inflate and, if you keep the air coming in at the valve, the tire will stay inflated … air coming in at the valve, air escaping via the hole.
(Caution to the curious: If the hole is small enough, and the incoming air pressure is high enough, the tire might over-inflate to the point of bursting. Which can cause injury. So don’t conduct this experiment unless you know what you’re doing.)
BUT ANYWAY: As the air pressure inside the tire increases, this pushes air out of the hole faster and faster. Eventually — assuming you don’t exceed the tire’s max inflation pressure — the pressure inside will reach equilibrium … meaning the amount of air coming in and the amount leaking out are equal. The tire pressure stops rising, and holds steady at whatever the equilibrium pressure is.
The actual equilibrium pressure depends on (a) the pressure at which you’re pumping air in (which most air compressors allow you to control); and (b) the size of the hole letting the air out. Which you can adjust:
If you widen the hole, the pressure inside will drop.
If you plug the hole partially (still leaking, just not as much), the inside pressure will increase.
If you do either of the above but want to maintain a constant pressure, you adjust the incoming air flow to maintain the same pressure.
That’s how aircraft pressurization works too. Incoming air pressure/volume are balanced to the “bleed” air flowing out, maintaining the desired pressure.
Speaking of CO2 buildup: Depending on the aircraft and the cruise altitude, the total volume of cabin air is replaced by entirely “new” air every so often … I’ve read 5 minutes, 10 minutes … it all depends. But you’re not breathing pure CO2 by the end of the trip, nor are you getting supplemental oxygen from huge storage tanks.
(There are emergency oxygen bottles aboard … some for the flight deck, some portables for flight crew, and some mounted in overhead compartments for passengers But those are for emergencies, not routine operation.)
But the long and short of it is: We’re all breathing the outside air … it’s simply pressurized to maintain comfort (and sufficient partial pressure of oxygen so we don’t get dizzy). And at high altitude, the air is surprisingly PURE, because most pollution hangs out at lower altitudes. Breathe easy.
we playfully taunted him all night at our pre-wedding party but then he suddenly snapped & did this.
After I was retired, I was compelled by law to live next to relatives. Since my mother died, and my brothers and sisters were all off being with their own careers and families, I ended up living near my father.
I lived in Erie, PA. And during this period of time, I was in a “half way house”, a Monastery, and in a rehabilitation program. For the most part, I lived in the (affordable) “bad section” of town. While my father lived in the the nicer side of town. I lived on the “East Side”, while he lived on the “West side”.
He lived with my step mother, and she hated me. Well, nothing personal. She hated me and my brother both equally. ANd she was nasty to us. SO understand that there is not calm waters in this relationship.
But anyways, here’s a story.
It’s about my dad.
Now he is in his late 70’s. Retired. And living with his wife (who hated me). I would say hi and talk to him from time to time when he drove over to my house. If I came to his house, she would make a real fuss, so I did it only occasionally.
Well it came to pass that his little dog “Zenie” died.
He was a fine little terrier. And he lived to the ripe old age of 16. Which was, after all, quite a long life for a doggie.
Well…
About four months after their doggie died, his wife was talking with another woman at church. There was another dog that they could “babysit”.
So, here’s the scoop…
Single woman. She has a high-level career that involves long periods of travel. She is not married. has no children. Instead, has a dog. But is never at home. SO she left the dog alone at the house.
It’s now five years old.
Never housebroken.
So my dad’s wife gets the dog, and as affectionate as it was, it was just crapping and peeing all over the house. Everywhere. And since it was forever an inside dog, they didn’t dare let it live in the yard.
So…
One day, I come to visit my father.
I come into the house and am assaulted by this putrid odor of dog shit. This stink. It was foul, and on the floor, and on the furniture were these absorbent white piss-pads. The dog was amok, and my father’s wife insisted that everything was “fine”.
No it wasn’t.
She was crazy.
It was NOT NOT NOT fine, and my 70 something father was not able to cope and handle it.
So, anyways, I went out with him and we had a breakfast together. Ah, it was 4pm, but you know it’s a thing. We talked and I said…
It’s my dad’s life.
But he had to live with his wife and make allowances.
However, this dog was not housebroken
And because it wasn’t housebroken, it could not live with them inside. It had to go outside.
So he had to make a choice; dog stays but lives outside or dog leaves.
I explained that this was not an emotional thing, or that it will change. That it was a health and sanitary issue, and given their (father and wife) ages, that this could cause negative health issues. That he had to do something.
Ah.
He kicked the dog out.
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And his wife refused to talk to me for a year afterwards.
Sometimes I feel that I am the most hated man on the planet. But seriously. There is a REASON why dogs and cats are housebroken. This REASON must be addressed.
And people are often too clouded in their emotions to such a degree that they refuse to see the black and white of an issue.
The health of the people who live in the home.
Today…
What was the strangest thing you discovered when you moved into a new home?
I had moved into a new rental with a couple of roommates, I was in my 20s. The house had a big backyard, but it was choked with weeds and Blackberry vines. I was determined to claim this space, so I borrowed a shovel and an axe and went at it! Being a small person, I ran out of steam pretty fast. Anyone who has tried to hack down 8ft tall blackberry vines can imagine my pain. Many scrapes and blisters later, after about a week, I had made modest progress.
The entire yard area was about 15ft square, I cleared about 10ft square and gave up. Not only were the weeds stronger than me, but the soil was mostly rocks, so planting a garden was looking pretty bleak. I kinda gave up. The spring was coming and we got a lot of rain, it became a mud pit and I thought maybe it would soften the clay and rock enough for me to sow some wildflowers before the weeds made a comeback.
Of course I got distracted and after a few weeks of mild spring sun I went back to it and looked around…PINK TULIPS were everywhere! A huge carpet of them! I wish I had a camera back then. They made me so happy and I could imagine them being planted years ago only to be choked by the aggressive vines. I felt like a hero and I continued to clear the space. Eventually I was able to see the long buried flower beds beneath the rubble. I made raised beds in one corner and was able to grow some herbs and veggies.
The tulips were a sign every spring that it was time to get growing! I hope whoever came after me to that space continued to be blessed by their presence.
Cajun Catfish with Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad
Fried catfish paired with a delicious Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad…yummy!
cajun catfish honey dijon
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad
5 cups baby Yukon gold potatoes, cooked and quartered
1 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
1 cup bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Creole mustard
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste
Cajun Catfish
4 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Fillets
1/2 cup fish breading
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 1/2 to 2 cups frying oil
Instructions
Potato Salad
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Cover and refrigerate.
Cajun Catfish
Combine fish breading and Creole seasoning in shallow bowl. Coat catfish in breading, lightly shaking off any excess.
In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Fry catfish until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side.
Place on paper towel to drain.
Serve immediately with Honey Dijon Bacon Potato Salad.
Karen tries her American rights in Africa
Both India and China have over 1 billion people so why does China look clean and modern and India looks dirty and behind in the times?
I am Chinese, 44 years old this year. My childhood spanned the entire 1980s and 1990s. When it comes to maintaining cleanliness, this question brings back some memories of a “dirty and chaotic China.”
The first memory is a small detail. In any indoor place in China today, whether it’s a restaurant, hotel, or home, every room will have a plastic trash can. There will be a plastic bag lining the trash can to make it easy to remove the garbage. They usually look like this:
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However, these things were not part of my childhood memories. In other words, decades ago in China, there were no such trash cans. So, how did people throw away garbage in rooms back then? My memory is that people either put the trash in a shared outdoor trash can or threw it on the ground inside the room. Once the trash on the ground accumulated enough, they would then throw it into the large outdoor trash can.
Moreover, there is an evolving version of this small detail: I remember when I just got married in 2005, the plastic bags used to line trash cans were the ones from the vegetable markets. People collected these plastic bags after buying vegetables and used them in their trash cans. No one would buy plastic bags specifically for trash cans.
But today, various types and sizes of trash bags are essential in every Chinese household. The most popular ones are the trash bags that, when full, have two drawstrings on the sides that can be pulled to close the bag. This way, you can lift the heavy trash without worrying about it spilling:
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My second memory is about littering. I remember when I was in elementary school, around 1992. My mother took me to a newly built park. As we walked, I was eating peanuts and casually throwing the shells on the ground.
A sanitation worker stopped me, but my mother argued with her because she didn’t see a problem with throwing peanut shells on the grass. We thought that even if we didn’t litter, the wind would blow leaves onto the grass. Prohibiting littering was a common slogan on radio, newspapers, and television in China at that time. It’s important to note that because people didn’t care about environmental cleanliness, the government used all mass media to educate the public.
This situation didn’t significantly improve even by the late 1990s. In 2000, a Chinese TV station released a popular crime drama called “The Struggle Between Black and White,” which depicted the solving of a dismemberment case. The most intriguing aspect of this series was that it featured almost no professional actors! Nearly all the key roles were played by ordinary people, and all the police officers and detectives were the actual officers who solved the case.
Since this drama was released in 2000, it reflected the urban landscape of China at that time. The city in the show had a fictional name, “Beihuan City,” but everyone who watched it could recognize it as Xi’an, the city with the Terracotta Army. You could see paper scraps, plastic bags, and other trash flying along the main roads of the city.
In today’s China, littering is unthinkable. If someone throws a piece of waste paper on a commercial street, people will consider them uncivilized. Within minutes, a sanitation worker will pick it up and throw it into a trash can. A few years ago, a moving car threw a pile of shredded paper out the window. A highway cleaner witnessed this and recorded it on his phone, uploading it online, which sparked public outrage. Eventually, the police used roadside cameras to identify the offender, fined him, and demanded a public apology.
My child was born in 2010. If he generates trash while playing outside and can’t find a trash can, he will keep the trash with him until he gets home to throw it away. Once, he had a runny nose and spent an afternoon playing in the community park. When he returned home, all four of his pockets were filled with used tissues. I asked him why he didn’t throw them in the park’s trash cans, and he replied that the park was under renovation and the trash cans were temporarily unavailable.
My third memory is about vegetable markets. Up until 2005, going to an open-air farmers’ market was a challenge. You had to walk on rotting vegetable leaves, wade through the waterlogged seafood section, and endure the nauseating smell of the poultry area just to buy ingredients. In the past decade or so, such farmers’ markets have almost disappeared in China. They have been transformed into tall, specialized buildings, with floor-cleaning machines constantly sweeping the floors, and water flowing through specially designed hidden pipes into the city’s sewage system. Today, farmers’ markets are almost indistinguishable from supermarkets, equipped with elevators, central air conditioning, ventilation systems, Wi-Fi, and each shop having its own independent water supply system.
This is what the farmers’ markets used to be like:
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This is what farmers’ markets are like today:
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My fourth memory is about public restrooms. The relationship between Chinese people and public restrooms could fill an entire book, as there are many legendary stories. When I was a child, public restrooms did not have flushing systems. Everyone, regardless of gender, had to squat over two concrete slabs. If you weren’t careful, you might splash yourself.
Workers would clean the waste once a day. In the summer, Chinese public restrooms would become an unforgettable experience for anyone. In 2006, I bought a book called “Foreigners’ Views on China.” Some foreigners’ most painful memories of China at that time were about “using public restrooms.”
Today’s public restrooms in China are quite a different story. Over the years, as I’ve traveled across the country with my family, we’ve encountered all sorts of interesting restrooms. Some restrooms have real-time status systems that show which stalls are occupied. Some provide tissues via QR code scanning. There are even restrooms equipped with sofas and coffee tables for people to wait comfortably. A significant number of public restrooms have “family toilets” designed for family members assisting elderly or young children.
This summer, we traveled to Qinghai Province in northwest China. The G310 national highway winds through the desolate mountains of Gansu Province for over 100 kilometers. Sometimes, we didn’t see another car for half an hour, and I had to make twelve consecutive turns to find a 500-meter straight stretch of road. This area is known for the Qinling Mountains. One afternoon, we stopped at a roadside public restroom in the middle of nowhere, not even near a village. Surprisingly, it was a well-appointed restroom, equipped with large mirrors, washbasins, stainless steel faucets, and running water. Though I’m not sure if it was tap water or spring water, in the 37°C heat that day, the water felt ice-cold on my hands. The restroom had four rooms: men’s, women’s, a “handicapped toilet,” and a “management room.” It had a functional flushing system, clean tile floors, intact stalls, and a working ventilation system.
So, if I were to explain why China is a clean country today, I would summarize based on my experiences: First, extensive and improved infrastructure means people don’t need to dirty the environment to use the restroom or buy groceries. Second, trash cans, including recycling bins, are everywhere in cities and towns, so people don’t have to search for them. Third, if everything is clean, people are less likely to litter out of embarrassment. In conclusion, China is becoming an increasingly clean and orderly country.
This is what public restrooms in China are like today:
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“You Know It’s Serious When Amish Get Involved”
As Pennsylvania’s polls near closing, an unexpected twist has emerged: a massive mobilization of Amish voters. Known for their separation from mainstream society and reliance on traditional values, such as horse-and-buggy transportation (arguably more ‘green’ than EVs), these folks, traditionally not big participators in US politics, have been out in force at PA polling stations, voting for former President Trump after Biden-Harris’ big gov’t waged war on the community.
Let’s begin with the context. Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and big government Democrats targeted a small Amish farmer in Lancaster over compliance issues. This apparently infuriated the Amish community that many of them registered to vote and voted red in the last several days.
Real America’s Voice’s Tera Dahl was speaking at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, and she explained that the Amish community is not a traditional group of voters in US elections.
“But they’re voting this year – and I think a big reason is the overreach of government – and one example that could’ve had a big impact was back in January. An Amish farmer was selling his milk – and the gov’t raided his home and stopped his business,” she said.
An Amish person was asked outside one PA polling station: “Who are you voting for?”
He responded, “Donald Trump.” He explained that the Amish had “more freedoms under Trump,” while government overreach drastically increased under Biden-Harris.
US Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., whose district includes Lancaster County, at the epicenter of America’s Amish population, told PBS News last week, “They just want government to stay not only out of their businesses but out of their religion.”
With family roots deep in the Amish community, Smucker forecasted a dramatic increase in the Amish vote, “basing that on the enthusiasm we see.”
There are currently 92,000 Amish in PA. It’s going to be a tight race, and these votes could make all the difference.
Brave kid HORRIFIES his teachers by reading their own woke garbage, then his dad shows up…
The explosion blasted a million obols worth of cometary material into the oblivion of space, a disaster even without their ship being parked at ground zero, but what really rattled Jacey Komarov was the destruction of her entire set of Space Kitchen Deluxe™ radiant cookware, which had been safely stowed on board. She’d bought the set on Callisto twenty-three years before and cared for it like a child ever since. To her, it was more precious than platinum. You couldn’t find gear like that here in the Oort Territories. Standing beside her in his hideous olive green pressure suit, staring up at a black sky liberally sprayed with stars and glittering chunks of comet ice spinning into the void, Arne Slocum seemed hardly to notice. His reaction to the cataclysm was typically juvenile: “Whoa! That was awesome!” Okay, he actually was nearly juvenile: a short, skinny seventeen-year-old with wide, brown eyes and wiry hair that Komarov figured would be ideal for scrubbing out pots and pans. Not her good Space Kitchen Deluxe™ pots and pans, since they were self-cleaning, or had been before their untimely deaths, but she could definitely see grabbing him by the boots, holding him upside down over a filthy pan, and having at it with his skull. Since she no longer had a pan, filthy or otherwise, she slugged his shoulder instead. “Idiot! Look what you did!” He bounced a few feet in the feeble gravity before replying, “I’m looking.” Then he stopped looking and fiddled with the portable extractor cradled in his arms. Its sleek, silver body, massive orange trigger, and flared red muzzle suggested it was a device for killing Tyrannosaurs rather than mining comets. He flipped open a panel on its back and poked a skinny, gloved finger at the circuitry within. “I didn’t think I’d coax that much power from her.” “Stop tinkering! We’re here to collect samples, not vaporize the place from under our own feet. All my stuff is gone!” Slocum scratched what would have been his nose if there hadn’t been a helmet in the way. “You’re not hurt, are you?” He gave her a not entirely medical examination. “Put those eyes back where they belong,” Komarov growled. She turned away from the havoc he’d wreaked. Before her, a jumbled surface of loosely-packed ice and black rock stretched to the horizon, where it melded seamlessly with the onyx sky. Nothing special, really. Every chunck of frozen primordial soup looked the same. This was the Oort Territories, a realm so distant the sun was just a bright star, a place where day was night and night was more night. People came here to strike it rich mining the hydrogen and organics that made corporate executives filthy rich, but somehow only the filthy rich ever got richer, while people like Komarov, scratching out a living employed to a third-rate mining outfit, shambled through shackled to people like Slocum. “Where’s the ship?” Slocum asked. Quick study you are, she groused. “You blew it up along with everything else, including my most prized possessions.” She spread her arms in frustration. “The comet? Fine. The ship? If you absolutely must. But my entire kitchen? Blow yourself up instead!” Slocum’s eyes did a fair impression of a faulty LED flickering between life and death. “I blew up the ship?” “I’m going away now,” Komarov said. “Enjoy the rest of your short life.” She started walking . . . stomping, really . . . okay, bouncing across the frozen wasteland, her weighted boots the only thing keeping her from launching into space. She felt rather than heard the crunch of frozen organics under her feet, smelled nothing but the synthetic cleanliness of recirculated air, saw only glitters in the dark. She didn’t know where she was going, but it didn’t matter. There was nowhere to go but away from Arne Slocum. She’d probably end up back where she started, either from aimless wandering or circumnavigation of the tiny globe, but she didn’t care so long as he wasn’t there when she arrived. Unfortunately, they were still in communications range. “There’s nothing out there.” he said. “Exactly.” “But we don’t have a ship.” “No kidding.” “How do we get home?” If she could put the horizon between them, she wouldn’t have to listen. “Jacey?” The comet wasn’t that big. It shouldn’t take long. “You’re the senior. You’re supposed to deal with situations like this.” “Be very glad you’re not standing behind me,” Komarov grumbled. “Why?” “Because I’d strangle you!” “Oh. Er. Actually . . .” Engulfed by rage, she spun about. The motion would have thrown her headlong across the icefield had not Slocum been a meter back. They collided and fell in slow motion, a tangle of arms and legs and portable extractor. Its bluish beam flashed by Komarov’s head into space where it would either harmlessly dissipate or by freak accident destroy something vital to somebody’s survival. Slocum grunted. “You’re…” His faceplate was pressed against hers and his breathing labored, as though she was squashing him flat, although she couldn’t be, not in this gravity. “…all red.” “You think?” She pushed herself up and dusted off her suit. Motes of ice and organics sparkled into the vacuum. Breathing deliberately and summoning every gram of professionalism left in her roiling brain, she let him pick himself up rather than flinging him across the cosmos. “Maybe you should engage the safety.” “I disabled it.” Mayhem flooded her eyes. “Why?” “Convenience.” She had a vision of approaching him, arms outstretched, grasping fingers encircling his neck, squeezing long and slow and hard until his head popped off. He didn’t share her vision or maybe even notice it. “How do we get home?” “We?” He bounced back up a step, so maybe he had noticed, after all. “I assume you’ve studied the procedures.” “Didn’t have time. I was working on, on, on, this.” He raised the extractor as though offering it to her. Tempting though it was, she didn’t take it. “Before people are dropped on a new target, an emergency package is soft-landed. If the crew becomes stranded, they can activate a distress call. They’ll also find basic tools and provisions.” “Oh. That’s good.” Slocum looked so pleased, he might have designed the package himself. “Where is it?” Komarov pointed. “On the edge of the blast zone.” Slocum fiddled with the extractor some more, as thought that might make all disintegrated things undisintegrate. It didn’t. He looked contrite enough, though, so Komarov set course for whatever remained of the emergency package and motioned him to follow. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a massive crater whose edges and walls had a glassy look. The blast had melted the ice, which refroze as it flowed downhill. She amused herself with the thought of Slocum sliding down the slope, unable to arrest his fall, swooping through the bottom and up the other side until gravity slowed him and pulled him back down, up, down, up, down, over and over, amplitude gradually decreasing, until he came to rest at the bottom and couldn’t climb out again. Sweet justice. “Is that it?” Slocum asked. Not three meters beyond the edge of the crater, a massive black box squatted on the ice, a glowing green button planted in its side. They approached and studied it. Miraculously, it didn’t look damaged. “That’s it,” Komarov decided. She pushed the button, and the box blossomed like a flower, petals opening to reveal more controls, panels, doors, and a big red button marked, “For emergency use only.” That seemed redundant. The whole thing was for emergency use. Slocum held his breath while the box revealed its secrets, then let out a sigh. “You can say that again,” Komarov told him. “You’re damn lucky you didn’t take this out, too.” More contrition was called for. He fiddled with the extractor one more time. She pushed the red button. A control lit up, informing them the distress beacon was active. “You know,” Slocum said, shifting the device in his arms. “I honestly didn’t think I’d coax that much power from . . . “ Something his finger touched when click. The brilliant bluish beam flashed, vaporized the emergency package, and raced over the horizon into space. Komarov screamed. Fortunately for her, enough distress call had transmitted that two hours later a rescue team arrived. Fortunately for Slocum, low-gravity running is trickier than it looks, and they got there before Komarov caught him.
The incredible power of spiritual protection of your cat in 13 signs
What was the strangest battle in Roman history?
the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC. This one isn’t just strange, it’s downright embarrassing.
The Romans were fighting the Samnites, a tough group from south-central Italy.
Confident as ever, the Roman consuls led their troops into a narrow mountain pass called the Caudine Forks, thinking they’d catch the Samnites off guard. Instead, they walked right into a trap.
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The Samnites had blocked both ends of the pass, and the Romans were stuck like a mouse in a cheese factory.
Now, here’s where it gets really strange.
Instead of slaughtering the trapped Roman army, the Samnite leader, Gaius Pontius, decided to go for maximum humiliation. He forced the Roman soldiers to pass under a yoke, essentially a wooden beam, symbolizing their defeat and subjugation.
They had to stoop low and shuffle under this makeshift arch of shame, completely unarmed and defenseless.
The defeated consuls were forced to sign a peace treaty, but the Senate back in Rome refused to honor it, claiming the consuls had no authority to agree to such terms under duress.
one of the consuls, Spurius Postumius Albinus, actually proposed that he and his fellow commanders be handed over to the Samnites in chains as a sort of “sorry about that whole breaking the treaty thing.” The Samnites, showing a level of honor in this bizarre situation, refused and sent them back.
Pretty weird.
Have you ever cold emailed the CEO of a big company?
Originally Answered: Corporations: Have you ever cold emailed the CEO of a big company?
I did – sort of. When I was fresh out of university and young and innocent (well, kind of…), I joined a programme run by a large Swiss bank for graduates. When they hired me, the recruiter told me explicitly that my salary during training is just a training salary, and once I pass the training programme after a year and start as a regular employee, then my salary will roughly double, as that is a regular starting employee (graduate level) salary.
I did the programme and passed, and then went to work at the bank as a regular employee. My first monthly salary, though, was about 2% higher than what I had been earning while on the programme. So I called up HR and explained the situation, assuming there must have been a mistake. I ended up talking to the same recruiter, who laughed at me, called me a sucker and told me to go complain to the CEO.
So I did. I wrote him a very polite letter, explaining that I was terribly embarrassed to be bothering him with such a little thing, but I was told to contact him by this recruiting guy to sort out this misunderstanding. The CEO actually (and to his credit) called me that same afternoon and he had obviously looked me up and found that I was a complete nobody. But he kept it very short and to the point, basically saying that the corporate philosophy of the bank he was in charge of was very, very important and if that was what had been promised me, then that was what I would get. He then said that I should make an appointment with the head of HR and explain the situation to her. It got sorted out after a chat with the head of HR, who asked if I was happy in my job. I admitted that I didn’t find it terribly challenging, but I understood that you need to gather experience before moving on to more interesting jobs. She asked me about my background and the kind of things I have worked on in the past and asked if I would like to move to a rather more interesting job. Young as I was, I said “sure” without even knowing what it was. That same day I was transferred away from my boring job and started running a special projects team, reporting directly to… yep, the CEO. For quite a bit more than double the trainee salary. It was an… interesting decade.
Oh – I found out later that the recruiter got fired. I wasn’t exactly sad to see him go, but that hadn’t been my intention, and I felt bad about it.
Turned out okay for me…
CHINA is INSANE! (First Day in Shanghai)
How significant is Southeast Asia as a potential market for Comac’s C919 compared to other regions?
The c919 is optimized for regional service. Its entry into SEA will begin with Chinese airlines operating flights between SEA and China, provided the countries accept the type and airworthiness certification of the CAAC.
Since all 3 narrow bodies (a320, b737, c919) use the same leap family of engines, nothing much separate them in terms of operational efficiency, although the c919, being the more modern airframe, is a little lighter, and optimized for cargo duty.
Where the Chinese can be competitive is delivery time lines, cost and the speed of iteration. We will see the gradual indigenization of key components from engines to avionics, as comac develops superclusters of aviation suppliers.
SEA is 650m today, the same size as Europe. Reaching Europe’s level of connectivity will require plenty more planes, which the c919 is well positioned to serve.
But that’s in the future. The c919 order book will take the next decade to clear, and this will be a good time for the model to build a safety record, as well as a service network.
Pirate Art
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AMAZING Animals Reacting to Music
Why would Taiwan not be another Ukraine in case China attacks Taiwan?
Bill Chen
Ukraine was shelling Russian majority Donbas for 8 years, killing and maiming thousands. Two treaties signed and witnessed by multiple stakeholders failed to put a stop to the killing.
There was Minsk, and Minsk ii, which as Angela recalled, were deceitful instruments to buy Ukraine time to build up its military.
Now, are the Taiwanese killing mainlanders with heavy arms today? Is the substantial Taiwanese population on the mainland living under discrimination and fear?
There is no enmity between the Chinese, yes, CHINESE on both sides of the straits.
The quarrel all along has been which system should be in charge.
I keep in regular contact with my Taiwanese friends. Despite the intense military drills which has showcased the ability of the mainland to blockade Taiwan, Taiwanese society has not mobilized on a war footing. There is no trepidation for an inevitable war in the foreseeable future, or the urgency to prepare for one.
In fact, SOPs to identify and challenge mainland contacts have been scaled down, because the intensity is just too hot to handle.
Taiwan’s replacement youth will shrink 40% in the coming years. Schools have closed and class size have come down. And yet wages remain depressed even in downtown Taipei.
Is Taiwan in the mood for war?
I figure not.
Now look at the mainland side and the capabilities coming online. There is a queue for university graduates to join the pla, while regular drills mobilizing civilian assets to assist in the war effort occur in the provinces closest to Taiwan. This includes provisions for the evacuation and care for mass casualty, as civilian infrastructure is degraded.
The Chinese are prepared to absorb Gaza level of destruction.
Is it true that Chinese people now have a high standard of living?
Not high standard of living.but I am satisfied with the following aspects of China:
1. Safety: It is extremely safe.
2. The transportation, electricity, internet, and other conveniences are all very reliable.
3. Education and Medical: The quality of Education is high and the cost is low. As long as you have good grades and are willing to learn, being from a poor family is not a big problem.Medical care is similar to education in terms of quality and affordability.
4. Industrial Products: There is a wide variety, and they are inexpensive and high-quality. On platforms like Taobao, you can find almost anything, and orders arrive the next day.
5. Convenience: For example, when buying an air conditioner, installation is free, with only a small fee for transportation, usually around twenty to thirty dollars.
Some people call this exploitation of delivery or installation workers, but that’s not entirely accurate. In another scenario, when workers fall ill, medical care is also cheap and fast, even though doctors need to spend 24 years studying.
6. Food: It is cheap and fresh, especially vegetables and fruits. Beef was a bit expensive before, but this year it has dropped nearly 50%. Some say it’s because Argentina exports a lot of beef to China.
I think this is not entirely good, as I’ve heard that many cattle farmers are suffering significant losses this year. The government should subsidize them.
Most Disappointing Aspects:
Housing Prices and Rent: Especially in big cities. For example, a 120-square-meter house in the suburbs of Beijing might cost around 800,000~900,000 dollars, which is too high given the income levels of Chinese people.
Nearby, there used to be three bookstores and several restaurants, but recently they have all closed. This is because a new subway line is about to be completed, and the landlord, anticipating increased foot traffic, shamelessly raised the rent threefold.
After the negotiations broke down, the merchants had no choice but to close their businesses. The bookstore owner, whom I really liked, said with resignation that during the negotiations, the landlord used the “six-character mantra” —爱租租，不租滚！(If you want renting, rent; if not, Get out!)
I can accept the closure of restaurants, but it s really upsetting to see bookstores closeing.
These 3 bookstores have been a part of my life for 18 years; I used to spend several hours every week browsing these bookstores.
The only consolation is that they also sell online, so I can still buy books from them online.
But I still prefer to go to physical bookstores, flipping through books and deciding whether to buy them.
One of these bookstores has a warehouse not too far from my home—just a 1.5-hour bicycel ride away. I’m still willing to ride my bike there to browse and purchase books.
Exorbitant rent is just too damaging for physical stores
A friend of mine summed it up very well:
In cities like Beijing and Shanghai, if you solve the housing problem, everything else is a small issue. But if you can’t solve the housing problem, every issue becomes a big problem.
Overall, aside from housing prices and rent, especially in big cities, I think things are still pretty good, considering how large the country is and how poor it used to be.
Col. Douglas Macgregor : US Dangerous Foreign Policy
What are some mind-blowing facts about the U.S. military during WW2?
Originally Answered: What are some mind blowing facts about the US military during WW2?
Throughout the war, the U.S. Navy lost 2 battleships, 5 aircraft carriers, 6 escort aircraft carriers, 7 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 65 destroyers, 52 submarines and a myriad of other ships. However, only one captain – Charles B. McVay of the heavy cruiser Indianapolis – was court-martialed for losing a ship in action against the enemy. If the names sound familiar, it’s most likely because Indianapolis was the ship that carried the atomic bomb “Little Boy” to the U.S. Airforce base at Tinian Island.
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Two days after delivering the bomb, Indianapolis received orders to proceed to Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. Captain Charles B. McVay requested a destroyer escort against Japanese submarines but higher-ups assured him that it would not be necessary because – they said – there was no enemy submarine in the area. Four days later on 30 July 1945, Indianapolis was spotted and torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-58. The U.S. cruiser sank in less than 15 minutes. Some 300 of the total 1,196 sailors went down with the ship, the other 900 – with few lifeboats and life jackets among them – suffered dehydration, exposure, hypernatremia, and shark attacks for nearly 4 days before they were found and rescued on 2 August. By then, only 317 crewmen were alive.
“Higher-ups” should have had better intelligence about enemy activity in the area (In fact, just six days prior to the sinking of the Indianapolis, the destroyer Underhill had been attacked and sunk in the area by Japanese submarines but McVay was never informed of it.) They should have given Indianapolis a destroyer escort when McVay requested it. They should have tracked the ship more closely so that its sinking and survivors could have been noted much earlier.
But instead of blaming themselves, they made McVay scapegoat and put him on trial with the charge of failing to zigzag in good visibility. The facts that 1) the weather was actually particularly bad, 2) McVay had discretionary authority to zigzag or not and 3) the Japanese submarine commander later testified that he could have sunk even a zigzagging Indianapolis – all meant nothing to the court.
The court-martial humiliated and devastated McVay. Vicious letters and phone calls from grief-stricken relatives of dead crewmen who’d served aboard the Indianapolis didn’t help either. On 6 November 1968, McVay committed suicide with his service pistol. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that McVay was vindicated by Congress.
What was the biggest scandal at your high school?
The cops arrived at our school one afternoon. Moments later, we saw our principal being taken out in handcuffs.
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Dana Goodman was under arrest for having a sexual relationship with an underage girl. In our rural community, the future farmers association was an important school group on campus. The president of the FFA was a sweet and friendly girl. She was well adjusted and popular among her friends, and generally having a great time at high school. Until her principal started talking to her more.
Mr. Goodman seemed like an alright principal. African Americans were honestly underrepresented in the administration, so for some this was grounds for positive receival. He dressed well, talked politely, and did his job fairly well. But occasionally he would make comments. Once at a school assembly he said something in front of the whole school about ‘homely’ girls. The first indication he was noticing the physical appearance of his female high school students.
Rumors were flying that he was friendly with the cheerleading coach, a teacher who was just a few years younger than him. But then there were other rumors. And then there was evidence. Not just a young girls brave decision to go to police, but used condoms and fluids tossed carelessly into a classroom trash bin.
Fast forward to the afternoon when the cops showed up. Students were not told directly what was going on. But more than a thousand faces were peering out all the windows, some cracking jokes, some shocked, some who already knew.
After the whole scandal, we learned that Goodman’s leadership apparently led others down the same route and two other teachers were also arrested for relationships with students.
That was the biggest scandal at our high school, but the biggest scandal outside of it? Goodman got his 15 year sentence reduced to four and he is already a free man once again.
Crab-Stuffed Catfish with Parmesan Crust
crab stuffed catfish
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Fillets
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
1 pound lump crab meat
2 cups Parmesan, grated (divided)
2 tablespoons chives, chopped (divided)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Melt butter in medium, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add wine and simmer until mixture is almost dry. Add lump crab meat, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours until completely chilled. Once chilled, fold in 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1 tablespoon chopped chives to crab mix.
Using a sharp knife, butterfly each fillet lengthwise horizontally as evenly as possible. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of crab mixture on bottom half of catfish, being careful not to overfill. Fold top of catfish over to cover stuffing.
Season stuffed catfish with salt and pepper. Dip fillets into remaining grated Parmesan, coating evenly.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Carefully sauté catfish until a golden brown crust is formed. Turn catfish over and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Garnish fillets with remaining chives.
Why are so many counties joining Russia and China to de-dollarize their economy and trade?
Because the US government has been irresponsible on deficit and debt.
Soon or later, either the US would go bankruptcy, or it would solve the problem by having a war.
Acient money has actual value. It was usally made from precious metals such as gold, silver, and blonze.
Modern money is a credit, and is endorsed by the government to have virtual value.
When a government over releases money, it would create huge inflation. Not 10%, not 20%, but 1000% or 10000%.
With a full pack of money, you may be able to purchase a pack of cigarette.
In 2023 alone, the US government over-spent 1.7 trillion USD, which it has to borrow from others, domestic or foreign investors.
With the uncontrollabe over-spending, the national debt went up too.
It has just reached 35 trillion, and is about 100 thousand per US citizen.
There is no way that the US government could repay the debt in the foreseeable future, because US government is still creating more deficit every year.
Even the interest of the national debt in 2024 will be around 0.9 trillion.
With an annual revenue of over 4 trillion USD, US government would have to owe more money year by year.
To attract more people and organizations to purchase US tresury, the interest rate must be raised. With higher interest, the US government will have a higher annual expenditure, which will make the deficit bigger, so that the US government will have to release even more treasury.
It’s a typical vicious circle.
It would be impossible to increase government revenue, since it’s mostly tax.
It would be also impossible to lower the government expenditure, since too many people are making their benefit out of it.
See? They are going to spend more by borrowing more.
If it was any other country, its economy would be collapsed.
According to Ta Kung Pao in 16 Aug 1948:
Just within the first half of August,
food price increased 3.9 MILLION times
housing price increased 0.77 MILLION times
clothing price increased 6.52 MILLION times
It was because the KMT/ROC government tried to release new currency to replace the old one.
The exchang ratio was 1 Chinese gold yuan (new) to 200 old fiat currency.
According to the statistics, only 200 million CGY was enought to exchange all the old currency released, but KMT printed 2 billion CGY. The extra CGY was a disaster from the begining.
By the time people realized the government having no ability to control goods prices, all prices went up like crazy.
Someone went to buy boxes of antibiotics. The seller told him that this has no use if no one’s injured or infected. Buyer said that he didn’t give a damn. He bought them only because they were expensive.
Even shoes were all bought, regardless the size.
I am not sure if this reminds western people about something.
Like I said, if it was any other country, the economy would be collapsed already.
However, it’s the US.
According to the Modern Money Theory, the biggest export product of the US is the US dollar.
While other countries had to work hard selling goods, just to make some money to buy from other countries, the US just sit in a chairt and type some numbers into the computer, and here is the money.
US dollar is the biggest international settlement currency.
In a period, having USD is more important than having goods. Because no country can produce everything, and USD can get you goods from the market.
So the US spends USD printed out of thin air and receive goods with actual value. During the process, the US released its internal inflation to the world.
Comparing to its internal market, the global market is much bigger and is able to contain more USD. By over-release the same amount of money, the US has the world trading to absorb its inflation, while other countries had to afford it on themselves.
However, like I presented above, national debt of the US has reached a scary high level, because there is only a certain amount of USD can be transfered from US internal market to the outside world.
Because the capitalists cannot just share their benefit to the general public, so most people still have about the same salary, which makes the total disposable money in the US a rather stable number. That’s how much the US can buy, and how much the US can export its inflation to the world.
Soon or later, countries around the world would have to face the fact that economy of the US is beyond being repairable.
When that moment came, USD will become toilet paper. Whoever still holding huge amount will be fucked totally.
It happened once when the US claimed to abandon Bretton Woods system. In that system, the USD has a fixed exchange rate with gold, which is 35USD to 1 ounce gold. The US wanted to release more USD, because the total amount of gold doesn’t change fast, not as fast as the international trading.
To its allies, mostly European countries, denying the value of USD meant the USD they were holding would become toilet paper. So they chose to recognize the value of USD even when it has no connection to gold anymore.
But this time, China decided to not tolerate the irresponsible child act of the US.
China has been trying to establish a new trading system based on goods rather than any specific curreny.
Purpose of doing international tradings should not be “to earn some USD so that I could buy stuff”, but “I have goods, so I can eventually change it into something I need”.
It should be a multilateralist system instead of unilateralist.
In the current system, being kicked out from SWIFT by the US means not being able to buy vital stuff from the world, such as vaccine. Iran had this problem at early stage of COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia also had this problem right after the Ukraine War.
In addtion, the US in recent years has been more and more aggressive.
As the single pole of the world, it acted like a spoiled kid, to sanction whichever it dislike.
It created so many enemies. There are so many of them that they can actually establish their own circle.
If the emenies of the US can surive on their own, then there is even less excuse for them to keep using USD.
I think white house would be happy about it, since they are so eager to totally decouple with China.
UNFORGIVEN (1992) Movie Reaction w/ Coby FIRST TIME WATCHING
Shorpy
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Why do so many Americans have a problem with alcohol?
Drinking is a large part of adult culture in the United States. Although I have gone long periods of my adult life without drinking, I have never given drinking up completely because I have realized it makes social situations more awkward.
Some people get really uncomfortable if they are drinking and not everyone else at the table is drinking. It’s also a time-honored tradition to conduct certain business meetings in informal sessions that sometimes feature drinking. Additionally, sports, holidays, and cookouts usually involve alcohol.
In my family, this isn’t a problem really. A few weeks ago we had a family gathering and a close friend came with me. She remarked how no one in my family drinks at all or does any drugs except me. First of all, survivorship bias is apparent. Secondly, because there have been so many people with substance abuse issues in my family, drinking or smoking marijuana, although perfectly legal, are nearly taboo. Our family gatherings are usually completely devoid of alcohol, because nearly everyone in my close family gave up drinking in any form years ago or never developed an interest. We never tell our guests one way or another that they can’t bring drinks, but if they do, they’re usually the odd man out.
Although I used to be a nearly daily drinker, these days I no longer prefer to drink as the main way I relax after a rough day. Increasingly, I am not the only one. Many young people are putting aside alcohol in favor of more holistic hobbies that don’t take such a toll on the body and mind. Going to a local adult arcade or bar and ordering a mocktail or alcohol free beer isn’t that unusual around here these days.
THE MATRIX (1999) Movie Reaction w/Coby FIRST TIME WATCHING
What was the first “green flag” you noticed in your partner?
My husband is a very shy man. So much so, that when we went out on a first date, he barely even looked at me. I very reluctantly accepted to go out on a second date, which ended up being pretty much the same. This led me to believe that there’s just no chemistry between us, and that it’s best we end it at that point. I really liked him, but didn’t want to get hurt as I thought he might be an emotionally unavailable person. My husband’s reaction was to say:
“Ok, this makes me very sad, but if you don’t think going out with me makes sense, there’s just no point going forward. However, may I ask for a reason?”
I have to admit I was surprised hearing such a response. Men I tried dating would typically get very angry, insult me, curse at me, or say something to humiliate me, which made me wary of rejecting someone openly.
I explained to him how I felt, to which my husband said that he actually likes me a lot, but is extremely shy, and that if I would like to go out with him again, he would be more open. On our third date he greeted me with a big grin and a warm hug and from then on we were inseparable.
So the first “green flag” in my partner was his ability to calmly accept rejection without perceiving that his ego has been hurt.
“CONKLIN!” Havaderr wailed. His face was the brightest red and steaming with heat. The veins in his neck throbbed noticeably, but he waited as still as he could for Conklin to answer. A buzz came in over the intercom above Havaderr’s head.
“Hey, was that you shouting, Havaderr?” Conklin’s voice crackled with static and attitude. Havaderr shut his eyes and repeated his Zen mantra in his head.
“Havaderr? What’s your problem?”
Havaderr’s eyes opened, and in the most even tone he could manage; he said his mantra out loud.
“I am calm. I am calm. I can overcome this. I am strong. I am strong. I can overcome anything.” Havaderr spoke through gritted teeth, spittle flying across the room as he focused on keeping his anger inside rather than shouting and blowing the place up with Conklin inside.
“Hey guy, are you going to answer me or what?” Conklin’s voice implied his own rising impatience. Havaderr moved to the button on the wall nearest him to respond.
“Yes, Conklin, I was shouting,” Havaderr said as evenly as his rage would allow. “Get your ass to 4A NOW!” As he trailed off, he clenched his teeth together so hard he felt a grinding that might as well have been a tooth chipping. Before Conklin’s reply came, Havaderr heard an irritated sigh over the intercom.
“Yeah, be right ther-.” Conklin barely finished his sentence before releasing the button, cutting himself off at the end.
Moments later, a door slid open down the hall, several yards away from Havaderr. Conklin came into the hall, looking both ways before spotting Havaderr.
“What the hell, why are you shouting and-“ Havaderr cut Conklin off with a finger to his mouth to silence him.
“I’m going to show you something in this room behind me, and it’s best if your mouth is shut when I do.” Havaderr’s voice wavered, he was still trying to control his anger. Conklin looked confused as ever but kept his mouth shut. With a worried expression, Conklin followed Havaderr to another door. Havaderr stood aside and opened the door for Conklin to enter alone. Conklin stood in the doorway staring, then Havaderr shoved him wholly into the room from behind and closed the door.
“Havaderr, what’s going on? What the fu-ahhhh!” The intercom inside the restroom was unnecessary, but Havaderr appreciated it right now. He would have heard Conklin screaming from quite a distance, but hearing Conklin’s disgust and horror in surround sound was more pleasing. A slice of anger slid off his shoulders and a small smile appeared on his face.
The door rattled, clearly Conklin on the other side trying to burst through, but Havaderr held the lock button, keeping Conklin trapped inside.
“What kind of game is this Havaderr? Let me out, for Christ’s sake!” Conklin was panicking, releasing more anger from Havaderr’s shoulders and filling his belly with laughter.
“This is no game, friend. This is you coming face to face with your own incompetence,” Havaderr said over the intercom, still smiling.
“Havaderr! Let me out of here!” Conklin screamed and started ramming the door again.
“I don’t think so, Conklin. If you look to the left of the door, I’ve been kind enough to set you up with plenty of cleaning supplies for the job, which is a lot more than you did for me. I’d suggest you start tackling that shit before it starts tackling you.” Havaderr exploded with laughter, letting go of the intercom and floating backward as he held onto his stomach. He laughed so hard he couldn’t breathe. Conklin kept banging on the door and pleading to be released, but Havaderr couldn’t hear anything over the roar of his own hysteria.
Curled up in fetal position, floating in the hallway, Havaderr worked himself out of his fits of laughter. He wiped the joyful tears from his eyes and started breathing normally again. He moved back to the intercom.
“Look mate, this restroom was in your sector to clean. Obviously, you did a piss poor job,” Havaderr grabbed his side, holding the laughter in after such a quality pun. “I told you, cleaning the restrooms would be the most important job, because if it isn’t done right, this happens. Floating excrement!” Conklin didn’t say anything, but Havaderr heard him kick or punch the door.
“I’ll take your silence as admitting you did a sloppy job the first time. You know, I needed to do some business, and I walk into the restroom greeted with a turd to the face, which I’m assuming belonged to you, so I have no sympathy for you right now. Clean the damn restroom like you were supposed to, and I’ll let you out.” Havaderr waited for a response. He was eager to shower off the stench and stain of human waste from himself before finishing his day.
“Yeah, alright,” Conklin said over the intercom, sounding defeated and guilty. Havaderr nodded his head and left Conklin to figure out how to clean a restroom with feces floating freely throughout.
“Like I said, not a drop of sympathy for you. Do it right the first time, and we won’t run into stupid problems like that,” Havaderr said coolly, scrubbing at the built-up muck in the corners of the glass.
Conklin was still cranky from cleaning the restroom the day before, and he meant to let Havaderr know just how little he appreciated the tactless way he was pushed into the situation without warning.
“Chin up, Conklin. We have one more day before our shift is over, and we can get the hell off this floating heap of death,” Havaderr motioned toward the clear chambers that housed the comatose bodies of several crew members, one of which whose glass he was scrubbing.
“Remind me, what’s up with these bodies? They’re dead, yeah?” Conklin asked.
“No, they’re alive, they’re the crew, dumbass,” Havaderr grunted at Conklin. He looked over to see Conklin hovering around the main dashboard, not a rag or mop near him. “And I wouldn’t mind if you got to work while you asked your questions,” he barked. Conklin jumped and reached for a rag tucked into a closed bucket tethered nearby. He started mindlessly wiping at the dashboard without paying close attention.
“Okay, but how come they’re asleep?” Conklin asked. Havaderr sighed as he paused and rolled his eyes.
“Do I look like the Captain of this ship? All I know is, this crew is traveling some number of lightyears, so the ship has been programed for regular stops near inhabited planets for maintenance and cleaning. We drew the short straw, so we get to hop from the ship we were on previously, to this one, and then another one before heading back home. Nobody else was this far out into deep space to do the job, so we get a long shift before our break. At least they’re paying us over time, eh?” Havaderr smiled at the thought of a paycheck double its usual amount. He looked in on the half-naked man inside the tube he was cleaning, tapping on the glass with his knuckle and laughing at how strange the sight was.
Air escaped the edges of the door, and it hissed loudly. The smile fell from Havaderr’s face as he scanned the chamber looking for an explanation. The door swung open and the half-naked man floated out as if to follow. Thankfully, he was attached to a few tubes that kept him reigned in and asleep, but the color left Havaderr’s face once he realized that would only last for so long.
Havaderr turned to Conklin, who looked just as confused.
“He just-just-he-“ Havaderr stuttered, unable to decide what he was trying to say. The man’s feet flew upward so his back was parallel to the floor and his right side dipped down. Slowly, he started to spin, so he was upside down. All the while, Havaderr and Conklin stared without any clue how to fix it.
“Did you touch something?” Havaderr shouted at Conklin, who shook his head wordlessly.
“I didn’t touch anything!” Havaderr went back to staring at the half-naked man, perplexed. After a minute, Havaderr decided they couldn’t leave the man like that.
“Get over here and help me with this!” He yelled at Conklin. Still silent, Conklin moved toward Havaderr and the unconscious man. Havaderr and Conklin wore their gravity belts at 85% power to keep from floating off like the man from the tube, but it allowed them a bit more mobility too. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any extras to strap to the man, so he continued to spin and flip through the air.
One of the wires connecting the man to his casket snapped, leaving only one left to keep him from flying down the corridor and into every other part of the ship. Havaderr and Conklin shared a look of fear but said nothing.
Havaderr grabbed the man’s knees and tried to pull them down so the man was right side up, but as he pulled, the man’s whole body moved toward Havaderr. Conklin remained motionless, watching the unconscious body float into Havaderr. Havaderr struggled and groped, trying his very best to wrangle the helpless man, but even his best efforts left him with the man’s body bumping into him clumsily. He accidentally grabbed the man’s buttocks, and the man’s armpit swung around and slapped him in the face. All in all, it reminded Conklin of two young people at their first school dance, trying not to step on each other.
Conklin covered the smile on his face, but the more Havaderr fought with the floating man and lost, the more the urge to laugh rose in his belly. When the man launched a foot directly into Havaderr’s eye, Conklin lost it. With one hand on the man’s shoulder and his other arm wrapped around the man’s torso, Havaderr stopped to see what was so funny to Conklin. He didn’t have to ask; he knew how he looked.
“Would you knock it off and help me! I don’t know what we disconnected, but that could be vital to this man’s life!” Havaderr tried to repeat his mantra in his head, but he couldn’t hear anything over Conklin’s laughter. Havaderr grumbled as he kept spinning the man back into position, with no help from Conklin, who was tumbling in circles on the other side of the room.
Finally, Havaderr got the man into his up-right position and back into the tube. As best as he could, he reattached the disconnected wires, but he couldn’t pull the door shut.
“Conklin! Find the button to close this door, hurry, before he tries to escape again!” Havaderr pleaded.
Conklin straightened up and moved to the dashboard he had been cleaning. On the first try, he hit a button, and the door closed, sealing itself. Havaderr wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at Conklin, a little puzzled. Conklin’s laughter died down, but when he saw Havaderr near collapse and panting, his laughter boiled over.
“What is wrong with you? Were you too busy finding this hilarious to help me save that man’s life?” Havaderr demanded, huffing and puffing.
“Calm down, he’s fine,” Conklin squeaked. “The buttons are clearly labeled on the dash here, see?” Conklin pointed to the dashboard. Havaderr saw buttons marked to open doors, close doors, start specific mechanisms, stop the same mechanisms, and a bunch of other things Havaderr didn’t understand. What he did think he understood, was how the door opened in the first place.
“Did you open his door on me?” Havaderr asked Conklin, the anger rising again.
“Yeah, mate, you should have seen the look on your face!” Conklin rolled over laughing.
“You idiot! You could have killed the man, we could be fired, what the hell is wrong with you?” Havaderr bellowed.
“Relax Havaderr, you’ll give yourself a stroke!” Conklin pulled himself together for a second, setting his feet back on the floor and pointing to the dashboard again.
“This here, that indicates their vital signs. You can see they’re all perfectly healthy, no harm done,” Conklin said matter-of-factly. Havaderr was flustered. He could only trust Conklin’s word, he had no idea what any of the lights or buttons meant on the dash.
“You couldn’t have known it would be okay, though. What if the tube that detached from his arm was something that kept him alive?” Havaderr exclaimed. Conklin rolled his eyes, irritated that Havaderr wasn’t figuring it out as easily as he was.
“All that tube did was give him pleasant dreams; it wasn’t important. He’ll live, and nobody need ever know you almost killed a man,” Conklin started to giggle again. Havaderr’s face turned tomato red and he clenched his fist, trying to fight the overwhelming desire to punch Conklin in the face.
“You did this on purpose?” Havaderr said, strained.
“Well, maybe don’t lock me in a room with floating shit again, and we’ll be fine,” Conklin smiled, feeling pleased with himself.
Crispy Catfish
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons light Ranch dressing
2 large egg whites
6 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 catfish fillets
Cooking spray
Instructions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine the dressing and egg whites in a small bowl and stir well with a whisk.
Combine the cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, flour, pepper and salt in a shallow dish.
Dip fish into egg white mixture, then dredge in cornmeal mixture. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned and fish flakes easily.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Are you guys aware of what’s happening in Myanmar?
Myanmar has long been in a state of de facto civil war.
The root cause lies in the Myanmar government’s blatant policy of ethnic discrimination. Citizens’ identification cards are divided into six levels by color, and the rights enjoyed decrease according to the level.
Only the Bamar people hold the first-level ID cards, which grant them the right to vote and be elected. This has led to 40% of the minority groups, who face varying degrees of discrimination, attempting armed resistance. There are over a dozen “ethnic local armed forces” spread across Myanmar. For decades, the Myanmar military government has tried to eradicate them completely but has never succeeded.
I am Chinese, so I will speak about the impact on China.
Border Security: In recent years, when the fighting spread to the China-Myanmar border, shells from both sides of the conflict crossed the border, hitting our schools and killing border civilians. After a stern protest from the Chinese government, such incidents have significantly decreased.
Refugees Crossing the Border: This is truly troublesome. As a Chinese person, I feel that some of these refugees may have a higher crime rate than local Chinese residents. China designated an area to provide humanitarian aid, but I heard that after the conflict subsided, tens of thousands of these refugees were sent back to Myanmar.
The Ultimate Solution: Building a Wall: The Chinese government quickly constructed a 500-kilometer border wall, consisting of 4 meters high barbed wire, non-lethal high voltage current，blades, cameras, and sensors, equipped with a loudspeaker warning system and remote shouting devices.This system can detect border crossers in the first instance, and border personnel can escort them back. The sensors are used to detect tunnels; when someone tries to dig a tunnel to cross the border wall, vibrations are captured, and an alarm is triggered.
This has nothing to do with humanitarianism, and everyone can understand this. I have heard that the United States has also built a wall on the Mexican border to prevent illegal crossings.
If the Myanmar military government does not abandon its severe ethnic discrimination policy, the situation in Myanmar will remain turbulent.
What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?
A woman came in with her 16 year old, overweight son, it matters, ro the big box store where I worked. He was starting a fast food job the next day, needed a blue, Oxford shirt. Well we had two sets of shirts. Regular sizes in sale, big sizes not in sale. When I measured the kid for a shirt turns out he needed a 171/2 neck, so I told Mama that the large size he needed wasn’t on sale. And they were all properly signed as such. So she gets pissy, it’s 8:pm, we close at 9:pm. So I take the shirts out of packages, have him try them and we find kne he can wear. Now she says to me (this was 35 years go) Greta this is in sale for $8. I said no it’s not on sale, it’s a big men’s size and they are $10, regular price. She starts in in me, I didn’t argue, I just reiterated that it was $10, I couldn’t change the the price. Well she gets Sonny by the arm and marches him out to go about 100 yards to another small regional chain department store we had in town. It’s now 8:40pm, both stores close at 9. So I’m hacked off because she really was obnoxious, the son is embarrassed terribly. So she marches out the door. I took every shirt in his size and one size larger and put them in the stockroom hidden in a fruit of the loom men’s briefs box I found empty. I left them for 4 days then brought them out again. This wasn’t the kids fault, as you’d expect, kids do everything last minute, his mother made him apply for the job, he for it and they had a late interview. Hence arriving at 8:pm. But they wanted him to start the next day so her whole works was getting turned upside down. Don’t take it out on me lady. There were 4 shirts I hid. Over those few days, I was off one. Apparently she came in while I was off and have someone else a hard time. I didn’t and still don’t care.
If a US Marine was to join the French Foreign Legion, how much easier would they find the basic training?
I was a Marine Recruiter in 1992 and I walked into the Social Security Office to get a SSN verification for one of my recruits.
The guy behind the counter tells me that he was a Force Recon Marine and I told him that I was a Recon Marine as well. We start comparing stories and he had been to Amphibious Recon School, Scout Swimmer, Scuba, Jump, Free-fall.
As it turned-out he knew quite a few people that I knew who were sort of legends in the Recon Community.
I asked him how long he had been in? He told me, “8 years.” Then I asked him,” Why did you get out if you already did two enlistments? “
He said that he got out to join the French Foreign Legion. I said, “How was that?”
He said verbatim, “It made Force [Recon] seem like Sunday School. “
He said that he had to do everything all over again Infantry, Jump, Scuba, Free fall. He told me that he he eventually made into the Parachute Commando Regiment.
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*UPDATE EDIT. I remember an incident that I witnessed in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
We were waiting in line to take field showers at the Division Service Support Group (DSSG) area when a group of Legionaries drove up in their rickety jeeps.
One of the junior guys is so excited to be getting a shower, that he hops in line with us while forgetting to take his rifle with him.
A few moments later, his Sergeant comes running-up and starts yelling at him in French. Then, he proceeds to start beating the guy. He almost beat the dude unconscious at which point a whole bunch of Marines intervened.
As a LCpl, I was pretty shocked by what I witnessed. I’m pretty sure that the rest of us Marines were stunned including several Staff NCO’s and Officers who also happened to be standing in line.
I saw a couple of FFL Officers drive-up soon after and they were yelling at the Sergeant in French and then they all get in their vehicles and drove off.
My assumption is what we witnessed wasn’t supposed to have occurred in public and that it was supposed to have taken place “behind closed doors.”
Admit the truth
Emotional. Even I feel it here.
Why does it seem that kids love their parents until they become teenagers?
This is probably the only time I’ll post a picture of myself…
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But I think I was a pretty cute little kid. I was a good little kid. I listened to everything my mom told me.
No dad in my life? No problem- I had mom. Never saw kids outside of school? Mom was enough for me. Wasn’t allowed outside by myself? Mom says it’s for the best, so it has to be for the best.
I didn’t question anything until I was around eight years old.
The first thing I started questioning was my father. Where was he? Why didn’t I have a dad like all the other kids? Why doesn’t he want me?
My father had walked out of my life when I was six (he hadn’t actually been there since I was three, really).
Even my new step dad couldn’t stop these feelings inside me- I wanted to know him. Something inside of me craved to know him so badly.
Day after day I would beg my mother and step father- they continued to ask why and say no. I cried to them- it made no difference. The answer was no.
Well, when I was eleven, no wasn’t enough for me. I called him and arranged a visit anyway.
And that’s when the fighting started.
I wasn’t a good kid anymore. I started complaining about the chores I had to do- it wasn’t fair- none of the other kids have to do as many chores as I do.
But the another common fight we had was about friends. I was never allowed out. There was no reasonable explanation- Mom said I wasn’t, so I wasn’t.
But that wasn’t enough for me anymore.
It was the same thing with a cellphone, the technology, the food I wanted to eat, the people I wanted to hang out with, the books I wanted to read, even the music I listened to.
But no just isn’t enough anymore.
I don’t think parents stop loving their kids. I think that parents just stop liking their kids. What parents don’t understand is that their kids are going to grow up- they’re not going to stay obedient and docile forever.
One day mom and dad’s “No” won’t be enough. You’ll have to have reasons to back up your answers.
I know my parents love me. But I also know that they didn’t really want a kid- they weren’t ready.
I love my parents and I hope my siblings turn out better than I did.
Are all these UFOs an Alien Invasion or has Project Blue Beam finally begun?
I don’t think that they make them any more. Mine was a little something like this…
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It was multi-functional and I used it to ride in, store stuff in, and carry stuff with. Many times I would hod the painted steel handle and try to ride the wagon down town roads and hit bumps and smash into trees.
Sheech!
If my kids did that I’d kill them. But back in the day, ah. It was another time. I’ll tell you what.
Now, my little brother didn’t have a red wagon. No. He had something called a “Big Wheel”. This was a plastic tricycle that had a big front wheel and he would be a terror on that thing. He was practicing, I think, to be another Evil Kineval.
LOL.
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It was simpler time. I’ll tell you what.
Later on, I got a bicycle with training wheels… then advanced to an orange Schwin banana seat bike. Oh, I took that bike and rode it everywhere.
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Followed by my family GTO. A fine orange beast that fit the 1970s like a charm.
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I well remember the eight-track player, and the FM converter in it.
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I had added shag carpeting to the interior and mood lighting for rolling joints to while we listened to Led Zeppelin, BTO, Robin Trower and Boston.
Different times. Different experiences.
Life.
Today…
Motorcycling in China.
As a Chinese individual, I intend to discuss a niche topic: the “motorcycle lifestyle in China.” It’s well-known globally that the Chinese government has been heavily promoting clean energy, leading to the rapid replacement of conventional vehicles with EVs in the Chinese automotive market.
However, another significant fact has gone unnoticed: China has been vigorously pushing for the electrification of motorcycles and bicycles for at least the past 15 years.
In fact, I purchased my first electric bicycle in 2004. From then until 2019, my family bought six e-bikes, each priced between $200 and $400. These e-bikes are affordable, have a top speed of 40 km/h, and are cheap to run, costing only about 20 yuan ($3) per month in electricity. Of course, they have drawbacks: each charge only lasts 30-50 km, the range decreases by 30% in cold winters, and the battery lifespan is about five years, with noticeable performance degradation after three years. Replacing the battery costs about a third of the price of a new e-bike, so most people opt to buy a new one instead.
Despite these drawbacks, e-bikes have become incredibly popular in China. According to official statistics, there were about 350 million e-bikes in China in 2023. This number is likely an underestimate because many small e-bike assembly factories in smaller cities supply the local market but are not recorded in official statistics.
China was once known as the kingdom of bicycles. However, if you visit China today, you’ll hardly see any bicycles, only a variety of e-bikes. Bicycles have transitioned from being the primary mode of transportation to a niche market, mainly targeted at cycling enthusiasts and children.
Even middle-class Chinese families, who may own two or more cars, almost always have at least one e-bike. They are cheap, can be parked anywhere, and are convenient for trips to places like the market. For example, my wealthy cousin, who owns a Porsche Cayenne and whose husband drives a BMW X5, still has two e-bikes for school runs and market trips.
China has almost entirely transitioned from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles to new energy vehicles for personal transportation. During rush hours, you’ll see congested car lanes and endless streams of e-bikes in the non-motorized lanes.
Interestingly, as China’s electric vehicle industry rapidly develops, some e-bike manufacturers are also engaging in innovative technologies, such as:
Self-parking e-bikes (two wheels, but they won’t tip over)
Real-time location monitoring with remote vehicle repair capabilities
Large onboard computers
Dump truck-style e-bikes
Four-wheeled e-bikes designed for the elderly
E-bikes designed for young speed enthusiasts, with top speeds of 60 km/h
A year ago, my wife bought her father a $330 e-bike equipped with a specially designed app. It offers remote start and locking functions and sends alerts if the bike is moved unexpectedly. Most remarkably, it can repair itself.
One day in June, my father-in-law found his e-bike wouldn’t start after his workout in the park. The technician at a nearby repair shop said he couldn’t fix it due to the integrated circuitry. So, my father-in-law called me. I opened the app on my phone, saw a “vehicle malfunction” message, and followed the prompts to “attempt remote repair.” After about a minute, the app said, “Repair successful!” It felt almost surreal, but I had no other option. I called my father-in-law and told him, “I’ve fixed your e-bike; try riding it now.” He thought I was joking, but seconds later, he exclaimed, “It’s working! What did you do?”
These changes in China’s e-bike market make it seem like e-bike manufacturers are competing with EV producers.
Just when it seemed e-bikes had monopolized China’s personal transport market, an unexpected trend emerged: gasoline motorcycles are becoming popular again in my city, and I am part of this trend. Besides a car, my household owns two e-bikes and two gasoline motorcycles.
Why are gasoline motorcycles gaining popularity?
One major reason is the range anxiety with e-bikes. High-end e-bikes now offer up to 100 km per charge, but winter range reductions remain an issue, especially for commuters who travel 30 km each way. For them, gasoline motorcycles are ideal, providing at least 160 km on a $5 tank of gas, and refueling takes just minutes instead of hours.
Another reason is the rising cost of gasoline. In 2019, #92 gasoline was $1/L; now it’s nearly $1.5/L. This price hike encourages families with gasoline cars to opt for motorcycles on sunny days. Even riding a motorcycle 30 km daily costs only $20-$30 per month, far less than a car.
Another reason, albeit controversial among Chinese men, is the perception that middle-aged men take up motorcycling, fishing, or antique collecting as they lose interest in women with age. They seek other hobbies.
However, the most compelling reason is that most e-bike riders in China have not passed a driving safety test. Teenagers and seniors often ride e-bikes recklessly, causing many accidents. To address this, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security started a nationwide e-bike safety initiative last year. This project aims to reduce e-bike accidents by:
1. Requiring manufacturers to limit e-bikes’ top speed to 20 km/h or classify them as illegal.
2. Treating high-end e-bikes (up to 60 km/h) as motor vehicles, requiring drivers to pass a two-week course, including four subjects and a practical exam, to obtain a “D/E/F class” license. Unlicensed riders face fines of around $200 and up to two weeks of detention, during which they must study traffic laws daily.
I own a Japanese Suzuki UY125 motorcycle, which cost $1,500. Japanese brands have long been popular in China and remain so. I bought it to save on fuel costs. My wife bought a Honda TAPA100 for the same reason, admiring my daily rides. Her beautiful scooter, which cost nearly $2,000, always turns heads. She spent a month practicing and taking exams to get her “D-class” motorcycle license.
Today, motorcycles are a common sight on Chinese city roads. Various foreign and domestic brands showcase their stylish designs, and motorcycle shops and customization services are booming. Young women in fashionable outfits zoom past, often leaving a striking impression even from behind.
Over the past few years, I’ve taken my family on car trips to famous Chinese mountain ranges like the Dabie, Taihang, Qilian, and Qinling mountains. On those winding mountain roads, we often encounter motorcycle travelers from all over the country.
This is a diverse and fascinating China.
Arguing over standards
Why don’t we build more factories so that we won’t have to depend on China for goods? It can provide jobs.
Absolutely
The point is
Can you create a supply Chain?
Can you beat China in Quality?
Can you beat China in Price?
Can you make a market?
Take India
India has been trying to MAKE IN INDIA for almost 4 years now
Yet there is no product that is actually MADE IN INDIA. They are all assembled or finished in India.
This means India is utterly dependent on China for a Supply Chain
Polymer Resins, Plastics, Circuitry, Small Machines, High Grade Equipment, Rotary Motors etc
These are made in India too but are simply TOO EXPENSIVE
Why would I pay ₹80,000/- for a Ton of Polymer Resin when I can Import from China for ₹ 46,000/- including duties
So today only GOI buys Indian intermediate products by paying 45%–60% higher costs
Next do you have a workforce
China has a trained workforce
Next can you match the price?
Finally – where do you sell your products? Exporting is fine but you need a local market too
Bottom line – It’s not that easy
The bully made a mistake
Caprese Macaroni and Cheese
An easy to prepare caprese mac and cheese recipe is made entirely in the oven and topped with tomatoes, basil pesto and crispy crumbs.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch or shallow 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
Stir together drained tomatoes and pesto in small bowl; set aside.
Combine uncooked macaroni, fontina cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese in large bowl. Place in dish in an even layer.
Microwave 4 tablespoons butter in large microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 30 seconds or until melted.
Whisk in milk, flour, salt and pepper until blended. Pour over macaroni mixture. Spoon tomato mixture evenly over macaroni.
Cover dish with aluminum foil; bake for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, microwave remaining 2 tablespoons butter in small microwave-safe bowl on HIGH 20 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs. Top macaroni with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and bread crumb mixture.
Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes more or until golden brown on top.
Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
BLACK GUY CRAZY Arrival in Shanghai, China
Have you ever witnessed anyone throw away their life?
Sure.
I threw away my own life.
I was always top of the class. Top sets at school. The smartest kids. Chess team. Good at all sports. It just came naturally. Consequently my school reports were peppered with “must try harder”. I could do it. I just didn’t enjoy it. My parents were very education focused. Neither of them had been to university and they were determined that their boys would have the chances that hadn’t had. Not my sister though. They were old fashioned in that respect in the 80’s in the UK. She was not allowed, despite the fact that she was probably the brightest of the three of us. Instead she ran a pub when she was 18 and now she runs companies.
I was supposed to be the golden one. My older brother was smart as well. He did everything right. Worked hard at school. Studied. Went to university. Had a fantastic career. Is doing very well. I was supposed to do that. I didn’t want to.
I didn’t know what I wanted. I was told I could be anything. If only I would study. Do the work. I read. I have always been a voracious reader. From Enid Blyton and A.A. Milne and Roald Dahl to Jules Verne and John Wyndam. I discovered Steinbeck and Hemmingway as a 15 year old boy growing up in a small town in Devon and felt a dawning realisation over the next few years.
I didn’t want to be the things that people wanted me to be.
I bought a battered old acoustic guitar off a friend and learnt to play a few chords. Once I got to 6th form college and there was a looser leash regarding class attendance I quickly stopped going. My parents were fraught. “What are you doing with your life?” became a constant refrain for the next few years as I moved further and further away from the person I was supposed to be have been. Even then I still landed a plum trainee management job at 19 with then retail giant WHSmith. I remember one of the suits who regularly turned up from Head Office say to me that if I worked hard I could be in his position in 10 years.
I quit within a year and went back to college. I didn’t want that.
And then I just bummed about. I was thrown out of uni for non attendance. I did a lot of drugs. I played in bands. Had sex. Lived on the breadline. Squatted. Worked here and there in crap jobs. The ones I liked best were the boring ones when you could spend your shifts reading. By then I was onto the big Russians and the big French authors. I kind of thought I might write a book one day but other than some dodgy poetry and song lyrics I didn’t really write. I thought maybe I could be a successful musician but I knew I didn’t have the drive for that. It was just fun.
Family visits were often tense. I was the classic drop out pot smoking black sheep. My mother would cry and my father would lecture. I would try to explain that I sort of knew what I was doing and that despite what they thought I was happy and having an adventure, but they didn’t really want to hear that. By the time I was 25 I was washing pots in a kitchen at a university 10 years before my parents had dreamed of me attending as a student.
And that is where it all changed. I liked that job. It was busy and chaotic. The food was amazing. My first experience with fine dining. I loved the drama and madness of a busy service. I was hooked from the start. I am a creative person. I need to making things or I’m not happy. That’s why I couldn’t study. I just couldn’t. I don’t function like that. I have always been playing guitar, writing songs, making pictures and art. I knew I didn’t want the path that had been mapped out for me but for a long time I didn’t know what I wanted instead. And then there it was. A month or so after I started they employed a new young head chef who I very quickly hit it off with over a shared interest in similar music and movies. He encouraged my burgeoning interest in food and food preparation. I was the guy doing longer and longer hours. Soon I was in whites and going to college on my day off. I just wanted to learn everything. I would study the menus for upcoming events and look up the dishes in my now growing library of second hand cookery books (pre internet, this was the 90s). I volunteered to do the late nights. The big dinners. I learnt from the ground up. I have done every job in a kitchen. And I did them well. I listened and did what I was told. The head chef continued to mentor me and even told me when it was time to move on to further my career.
That was about 20 years ago. I have a had a damn fine last 20 years. I have been very successful. The last 10 of them I have run my own kitchens and I still love it. Still want to learn. They have not been without their heartache and trials but there have been far more good times. A few years ago my parents came to visit me and I showed them round my then new kitchen. My first head chef job at the same university where I first found my passion for food. They were very proud.
So, yeah. I threw my own life away. And then I forged a new one. One that I truly wanted to live.
Thanks for reading.
Elon Musk Promises to DESTROY Woke Insanity in EPIC VIDEO – Hollywood Goes CRAZY!
What are the major reasons for the poverty in India? What should be done to reduce it?
In 2003, a Company called Sachdeva Power entered into an agreement with 2040 Villager Families having around 7500+ Acres of Farmland (Albeit low quality) through State Govt of Maharashtra to develop the land and pay the villagers Rs. 3.5 Lakhs per Acre
They paid Rs. 35,000/- and the Villagers left their village homes and lands in expectation of money.
Today 18 years later, they havent got the second installment or third or fourth. The Company is defunct / Purchased by a big power company but still no compensation.
Matter is Sub Judice since 2006.
Hardworking farmers now dead, working as Security Guards, Construction foremen, Pimping their wives in Autos and street corners
Exploitation!!!!
Greedy Capitalists – Governments have acted together and destroyed the homes over 45 Lakh People in UP and MH alone
Mayawati, Akilesh, Yogi none of them redressed this issue.
A Man who owned 27 Acres of Farmland worth 4 Cr today works in a Restaurant as a waiter. Land is now with a Corporate and he is owed Rs. 60 Lakhs or so. He himself has forgotten.
How can they fight? Law is a tool.of the rich? Courts are too slow? Govt changes every 5 years and all try to do the same thing.
Do you know who saved many of these people – The Churches!!!!!!
The Churches paid money to these people who happily converted. They were the lucky ones.
These are the People who if they take up arms are called Naxals or Maoists but if they dont, they are called Parasites and are ignored by all.
These are the Exploited Poor
Then you have the Parasites
They get so many freebies that they simply refuse to work hard.
In TN, many people are happy enough with free ration rice, sugar, money from time to time, tv, tabket etc that they do bare minimum work to pay rent and become parasites
They demand more and more
Why do they get freebies? Because they are the Vote Bank.
Not just TN, many States do the same.
These are the Parasitic Poor
Simple Solution – Protect the Exploited Poor and De Subsidize the Parasitic Power or force them into a NLF, ensuring that they are forced to work from 18–58 years of age.
Will it happen? No
Why?
Cesspit Democracy!!
Why people lie
Some fun memey pictures
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Leave The USA Before It’s Too Late
What is the smartest comment that you have heard a child make?
Unfortunately, it was my 5 year old daughter and it was at my expense. I took my daughter to a local park with a small lake. There were lots of geese at this park. My daughter, who had been to the park recently with her aunt, pointed to one goose that was standing by itself, and said, “ Daddy, that goose is really mean “. I said, “
None of them are mean. They will pretend to be mean but really, they are way more afraid of you than you are of them “. My daughter insisted. “ Not that one. He’s mean”. I told her watch this.
l ran toward the goose waving my arms and yelling. The goose didn’t even flinch. That is until l got about three feet from it. It lunged at me as my momentum was carrying me toward it. Only out of pure terror was l able to recall athleticism l had not had for years, as l barely avoided biting on to my family jewels. I hurled myself into to air doing a summersault over Ian’s landed on my back. Before l knew what happened, thidamn goose was on me biting away at me. I jumped up and started running as fast as l could and this goose was running right behind me, nipping at my butt with every step.
Meanwhile I could hear my daughter laughing loudly and she yelled, “ Don’t worry daddy! He’s not mean!” She’s 30 years old now and still a wise ass.
RFK Jr. Made HUGE Announcement
People in China, Japan and Korea do not consider people born there who are not Asian to be Chinese, Japanese or Korean. So why do non-whites born in Ireland or England are regarded by the public there to be Irish or English?
People in China, Japan and Korea do not consider people born there who are not Asian to be Chinese, Japanese or Korean. So why do non-whites born in Ireland or England are regarded by the public there to be Irish or English?
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 how would you know?
Oh you don’t, you’re guessing and you’re projecting white supremacy of ONE DROP RULE onto us.
To be Chinese is more about your attitude and heart.
This is Uncle Petrov.
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He’s ethnically Russian, his grandparents migrated to China around the (edit) 1920s. He considers himself Chinese. Chinese consider him Chinese.
He eats like us, he talks like us (he can’t speak much Russian or English), he celebrates the stuff we do… he holds PRC citizenship. He is essentially Chinese.
In my own village there’s mixed children (black mothers, Indian mothers) and they’re as Chinese as everyone else.
Similarly there’s some Indians who were born here from Indian parents. Yet again they eat what we eat, they talk our language they have full citizenship.
Meanwhile it’s a widespread view in the UK anybody who was born in the UK who isn’t white is considered an immigrant. We saw this with Shamina Begum most british were she’s a p*ki, she’s an immigrant! Only WHITES can be british.
1 pound short ribbed pasta, such as penne rigate or conchiglie
Instructions
Bring pot of water to boil. Gently drop in tomatoes and remove pot from heat. Let stand a minute or so and then remove and peel tomatoes. Discard seeds and dice. Place in large bowl that will accommodate pasta later.
To tomatoes, add capers, olives, basil leaves, red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix.
Stir in fresh mozzarella**.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the sun for 2-3 hours (or let sit at room temperature for 4 hours.)
Just, before serving, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil.
Add pasta to sauce and mix again.
Serve immediately.
Notes
* Or use unflavored oil and add 1 garlic clove, crushed along with other sauce ingredients. Remove garlic before serving.
** If you prefer, add mozzarella to the sauce just before serving, along with the pasta.
This sauce is also very good with grilled tuna.
Practice makes perfect
What was the highest acute radiation dose ever survived? Who was exposed to it?
About 300,000 rads.
For context, 400 rads is normally enough to kill 50% of humans. 1,000 rads kills pretty much everybody. So how did Russian physicist Anatoli Bugorski manage to survive such an enormous dose of proton radiation?
At the time of its completion in 1967, the U-70 synchrotron in Protvino, Russia was one of the most advanced particle accelerators on Earth. It held the world record for beam energy at 76 billion electron volts per proton, a number that neither the Soviet Union nor its successor states have ever surpassed. But as with many large-scale Soviet engineering projects, its impressive exterior concealed shoddy construction and a number of major design flaws, including a dangerous lack of attention to safety.
One rainy day in July of 1978, our unfortunate “hero” spotted yet another malfunctioning piece of equipment. To make the necessary repairs, Bugorski would need to step inside the main beam tunnel, so he called the control room and asked for the accelerator to be turned off temporarily. He added that he’d be at the tunnel in five minutes. The operator agreed.
Nobody seems to know why the operator did not actually deactivate the accelerator. Perhaps he was hoping to gain an extra four minutes of experiment time. Perhaps he didn’t like Bugorski. Or maybe he was just overly fond of death rays. In any case, a beam of highly energetic particles continued to circulate inside the tunnel.
Bugorski reached the beam tunnel in slightly less than five minutes. He correctly followed all the official safety procedures.
He checked the indicator light to make sure the accelerator was off. (The light bulb was burned out.)
The door to the tunnel was not locked, as it normally was during operation. (The operator had unlocked it, apparently because the beam wasn’t at its highest possible intensity.)
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The main beam tunnel at U-70.
So Bugorski stepped inside, bent over, and began to inspect the faulty detector. Since the particle beam was invisible, he had no idea what was about to hit him until it was too late.
In a fraction of a second, billions of ultrarelativistic protons ripped through his head, shredding one cell after another in a 2×3 millimeter swath of destruction through his left eye and brain. The scientist saw a bright flash and realized immediately what had happened.
Had the beam passed a little lower or a little to Bugorski’s right, it would have hit his brain stem, probably killing him instantly. A little to his left and it could have punched a hole in one of the large blood vessels in his left temporal cortex, resulting in a fatal stroke. There were hundreds of ways one could die from radiation damage to the brain. And even if he made it through the coming weeks, he still faced severe cell damage and a high risk of developing cancer.
For the time being, though, there was nothing to do but wait. Bugorski calmly completed his repairs and made a record of the accident in his lab notebook. Then, he reported to an intensive care unit in Moscow.
Some of the country’s best radiologists were assigned to the case, but there was little they could do. Over the next few days, Bugorski’s face swelled to a hideous size, and the skin on his head began to peel off. The damage to his nervous system was extensive enough to completely paralyze the left side of his face. He began to experience seizures. The doctors resigned themselves to watching him die.
Then, astonishingly, a miracle happened: Bugorski began to recover. Only a small part of his brain was harmed, and as it happened, this area was destroyed so completely that tumors could not form. Meanwhile, the rest of his brain simply worked around the injury. His neurons reconnected along new pathways. Eventually, he regained almost all of his previous intellectual capacity.
In a year and a half, Bugorski was back to work at the accelerator. He’s still alive today. “I am being tested,” he says. “The human capacity for survival is being tested.”
Sadly, the radiation Bugorski was exposed to did not give him superpowers. (In Soviet Russia, man gives radiation superpowers.) But he did receive one small benefit: there are no wrinkles on the left side of his face.
“Honorable” mentions:
In 1986 and 1987, a software bug in a radiotherapy machine called the Therac-25 resulted in six patients being exposed to as much as 20,000 rads of electrons. As in Bugorski’s case, the damage was confined to a narrow beam, and several of the victims survived.
When the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hundreds of people survived whole-body radiation doses of several hundred rads. As is now well-known, many of them eventually died of cancer. Statistics are available here: Longevity of atomic-bomb survivors
Trek
These might come in handy (but I hope not)…
If a head on collision is inevitable always swerve right. (In countries that drive on the right side of the road) Even if that’s means you will still crash anything is better than head on.
In case of a deep wound with lots of bleeding try direct pressure first, but if that’s not doing anything any nontoxic powder will help. Flour, cornstarch, banning soda.. a tourniquet should be you last resort.
Most snakebites are dry bites, and the bigger the snake the better chance of it being dry (no venom) so try to stay calm. The last thing you need is your heart pumping poison through your body IF there is poison. If possible stay put and call for help. But keep the bitten part low, at least below your heart so it’s harder for blood to move out of your arm keeping and poison in a smaller area.
When you get stabbed LEAVE the knife (or whatever) in. Much better chance of survival if it’s taken out in a medical facility.
If you get too high on weed and start freaking out, chew up some whole black peppercorns. Nobody every died from smoking too much pot but people have died from panicking and doing dumbshit.
If you are alone and start to have a heart attack try coughing hard, if that doesn’t work pound on your chest. In the very worst case scenario (hunting miles from no civilization with no one around and no cell service) pour some gunpowder under your tongue. The nitro in there can save you. “ not medical advice, just a suggestion in case you forgot your meds and have no aspirin, or you never had a history of heart problems and have no meds”
Fight dirty. Use your keys for weapons and aim for the eyes. If you are being attacked by more than one person DONT try to take the biggest one out first. Go for the runt. Even the playing field.
If you are a woman and know you are about to get abducted or raped, fight. Every single time. Be as loud as possible, no matter that the bastard says. If he takes you somewhere your chances of coming back alive are about zero Do any fucking thing you can to avoid that. Scratch them to get as much DNA as possible. Piss and shit yourself if you can.
When the little snowflake light shows up on your instrument panel slow your ass down.
When you are working with car batteries or any other acid keep a box of baking soda with you and have it open and ready in case you get acid on yourself. It can save your eyesight or even your life.
Don’t ever trust anyone but yourself when you are working with electricity. They say the breakers off? Check anyway. If you are changing a light out don’t think turning the switch off is enough, a lot of old places switch through the neutral instead of the hot… and have no grounds. YOU are the ground.
if you have major allergic reactions and can afford or don’t have an epipen at the bare minimum keep real sudafed and Benadryl close by.
Passport Bro Moves To Thailand and Explains Why He’s Never Coming Back
What is the worst potluck dish that someone brought to an event?
My family is Jewish, so when a neighbor invited us to celebrate Christmas Eve with them, along with some other families we knew, we were very excited to go.
The problem was, we were returning from a cruise that morning. Our ship docked in NYC, and we hightailed it back to Philadelphia. Time was short, so I just whipped up a huge Caesar Salad, and brought a few bottles of wine.
When we arrived there were several people already there. It was a potluck event. The kids went off to play with the others, and we were ushered over to the bar to get some drinks. Someone had made mini-dogs and there was some cheese and crackers, and veggies and dip. A huge table was set beautifully with a landscape of twigs, bird nests, pine cones, and lots of tea candles.
The host pulled out some pizza and chicken fingers for the kids. My salad was ceremoniously placed in the center of the table, along with some other sides like green beans and potatoes. The host served us some soup… and that was it. There was nothing else. No ham or turkey or roast beef. Nada.
I leaned over to my husband and asked… where the hell was dinner. Apparently, no one had brought a “main course.” We were starving! There were about 12 adults all looking at each other, when the twigs on the table caught on fire.
We all scrambled to put out the fire. Then, after finally settling down again, the guy siting next to me decided to steal some of the chicken fingers from the kids. “You want one,” he said pointing to his plate. “No thanks,“ I said. Things were getting very desperate and very awkward.
As we are not big drinkers, and exhausted to boot, we were the first to say our goodbyes and “go home.“
After we got into the car, I turned to my husband and said, “Is that what most people do on Christmas Eve? Why didn’t they have food for us?” He said, “Honey, we’re Jewish… That’s all we do, shove food into people’s faces. It looks like they were more interested in the eggnog, extended beer selection, and exotic cocktails. Maybe there was a miscommunication or something?”
I shrugged. “That was some fire, huh? I told you those tea candles were going to go up in flames sitting in kindling like that, right on the table!” I said.
“I’m drunk, and starving,” he replied. The kids started to complain too. “Mom! Please, can we get something to eat! We’re hungry!”
So we ended up doing what we usually do on Christmas Eve… We went out for some Chinese food!
Stop asking
Shorpy
Indianapolis, Indiana, circa 1904. “Imperial Hotel.” Whose architectural style might be described as Romanesque Rococo Curlicue Baroque, and whose slogan could be “every exterior surface embellished.”
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What was the largest Native American defeat of the United States Army?
The answer is the Battle of the Wabash, also called St Clair’s Defeat and “The Battle of a Thousand Slain.”
It happened in western Ohio in 1791. Not quite a thousand, but around 900 US soldiers were killed that day. That’s three times the number killed at Little Bighorn in 1876.
The Shawnee and Miami warriors, led by Little Turtle, Tecumseh, and others, had retreated northward, drawing St Clair’s American army farther and farther from its Ohio river base of supply and deeper and deeper into the forest. When they finally sprang their ambush, they fought with the same quality of rifles the Americans had and much better battlefield tactics.
It was an astonishing defeat. We tend to think of D-Day or Gettysburg or Antietam as being shockingly deadly. But at the end of those battles, the great majority of soldiers were unscathed. At the end of this day, St. Clair was fleeing with a few dozen fugitives while almost his whole army lay dead in the snow.
Nearly half the entire US army was killed that single day. (I don’t mean just the detachment of the army that was under St Clair’s command, but the ENTIRE US army that existed at the time.) It was the greatest defeat in numerical terms by any Indian force, and in proportional terms the greatest blow dealt to US arms ever, by any enemy.
ADD: The fighting prowess of the Miami and Shawnee should not have been a surprise. Less than a year earlier and not far away, American soldiers had suffered 350 casualties in a running battle near Kekionga (modern Ft Wayne, Indiana) against the same Shawnee and Miami warriors. That one was called Harmar’s Defeat, and was probably the third largest Indian victory over Americans, behind St Clair’s Defeat and Little Bighorn.
Do people in actual gun fights miss as many shots as shown in movies? What is a realistic gun fight like?
Yes they do.
In Iraq, I was amazed at how many tracers were flying past me, and mortars landing, and RPGs flying, and that I never got hit by anything. I am also amazed at how hard it was to hit “bad guys” while in combat. in the scenarios I was in, It was super hard just to LOCATE a bad guy to shoot at. I found combat to be very frustrating for these reasons….maddening actually.
Let me try to paint the picture a bit…to answer your second question
Imagine you’ve been running, shooting, and being shot at for more than a couple HOURS…you’re tired, you’re scared, you’re breathing heavily, your ears are ringing, the world is spinning with confusion. You are pinned down behind a low stone wall by a seemingly endless flow of tracers, and bullets smack into the stones harder than you thought anything could smack anything and you imagine one hitting your soft flesh and bone. You crawl back and forth popping your head up to try and locate a target. You may see some fleeting movement through your confused tunnel vision, or not, but within seconds the fire on you increases and you need to put your head back down and crawl a few feet along the wall to pop up again. Over and over you struggle and you can’t even see where any of the bazillion rounds are coming from. Then on one pop-up you see a bearded psycho firing at your Kurdish buddies to your left and you try to put a bead on him, but he’s moving, you’re breathing hard, bullets are still smacking the stone. You pull the trigger and miss, maybe twice, and then he’s gone because he was moving in the first place. You can’t imagine how you missed since you are a highly trained Green Beret…but somehow you did. Frustrated and taking even more fire since you exposed yourself and fired, you are forced to get back down and then crawl again … and when you pop back up a few feet away, the entire situation has completely changed and you start over…failing over and over to locate, acquire, and engage. This can go on for hours and hours, or sometimes days…
As Washington Threatens To Shutdown China Banks, Beijing Sells Record $79.7B In US Debt & Stocks
What was the biggest lie you caught in an interview?
Take your damned pick!
As I write this, I’m trying to staff up a software department. I need quality candidates who can write good code and work well with others.
I’ve interviewed about 90 candidates in the past month.
Here is a selection of some of the false claims I’ve been told over the past month:
They’ve written code on GitHub, when it was actually generated from a template.
They’ve written code on GitHub, when they copy/pasted it from some other author and replaced the names to make it look like they wrote it.
They’ve got advanced computer science degrees — yet, when I Google them, Course Hero shows that they cheated their way through the last nine years of college.
They know C and C++ at an “expert” level, but they are unable to write any type of function in that language.
They know Python at an “expert” level, but they are unable to write any type of function in that language.
They are “completely legal” to work in the United States, but they are not a US citizen and have no visa or other work authorization.
They submit code in a screener, which just magically happens to match code generated by ChatGPT exactly. And then they lie about using ChatGPT, when it is incredibly obvious that they are using ChatGPT.
They submit a perfect cover letter — clearly written by ChatGPT — and can’t answer questions about its contents.
So yeah, I’m drowning in a sea of job applicant bullshit as I write this.
Is there reason to believe Chinese investment firms are using Hollywood studios for propaganda?
Originally Answered: Is there reason any reason to believe Chinese investment firms are using Hollywood studios for propaganda?
The funny thing is that it is the Hollywood studios who are practicing self-censorship in order to break into the PRC market, which is now the world’s number 2 market, and is likely to overtake the US in the very near future.
But this is a different kind of censorship: this is not Americans going to AMC theaters, and then chanting “Long live President Xi!” when they come out of the movie theater. It is Hollywood studios making sure that their movie scripts don’t say anything which will upset the Chinese government authorities. Under current rules, China imports 34 US movies annually. This year, “Ghostbusters” was not allowed into China because it depicts ghosts, which according to the Chinese government, are superstitions and promote superstitious beliefs. For this reason, any movie about the supernatural is not officially allowed in for import. (Sure, you can buy videos and watch them online, but the studios don’t make money from them.)
Hollywood goes where the money goes, and if the money says “No superstitious genre for the China market”, then Hollywood is more than happy to accommodate.
For Hollywood, this is not censorship; it’s business.
UK IS TERRIFIED! BRITISH S.A.S. Soldiers Were Destroyed In ODESSA
What, according to you, is the highest form of self control?
You set an alarm for 6am. The alarm rings at 6am.
You don’t snooze. You don’t turn it off and go back to sleep. You don’t set another alarm for 6.30am.
You actually wake up at 6am.
Self control level: High.
You start making breakfast. You realize you’re out of coffee.
You don’t start crying. You don’t have a nervous breakdown. You don’t skip breakfast.
Instead, you persevere and drink shitty cocoa, while trying to ignore your coffee withdrawal symptoms.
Self control level: Very High.
You’re now in school. In the middle of class, you realize you have to poop.
You don’t use the school toilets. You don’t use your enemy’s bag as a portable toilet. You don’t even shit yourself so you can be forcefully excused indefinitely.
Instead, you hold it in until you get home, so that you can take all the time you need.
Self control level: Higher than Very high.
It’s now at night. Your best friend calls.
“Dude, it’s Friday! Come to my place. We’re only two guys but there are 10 girls here. Come and improve the ratio.”
You don’t go. Instead you say,
“Sorry fam. I don’t feel like coming. I want to rest today. Plus I’m saving up money. I can’t afford to buy booze.”
Self control level: Veteran.
(And you wonder how you’re still single)
Now you open Quora. You open your notifications. You see that a popular Quoran has upvoted your answer/ started following you.
You don’t scream. You don’t throw a party. You don’t write an answer about it.
Instead, you go on with your life.
Self control level: God Mode.
Anyone can control things. But only legends can control themselves.
Yours unfaithfully,
Elvin.
PS: In all those examples I mentioned, I’m the complete opposite. It was just wishful thinking 🙁
How often were female slaves punished?
They were punished twice over, in a sense. On the one hand, the slave literally belonged to the master, who could therefore have his way with her any time he pleased. On the other hand, the master’s wife was aware of this — and would at times be particularly cruel or unkind to the female slaves, in particular the pretty ones.
Today, about 19.6 percent of African Americans are of at least 25% European ancestry — roughly the equivalent of one fully white grandparent. These statistics reveal a rather harrowing fact… the majority of enslaved women were subject to systematic rape and sexual abuse. As a result, in virtually every single African American family tree, we find a white ancestor. A foreman, a plantation owner, some passerby who fancied her. She couldn’t resist. Not even if she was already married to an enslaved man on the plantation. And yet in spite of the fact it wasn’t her choice, the mistress of the plantation would still blame her. And punish her for merely existing and being attractive.
The fact that one-in-five African Americans today is at least a quarter white, is a statistic that tells a frightening tale. You cannot overstate the degree to which slaves utterly lost their dignity. Interracial marriages being illegal for most of US history until only about fifty years ago, virtually all of this white ancestry is the direct result of brutal rape.
Which country has better anti-ship ballistic missile systems: USA or Russia?
Neither.
China has the only ASBM (anti-ship ballistic missile) in the world. US Pentagon report to Congress state that it is a game changer because current anti-missile defense can NOT intercept it.
No other nation has this capability because it is new technology. It requires that the plasma sheath be cleaned up in front of the radar window so that the radar can see through it.
While the US and Russia has missiles that can go hypersonic. Hypersonic only means anything that travels above Mach 5. There is a huge difference between Mach 5 and Mach 8. At Mach 8 a plasma sheath forms causing radar ghosts and the radar to be unable to exactly determine where the missile is.
Also the speed makes it almost impossible to shoot down. Chinese YJ-21 and DF-21 terminal velocity is Mach 10. Ironically, even the Chinese currently can NOT shoot their own missile down. Everyone is doing research on how to track and destroy these things before they hit a critical target.
A joint US Air Force/MIT study conclusion was that currently there is no defense against these things.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.How could this be happening? Every single reading Jerrie took didn’t make sense. Yesterday, the readings were spot on, perfectly in range. Today… today was just wrong. Most scientists felt a thrill when readings turned uncharacteristic, hoping for a breakthrough discovery, but Jerrie knew that her readings were not uncharacteristic. They were just wrong. She also knew the reason.“Charlie!”For the last two months, she had been living in a tiny research capsule just outside the edge of the Milky Way measuring light waves in the interstellar medium. Her goal was to take up-close-and-personal readings to confirm the current scientific theories about PAH molecules. All of the measurements, even at close proximity, barely registered on Jerrie’s expensive equipment. It was like catching every word of a whisper from across a table in a crowded room.But today… today the measurements maxed out all her dials. The whisper was screaming. Today, Jerrie could see the light brightening with her vastly inferior human eyes. With her eyes for crying out loud!Something was creating interference, which was very rare in the interstellar medium. Out here it was dark, cold and empty. Empty except for Jerrie and Charlie.“Charlie!”Seriously, Jerrie thought. There are only four compartments in this capsule. She knew that Charlie could hear her, and she knew it only took about two seconds to cross them all and join her. Jerrie drummed her fingers on her keyboard and closing her eyes slowly counted to ten.Finally, Charlie’s hair floated around the corner. Charlie’s long hair preceded her everywhere she went. To keep it somewhat contained, Charlie kept it pulled back in about a dozen long braids, but in zero gravity, the braids wriggled all over like a clutch of very excited snakes. It totally creeped Jerrie out and created a horrible distraction.“I thought we agreed you were going to pin back all your braids from now on,” Jerrie said grimacing.Charlie just shrugged and chugged the last of the soda in her hand, tossing the empty container back towards the supply room. Jerrie cringed again. Charlie drank soda like it was her lifeblood. She went through at least a dozen packets a day of the syrupy drink.“Charlie, the container,” Jerrie said.“What?” Charlie said with a shrug. “I’ll get it later. What do you want?”
“You can’t just toss things all over the capsule,” Jerrie complained. “This isn’t your childhood bedroom.”
“Or my college dorm room, or a bachelor pad, or a trash yard. I know,” Charlie replied rolling her eyes. “Just tell me what you want already. I’m not in the mood for another lecture on cleanliness being next to godliness.”
Jerrie took a deep breath and centered herself. “My readings are unusual today,” she said calmly, pulling them up on the screen.
“Uh, huh,” Charlie said looking at the monitor while scratching her tummy vigorously. “In what way?”
“In what way?” Jerrie wanted to scream even louder than the readings. “Charlie, you just don’t understand my work at all.”
“Then what did you call me in here for?” Charlie complained. “My job is not to interpret your results. I’m your pilot. Now, if you want me to move the capsule, I would LOVE to do it for you. Can I, can I, please?”
“No,” Jerrie groaned, rubbing her eyes.
“Just a few feet?” Charlie tried sweetly, rubbing the back of Jerrie’s shoulders. “Maybe I’ll just do a few donuts and bring us right back to the exact same spot. Churn up the space matter a little. Maybe that will fix your readings.”
Jerrie just sighed, tired of arguing.
A timer started quietly beeping. “I’ll get the lights,” Charlie said, pushing off Jerrie’s shoulders towards the opposite wall.
“Give me two seconds, to prep the sensors and save the previous measurements.” Jerrie’s hands flew across the computer.
“Is it hot in here?” she heard Charlie ask. Jerrie just ignored her until Charlie’s shirt floated in front of her face.
“Charlie, what are you…” She turned around to find Charlie almost completely undressed. Her black bra, “Wednesday” day-of-the-week underpants and Velcro shoes her only attire. “Seriously! Can you put your clothes back on? It makes me uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, well, being hot makes me more uncomfortable,” Charlie said, continuing to scratch her bare chest. “Besides, I’m in the best shape of my life, someone should enjoy the view.”
Jerrie groaned.
“I think I may be running a fever,” Charlie complained. “My eyes feel hot.”
“Don’t you dare take off any more clothes,” Jerrie warned keeping her eyes permanently fixed on her monitor. “Alright, I’m ready. Shut off the lights in three, two, one.”
The capsule went dark and Jerrie hit the button to begin the image and measurement captures. Then Jerrie noticed a reflection on her monitor.
“Darn it, Charlie, turn off that flashlight.” Jerrie turned around ready to jettison Charlie out the nearest porthole, but then jerked herself back towards the console in fright. “What did you do?”
Charlie, her eyes bulging, floated in front of Jerrie, running her fingers all over her brightly lit torso. Vibrant green veins crisscrossed Charlie’s entire body. They glowed with a bioluminescence that Jerrie had never seen on a human before. It reminded her of the small deep-water fish she had visited at the aquarium in her childhood.
Recovering from her initial shock, Jerrie floated closer and traced one of the lines with her finger. “How are you glowing like that?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Charlie responded, flicking Jerrie’s cold hand of her belly and shivering.
“Well, you did something,” Jerrie told her.
“Why, do you always assume everything is my fault?” Charlie complained, reaching for her pants and pouting her lip.
“Because, I don’t look like that!” Jerrie said pointing.
“How do you know?” Charlie said wriggling her pants up over her bottom. “Prove it.”
Unable to resist proving Charlie wrong, Jerry quickly pulled up her own shirt. Then she smugly smiled at Charlie. “See.”
“That still doesn’t prove it’s my fault,” Charlie said reaching for her shirt.
“Just let me think for a minute,” Jerrie said, rubbing her temples and staring at the green glow emanating from Charlie’s chest. She reached forward to touch it again, but Charlie twitched away. “I’ll be gentle,” Jerrie told her and leaned in even closer. Jerrie could have sworn the veins moved across Charlie like worms in a mud puddle.
Pulling back, Jerrie took a deep breath and pulled at her lip as Charlie put her shirt back on. Then something caught her eye in the eerie glow. Charlie’s soda floated nearby. Jerrie wanted to mention again why it was important to not throw trash helter-skelter in the capsule when she noticed a drop float out of the neck of the container. It also glowed a luminescent green. Jerrie looked at Charlie and noticed that she had seen the droplet as well.
“You don’t think…” Charlie began.
“This was caused by your soda,” Jerrie finished. “The evidence points that way.”
“But you drink the soda too.”
“No, actually, I don’t,” Jerrie said turning back to her monitor and cancelling the contaminated readings.
“What do I do?” Charlie asked beginning to panic.
“Stop drinking the soda,” Jerrie said, deleting the files and making notes in her journal.
“Jerrie, focus here for just a second, please,” Charlie pleaded. “I look like a glow bug!”
“You’ll be fine,” Jerrie threw over her shoulder, bending her head down and trying not to laugh.
“I’m not fine,” Charlie complained. “I itch. I feel like my skin is going to burn off me, and I’m lit like a neon sign.”
Jerrie shook of her giggles and turned around attempting to be solemn. Charlie was scratching all over now and writhing like she had ants in her pants. It was more than Jerrie could take. She burst out laughing.
“Stop it,” Charlie complained. “it’s not funny.”
Eventually, Jerrie calmed down enough to help Charlie rub olive oil lotion on her itchy skin and got her some cold compresses to help with the heat. With Charlie’s permission, she took pictures of the “rash” as they started calling it, though Charlie wanted to call it the infestation.
“Nothing is living inside you,” Jerrie reassured her.
“Then I’ve been poisoned. You’ve poisoned me!” Charlie cried, thrusting out an accusatory finger.
“You poisoned yourself,” Jerrie said with a snicker. “I told you not to drink so much of that candy-water.”
“Hey, it keeps me awake,” Charlie said petulantly. “Otherwise, I’d spend all day sleeping.”
“Would that be so bad?” Jerrie whispered to herself.
“I heard that,” Charlie said glowering. “I wish I could go into cryo sleep while you did your work, but someone has to keep you company.” Charlie made air quotes with her fingers on the word company.
Jerrie sighed. She knew she wasn’t very good company for Charlie. Her entire focus was on her research. She had one shot to gather meaningful data before they traveled back to the main station. She wanted to make her time in the interstellar medium count for something.
“I’m sorry,” Jerrie said. “I tried to teach you about my work.”
“It is as interesting as watching paint dry,” Charlie grumbled.
Jerrie felt hurt, but she knew to most people Charlie was right on target. “You could read a book, watch a movie, exercise,” she offered.
“This is my sixteenth mission,” Charlie told her. “I exhausted my interest in all those things long ago.”
Jerrie had never really thought about Charlie’s past experience before. “Sixteen, really?”
“Lucky number sixteen,” Charlie said, rummaging through the snack box. “And no one ever lets me move the ship,” she grumbled while shoving a granola bar in her mouth.
“Never?” Jerrie asked feeling guilty.
“Never,” Charlie replied emphatically.
The two floated in the galley in silence. Charlie chewed on her granola bar and read the wrapper and Jerrie twisted her ring while biting her lip. She felt horrible. To be honest, there wasn’t any solid reason why they couldn’t move the ship. Sure, it would be more consistent to take all the readings from the same spot to minimize any undesired variables. However, she already had two months of solid data without one single deviation in readings. Not one deviation until this morning.
“Maybe a change in location wouldn’t hurt,” Jerrie offered.
Charlie’s eyes lit up a bright as her bioluminescent belly. “You mean it?”
“Yeah,” Jerrie said with a shrug. “We could move the ship every day for the last thirty days and see if the readings from multiple locations are consistent with those we have already obtained. If they are, then it would mean…”
“You are the best!” Charlie squealed while bear hugging Jerrie until she couldn’t breathe.
Jerrie just patted her on the back. “I know.”
Charlie threw her granola bar wrapper over her shoulder and swam for the control center.
Jerrie grabbed the wrapper and shoved it into a trash receptacle. “But only on one condition,” she called out, following Charlie and settling into the passenger seat.
“Anything,” Charlie said.
“No more of that wickedly green soda,” Jerrie told her.
“Deal,” Charlie said quickly. “I guess they don’t call it Aberration for nothing!” she said with a wink.
“Do they really call it that?” Jerrie asked wide eyed.
Charlie just winked at her.
For the next week, Charlie moved the ship every morning, and Jerrie waited patiently while Charlie added a few flips and donuts to the maneuvers. Charlie’s fluorescent color had faded overnight with the administration of several large glasses of water. Jerrie’s readings returned to the predictable, and she cheerfully noted that the change in location was having zero effect on her results.
Until day five.
“Charlie!” Jerrie called from her lab.
Charlie’s snake-like hair proceeded her around the corner again, but this time Jerrie kept her commentary to herself. When the rest of Charlie appeared, she had a puzzle cube in hand, something Jerrie had dug out of her personal luggage.
“I’ve almost got it,” Charlie said focused on the cube with one eye closed and biting her lip.
“You’ve started drinking that Aberration stuff again, haven’t you,” Jerrie accused her.
“No, I haven’t,” Charlie said looking wounded.
“Charlie,” Jerrie said sternly. “It messes up my readings.”
“Honest, I haven’t. Look.” Charlie threw the light switch and tugged up her shirt. To her surprise, her belly glowed again with a bright red luminescence. Although startled by the color, Jerrie still gave Charlie her best I told-you-so-look.
“Oh, man,” Charlie said groaning and pulling her shirt back down. “It must be the Tongue of Fire.”
“What fire?” Jerrie asked scrambling back in fear. “Something caught fire!”
Charlie cringed guiltily. “You told me not to drink Aberration, but water is just so blah.”
“So, you drank something called Tongue of Fire!” Jerrie said astounded. “I take it that it is a red color.”
“I wonder what color I would turn if I drank Void?” Charlie wondered, tracing the bright red highways along her arms.
“Charlie!” Jerrie said shocked.
“What?”
Jerrie was silently fuming. Her research was being messed with again, and Charlie did not even care. Just stab her with a needle and put her in cryo sleep, Jerrie thought to herself. She could feel every muscle in her body tightening.
“I also brought Everest,” Charlie mused. “Would that light me up white or have no effect, do you think?”
Jerrie’s eye began to twitch, and her hands fisted as she contemplated how to handle her reluctant companion.
“Hey,” Charlie said enthusiastically. “I just found something to do. I can study the effect that different sodas have on body chemistry in the interstellar medium. I mean, seriously, there is definitely something interesting going on here. I have never turned colors before back in the Milky Way, and I’ve been guzzling soda for years.”
At the word study, all of Jerrie’s tension melted away. Charlie was right. There was a seriously interesting phenomenon happening right in front of her eyes, and she was missing it. PAH molecules might help her understand the creation of the universe, but the implications from studying dietary consumption in the interstellar medium would be much more applicable to the progress of humankind in space.
“I bet we could get a huge grant to study it,” Jerrie said warming up to the idea.
“A grant, really?” Charlie asked.
“And, while we studied, you could move the ship anywhere you wanted and explore anywhere you wanted in the interstellar medium,” Jerrie said with a huge grin.
“There are plenty of other flavors like Fireball and Formidable,” Charlie said tossing the forgotten puzzle cube over her shoulder. “I could make a list. Ooooh, don’t forget Ebony. I wonder what that would do!”
“Only one way to find out,” Jerrie told her. As Charlie scrambled back into the supply room, Jerrie turned the lights back on and pulled up a clean notebook on her screen.
She’d contact the soda company first. It was a pretty good bet they’d love the publicity and increase in revenue a glow-soda would create. Proposal, she typed. Bioluminescence in the Interstellar. Who could resist a title like that?
The difference between men and women
What is it like to be in a relationship with someone born rich?
Originally Answered: what is it like to be in a relationship with someone born rich?
I briefly dated someone who came from a very affluent family. She had the best clothes money could buy, awesome sports cars, and she could just wake up one day and say: I want to spend the next two days in Rio, books the next available flight and away she goes (in business class).
It was great, she was spontaneous, adventurous, and she had traveled the world. It was super easy to travel with her, as she knew all the little tricks at the airport – what lounge to use, what type of services to get, etc.
Because of her travels, she had a great perspective on world affairs. Conversation with her was great, and we could talk about politics, economy, investment, you name it.
The end result? I couldn’t really keep up. I worked long hours for a financial company (I was like those Japanese salary men you see on the news, but better paid), and even though I made good money, it was pennies compare to her family fortune – too many zeroes missing. Although I could afford to travel spontaneously with her, I just didn’t have the time to do it without impacting my work. She eventually met a senior executive of a large public company (guy has a private jet!), and they fell in love and got married.
It was a beautiful memory while it lasted. She is a good person, and we had our adventures. I also had a glimpse into a world that is so different than mine, and I realized that what made her happy was freedom. Freedom to experience and feel. I have since changed my workaholic life and to focus on work-life balance. I am more free and happy now than before, and I have her to thank.
Have you ever had a co-worker who you worked closely with get fired for something truly shocking that you never saw coming?
Originally Answered: Have you ever had a coworker who you worked closely with get fired for something truly shocking that you never saw coming?
I had a co-worker, a UX designer, who was called “Ursula” around the office, because she both looked and acted like the villain from the Little Mermaid. She was generally rude and abrasive, and I don’t think there was a single person in the office who could tolerate her, much less like her. If she had eventually been let go due to conflict in the workplace, no one would have been surprised, and it probably would have been a lot better for her, too.
The company I worked for at the time had clients primarily in the Fortune 500 space: Lowes, Home Depot, Mariott, Delta, etc. All of these clients generally had their contractors (us) sign detailed Non-Disclosure Agreements, basically prohibiting us from sharing information about the work done in detail, leaking Intellectual Property, or in some cases even disclosing we worked for them for a set period of time after our contracts were terminated. These are taken very seriously in my industry, as Intellectual Property is the name of the game, after all.
There was one particular client at the time, though, who was FAR more strict. Any employee of the company not directly engaged on the project was not even told who the client was, what kind of work was being done, nothing. And one of the members of the team was Ursula.
About two months into the project, my team was shooting the breeze in our own area when someone decided to start looking people up on LinkedIn. Good way to pass the time, right? Well, we stumbled across Ursula’s profile and found that she has linked DETAILED information about the client and project in her profile. Screenshots of designs depicting unreleased new content, including the client’s logo, photographs of closed-door white-boarding sessions covering UX flows, a written description of the project goals and timelines.
We’d been laughing and joking with each other, but when we saw this, the whole room when dead quiet. I don’t think any of us had ever seen a NDA breach this bad before. So we walked over to the office of the Head of Delivery, laptop in hand, and showed him what we found. He just said, “Okay, I’ll take care of this,” and ushered us out of his office. Five minutes later, a secretary escorted Ursula into his office, and we heard muffled yelling for about an hour. When the door finally opened, she was escorted to the elevator and never seen again. Didn’t even stop by her desk to grab her things.
Will the USA empire lose its militaristic hegemony and overseas territories with military bases like the British empire did in the near future?
If my crystal ball is correct, today’s US empire is yesterday’s UK. That is, USA will fall like UK one day.
Yesterday’s UK was “beaten” behind the scene by USA though it was WW2 that sped up UK’s fall. But USA did a lot to UK behind the scene.
USA is not “beaten” up by foreign country(s) like China or Russia, though the rise of China does speed up the US fall. It is China’s rise that unites the Global South to form a force to dedollarise USD. When US monetary hegemony weakens, US military will weaken too.
It is the US internal problem – the ultra Jewish-American capitalists that “collapse” the US empire.
Trump said when he comes back to the White House, he will strengthen US oil/gas industry to compete with the world eg Mideast & Russia. Translation: he will become a oil hegemon to replace Saudi.
Who is behind Trump? The energy sector who rejects climate change. 20 years later, when the entire world has switched to clean energy eg electric car, USA will fall behind. … capitalist dont have the vision of climate change; they only care about their bank account in a short run.
Who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipeline? People pointed at USA.
On the other hand, those behind Biden such as MIC wants wars so as to make $$$.
It is the dog-fight of these 2 groups of ultra rich capitalists that will collapse US empire.
Interestingly, UK was controlled by ultra rich Jewish capitalists 300–400 years ago. Today’s USA is also controlled by ultra rich Jewish capitalists.
Today’s USA is yesterday’s UK.
Wooden Boats
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Can to the head
If China were to Make a move against Taiwan would the USA and European Union be willing to defend it the way they are defending Ukraine in a war that could last up to a decade? In other words, will Taiwan be the next Ukraine?
If my crystal ball is correct, Taiwan will not be the next Ukraine. China will not let Taiwan to become a ruin like Ukraine.
Geographically, Taiwan cannot become Ukraine because Taiwan is an island. China will block any foreign aids to Taiwan. Taiwan has enough electricity for 1 week only. China will block all GPS signals to Taiwan also. … China will take Taiwan in a short time.
Just watch. China is to pass a law to put Lai officials on trial without their presence. Then issue an intl arrest warrant for Lai etc. Max sentence is death. … See how easy it is to take Taiwan back.
Why is it that easy? Because Taiwan is a province of China. It is China’s internal affairs, no matter how USA & the West in general propagated it. China is armed with the UN charter.
Now another question.
Will USA help Taiwan? No. Definitely no. USA is withdrawing its troops from the 1st island chain to Guam & Haweii, starting Dec 2024. USA already gives up Taiwan.
Will Europe help? They already were dragged into Ukraine war & plummet their economy. They are still that stupid to help Taiwan? Haha. In Ukraine, in a way they had no choice because they are in the US-led NATO. But they have no obligation for Taiwan. As I said earlier, Taiwan will be blocked anyway.
Japan? Again, no. Because it will be blocked too.
S Korean already said they wont help Taiwan.
He’s dead now
Was Quentin Tarantino right in vowing not to give his mom a ‘penny’ of his fortune after she belittled his writing as a child?
When it comes to parents, Quentin Tarantino was shit out of luck. From what I have heard about them, from the man himself and various other sources, neither his father nor his mother were particularly kind, or pleasant, not to mention involved with their son’s life as he was growing up.
His father was a deadbeat, who never really showed up — his main contribution to his son was his DNA, the ambition and frustration of a failed actor and that wonderful last name. His mother gave him life, and that’s… about it. When Quentin did make it, his father suddenly showed interest in him he never showed before, trying to make money out of what was now a very famous last name they shared.
Quentin’s father, Tony Tarantino, even joined forces with yet another renowned celebrity dead-beat — Al Pacino’s father, Sal Pacino. They briefly ran a production company together, using their last names, made famous only by the efforts of their famous sons, whom they cared little for prior to their success in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, Tarantino’s mother kept him more or less clothed, provided him with some basic necessities but belittled his artistic merits. His childhood was not particularly loving, or particularly fun. He wasn’t very wanted, his parents both very young and rather clueless when they had him, and remaining every bit as clueless even as they aged.
So when Quentin Tarantino made it big, he made it big. And he enjoyed his fame, and thanked his lucky stars. Not his parents, his parents had little to do with it. All they did was drive him to misery and force him to hide away in the magical realm of movies… which is, ironically, how he became the brilliant director he is today. Their neglect drove him to greatness. It was their greatest contribution to the world of cinema, and to their son.
A few years ago, after decades of being one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors, Quentin Tarantino got married. He had a son of his own. And vowed to be truly involved, and supportive, in ways his own family never was. Not a heartless man, Tarantino did help his mother out when she got in trouble with the IRS a few years back. But aside from calamities, they know better than to expect a penny from the son they neglected throughout his formative years and whose own son they never even met.
Is China powerful enough to invade the Philippines? How long would it take for the Chinese to land their feet in Manila?
In the ideal situation, a PLAN 052D destroyer is enough to wipe out the whole Philipino navy.
A 052D has 64 VLS, which can be equipped with HHQ-9 (air defense) or YJ-18 (anti-ship) missiles.
YJ-18’s warhead is around 300KG, which is enough to paralyze or even sink any ship of Philippines navy.
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Above is the flag ship of Philippine navy, the BRP Jose Rizal, a 2,600 tonnes frigate.
It’s one of the newest (built in 2016) and biggest ship of Philippine navy, and they have 2 of them.
Then, they have:
1x 1,200 tonnes corvette, built in 1986
3x 2,500 tonnes offshore patrol vessel, built in 1965, 1966, and 1967
3x 712 tonnes offshore patrol vessel, built in 1982 and 1983
1x 914 tonnes offshore patrol vessel, built in 1943 (yes, during WWII)
3x 357 tonnes littoral patrol vessel, built in 1992 and 1994
1x 160 tonnes littoral patrol craft, commissioned in 1983
That’s about all the combat ships Philippine navy has.
It does have some smaller ships (boats?), like 33 different sorts of coastal patrol craft under 100 tonnes.
There are also some other ships for landing and logistics, 17 of them.
So 14 combat ships+33 combat boats+17 backup ships=64
Like I said, in ideal situation, 1x 052D is enough to wipe out the whole Philippine navy.
South Sea Fleet of PLAN has 18 destroyers, including 4x 055 and 9x 052D. I think it would be enough to wipe out the 7th fleet of US Navy.
China’s naval force is far far far stronger than Philippines, like Mike Tyson VS Kinder Garten kid.
It would be unnecessary and unethical for China to use any serious force against Philippines.
It’s also why Chinese Coast Guard used selfie stick when facing Philippine Special Force instead of any firepower.
To not escalate the situation to a level which Philippines cannot handle.
China has zero interest in conquering Philippines, because never in history China was a colonizer. Yes, China didn’t become so large by acting all peace, but there is no sense of colonizing in Chinese history.
The nine or eleven dash line was drawn by Chiang Kai-Shek in 1947.
The government of People’s Republic of China simply carried it on in 1949.
Nothing more, nothing less.
In addition, China doesn’t claim the whole South China Sea as it’s territorial sea but only the islands within the lines.
It’s OK for China that countries within the region disagree with China’s claim. China propose to put the disputes aside and have a joint development in SCS region.
If I had to say, China isn’t acting totally fair to the countries in SCS region, but it’s fairly self-controlled already, comparing to every other world power in human history.
The US has been trying to use Philippines to provoke China, and try to make China attacking Philippines. So that it could tell other ASEAN countries about how evil and aggressive China is, and how the US could protect them.
What China has been doing is to demonstrate it’s self-control, to convince ASEAN countries that even if one day China became another super power, they wouldn’t be bullied.
Judging by the recent SCS conflict, Indonesia and Vietnam are more likely to believe in China’s claim instead of the US’s. They both kept silent after a Philippino special force soldier lost his thumb due to boat collision and friction during the conflict.
Even the US navy left the region before Chinese Coast Guard intercepted Philippine boats.
I mean, if they were there, if would be ackward. Because if they interfered, it could lead to WWIII; if they didn’t interfere, the world would know the US cannot protect anyone.
So US navy left. Since they were not in the region when the conflict happened, there was nothing they could do.
China is not going to invade Philippines.
China is not going to invade any country.
China is very busy achieving world peace.
Stuffed Jumbo Shells
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Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, diced
1 can peas, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup mixed with 1/2 cup water
12 ounces jumbo shells
Instructions
Cook shells until barely soft.
Mix all other ingredients.
Stuff shells with filling mixture and put into casserole.
Sprinkle lots of grated cheese over the top.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 25 minutes.
Smart boy
Do you think China is being singled out by the level of tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles as a result of the EU’s anti-subsidy probes?
It’s simple
I am a European Customer
I want to buy a Car
I see a BYD Car of excellent quality costing me € 34,500
I see a Volkswagen of a little lower quality costing me € 48,200
Why would I buy a Volkswagen?
I see a top end BYD for € 47,000 which I would buy instead of spending € 61,000 on a BMW
So BMW and Volkswagen go crying to Ursula Von Der Leyen and their Politicians in the EU
They say “Look. We can’t sell at such low prices. This is unfair”
Ursula who is corrupt to the core on donations from these companies immediately demands to know why Chinese EVs are so affordable
China says “We have a Vertically Integrated Supply Chain, a Large population and we target FAIR PROFITS”
Nopes the Neocons say
They can’t ask BMW or Volkswagen or Tesla to shave off their profits
They can’t demand their distributors who charge 26% to lower their costs
They cant subsidise R&D to help them build better integrated supply chains
They can’t acknowledge Chinese superiority and offer ground breaking subsidies to the Chinese to the build in Europe that Hungary and Turkey are offering
Solution?
Accuse the Chinese of subsidies and impose tariffs
Though they are doing the same things with Chips and many other products
Its plain old PROTECTIONISM
The reason is because typically you either dominate in manufacturing OR technology
This way a manufacturer can partner with a nation owning core technology and sell products globally
Japan became the first manufacturer to own core technology but US always had an edge over Japan
Sure Toyota had their own technology but US Engines were better
This is the first time a Nation (CHINA) dominates in both Manufacturing and Technology
And their technology is better than the US and it’s allies
And getting better and better by the day
It’s the beginning of the end for Europe and US unless someone decides to kill 23,000 crazy politicians and Political Science Students in Europe and UK and US
Rus missile hits 50 western Instructors. Ukr massive drone 75 attack Rus. Kuleba visits China.
Rival Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas have signed an agreement aimed at ending their division and building unity following talks in Beijing, marking a diplomatic win for China.
Over the years Fatah and Hamas had already signed several agreements to build some unity government. All however have failed.
What gives hope is that this agreement might be sustained is the participation of all other Palestinian groups as well as the significance of China as the guarantee power behind this:
Senior representatives of 14 Palestinian factions reached the agreement – called the Beijing Declaration – after reconciliation talks that began on Sunday.The pact aims to unite Palestinians in their conflict with Israel, which launched a war on militant group Hamas in Gaza in October.
The Chinese foreign ministry said the agreement was a first step to promote a “comprehensive, durable and sustainable ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip that would eventually lead to Palestine being admitted to the United Nations as a fully fledged member and becoming an independent state.
“The declaration reaffirms [the] commitment to establishing an independent state of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital city based on relevant UN resolutions and ensuring the integrity of Palestinian territory including the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
This implies that Hamas, as well as all other groups, have agreed to a two-state solution – the aim the United Nations has agreed upon. (Just last week the current Israeli parliament rejected such a solution.)
Also important is the envisioning of a unity government for Gaza:
Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday said the signing of the agreement was “an important, historic moment in the Palestinian cause”.He said that under the deal the rival groups had agreed to set up an “interim national reconciliation government” to govern post-war Gaza.
The west will of course at first reject the whole process and result because it had no part in creating it.
But last year’s agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, also brokered by China, has held far beyond the low expectations put into it.
The Palestinian agreement may, via the UN, give a new impetus towards a ceasefire and a new situation in Gaza that is mostly free of Israeli interference.
I trust that China can sustain the global soft-power necessary to lead this development towards success.
Chinese tourism has always been very strong. For years, tens of millions of foreign tourists came to China annually. The pandemic interrupted this.
Gradually, tourism is returning to China. I believe it isn’t quite back to pre-pandemic levels but it’s getting there.
Chinese tourism has much to offer. The country is magnificent and rich in cultural heritage and diversity. The cities are beautiful, clean, safe and modern. The infrastructure (roads, bridges, high-speed rail, airports, etc.) is breathtaking. Your tourist dollars will go a long way because the cost of food, transportation, etc. is so low.
China is definitely one of the top 5 tourist destination countries in the world.
What is the most manipulative thing you have seen anyone do to get what they want?
A French school girl, aged 13, didn’t like her teacher. So she went home and told to her parents about how her teacher had given all Muslim pupils the option to “leave the class”, before showing everyone a series of drawings of the prophet Muhammad in less-than-flattering positions… all she wanted was to “get him in trouble”.
The girl’s father, outraged, went online and started a hate campaign against his daughter’s teacher, Samuel Paty. The plot twist? She had skipped class that day, and hadn’t been there. She later admitted the story was entirely made up out of some perceived slight — Paty never showed drawings of the prophet, as all her classmates testified.
The damage had been done, however. A Chechen Islamist, aged 18, went to the school. Followed Paty when he left work, and butchered him in the streets. The teacher left a widow and a now fatherless five-year-old son.
Samuel Paty had his head cut off as “revenge” for something he didn’t even do. All because one girl made up a nonsense story and her father got carried away with it, asking for “retribution”. Lies, even the lies of children, can destroy loves.
Parasite
The most heartless, the most shocking and callous I’ve ever seen
by Justin Glawe
The white cop with the skull tattoos on his arm shot the unarmed Black woman in the face at point-blank range then told his partner not to bother trying to help her, she’s already gone. Then he walked outside and told his radio dispatcher that the woman had killed herself. Police then told her family the same lie, which is all they knew until attorneys got involved and the local press started digging.
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This is as near to the true version of events as I can gather after a day and a half in Springfield, Illinois, where authorities yesterday released bodycam footage of Deputy Sean Grayson killing 36 year old Sonya Massey. How deep the initial cover up went isn’t currently known to the public, but Grayson has since been charged with first-degree murder in Massey’s killing — an exceedingly rare thing in this country when a police officer kills someone.
At a press conference on Monday afternoon at Springfield’s NAACP headquarters — an organization founded after race riots ravaged the city in 1908, claiming 17 Black lives, including a distant relative of Massey herself — Massey’s family revealed that police initially told them their loved one had killed herself. Indeed, police radio traffic I obtained shows someone, presumably Grayson, when he leaves the house to grab medical equipment, saying Massey’s wound was “self-inflicted” and asking dispatch if the call had been recorded as a 10-76 — code for a psychiatric emergency.
The implication is clear: Grayson planned to portray Massey as a crazed threat who he had to defend himself from. Luckily, just barely, Grayson’s partner had turned on his body camera which shows the complete opposite.
The two deputies were called to Massey’s house early on the morning of July 6 because Massey thought someone was trying to break in. When Grayson and his partner arrived they searched outside the house and shone their flashlights inside. Once in the living room, the pair can be seen talking to Massey for 10 minutes or so before Grayson tells her to turn off a pot on the stove filled with boiling water.
She does, pulling the pot from the stove on the other side of a counter from Grayson as he and his partner move back a few steps. She laughs and asks why they’re moving. Grayson says he’s getting farther away from the “pot of steaming water.”
“Away from the hot steaming water? Oh, I’ll rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey says, most likely a baptism joke. That’s when Grayson pulls out his gun.“You better fucking not, I swear to God I’ll fucking shoot you right in your fucking face,” he yells.
She says she’s sorry and begins to kneel. Again he demands she put the pot down and she says she’s sorry again. Then three shots. “Fuck!” Grayson says, then goes into action, thinking of ways to protect himself from what he had done.
He complains about how close she was with the pot of water. Now it’s touching his shoe, he notes. We should get the medical kit, Grayson’s partner says. What’s the point? he replies. “That’s a head shot. She’s gone.”
But she wasn’t. Massey was gurgling and gasping for air as the other officer began applying pressure to a bullet wound in her eye with a kitchen towel. Grayson went outside to get the medical kit.
This is apparently when he told a dispatcher the wound was self-inflicted.
When other deputies arrived they asked where the gun was. Grayson says there was no gun, but adds “she came at me with boiling water. She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”
Massey never came toward Grayson.
For 10 years I have been driving and flying into cities where police have just killed a Black person, and it’s always as awful and heartbreaking as you might imagine. Springfield felt a bit different for me this time because it’s only an hour away from my hometown of Peoria, where my parents still live. It isn’t Baltimore or Charlotte or hilly Cincinnati, where I dropped in to cover the killings of Freddie Gray, Keith Lamont Scott and Samuel DuBose. Frankly, ever since I began covering police violence back in 2014 in Ferguson, I’ve always thought that it was only a matter of time before I ended up reporting on a bad police shooting in Peoria.
The city of Springfield is not much different: it’s an economically depressed rust belt town with about a 70/20 white to Black population compared to Peoria’s 60/30, and the Black part of town is one of the oldest and least cared for. In both places, what are called “best” homes — post-war, manufactured, one-story shoeboxes that all look mostly the same with the exception of window dressing — line streets that were once well-paved and where the American dream was once in reach thanks to good-paying manufacturing jobs. Now, most of those jobs are gone but the best homes remain, rented out for cheap and often falling apart.
The big difference between Peoria and Springfield is that in the latter, you can turn the corner on a crumbling street and see the shining dome of the state capitol.
Throughout all this madness over the last decade I have seen, read about, and reported on a lot of police killings, but this one is the worst, the dumbest, the most heartless, the most shocking and callous I’ve ever seen. Grayson — over six feet, 200-something pounds — was on the other side of a counter from a woman who weighed about half what he does.
“What else can we do?” Grayson asked his partner after killing Massey. “I’m not taking hot boiling water to the face.”
Nevermind, for a second, that Massey at no point appears to threaten Grayson with the water, and think about that statement. Think about all the Blue Lives Matter and Don’t Tread on Me flags you see around the country, flown by men who look a lot like Grayson. Think about what those people say — how they’re tough, how they’re patriots, how they’re badasses who aren’t afraid of anything — and now imagine them all freaking out over a 100-pound unarmed woman with a small pot of boiling water at least five feet away.
That’s one way to think about this — that men like Grayson, men who become cops to act tough and push people around — are actually just cowards. The other way to think about it is that Grayson is simply a racist with complete disregard for the sanctity of Black life.
Attorney Ben Crump said nearly as much on Monday with Massey’s family standing behind him. “Black women aren’t given the respect and consideration” that they deserve he told a small gathering of local press. I couldn’t help but note that as he was saying this the entire national political media apparatus was going bananas over the massive fundraising haul pulled off by Kamala Harris, the first Black female presidential candidate since Carol Moseley Braun, who like Massey is also from Illinois.
Massey’s killing cannot be disentangled from the national political climate, especially as the prospect of another, likely more draconian Trump administration looms. (Not that things have been much better under Biden. 1,232 people were killed by police in 2023). This is what the beginning of authoritarianism feels like. How quickly our rights, and our lives, especially those of the traditionally disenfranchised can be taken away.
Massey’s own father apparently feels that way, too. Yesterday he said that he now thinks God helped him survive a recent major heart procedure for a purpose.
“Maybe it was to tell this whole country that in order to honor my daughter, we must pass the George Floyd Act, we must pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,” James Wilburn said.
However you think of Massey’s killing, men like Grayson reflect a significant portion of this country — supposedly tough, big guys who are the exact type of people Donald Trump talks about when he says he wants to preserve law and order. That is, of course, code for punishing non-white Americans for crimes real and perceived, and if you don’t believe me just give it a couple weeks or maybe even days and see what the dregs of the American right start saying on the internet about Sonya Massey.
I remember walking through an airport in May 2020 on my way to Minneapolis. Even white people who I’d never expect were talking about George Floyd’s killing with disgust and anger. It was heinous and unacceptable, a complete abuse of power and a clear example of murder. Everyone agreed. Until they didn’t.
Now, like so many things in this increasingly doomed country, Floyd is a Rorschach test for one’s political beliefs. If you are on the left you believe he was murdered (which is correct). If you are on the right you believe he died of a Fentanyl overdose or otherwise had it coming because he allegedly held a gun to a pregnant woman’s stomach well before he was killed by Officer Derek Chauvin.
Maybe Massey’s killing will be different. Maybe the American right won’t be able to twist this one into another example of the War on Police. But I bet they’ll find a way — that pot of water, for instance, could have really hurt poor Grayson. Maybe they’ll find a way to blame her for her own death. To rebuke her in the name of America.
I just got fired. Now my former boss (the one who let me go) is asking me where some important documents are. How should I respond?
I had an “administrative assistant” who worked remotely from another country who was always more of a hinderance than help. About a week after I was laid off, I got a call from this guy. He wanted to know about something I had tried to train him on. I asked if he knew I no longer worked for the company, he said he did. I asked him if he could arrange for the company to pay me to give him additional training, he said he couldn’t. I advised that he try to figure it out on his own since I don’t work for free. He unfriended me on Facebook immediately following the call. I can assure you; I was not heartbroken.
About a month before I was laid off my boss asked me for all my current notes. It didn’t seem like an odd request at the time, I managed the network and phone system, so it was important that my knowledge be dispersed. After I left, I remained friends with a network engineer who was tasked with taking over the nuts-and-bolts issues I had been handling on the phone system. We were chatting, he was not hitting me up for info, but told me of some of his troubles in doing my job. I told him about giving my notes to the boss. He said they had not made it to him. Since he was a good friend, I offered to send him the notes. He said, “no, the boss has them, he should give them to me. He can cope with the time it takes me to struggle through the work. It was the boss’s stupid idea to fire you, he can suffer the consequences.” Now that’s a good friend!
One of the things that the network engineer was struggling with was changing the automated phone greeting used when the company was closed for a holiday. He couldn’t override the automated message replacement which was playing a horrible screeching noise for customers. I used to call in on holidays just to give myself a laugh. It was three or four years before they got that fixed.
Hopefully my experiences give you some idea of how to respond.
PUTIN, CHINA READY NUCLEAR WAR | SCOTT RITTER: IT’S NO BLUFF
When I lived in Western Pennsylvania, I would drive my cars, and my motorcycles all over the place. Most of which was long disused roads, old unused rail road lines, and towns that were abandoned a hundred years previous. Many interesting sights, and (I’m sure) curious stories to tell.
One day, while riding on a little used country road, I came up to the crest of a hill. I pulled over to take a leak, and as I did so, I noted that the bushed parted to a nice picturesque grass covered hill.
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As it as a nice Summer day with blue skies and white clouds, I went forth to take a look and take in the wonderful and astounding view.
And it was. Really.
This was a nice field of knee-height green grasses. And not a shrub or other plant to be seen.
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The hill side was enormous and perfect for flying kites and for having picnics. In fact, given the beautiful day, low humidity and just magnificent day, I walked forward and took in the entire experience.
<br />
I’ve done this before. I found a long abandoned cemetery in the long overgrown woods that way. Heck, on second thought, I actually found two such cemeteries. All long lost, and totally forgotten.
So as I was walking forward I saw the strangest sight up on a ridge.
It was a tomb; a well preserved stone house that served as some family Mausoleum. It looked a little like this…
Mausoleum
Now, this was not a cemetery.
It was in a rural hillside, in the middle of a long abandoned tree line where the nearest house was miles away. It was isolated.
Nice hill.
Nice mausoleum.
Totally out of the blue. A real surprise. All up in the middles of this grand hillside view.
Who would have thought?
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Later, say a a few months later, I asked a friend of mine about the place, and he knew about it. The story goes something like this…
There was once this wealthy family in a small town. The town grew and got prosperous. The family bought up a lot of land, and as the town prospered the family got very wealthy. The head of the family built the tomb on a field that he favored for family outings and picnics with.
After he died there was a change in fortune. His family either died off and moved away. And the town became a few remaining houses until that too was abandoned. And thus all that remains is the tomb.
The estate has established a trust fund that pays for groundskeepers to maintain the hill in a pristine croquet field, and to makes sure that no one vandalizes the idyllic environment. That that is the story of this place.
Still.
Preserving the hilltop for future generations to have picnics on; to fly kites on…
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Or, to have romantic dates on…
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Or, you know; to sky gaze at night on is glorious.
This fellow did good. And I for one want to tell you all… have adventures.
And when you have the time to leave something behind, make it useful and memorable. Leave something behind for the generations that follow…
Today…
China sez “we’re done playin'”
China has called-off arms control talks with US over weapon sales to Taiwan.
China has cut off arms control and NUCLEAR non-proliferation talks with the United States because of Washington’s arms sales to Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
“China has decided to suspend talks with the US on holding a new round of arms control and non-proliferation consultations,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. “The responsibility for this situation lies entirely with the US.”
He said the US’ continued sales of weapons to the island in the face of Beijing’s opposition had “severely damaged the political atmosphere necessary for continued arms control consultations between the two sides.”
“Washington must respect Beijing’s core interests if communication is to continue” the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Russia launches a giant 6,000-pound bomb from an SU-34 for the first time
This is crazy big news.
Note this video about the massive Russian submarine nuke bombs for the United States Eastern states. Fly over, drop and swim. Then Ka-blooey!
What is something you wish you had known sooner?
I have a very toned body, like massively toned for a female. I didn’t work for it. It’s just natural. I didn’t know my body was like this until I went to high school. They called me “tough”. I would be teased so badly. Girls followed me around the school laughing at me and calling me names. Adults weren’t any better. On top of that, I had horrible eczema. I hated high school so badly that I skipped school half the year. Woke up many days crying telling my mom I’m sick. Still I got good grades. School wasn’t hard, people were. Complete strangers that I never once tried to hurt had no issues in giving me a hard time.
Eventually high school ended. Hallelujah. And I moved to another city. I worked in tourism and foreigners loved my body. They hardly criticized me. One day a bodybuilder came up to me and told me my body’s amazing. He advised to enter the national bodybuilding competition. If I win that and Caribbean then the possibilities would be endless. I could travel the world.
I wish I could tell you I did it and won. I started training then dropped out. I didn’t want the world to see my body. That was a couple years ago. Now, I love my body and see how invaluable it is. I wish I had known sooner that being this different was a blessing and I should not have taken it for granted. Maybe I would be a world champ by now. But, it’s not too late, I just might enter the bodybuilding competition this year.
Even though I wish I had known sooner that my differences are amazing, I’m happy I know now. I appreciate every bit of me despite what others think. And trust me I’ve been told so many times “You’re different”. I was even the outcast in my family but I’ll tell that story a next time. Love, appreciate and endorse you for you truly are unique. See a pic of my legs with some bug bites (darn mosquitoes).
Fried Ravioli with Quick Tomato Sauce
Toasted Ravioli 2
Yield: 6 to 10 servings as an hors d’oeuvre or 4 to 6 servings as a first course; 2 1/2 cups sauce
Ingredients
Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans Italian-style tomatoes, with liquid
9 ounces frozen or refrigerated ravioli of your choice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Begin with the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over moderate heat and Sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until tender but not brown.
Add the tomatoes, breaking up the larger pieces with the edge of a spoon if necessary, and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened some.
Add the basil and season with salt and pepper.
Cook the ravioli according to the package directions.
Drain and manually separate the ravioli to prevent them from sticking together. Blot dry with paper towels.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet (preferably nonstick) over moderate heat and Sauté the ravioli for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until lightly browned and slightly crisp.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
China’s Surprise Move: U.S. Chips Banned After Yellen Visit
Were you deathly ill but didn’t know until you went to the hospital and they told you?
I got up one morning and my left hand was swollen. I couldn’t find an insect bite, but thought maybe a spider bit me in my sleep. This was in the early 90s before the internet was a resource for research. I spent the day with family and attended a funeral. The next morning the swelling went up to my elbow. Still thinking about an insect bite I took some Benadryl and carried on. The next morning my entire arm was swollen and I went to a walk in clinic. The physician’s assistant took one look and sent me to a doctor nearby. He asked me to stop moving my arm. I showed him that I was able to bend it and he said stop! The Doctor was a vascular interventionist. At that time I was not a nurse and had limited medical knowledge. I thought that was strange but I went. The Doctor there looked at my arm and and asked me to meet him at his clinic next door in the hospital. He didn’t give me a diagnosis, just go there and he would se me there. I finally realized that this was serious when the nurses were shaving my chest, attaching electrodes and asking me to sign paperwork all at the same time! I had a blood clot at the brachial artery! The doctor removed it while I was under conscious sedation and I spent a week in cardiac ICU on a heparin drip confined to the bed. Moving the arm could have dislodged part of the clot sending it to my brain or lungs. And I stood outside the hospital and smoked a cigarette before I went inside! I was so impressed by the doctor and the nurses that I went back to school and graduated the nursing program! That’s how I became a nurse!
What is your opinion of J.D. Vance?
From my perch across the Pacific several thousand miles away from Washington, I think Vance’s perspectives on foreign affairs seem to dovetail quite closely with Trump’s world view:
He favors a negotiated peace with Russia over Ukraine, believing that Ukraine cannot win;
He thinks Europe needs to take more responsibility for its own security;
He believes the US needs to shift its focus to Asia (again) to prioritize and counter China’s economic and military rise, prioritizing this over traditional American alliances in Europe; and
He’s an economic nationalist. This includes protectionist policies such as tariffs and reducing reliance on foreign goods.
Whether you agree with him or not (and on economic policy, I’m a globalist who believes protectionism is bad for both the US and the global economy), it’s pretty clear that Trump 2.0 will be marked by trade wars, a pronounced “America first” policy — whatever that means — and increased tensions with traditional US allies in Europe. But there also seems to be some pragmatism about it (for example, engagement with Putin on Ukraine).
I think with Trump 2.0, we’re potentially seeing the beginning of a tectonic shift in world geopolitics — a framework that has been in place pretty much since the end of WWII.
MM Art
The theme is ” A man and his cat”.
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(12)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(12)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(10)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 0(11)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(8)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(7)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(6)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(5)
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 2(4)
Teletubbies the Horror Movie – 1950s Super Panavision 70
What shocked you when you opened someone’s safe deposit box at the bank?
When my in-laws died we went to the bank to retrieve the contents of their safe deposit box. The bank has gone through a line of mergers and name changes over the years, my in-laws stayed loyal. We knew the box number but did not have the key.
We were told that there was no safe deposit box. We went home and found the paperwork from the original bank. The current bank got back to us that the box was marked as abandoned years ago for nonpayment and they assumed the contents were sent to the state. We countered that the box was free if they kept their accounts at the bank, the deal with the original bank. They had no answer.
My wife was devastated. Her grandmother’s wedding ring was in that box. We contact the state and they had no record of the box being turned over.
We went back to the bank with that information. The bank officer said things got lost between all the mergers etc over the years. Just out of desperation I asked who held that box number now. They said it was vacant. I asked to open it.. they did and there were my in-laws possessions!
There wasn’t much. Some long obsolete paperwork, an envelope that had photos of every room In their house from the 1960s, for insurance purposes, and thankfully the ring!
Living Paycheck to Paycheck ….. Part 2
Amazing
Another amazing Chinese airport where workers have moved mountains to build a new airport, quite literally.
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Workers in Chongqing needed to flattened the top of a mountain nearly 6000 feet above the sea level in order to construct the Wushan Airport.
The airport IATA: WSK ICAO: ZUWS is located at the border of Wushan and Fengjie counties, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the county seat, and mainly serves tourists to the nearby Three Gorges region. Construction began on 20 April 2015, and the airport was opened on 16 August 2019
“Jane!” A voice bellowed from the recesses of the ship. “Where is my grapefruit?”“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” A voice echoed from the opposite direction.“My grapefruit, Jane! The one I specifically had my name on! The one you stole!”“First of all, why would you print your name on a freaking grapefruit? Second of all, if you didn’t want me to take it, you shouldn’t have put it in a community fridge.”“So you did take it!”“Why is this grapefruit so important, anyway?”“Do you know, Jane, how many people have died in ships due to scurvy? Do you?!”“So eat an orange!”“The orange is overrated! The grapefruit is the only citrus fruit that understands me.”Charlie groaned and pressed his forehead against the table. “Lewis, we just had a shipment of grapefruit yesterday, get another one!”
“Shut up, Charlie! This doesn’t concern you!”
“I don’t even know why you try anymore.” Lyra flipped her braid as she slid in next to him.
“Because you well know how much worse it will get if I don’t.”
Harriet groaned as she remembered the third great prank war.
Jane and Lewis were in an argument over their favorite colors, and it escalated into a full-blown war. Everywhere anyone turned, there was another trap set for either Lewis or Jane.
Somehow, they ended up joining forces against the rest of the ship and wreaked havoc upon the crew of the Flame.
They feared that it would spread to the other ships of the fleet, but luckily, Charlie recovered from his bout of illness quickly, and managed to calm both Lewis and Jane within the hour.
But the crew would never forget the horror and fear they faced in that week; that was the day Charlie became the unofficial leader of all things Lewis and Jane.
“I don’t even know why they’re on the same ship after that stunt; much less the mothership.”
Lyra took a lasting gulp of coffee. “Jane’s the best engineer in the whole fleet.”
“And Lewis is crazy good with the servers and the rest of the ship’s tech.” Harriet supplied, flicking a crumb of her muffin.
“Plus, they’re great gunners in a pinch and work well with everyone except each other.”
Claude snorted as he walked in. “Tell that to the Horogin embassy from two month ago.
“Listen,” Lewis looked up from his tablet, “we all agree that the embassy was a mistake, just like we all agree that in general, Jane and Lewis are remarkable workers.”
“Besides,” Harriet simpered, “can you really picture them anywhere else?”
The room fell silent except for the gurgle of the coffee maker as each of the four tried to imagine Jane or Lewis stationed on any other ship.
“Fair point.” Lyra admitted. “So can I just be put on another ship? I grew up on the Growth; agriculture is not something so easily forgotten.” Her violet braid twisted in front of her and seemed to writhe in agreement.
“Uh, Charlie?” Claude pointed. “There’s a problem.”
Charlie took one look at the floating braid before letting out a groan.
He tapped the screen of his tablet and set it down, a holograph of a red-headed man slowly taking form.
“Hey Charlie!” He showed of a gap-toothed grin. “Your gravity messing up too?”
“Yep.”
“Yeah, I just got off a vid with the captain about it. Lewis is checking it out now.”
“Lewis? Isn’t he usually on servers?”
“Usually, but since he passed out on another late night shift yesterday, I figured putting him on monitor watching duty was a better plan.”
“Alright.”
A blond man with dark, circular glasses stomped past, an indescribable look on his face.
“Lewis, you figure it out yet?”
“Yeah, Arnold, it’ll be fixed in a sec.” He disappeared from view.
“Hey Jane!” A voice came from both the tablet and the hallway. “Something’s blocking the free-float tube!”
“Yeah, that’s probably your grapefruit.”
“You didn’t even eat it?!” The screech caused both Lyra and Charlie to wince. “What the heck?”
“I don’t like grapefruit.”
“So you took it from me for the sole pleasure of depriving me joy?”
“Yeah.” A clang was heard and Lyra’s braid dropped. “It’s in the compost bin now.”
“I hate you, you know!”
“Just like I hate grapefruit?”
An indecipherable collection of sounds was heard, before the hologram showed Lewis stomping back to his post.
“Good work, buddy.” Arnold offered, to what might as well have been empty space.
“Thanks for dealing with it, A.” Charlie picked up the tablet. “Good luck.”
“No, man, good luck to you. Lewis has his morning break in five minutes.” And with a wink, Arnold was gone.
“But that’s the same time Jane’s on break.” Lyra remarked.
The four looked at each other with wide eyes, then at their meager breakfast.
“Hide the grapefruit.”
Trump didn’t drain the swamp, he appointed the worst reptiles
Is there any car which thieves can not steal?
Where I live in Brazil, car theft is somewhat of a problem. For the most part thieves choose commonly found, locally manufactured models, like Ford Fiestas, Fiat Palios, and Volkswagen Foxes, and then take them to chop-shops who tear them down and resell the parts online.
Models that are ten years old or older are very sought after because they are often relatively easy to steal and parts for them are harder to find, so the demand for things like fuel pumps, taillights and radiators is greater.
If you go on to Brazilian eBay and buy a used or reconditioned alternator, chances are very high that it is from a stolen car. There is a whole black market industry for car parts all across of South America that is literally impossible to stop.
Ironically, if you drive a high-end model like a Mercedes, BMW or Range Rover no one will steal it. First because it is way too conspicuous to drive around in a high end car than a common one, you’ll most certainly get caught, and second because selling the parts is much more difficult because there are not that many high end models around, not to mention that the people who own these cars are wealthy enough to pay a dealership to fix them when they need service.
I have two cars, a 2009 Volkswagen Gol (a somewhat cheaper model under the Golf) and a 2010 Volvo XC60 T5. No one will touch the Volvo because it’s the only one in town and thieves know that Volvos have a factory GPS system installed in them that’s really hard to deactivate, but I really have to keep my eye on the Gol because Gols are all over the place and it is a very sought after car to steal.
Someone tried to steal my Gol a few years ago — they broke the small triangle window behind the back door to unlock the car, then they popped the hood and cut the wires to the alarm. Then they broke the ignition lock and used a screwdriver to force it to engage the starter. It was during the night and the car was right outside my bedroom window; I didn’t hear a thing.
I woke up the next morning and the car wasn’t there, so I called the insurance company who used a tracking system like lo-jack to find it, it was unlocked, sitting around the corner and all of the thieves’ tools were on the seats and the floor — even the screwdriver was still sticking out of the ignition.
I’m guessing that the thieves gave up and fled the scene when they couldn’t get the engine to turn over and a cop car came down the street, or something like that.
They couldn’t start the engine because I had installed an engine kill switch up and under the dashboard where no one could see it. Two feet of wire, a toggle switch and a 10-amp fuse saved my car from being stolen: total cost of $4.00.
The Volvo on the other hand is exceptionally hard to steal, not because of the GPS system, but because of how the ignition system was designed.
There is no key to turn, so there is no ignition lock to break; to start the car I put the remote that unlocks the doors in the dashboard and push a button. The steering lock is further down the steering column than in most cars — it actually sits under the engine at the firewall, so it’s very hard to get to.
The Volvo also has another feature that many cars don’t have, and it’s not a factory-installed feature. You could literally take a baseball bat to the windshield and it won’t break. You could also unload a full clip of .44 magnum rounds into the driver’s side window and it won’t shatter.
The car is bulletproof — the previous owner had it bulletproofed when she bought it new in 2010. It has inch-thick glass and Kevlar all around, including the roof, so just getting into the car is no easy task.
You’d probably be able to force the door open with a crowbar, but that would break the door’s closing mechanism making it kind of hard to drive, that is if you were able to get around the steering lock and the keyless ignition.
Very hard to steal. Hard to car-jack at an intersection too, something all too common in cities like Rio de Janeiro on hot summer days when people are stuck in traffic.
Of course, one could always use a tow truck.
Would you believe that I don’t even have insurance on the Volvo? Except of course for the mandatory Government insurance that costs about $5.00 a year. I know that someone won’t steal it – they won’t even try.
The Gol on the other hand is insured, to the hilt, with a super-low deductible, which costs me about $600.00 a year. It’s not worth very much though, maybe $2000.00, so the insurance company believes someone will steal it in a little over three years.
So, it all depends on where you live and the car you drive, what security features it has. No car is truly unstealable, but some of them are much harder to steal than others.
Are Chinese people aware of the power of their country in comparison to others?
Many Chinese are shocked when they first hear that westerners are afraid of China and Chinese.
Immediate reaction is “What did we do? We just work hard and mind our own business and sell stuff to everybody. Once in a while we get annoyed at Taiwan or the Philippines, but we don’t really do anything.”
They are unaware that it is because of their hard work and competition in Chinese society, that China is very powerful and influential in the aggregate.
“They’re LYING about the economy, this is now a DEPRESSION” Top Economist Warns
Regardless of who will be the next president of the United States, do you think the US will continue to fight a trade war with China? Or will it clearly understand that the root of the problem lies within the country itself?
I believed that will happened in about a decade from now! Britain took generations to accept that it has lost its hegemony to the US and I am sure it took at least a century for Romans to accept that it is no longer the head honcho.
The US is no different. It is in a generation of being in denial and it refused to recognised that the more it fights China the faster it goes down! And the best thing to do is to accept a secondary role of working with China to help its people to keep doing well and not lose everything!
Of course it is the US own doing that put it into present situation. Why?
First the US thought wrongly that it could pay its workers and its CEO the sky if they wanted and that they can always charge these excesses to the consumer and they will be willing to do so! But that is simply not true. Even US consumers won’t pay for over priced products!
Second they wrongly assumed that China and Chinese cannot innovate and makes better and better products and moved up the supply chain! This is due to their racial bias that cost them dearly. China learn very fast and catch up and overtook the US in no time! The idea that China steal intellectual property and copy is what caused the US to under estimated China and the Chinese people!
Thirdly the US wrongly thought that it ruled the world and yet stay competitive. The truth is to compete one need to be very driven and focus and the US is fighting forever wars and warmongering 24/7, 365 days a year. And it left the UD very weak in investment and infrastructures and the US simply cannot compete. While they lack skill and well trained engineers China has in abundance of resources and talents.
Forthly the US thought that it could fight any body and everyone in the world without repercussions. It is not true. The world turned against the US. And the world wants the US to fail because no one wants to be bullied by the US.
The US wrongly thought that their market is the biggest, today the US is really a very insignificant market today. The biggest market Center is East Asia, followed by ASEAN, followed by Europe and then comes North America with Indian sub continent and Central Asia growing fast, so is Africa and Latin America. Today the entire supply chain will stay in China not just because of China but Asian market is closed to 60% of the world market.
The US will fight another trade war but in reality it is sinking in the quick sand. Mark my word in 10 years leaders cannot win elections if they cannot have a positive relationship with China! It is simply economics!
Which habits of middle-class people keep them middle class?
Several behaviors prevent the middle class from ascending.
Spending large sums on depreciating assets. If you want to be wealthy, your only large purchases should be investments, not vehicles or gaming computers.
Buying more house than needed. While a house is an investment, if your paychecks are all going to pay a mortgage and upkeep, you are short funds for investing. If housing prices collapse again, you won’t even have the equity.
Not having 3–6 months of living expenses saved in case of a lay-off or emergency. Unemployment isn’t going to pay all your bills and living off credit cards until you get a new job is an expensive mistake. Putting an emergency cost on credit cards means you will pay at least twice as much with interest added than if using savings.
Paying banks, instead of themselves. Interest payments are a huge waste. Imagine if you had that $500–1000/ month credit interest going to investments instead of to banks.
Not understanding what is an investment rather than a purchase. Sellers use investment in advertising, but they lie. You don’t invest in a nice suit, you purchase it. The next day it is used clothing and worth 1/2 what you paid for it. You don’t invest in furniture, you purchase it. An investment is an asset expected to go up in value over time.
Investing only in their employer’s stocks. It isn’t a good idea to invest in only one stock, industry or investment type. Putting money in a variety decreases your risks.
Passing up job opportunities or promotions because you don’t like the people you will be working with, the added responsibility and/or travel involved. The road to the corner office might detour through a landfill, but it is the only way to get there. Promotions may not be offered a second time. The job opportunity you are holding out for may never happen.
Nobody get rich using coupons. It takes a complete budget and lifestyle that spends less than you make and that includes investing. Saving $20 a week on groceries, but spending an extra $600 a month on a new vehicle you just had to have makes no sense.
Money is not the goal, it is the tool. If you save up $100,000 and it just sits in a savings account, you are losing money and the potential for becoming financially independent.
You have to set aside money for fun or your budget will fail. Sacrifice is easy the first month. By the time you reach the fortieth month, sacrifices can feel like a vise on your life. Adding fun dollars to your budget will let you enjoy life while still reaching your financial goals.
Shorpy
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Six foreigners allegedly poisoned in Bangkok luxury hotel
Is the Chinese government and its people considered perfect? If not, what are some reasons for this?
No, it is far from perfect and there is always room for improvement.
The important thing is to have a channel to provide input to government officials, explain why something needs to change to make it better, and see if they can make the change.
This is very different from the idea of free speech in the west because while people have the right to elect new leaders at election time, there is no way to request changes on a small scale, and then to follow up on them.
The Chinese way is to ask for changes on an ongoing basis, explain the rationale for the change, and if the official feels that it is reasonable, ask him to make the change. If he does NOT make the change within a reasonable time, then move up the ladder, and complain to his superior.
And so on and so forth…
So in the western system, you vote for the person and hope that he makes the macro changes you want. In the Chinese system, you go to the local official and request that he make the micro change you want. If the request is reasonable, he should make the change. If he does not, he will likely be voted out at the local level. Since he is also a Party member, failure to act on reasonable requests will affect his opportunity for promotion in the future, and affect his own career.
In court, what was the most devastating cross-examination of a witness that you ever saw?
My in-laws used to live across the street from a drug dealer. They often called the police where there were cars coming and going from his property, picking up “product”. This cut into his business, and led to several ugly confrontations between him and my in-laws.
One day my then-fiancee was visiting her parents, and was in the back of the house when there was a commotion out front, complete with gunshots. She didn’t see anything, but both her parents and one of her brothers claimed they saw said drug dealer leaning out of his upstairs window, firing a gun. From his body language and what words they could make out, his intent was clear: Stop interfering with my business, or the next time I won’t be firing into the air but at you.
They called the police and he was charged with aggravated menacing. Some months later, I attended the trial as a spectator, as my fiancee (now wife) was a witness. The drug dealer took the stand in his own defense. After a well-rehearsed examination by his attorney, it was the prosecuting attorney’s turn.
“Mr. ___, on [date], did you fire several shots from a handgun into the air from the second story window of your home?”
“No, I did not. I don’t even have a gun.”
“You own no firearms whatsoever? On [date], you didn’t have a single firearm in the house?”
“That’s right. I didn’t have no guns then.”
A look of confusion spread of the DA’s face as he quickly pawed through his notes.
“Now, on [date of previous police call to his home], didn’t you tell Officer ____ that you had an extensive collection of firearms and that you were an expert in their use?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, did you lie to Officer ____?”
“What?”
“Did you lie to Officer ____ back on [previous date], or did you lie to the jury just now?”
“Yeah, I lied.”
I suspect that if you want to be taken seriously by a jury, you should not admit that you are a liar and may have just lied to them on the witness stand.
He was convicted, despite testimony from friends who gave him an alibi. The jury must have thought they were liars, too.
Vintage illustration
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The US Passport is Getting WORSE
Russia lays it all out on the table.
Washington’s belief that the United States will not suffer from a new global war and that the main actions will unfold on the European continent is a misconception, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
The stark language from Foreign Minister Lavrov was used during a UN Security Council meeting.
The clear implication is that the “main actions” of another global war would also unfold on the North American continent. Here. Inside the USA.
Keen observers agree there is no other rational interpretation of the remarks.
Yet as this story is published at 1:10 PM EDT on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, Americans, for the most part, remain blissfully unaware of how dangerous the world situation is right now. They have no idea at all that the US Government has taken actions so grave, that the American heartland is now being openly discussed as a future war zone.
How this particular remark arose in the UN was after White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, said that “Washington does not want a war with Russia as it would affect the European continent.”
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov mentioned this remark and then said (verbatim) “In Washington, they are convinced that a new global war will affect not the US, but their European allies. If this analysis forms the basis of the Biden administration’s strategy, it is a very dangerous misconception, and Europeans should realize what a suicidal role has been assigned to them.”
Any resolution of the European crisis must include concrete steps to eliminate the threats to Russia that emanate from the West, the diplomat went on to say. He recalled that Moscow’s conditions for establishing lasting peace in Ukraine have already been outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin also noted that Zelensky’s term has expired and his legitimacy cannot be restored by any means.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that Putin does not rule out negotiations with Ukraine, as there are other legitimate authorities there.
For his part, Lavrov emphasized that Russia is ready to seek a balance of interests to resolve the current crisis in Ukraine, taking into account new geostrategic realities on the Eurasian continent.
Let’s summarize;
War with Russia;
Destruction of Europe
Nuclear destruction of the United States via missiles
War with China;
Destruction of QUAD nations (Australia, Japan, Korea, Philippines)
Nuclear destruction of the United States via missiles
Chicken and Ravioli Cacciatore
13485t3
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1/2 medium green bell pepper, sliced
1 cup water
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes w/garlic, oregano, and basil
8 ounces tomato sauce
9 ounces refrigerated cheese ravioli
Instructions
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, onion and bell pepper; cook and stir until chicken is browned.
Stir in water, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Add ravioli, covering it with tomato mixture. If necessary carefully separate ravioli. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until sauce is of desired consistency and chicken is no longer pink, stirring frequently.
Chow time does SSM
He reviews one of SSM’s best. Have a chuckle.
If local detectives show up at your door and say your name came up in one of their investigations and they’d like you to come down to the station with them to talk about it, does that usually mean you’re a suspect?
About 15 years ago, a very expensive piece of equipment, ($30k market value at the time) was stolen from my place of employment. I was the one who discovered it missing and I was the one who called it in to our security office, who contacted the local police. I gave my statement to our in house security and the lead detective from the local law enforcement gave me his card and asked me to go down to the station to meet him and take an official statement on the coming Saturday (three days away at the time) at 8am.
I thought that was weird, but I agreed and was at the station at 7:45 am that Saturday. I checked in with the clerk who said the detective wasn’t in yet. I knew I was early so it wasn’t a big deal to wait. At 8:30 am, the detective walks out and acted surprised to see me. He then stated that he thought he told me 9 am. I showed him the business card he gave me and how I scribbled “Sat 8am” on the back of it. He gave the most insincere apology I ever heard and then told me he wasn’t ready for me yet and asked if I could wait 15 minutes and that he could have someone get me a coffee.
I agreed to wait and took the offer for the coffee. Half an hour later, he walks by and asked, “Did you not get your coffee?” and I said no, and he said, I’ll get right on that, I just need a few more minutes.” Half an hour after that, someone comes to get me and brings me to an interview room (still no coffee). Another 15 minutes later the detective show up with his partner.
They start asking me questions which I thought were peculiar. Then it hit me that I wasn’t just giving a statement, they were interviewing me as a person of interest. I am the first one every morning to open the location from which the equipment was taken. The surveillance video showed a team of 3 who knew exactly what they were doing and how to go about it. None of their faces were ever turned to the cameras and they knew exactly what they wanted, how to get it as quickly as possible and how to get it out of the building without being noticed.
The detectives thought that someone on the inside had provided the thieves with the intel they needed to get away with it, and I was suspect numero uno. Knowing what I know now, I would have immediately ceased talking to these detectives without a lawyer present. They grilled me for 4 more hours trying to break me into a confession of being an accomplice, which I was not.
It turns out that the thieves were a ring of professionals who spent a week scoping out the location to figure out how best to get their prize. The same individuals had hit 11 other institutions on the eastern coast of the US. It also turns out that the lead detective on the case who gave me such a hard time was also later convicted of stealing cash from the evidence room of his own station. Reading that headline made me smile because he was a huge jerk and it blew my mind that he even made detective in the first place, but it also made me sad for our justice system as a whole at the same time.
Also I never did get that coffee…
Which story in American history is hard to believe?
One story I’ve always found hard to believe is that of Lee Harvey Oswald having acted completely alone. People tend to forget that the guy defected to Soviet Russia for about a year. He renounced his citizenship, and worked for the Soviets for a while, who sent him to Minsk.
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Oswald went back to America because, as he wrote in his diary, he “found the work drab”. Soviet Russia was no fun. So he returned to America. How! How on earth did a US citizen defect to the Soviet Union and just… return. Like it’s no big deal. What the hell? He married a Russian wife, they have two daughters. Settle in America. Oswald, for the record, is a former marine. He’s an excellent marksman (finest in his unit) and for two years, he’s left completely undisturbed by US authorities despite having defected and worked for their enemies for a year. And, when he was just 24 years of age, he goes and — allegedly — kills President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas.
It’s hard to believe an American citizen defected to the number one enemy of America in the middle of the Cold War, was allowed back to the United States without trouble, only to assassinate the president and get killed almost immediately after by a random citizen while in policy custody.
Valiant Thor: A UFO, the Pentagon and a 3-year Mission to Save the World
Yesterday, as my wife (and daughter) and I were having our mid-afternoon tea / coffee I took note about the table. It is so very different from what you have in the United States.
The place where we went was a “Western fusion” style place. It’s well decorated with plants and statues. Deep colors and wood. Nice view. Curtains. Soft music. In short a nice restaurant. But, not a fancy place. There were no table cloths or lines. Just a nice place. Maybe in some ways resembling a 1990’s TGI Fridays, or Shoneys, perhaps.
Well, looking at the table. Let me list what was sitting there.
QR code. To pull up an ordering APP and place an order.
Glasses of ice water, or hot water, if you want. I think that the default is hot water for the Chinese clients, but when they see me, they automatically give me ice water.
An ash tray with a pack of matches in it.
Toothpicks. This place had individual packs instead of a container with a bunch of them..
Disposable PE plastic gloves so you can eat with your hands.
A jar of red pepper spices.
A glass container of oil.
A glass container of soy sauce.
Now to compare this to what is on American tables…
A paper menu.
A jar of sugar (or alternatively packs of sugar)
Salt
Peper
Ketchup
Hot Sauce / sometimes mustard
The big differences.
Well, it’s really quite different. If I were to quantify the differences I would tentatively state that it is due to the way the food is eaten.
In China, you use an application to order, and to pay. Then you eat the food, and if you want to customize the meal you can, but most usually don’t. Relying on the waiter / waitress to handle your own individual needs. Tissues / napkins are provided as are toothpicks, water and gloves for personal sanitation, and of course an ashtray for your smoking pleasure.
In the United States; You order directly with the waiter or waitress. They interact with you, constantly visiting you and asking if you need anything. You can customize your food with the provided condiments. Then you pay the server for the meal, and pay them a “tip” for serving you.
These are two different styles. Both have their plusses and their minuses.
I was musing about this the other day. Don’t you know.
Today…
Latest data showed that China’s GDP expanded 5.0% year on year in the first half of 2024. What can you tell from this data?
Well, it means the policy targets are being met.
The Chinese PM’s day in the spotlight is his annual progress report during the two meetings in Beijing, a national gathering of China’s entire parliament, the world’s largest.
During the session, the Premier, who is No. 2 behind the General Secretary/President, will also announce the GDP growth target. China has always met the target, other than during covid.
It is probably the only economy in the world to provide such forecasts and all the more remarkable the numbers have been reliably met for decades.
That is why big business love China, because the forecast removes a lot of guesswork from risk models.
Li Qiang announced a 5% target for 2024. The data suggests it will be met, despite weakness in multiple sectors both domestic and foreign.
China is juggling a severe asset bubble pop, driven by systemic changes in real estate. The heady days of the past 3–4 decades are not coming back.
Now, asset depreciation typically lead to balance sheet recessions, as Japan showed. That is why America reacted the way it did during the GFC, informed by the Japan lesson. But China is a different beast. No fiscal or monetary elephant gun for covid, or the asset bubble popped by Beijing. At least none on the profligate scale of first world economies.
China has insulated itself from the ravages of war, pestilence, and more recently, inflation.
Instead, the Yuan has merely weakened 10% from its long-term average of 6.8 yuan to the dollar.
China has plenty left in the policy toolbox to support economic growth. In fact, there is an argument to be made the government isn’t doing enough to alleviate youth unemployment, among other ills in the economy.
The data points to deep reform in the Chinese economy, as well as a pivot away from first world markets. Domestically, the government can control the pace, but elsewhere, Chinese speed cannot be replicated.
What is clear though, as BRI projects come online, is the added connectivity become strong drivers of trade growth, as previously underserved markets plug into the giant China supply chain, the factory of the world. Witness the spectacular growth in Central Asia, and in time, the Middle East and Mediterranean, from the -stans to Pakistan/Iran, from Russia into Europe proper.
If I were an investor, I’d take a close look at Greece, Turkey and Hungary/Serbia as new gatekeepers to Western Europe.
Check back in 2030. Epoch-making change is happening in the westward shift of East Asia.
It is the Asian century, and Eurasia is being remade, right before our eyes.
And yes, Russia is Asian, decisively so.
Stuffed Shells Formaggio
stuffed shells formaggio
Yield: 12 small servings or 6 to 8 large servings
Ingredients
12 ounces jumbo pasta shells
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 pounds ricotta cheese
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 ounces spaghetti sauce
Instructions
In an 8 quart pot, bring water to a boil and cook shells for 8 minutes, Drain with hot water and cool immediately with cold water. Drain and place open side down on paper towels.
In a medium bowl, combine the rest of ingredients except the spaghetti sauce.
Place a thin layer of spaghetti sauce onto the bottom of a 12 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Spoon the cheese mixture into each pasta shell and place open side up, in a single layer, in prepared pan.
Pour the rest of sauce over the stuffed shells.
Loosely cover with foil, and bake for 40 minutes.
Shorpy
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What is the craziest thing you’ve had to do as a business owner to get someone to pay a bill?
I have a fantastic and very unique story to tell you.
15 years ago I had a client who wouldn’t pay for the cleaning chemicals I had manufactured for him. My business is in Brisbane Australia and his was in Adelaide, another state, maybe 2000km away. He was always late in paying but now had not paid for many months. He stopped taking my calls and from what I could see was never going to pay. This was going to be difficult for me to pursue as his business was in another state entirely.
So I craftily devised a perfect trap for him. 15 years ago, companies used fax machines for mass marketing and so I created a sales flyer that looked just like any other “Deals Flyer” I had done previously, only this one only went to one customer – the guy in Adelaide!
The flyer offer was a 50% discount for any products bought in the last week of the month. He took the bait and ordered up big. 50% off is an unheard of discount from a manufacturer to a wholesaler, so he was all in with his order.
Customer service (me) responded immediately by thanking him for his order and gave him a delivery date, as per normal procedure. Then the following day my accounts lady (me) sent him a fax letting him know that his order was complete and ready for dispatch but unfortunately his account was on hold as he had an overdue invoice still outstanding.
He paid!
After the money was firmly in my account I then took immense pleasure (even now writing this I am smiling) in ringing him to let him know exactly how he had been fooled into paying. Furthermore I told him I would no longer deal with him.
He was furious to say the least!
2001: A Space Odyssey – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Why not remove Starbucks from China and see how they like it?
Hi, James Mitchell. Thanks for the very interesting question!
I’m Chinese but I don’t drink coffee so I don’t have a dog in this fight, but regarding your question, well, I think we Chinese will manage just fine after Starbuck’s hypothetical demise.
After all, we have our very own homegrown 瑞幸咖啡 – or in English, Luckin Coffee – which has already surpassed Starbucks in terms of annual sales & number of stores and is currently the largest coffee chain in China:
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Luckin Coffee’s annual sales for 2023 hit 24.9 billion yuan ($3.45 billion), up 87.3 percent from the previous year’s 13.3 billion yuan.
Compare this to Starbuck’s 2023 annual sales of $3.16 billion.
When it comes to number of stores, Luckin Coffee is very much ahead of Starbucks:
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In fact, Luckin Coffee took less than a year to reach 1000 stores.
Cotti Coffee is even more aggressive in its expansion plans, reaching 1000 stores in 5 months.
In comparison, Starbucks took 16 years to reach 1000 stores.
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Luckin Coffee’s triumph over Starbucks has been attributed to its much deeper understanding of the Chinese market and consumer preferences. Its franchise model and strategy of targeting China’s second-tier cities and below have also been instrumental in contributing to its explosive growth and expansion across the country.
In conclusion, James Mitchell – in the event of Starbucks’ hypotethical demise in China, we will still have Luckin Coffee, Cotti Coffee, Lucky Cup and a whole host of other coffee brands to pick from.
We’ll manage 😉
What is the most disturbing thing you’ve seen while camping?
I was chaperoning a group of boy scouts (ex father in law was the troop leader) on a night hike in some woodland locally. I remained at the base in the car park helping prepare tea, cocoa and snacks. A few of the kids were always around as they went out in intervals with one leader or another so it was important that an adult was there to supervise them, I was around 18, 19 at the time.
A car pulled in to the carpark, which had been cordoned off and reserved for our use so the kids would stay safe. No one got out, so another leader went over to tell them that the park was off limits or see if it was a parent showing up hours early for some reason. They came back almost immediately and told me to call the police (I was the only one with a phone) as the man in the car wouldn’t speak, but was wearing a mask – it was actually the mask from the Scream films – had a shotgun and had piles of rope and tarpaulin in the car.
I remember being so scared that I couldn’t even remember the name of the park when I was speaking to the police, I was shaking and couldn’t get the words out quickly enough. All I could think was that we couldn’t see the car so had no idea if the man was still in it or out in the woods where we had 30 kids out in the dark with no way of contacting them.
Thankfully the police showed up in minutes, quickly found the man and arrested him. He said that he was out there hunting rabbits – why he would do so with a shotgun, or need a mask and rope I don’t know. We got all the kids back safely and didn’t tell them what had happened, but the sight of 7 or 8 police cars and a police dog unit was pretty difficult to ignore.
Definitely one of the scariest experiences I’ve had!
The Golden Ratio – Transmuted Pain to Power in Infinite Divine Proportion
What is the cheapest thing you’ve seen a mega-rich person do?
Never forgotten this. A few years ago my husband and I went to our local shopping centre, and by chance we bumped into two friends of ours who were with a couple of their friends who lived out of town and were staying with them over the week-end. They invited us for a coffee, so we nipped into Starbucks with them and had a chat. Twenty minutes later our friend’s guest excused himself, and left for about 10 minutes. We thought he just went to the toilet.
The next day our friend phoned us and told us laughingly. “So what did you make of Paul? He’s absolutely loaded. Got properties in 3 different countries, a yacht, owns a Bentley plus a few other cars, and popped out yesterday to drive the car out of the shopping mall and back so he would not have to pay the car park charge which was free, but £1 after an hour and a half.
I asked them if they were winding me up. They were absolutely adamant it was true. Actually you couldn’t make it up really!
Can you give an example of someone getting bullied in school and then they come back as adults and get revenge on their bullies?
Way back when I was out of college and working my first decent job, I had the assignment of vetting a bunch of applications for a new team the company was putting together. I was lightly bullied in HS by two girls who like to pick on skinny people of which I was one (5′8″ and 115 lbs). After college, I had grown up, filled out, and was a horseback rider and swimmer so in decent shape.
In the stack of about 50 applications that I was to cut down to 20 were applications by those two girls. They were both qualified and looked good on paper so they made the cut. When my company started interviewing, I was the one taking applicants into the room and when the first girl arrived, she took one look at me, turned white as a sheet but proceeded to the interview. I hadn’t told anyone of their actions in HS but it was known by others that the two were bullies when they were together and she didn’t get hired. She blamed me. The second girl was forewarned and was nice to me and apologized for her earlier treatment and when she went into the interview, she apologized to everyone there for her behavior as a teenager and she got hired.
The first girl came to see me at home and came at me again and I just put her on the ground without leaving a mark on her and told her I had nothing to do with her not being hired and she should find out what her friend had done to get hired. She left.
About a year later, I got a promotion and my old job was open and she applied for it and got hired. My revenge was they both worked for me and neither knew me well enough to know that my revenge was to do nothing and let their imaginations made them do good work and behave. I moved out of state about 5 years later and they were both good employees and I think part of that was having to take orders from someone they bullied.
John Mearsheimer: US Warships APPROACHED Lebanon, Putin Sent Anti-Ship Missiles To Houthis Join War
What do you think of China’s statement that the Chinese surveillance balloon was an accident?
I don’t think it’s a spy balloon, it’s indeed what the Chinese call a “weather device.”
Why?
Check out these:
1. Jilin No. 1 satellite cluster
Jilin-1 is a reconnaissance satellite system developed by China. It was developed by the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The first set of satellites was launched at 12:13 on October 7, 2015. As of August 2023, Jilin The No. 1 satellite project has been launched a total of 26 times, with 131 satellites in orbit, which can revisit any location in the world 35 to 37 times a day.
This is a picture of the US Air Force base taken by Jilin 1
It can clearly photograph all military bases in the United States. Not only did they demonstrate to the public the effect of photographing U.S. naval bases, they even demonstrated the ability to track an F22 taking off from the Nevada Air Force Base.
2. Wing Loong 3 UAV
The Wing Loong 3 is a large UAV developed by China that can be used for high-altitude reconnaissance and attack. Without in-flight refueling, it can fly continuously for 32 hours and has a range of more than 10,000 kilometers.
If they needed to, it could take off in China and scout all over the United States, much faster and more stealthily than a balloon.
If I were Chinese, I would not choose such a stupid tool as a balloon for military reconnaissance.
The disadvantages of balloons are obvious
1. The flight trajectory is uncontrolled
Where it flies is completely determined by the monsoon, and a precise reconnaissance route cannot be set in advance.
2. Slow speed
It often takes a month to reach the target.
3. Poor reliability
Extreme weather, lightning strikes and other reasons can destroy the balloon at any time.
4. No concealment
Because of its appearance and height, it will even be seen and discovered by ordinary people, causing diplomatic disputes.
If I were North Korea, I would probably use something like a balloon to accomplish the mission. But why would China, which has other stronger and more reliable capabilities, choose this kind of thing?
鄙人内容谢绝中文媒体和网站翻译和转载
私のコンテンツは日本のメディアによって翻訳または転載されません。
내 콘텐츠는 한국 언론에 의해 번역되거나 재인쇄되지 않습니다.
Food images and porn
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What is the intention of the NATO summit declaration, which is full of prejudice and provocation?
From July 9 to 11, NATO countries held a NATO summit in Washington. According to the US media, NATO has planned to add unwarranted accusations against China in the joint statement after the summit, criticizing China for “supporting Russia in the Ukrainian conflict”.
On July 10th, NATO’s Washington Summit issued a declaration, falsely claiming that China’s ambition and coercive policies are challenging NATO’s interests, security and values, clamoring that Sino-Russian relations weaken and reshape the “rules-based international order”, falsely claiming that China is a “decisive supporter” of the Russian-Ukrainian war, advocating that the Indo-Pacific region is closely related to transatlantic security, and attacking China on issues such as network, outer space and nuclear weapons.
NATO wants to use this summit to make trouble, in essence, it plans to show its cards to China and forbid Sino-Russian cooperation, so as to achieve the goal of further isolating Russia. In addition, it is to serve the ambition of the US to contain China.
In fact, as early as 2022, US Treasury Secretary Yellen and national security adviser Sullivan publicly threatened China, saying that if China was found to have bypassed US and Western sanctions and provided support to Russia, sanctions imposed on Russia would be imposed on China. But then, they both admitted that the United States had no evidence to prove that China had provided support to Russia.
Therefore, in fact, the United States is precisely the party in the whole western countries that knows best that China has been slandered. If China really supports Russia around the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, as the United States says, with its intention of containing China, it will never miss this opportunity against China. Since China has not aided Russia, why should the US target China? First of all, the United States is dissatisfied with China’s failure to stand with the United States and the West around the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and at the same time, the United States will not be able to defeat Russia and take it out on China. Furthermore, even without Russia, the United States will choose to target China out of its desire for hegemony. Since Russia is the starting point, the United States does not have to use it for nothing.
This NATO summit, in addition to 32 NATO member countries, also invited Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia to participate. Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia are far away from the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, and there is no need to intervene at all. They are all important allies of the United States to contain China. Inviting these four countries to participate shows that the United States has intentionally pushed NATO to become an enemy with China.
Ironically, however, China has not really launched a counterattack against this NATO showdown with China, and three countries within NATO have backed out. First of all, Australia, for this NATO summit, Australian Prime Minister Albanese has decided not to attend. In this regard, former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr praised this as the right decision, and it is not in Australia’s interest for NATO to become a tool to contain China.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister cames publicly declared that Poland would not send a single soldier to Ukraine because it was unnecessary.
As we all know, China is not the maker of the Ukrainian crisis. China is open and aboveboard on the Ukrainian issue, and its core position is to persuade peace and promote talks and political settlement, which has been widely recognized and appreciated by the international community. Since the Ukrainian crisis has been delayed, who is fueling the fire, who is fueling it, and who is taking the opportunity to seek personal gain? The international community can see it clearly.
The Asia-Pacific region is a highland for peaceful development, not an arena for geopolitical games. What is NATO’s intention to repeatedly speculate on “Eurasian security linkage”?
Experiencing winter sounded like a good vacation suggestion. The word winter literally had the word “win” in it, so it had to be fantastic. The only decision left to make was where? I remembered from my science class that every part of the Earth experienced some form of winter during the year. Winter was really just a word that meant the opposite of summer, and I had experienced plenty of summer in my three decades of life. I wanted to experience winter in all its traditional glory. Cold, wet, and icy.I spun my antique globe and jabbed a finger down on a random spot. The ocean. What were the odds? I didn’t want to visit an ocean. There was plenty of ocean around me now. It was wet yes but icy no.Second attempt: Florida. In Florida I wouldn’t be able to do the traditional winter activities I had seen at the movies: sledding, building a snowman, drinking hot chocolate. Actually, you could drink hot chocolate anywhere, anytime, but for some reason it was supposed to be much more satisfying when drunk on a cold winter’s day.My selection method was flawed, so I searched the globe and chose Michigan.You seem surprised. Was Michigan not the ideal choice? According to my research, during the winter Michigan had snow. It was cold. Every activity I wanted to try could be attempted in Michigan.
Why Michigan? You ask again still stumped. Well, to be honest because my name is Mich, so it seemed like a logical choice.
I pulled out a suitcase and attempted to pack, but it quickly became obvious that I lacked the necessary items for a successful visit to winter. Instead, I threw my suitcase back in the closet and checked my bank account to make sure it was full. I could buy whatever I wanted upon arrival.
With no other preparations to make, I left my home and stepped into my boat. Floating outside my home, I locked the front door and then paddled my way towards the airport.
“One ticket to Michigan,” I told the lady behind the window.
“What year?” she asked me.
Oh, no, I thought. I forget to pick a specific year. I knew I had to go back far enough to beat global warming, but I didn’t want to go too far or the conveniences I cherished like indoor plumbing and pizza delivery would be non-existent.
Looking down at my watch, I searched for the year my favorite winter movie came out: 2014. A little more research determined that January of 2015 was a heavy snow year in Michigan – several feet accumulated without melting that year. Sounded like the perfect choice.
I boarded my plane and with just a quick take-off and landing we taxied into a gate to the past.
Upon arrival, I gazed around in wonder at my first glimpse of winter. It was much grayer than I expected. In all the movies, the sky was blue, the trees were all evergreens, and the white snow sparkled like glitter. The sidewalks at the airport were devoid of snow though there were little blue crystals crunching under my feet as I walked, and all the trees I passed in my uber were just brown twigs. I eventually saw some snow and the occasional pine tree, but under the blanket of gray clouds above, it lacked any kind of luster.
My first task was to find a convenience store and stock up on everything I was lacking: fleece clothing, heavy boots, plastic lined gloves, a hat with a little pompom on top. I grabbed several packets of instant hot chocolate and a plastic saucer sled from a seasonal display. I thought of all the other things I wanted to do and wondered what other gear I might need to purchase.
“Do you have ice skates?” I asked a lady stocking shelves in sporting goods.
She looked me up and down, noting my shorts and flip flops.
“Just arrived from down south?” she asked me with a kind smile.
“Something like that,” I told her.
She just nodded. “You don’t need to purchase your own skates love. You just rent them at the rink.”
“Of course,” I said relieved.
“Sweetie,” she said laying a hand on my cart before I could roll away. “I don’t see a coat in there. You are going to need a coat.”
“Thank you! I knew I was forgetting something. You are so kind.”
We both smiled at each other, and then I headed back to the clothing section. I searched and searched for a coat that I liked, but I quickly became confused. Did I need a puffy coat or a long coat? Was fur lining on the hood a good thing? I found something called snow pants, which seemed like it would be a necessary item, but they didn’t have any in my size. Could I go without them or was the fact that they were sold out a clue to their necessity?
In the end, I decided that since I was on vacation, I could buy them all. I got three different coats to try, and I bought snow pants that were two sizes too big rather than go with none at all.
Exhilarated after my shopping trip, I ventured to find some pizza, glad to discover I had picked a year where it was in such generous supply. While eating my pepperoni, I debated where to start.
Sketching my to-do list on a napkin, I could not resist the call of my favorite song, so I decided to start by building a snowman. That was when I realized I had forgotten to buy a carrot, so back to the store I went.
“Excuse me,” I asked another sales associate. “Where can I find some coal, a button and a corncob pipe?”
In the end, I bought a kit called “instant snowman.” How efficient, I thought.
My uber driver recommended a place called a metro park where they had a sledding hill and plenty of wide-open spaces desperate for snowmen. Stepping out of the car, I heard the first true crunch of snow under my boots. It was a sound unlike any I had heard before. Like a little kid, I spent a while just walking around listening to the sound of my own feet and examining my own footprints.
“Make a snow angel,” my driver recommended. I looked back to realize that my current driver had been too concerned to just drop me off alone at the park and had stayed with me. He was young like all my previous drivers, and he leaned against the side of his car, phone in hand, pretending not to be watching me too much.
“A what?” I asked him.
“A snow angel,” he repeated shoving the phone in his pocket. “You know…” and he started flapping his arms up and down. I wracked my brain trying to think of what a snow angel was but came up with nothing.
“Can you show me?” I asked him.
“Are you crazy,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t have any snow gear on. I’d get soaked.”
“Oh,” I said looking down at the snow. “I have two extra jackets in my bags. You could borrow one.”
He seemed to consider it. “Would you like to help me build a snowman instead?” I tried again.
The driver stood in silence for a while looking at me and the park surrounding us. He looked over his shoulder and down the road. I wasn’t sure what he was checking on, but whatever it was, he didn’t find it.
“Why not,” he said with a raise of his arms. He reached into the car and popped the trunk. Then he pulled out a jacket, gloves and hat. I noticed that his hat didn’t have a pompom on top like mine and suddenly I felt a little self-conscious.
He crouched down in the snow and showed me how to get the ball started. He told me I was lucky that this was good “packing snow.” I hadn’t realized that you needed a certain kind to build a snowman, but he assured me that you did. Together we rolled three balls and stacked them. Then he ripped open my instant snowman box, and we decorated it. When the snowman was finished, I was elated. The driver, Tommy, took my picture with the snowman on my phone. Then I took a selfie of the three of us together.
“What next?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. I realized I was probably the most interesting passenger he had pick up in a while. If only he knew how interesting.
“That snow angel you mentioned, can you talk me through how to do it?” I asked Tommy.
He thought for a minute and then threw up his hands again. “Ah, the heck with it,” he said, and then he fell back into the snow with a thunk. He flung his arms up and down, and he moved his legs side to side. Immediately, I understood what he had meant by snow angel, and I fell down beside him and imitated his motions. We both carefully got up and inspected our work. Just at that moment, the sun finally made an appearance, bursting through the clouds and lighting up the snow like glitter just like I had seen a million times before in the movies.
“Fantastic,” I whispered.
“Yeah, it kinda is,” Tommy agreed. “But, now, I’m frozen man, and I’m soaking wet. Can I take you somewhere and drop you off?”
“Sledding,” I told him with enthusiasm.
“Man, I meant somewhere warm and dry,” he laughed at me.
“Well, I only have one day of vacation right now,” I told him. “I need to maximize my experience.”
“Dude,” Tommy said shaking his head. “Come on.”
He motioned me back to the car. When we got in, he cranked up the heat to maximum and started to strip off his wet gear. For the first time, I noticed that I was cold. My feet were a bit numb, and I was pretty sure some snow had found its way inside my boots despite my snow pants. It was then I realized that I had forgotten to get extra socks, a must on all the ski travel sites.
“Maybe some hot chocolate is in order,” I told him reluctantly.
“Excellent suggestion,” he agreed. “I know just the place.”
He drove me to a local coffee shop in a nearby small town. I treated him to a cup of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream as a thank you for teaching me how to make a snow angel, and he heartily thanked me. I realized I was lucky to have such a kind soul for my uber driver.
“Tommy, any chance I can talk you into sledding with me next?” I asked again.
“Nah, man,” he said with a hearty laugh. “I gotta get home. I was planning to be off shift way before now.”
“Oh, that’s ok,” I tell him though I am heartily disappointed. I hadn’t realized how necessary a companion was to fully enjoy winter activities.
“You can’t do everything in one day,” he told me.
“No, I suppose not,” I agreed. Tommy, of course, didn’t understand the mandatory one-day return on time travel. “Back to the airport then, I guess.”
Tommy squinted at me and then nodded slowly before leading the way back to his car. We rode in silence, and I watched the world pass by finally looking the way I had always imagined: green trees covered in snow, white hills shining in the sunlight, a few happy snowmen smiling from front yards. Idyllic winter was apparently the property of the small town.
Eventually, we passed by a giant sledding hill covered in people whooshing down and then trudging back up. A huge grin covered my face at the site. To my surprise, Tommy pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine.
“Come on,” he told me before getting out of the car. I quickly scrambled after him, pulling on my gear in a rush. He popped the truck, and he removed my sled.
“I haven’t done this in years,” he told me.
I grinned stupidly at him before rushing towards the hill. “Race you to the top!” I called out over my shoulder.
“Hey, wait,” he called back. “It’s your sled. You have to carry it!” But I didn’t stop. I only had one day after all, and somehow, I knew Tommy would follow me.
1 pound short ribbed pasta, such as penne rigate or conchiglie
Instructions
Bring pot of water to boil. Gently drop in tomatoes and remove pot from heat. Let stand a minute or so and then remove and peel tomatoes. Discard seeds and dice. Place in large bowl that will accommodate pasta later.
To tomatoes, add capers, olives, basil leaves, red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix.
Stir in fresh mozzarella**.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the sun for 2-3 hours (or let sit at room temperature for 4 hours.)
Just, before serving, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil.
Add pasta to sauce and mix again.
Serve immediately.
Notes
* Or use unflavored oil and add 1 garlic clove, crushed along with other sauce ingredients. Remove garlic before serving.
** If you prefer, add mozzarella to the sauce just before serving, along with the pasta.
This sauce is also very good with grilled tuna.
Has anyone experienced opiate withdrawals while in jail or prison? If so, how did you cope without access to outside help or resources?
Yes. I used heavily for 10 years without having more than 36 hours clean ever over ten years. Jail/prison was the only way I was ever able to kick. It’s strange because sucks, of course, but at the same time it’s weirdly easier to do it while locked up because you know there’s nothing you can do about it. Once you can accept that all the anxiety and desperation disappears and it allows time to pass quicker. I know when I was using and was dopesick I would toss and turn in my bed for what felt like 6 hours and look at the clock and 15 minutes had passed. It just crawled by at a agonizingly slow pace. It wasn’t like that in jail.
Also tell the staff you have really bad diarrhea, and are dangerously dehydrated, and they should offer you Imodium. Imodium(loperamide) binds to the opiate receptor in your gut and will give you some relief. It also slows the movement of electrolytes through your body so you won’t be on the toilet as much, and won’t be as dehydrated, which causes a lot of the muscle pain.
If you have a court date that you know is when you are going to sign and start your time then start tapering down as much as possible before you go in. I went from $100 a day habit down to where a $20 would last me 2 days before I went in and it helped tremendously in reducing the severity of my withdrawals.
Once I was done I was like “wow, that’s what I was so afraid of for 10 years?” It really wasn’t that big of a deal. Not pleasant, but time will pass, it has to, and the symptoms will fade. It won’t kill you. It did take me 9 months of a 15 month sentence to change my mindset that I was going to use soon as I got out. I just woke up one day and no longer remembered heroin fondly. I only remembered everything shitty about it.
It’s Not Just You… Google SUCKS Now.
What are five things we probably don’t know about autopsies?
Here’s more than five fun facts, in no particular order:
Doing an autopsy on decomposed remains will make your eyes water. Badly. You can’t wipe your face because of the three pairs of gloves you have on. It gets better once you get the bowel out and under water
Don’t sneeze inside your mask. If you’re in the middle of something you can’t go clean up
A standard autopsy takes about an hour to do.
Rigor mortis makes the body do weird things. Like slap the assistant on the rear when trying to take certain organs out
The autopsy room is not “sterile”
We used Home Depot 5 gallon buckets lined with a plastic bag for the viscera
Maggots will grow inside of the garbage disposals if they’re not cleaned regularly. Oh, we use garbage disposals in our sinks
Blood and other bodily fluids are allowed by law to go right down the drain. Once a year we would get a complaint from Public Works that the sewer was full of blood
Severely decomposed remains are subject to having the remaining tissue dissected from the bones and having the bones boiled to clean them. This is to look for injuries
It’s easy to accidentally break someone’s spine if they’re elderly and in rigor mortis
We use pruning shears to cut through the ribs. We use an oscillating saw for the skull. The blade will not cut through tissue, only bone
The testicles are taken out through the space between the pubic bone and the skin of the lower abdomen
We may keep some body parts forever, especially in a homicide. We may keep the body forever if he/she is unidentified. We keep the DNA forever
The formalin mixture for preservation smells like mayonnaise
Most of the dissection is done bluntly (using hands) or with scissors
Moving larger decedents requires an engine winch
Decedents who come in after organ donation sometimes have PVC pipe installed where their bones used to be. Some places don’t do this and to move someone with no bones is very difficult
The “whiskers” (marks from the aluminum piping on the N-95 masks) stay on your face for the rest of the day
You get used to an altered sense of smell from the sweaty mask, dead people in varying states of cleanliness, decomposition, or disease
Babies are the worst.
I am dying of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. What will the final 2 months be like?
I recently lost my wife to pancreatic cancer (neuroendocrine). The last two months, Debbie was in home hospice care. This was one of the smartest decisions we ever made. I knew she was going to die; it was just a matter of when. When Debbie had good days, we went out. Meals, her birthday, out with friends. Bad days were trying to control breakout pain, constipation, nausea, anxiety, etc. For Debbie, all seemed normal. For me, it was worse. I worked, and I was a caregiver. I watched her die a little each day. And as usual, she was more worried about me than herself.
The bad days ate me alive. The case worker and social worker were very concerned about my health and well-being. I sacrificed, but I did what I had to do. I always did. I would have switched places with her any day of the week. I’d have taken a bullet for her as well.
So, best advice: go about your life. Do as much as you can. Take your medicines. Home hospice was a blessing. It is the only way to go. Pass away at home, in your own bed. Let everyone make peace with you. Think good thoughts. Remember the good times. Your passing will have great meaning to every heart you touched.
Has a super rich person ever been treated so badly at a store that they then turned around and bought the store just to fire the employee?
Originally Answered: Has a super rich person ever been treated badly at a store then turned around and bought the store just to fire the employee?
Probably the most famous case like this involved the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.
The story starts in Las Vegas and the Hotel Desert Inn which, at the time, was owned by Dalitz.
At the time, the Desert Inn hosted the largest casino on the strip in Vegas. Hughes moved into and rented the top two floors of the hotel on Thanksgiving Day 1966.
After a couple weeks the hotel owners wanted to get Hughes to leave as they felt his eccentricity was negative PR for the Vegas image of their hotel. They also wanted to make room for the high rollers expected over the upcoming holiday season. Hughes was also perceived as a little crazy by this time in his life.
Instead of moving out though, Hughes entered negotiations to buy the Desert Inn. He managed to purchase the resort from Dalitz for $6.2 million in cash and $7 million in loans.
Hughes lived, worked and never left his 250 sq. ft. bedroom in the hotel. The windows and doors were taped shut. No housekeeping was allowed in. He conducted a large amount of business from the phones of this small, darkened room.
He was finally carried out four years later on a gurney and flown to the Bahamas to live out the last few years of his weird life.
Stand by me – Full movie
This is a GREAT movie. It’s a 1980’s classic and all about boyhood.
Living in American Samoa was quite the experience. So beautiful, yet so very remote.
where is american samoa in the world
And the Polynesian culture was really, REALLY different. Still, it was a great experience.
I remember driving by the local jail.
park
All the inmates were in the front lawn hanging out under the fale.
In Samoa, a "fale" is a traditional open-sided structure with a thatched roof, supported by wooden posts. These structures serve as communal spaces for gatherings, relaxation, and various activities, and they are an integral part of Samoan culture and architecture.
A fale.
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I wondered, why no fences? But on second thought, why bother? Where will they run off to? Everyone on the island knows everyone else, there’s no place to hide.
So they were just chillin’ out.
Pago Pago
Later on, they built a fence, and all the inmates gladly pitched in. Only in Samoa could you send an inmate out to fetch an order of burgers, and he will return back with your burgers and change.
AS11 035
Note the front gate, right of photo. The door isn't locked – it simply has a latch. Usually not engaged. Inmates can walk out. Sometimes they do; they always return.
I recently had an escape charge – my client left (he went over the fence out back), went home for dinner, then snuck back in.
He was hungry. They only caught him because somebody saw him walking down the street.
He'll get 5 years for having dinner with Mom.Jail transport is a hoot.
The van brings prisoners in orange jump suits up to Court. They get out, then mill around in & out of the court building. Families, girlfriends, kids are there and they get together, hug, and talk.
If I need to speak to a client, I take him outside, we talk, I bring him back.
The jailors don't seem to get bent out of shape about it.
Then, in High Court, when they go into the actual courtroom all are shackled hand and foot with big chains. They can only shuffler arund, and can't even sign their names if required.
Once they leave court, the chains come off and they meander outside back toward the van. Weird. But, where would they go? They're wearing an orange coverall and it's an ISLAND!!
It was a different culture, and a different way of life. I’ll tell you what.
Today…
As a doctor or nurse, what was your “oh shoot, this is bad!” moment?
Trauma surgeon here. We got a few patients from a high speed MVA. All of them were in varying amounts of pain, and one patient was in C-spine protection. Fire said that she had been unconscious when the arrived on scene, and she only woke up about five minutes into the drive to the hospital. She was kind of confused why she was in a neck brace at first, but once the situation was explained to her she rolled with it and then just asked for some pain medication.
No problemo.
So, we send her to CT, and I move on to a different patient. Now, right here, it is important to explain something – at my hospital we have iPhones running a secure program called Tiger, (so we can call/text/leave messages for each other directly, without having to use the PA system/call the floor.
That being said, you still routinely get calls on the floor phone for things like report, test results, etc. – pretty much anything that they want to make sure you see ASAP because it may change your care plan.) – and for something like this, I would expect to have them send me a text saying that the CT scan was ready and to call ext. XXXX if additional details are requested, along with a file of the imaging and the radiologist’s report. This also generally takes 1–2 hours.
About 20 minutes after I send her to CT, I simultaneously get paged over the PA, I get called on the floor, I get a call on my personal cell phone, and I get a call and text on my personal cell phone, and I get the following text message from the radiologist on Tiger:
| You’re gonna want to see this. CT rm. 3a.
No file. No radiologist’s report. Okay, so I now can safely assume some shit is going down in CT-3a. I excuse myself from my very confused second patient, but when I tell her it’s an emergency she is very understanding that her appendix will have to wait.
So I literally run to- and down the stairs to the basement, get to the room and my patient is now:
In four point restraints.
Heavily sedated.
Not gonna lie, I assumed she swung on the radiologist/radio tech, as there are very limited times you can put someone in restraints. Oh, and four point restraints? If you put those suckers on in any other situation than the tiny, minute, nearly-non-existent sliver of situations where it’s allowed, you can literally go to jail. Oddly enough, she doesn’t look upset, (yes, she’s flying high on the Versed that the radiologist ordered, but she’s like strangely calm.
So, one thing you never want to see on a CT/X-ray of the spine is black where two vertebrae are supposed to be shown beaming bright white like a Jamaican beach. You especially never want to see that space between two cervical vertebrae. Why? Because when you find that two cervical vertebrae are no longer touching your patient is either:
Dead.
Brain dead.
About to be both of the above.
What your patient is not supposed to be is awake and talking.
Well, my patient was:
Awake.
Talking.
Internally decapitated.
Heavily sedated and restrained because my radiologist was willing to risk going to jail because he recognized that if she moved even a fraction of a centimeter she could – and most likely would – end up paralyzed or dead.
Luckily, we are a Level 1 trauma hospital, so, Radiologist and I started making some frantic phone calls, (where at some point in nearly every call we would end up saying something along the lines of I’m not joking. or Why would I joke about this? etc.)
So, eventually we, at a snail’s pace on purpose, move her from CT to the OR, and a team of a half-dozen of us open her up and miraculously put her spine back together. She survived with no lasting paralysis.
When we were scrubbing out and the weight of what happened finally hit us, the older of the two neurologists was kind of absently looking at the body bag in the corner. He was just pondering that which we never had to open nor use – thank the stars – and just matter-of-factly said what we had all been feeling.
I really thought that was going to be a Humpty Dumpty.
One of the surgical nurses asked what a Humpty Dumpty was, and I and the Ortho answered her in unison:
…and all the King’s horses, and all the King’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again.
What do you think of NATO’s Washington Summit Declaration, referring to China as a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, and saying Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security?
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This is the biggest middle finger to NATO in the past 3 years
This single picture says it all
The Language is what defines anything
There was no Cautious Language that you read when you see Orban return from Russia or China where Orban for all his bluster is still very scared of the US and EU and uses very conservative language
There was a “F*** you” language to the Indian MEA transcripts
It was literally like this trip was on July 2021 not 2024
That’s what G7, US and Nato get today
My bet is India is also rapidly distancing itself from Israel
That’s because four Israeli firms have got the boot from the Global Approved Nuclear Energy Construction Vendor List and instead Two Russian, Two Chinese and One Brazilian firm has been added to the list since 2024 June
ALL BRICS MEMBER COUNTRIES
That’s the reality today
Of the 170 or so of the Nations, that aren’t US or their lackeys:-
Nobody gives a damn about Ukraine
Nobody gives a damn about NATO
Nobody gives a damn about G7
Nobody gives a damn about USA or IMF
Whatever the US says or NATO or G7 says, people listen with one ear and let it out with the other
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr orders de-escalation in South China Sea
The Philippines and China, longstanding rivals in the strategic waterway, agreed on Tuesday on the need to ‘restore trust’ and ‘rebuild confidence’ following a high-level meeting.
He insisted that US withdraw their missiles to 80 miles away and showed that even this Cretin Lackey has SOME SPINE
“Dadcore” Is My New Favorite Trend.
What is the grossest thing you have seen in the military?
I fought in the Russo-Ukrainian war with the International Legion. I saw many upsetting sight, but the grossest one that has really stuck with me was during the battle for Klishchiivka, slightly south of Bakhmut and after the fall of Bakhmut in 2023. It was before Ukraine recaptured Klishchiivka (and they have since lost it again).
We were on an assault mission the capture some trenches in the surrounding forest (what was left of it) and the place was littered with mines. We had an EOD expert leading the way and we passed a dead Ukrainian soldier inside a body bag. The area was still too hot to extract the body so it just lay there as the battle raged.
We failed the assault mission and had to fall back. No ground was gained or lost, but the Russians knew we were there and were raining artillery down on us. As we fell back, around noon, we passed the body bag again. It had been perforated by artillery shrapnel and the July heat had slow cooked the flesh. A foul, greenish-brown goop oozed out of the bag and stunk horribly. It was leaking onto the ground a few inches from the safe trail.
As the artillery was landing, we ducked for cover and I had to duck next to the body. On the other side of the trail were two Russian soldiers who had been dead for some time. They were Inside a shell crater and had almost decomposed completely. I could see their skeletons, one with a large hole in the skull. Both has bits of dehydrated flesh clinging to the skeleton. I was laying between dead of long ago and dead of recently, waiting for my death from the artillery.
A few meters further, there was the decapitated head of a Russian laying amongst some anti-tank mines that had been piled up. The head was as decomposed as the other Russians, a testament to the longevity of battle there. I did not see a body and did not bother to look. Helmets and shattered rifles littered the trail. So much death in the tiny tree line.
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The body bag. Not a very clear image and I couldn’t find a clear shot of the Russian bodies.
Earlier In the day, as we arrived in the assault position, an M-113 was struck by a helicopter missile and burst into flames. Luckily, it was only ammunition in the back, which burned and cooked off for about 20 minutes. The driver and commander both survived. They came running across 250 meters of open field to our position with blistered skin and burned, shattered clothing. One soldier jumped into the fighting hole with me and I could see hand-sized blisters forming on his legs. He was in immense pain. Oleg was his name. He was extracted and I do not know his fate this day.
The whole day, collectively, would be my grossest experience, but the oozing body bag really got to me. I will never forget it
What is the minimum amount of capital to start a mini importation business with from China to Africa (specifically Ghana)?
I’d say as little as US$1000-$2000. Cash and carry, fly to Yiwu or Guangzhou, buy goods in cash, carry them back home in suitcases or cartons. You are in business.
Forget container, you can’t afford that, you don’t need that. If you need a shipping agent, there are many billboards and advertisements in wholesale markets, once you are there, you can ask them to ship for you.
There are 100,000s of African traders in Yiwu and Guangzhou, doing exactly as I described above. Ethiopian airlines fly directly to Guangzhou, I saw African traders at the airport, buying and taking goods home to sell, exactly what Marco Polo was doing 800 years ago.
YouTubers SMASH anti-China propaganda with REALITY
What do you think of NATO’s Washington Summit Declaration, referring to China as a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, and saying Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security?
I think it speaks volumes that NATO doesn’t love Ukraine and they don’t want the war in Ukraine to end so soon.
The Chinese know that if you want the war to end as soon as possible, you should concentrate your forces on one opponent, so try to unite your friends and isolate your enemies.
If NATO thinks that the tragedy in Ukraine is caused by Russia, then concentrate your forces on Russia. You can buy as many weapons as you can and send them to Ukraine, you can even send soldiers to fight Russia directly, you can even drop nukes on Moscow. These are all solutions to the Ukrainian crisis.
But you didn’t do that, you sent expired weapons to Ukraine like toothpaste and sent young and middle-aged Ukrainians to their deaths. And then actually said, “We realized that China is the ultimate boss of the Ukra problem, so we should solve Russia and China together.” You guys really want Ukraine to die.
Molasses and Pepper Crusted Steak
molasses pepper crusted beef
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Marinade
1/2 cup molasses
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes
Steaks
4 Flat Iron, Top Sirloin, Tenderloin or Strip Steaks
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Marinade
Whisk together ingredients. Pour into zip-top bag containing steaks. Seal tightly and flip a few times to evenly distribute marinade. Set in refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours, flipping bag occasionally.
Heat gas or charcoal grill to 400 degrees F.
Steaks
Remove steaks and discard marinade. Season with salt and more pepper to taste.
Place steaks on oiled grates and grill for approximately 7 to 9 minutes on one side, or until moisture starts to pool on the top and beef releases easily from grates with tongs. Flip once, grilling on the other side for 6 to 8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F with meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of steak.
Transfer steaks to platter and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing against the grain.
Why she sold everything, left America, and moved to Vietnam
What are some of the accidental photos that went viral?
There are times when celebrities accidentally photobomb. Of course, it has to go viral.
Check out:
Heisenberg
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2. You have been Nick Caged!
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3. Can you spot the celebrity?
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4. The Rockkk!
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5. He is looking for the choppa.
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6. This is terrifying!
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7 Here’s a girl with no name!
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8. I never witness this kind of photobomb
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9. This has to be the greatest accidental photo ever.
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10. Benedict bombing all of them!
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What’s the most unreasonable request you’ve received from your boss?
This happened thirty years ago and I still find my blood pressure spiking when I think about it.
I worked at a small steel mill in Tuscaloosa, AL, called (at the time) Tuscaloosa Steel. Our Vice President, “Percy,” was a stuck-up Brit from British Steel, the company that basically owned Tuscaloosa Steel.
My maternal grandmother had a major medical issue and was in the local hospital for open heart surgery. I took that day off work so I could be at the hospital for when she went into and came out of surgery, and to be there to support my mother and grandfather, who were beside themselves with worry. My boss and all my coworkers knew where I was and why. So did my boss’ boss, Percy.
We had just started installing new software called RollCIM at the mill, and no one was familiar with it except the IT department, of which I was a member.
My group was demonstrating part of RollCIM to some of the users and ran into an issue. Now, any single one of them could have fixed it.
But. No.
Percy decides that I and only I can fix whatever the hell the problem was. So he pages me (at the time there were no cell phones; we had pagers) with a 911. I call the mill from the hospital waiting room and am told to get my ass to the mill right now because Percy is frothing at the mouth and needs me to fix something that blew up while being demoed to our users.
My grandmother was literally in surgery. We didn’t know if she was going to live or die. But I had to leave the hospital with my mother and grandfather sitting there STUNNED at the audacity of this…”man.”
I get to the mill in record time because I went about 80. I run in, and there are 4 or 5 people standing around a terminal, and Percy is fuming. He gestures at the screen. “This is unacceptable!”
I literally pressed like three keys and it cleared the error right up. I said, “Is that all you needed? Because I need to be back at the hospital immediately. My grandmother should be coming out of surgery any time now.”
None of the people to whom the product was being demoed knew he’d gotten me out of the hospital to come press three keys on the keyboard. One of my coworkers said, “I kept telling him I could fix it, but he insisted it had to be you.”
So I high-tailed it back to the hospital and got there just in time for my grandmother to come out of surgery, OK. No complications, thank goodness.
But that’s not the end of the story.
Several days later, we were having a departmental meeting where we all got into a conference room and went over incidents of the previous week and plans for the current week. At the end of the meeting, Percy turns to me with a huge grin on his face and asks, “Oh, by the way, how is your aunt?”
I directed all the hate I could at him with just a look and said, “They’re all just fine. None of them were sick. My GRANDMOTHER, on the other hand, who had open-heart-surgery, is in a lot of pain, but recovering nicely, thank you.”
You could have heard a pin drop in that room and our boss called an end to the meeting immediately.
And that is but one of several stories I could tell about this pompous ass.
The 9 Sexiest Things Men Wear According To Women
Here’s a poser.
Which is the biggest car market in the world, in terms of new car registrations?
Which car market has the broadest retail presence by global carmakers?
Answer?
China.
Do you know why both the EU and America instituted lightning quick tariffs on Chinese EVs?
Because their ICE, hybrid and EV products are being decimated in China. Yup, “overproduction” that has spilled into China for decades are rapidly tumbling.
>30% sales reduction yoy is commonplace, and the list includes Porsche.
Even BMW, which a sales manager boasted (to me) “sells itself” and therefore, no discounts or freebies, had to immediately discount its brand new G60 i5 by 20+%, just to move the model out the door.
A 20+% discount on a brand new generation hot off the production line!
The Chinese competition is smoking hot.
The average non-mainland youtube car channel will look VERY, VERY different with Chinese cars in the mix.
At this point, mainland car channels might as well be from a different galaxy, showcasing wares that are not only cheaper, but materially superior to the competition.
2024 crystallizes the divergence between east and west, with the Chinese taking over the mantle of tech leadership.
Thank God I’m born Asian.
Welcome to the 21st century.
The Asian century.
Shorpy
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What facts about Japan do foreigners not believe until they come to Japan?
Though nearly two months have passed since I came here, Japan never fails to amaze and amuse me with a different experience each day, everyday! Among other things, my interactions with the Japanese, though few and far, have already made a lasting impact on me! I would like to share two such memorable instances that will be enshrined in my heart forever.
So, I had scheduled for a parcel to be delivered to my room at 12pm. I opened the door at 11:55 and the delivery man was standing right in front of the door! When I asked him why he hadn’t knocked on my door, he said he was waiting for the clock to strike 12! What?! I had no idea someone could be that humble (and of course punctual, it’s futile to even talk about their punctuality as it is simply too amazing to be described in words).
On a cold afternoon, I was at an Indian restaurant having lunch. A man seated next to my table started smoking while eating. As I am averse to the cigar smoke, I asked the waiter and sat down at the corner table, far away from this man. On realizing that his smoking had bothered me, he came up to me and apologized. Well that’s polite and I can fathom it. But when I finished my lunch and went to pay the bill, the waiter told me that the man was very sorry for the inconvenience he might have caused me and had already paid my bill. Really?! Words fail to describe what I felt then!
I get a feeling that I’ll learn more from observing how Japanese are than by listening to lectures at the university! Hats off Japan! 🙂
High Value Man REFUSES To Pay For Woman’s Food & Leaves!
What is an example of a dirty trick that a thief tried but backfired when they saw your dog?
In the late 80s I took a promotion that required me to live in a town 50 miles from my wife; she had just landed her carrier position so we decide to rough it out for a few months to see what would work. At the time we had a Golden Lab mix named Amber she was just a huge sweetie. Meter readers etc had no problem coming into the yard; she would require them to toss the ball a couple of times for her cooperation. One evening the wife and I were talking to each other on the phone when we heard a back bedroom window break window break; Wife hung up reached for her pistol and called 911. When I arrived 45 minutes later, the Police were finishing their report and actually smirking; it seems that when the window broke Amber went hell hound and the guy breaking it and ripped his arm up pretty good. According to the police he showed up at the ER claiming a Dog attacked him as he was just walking along, he confessed when the officer asked him if the blood in our backyard would match his. Several months later we had to give her up; about 6 months later I am at McDs n the parking lot and all of a sudden Amber is jumping all over me. The young lady who hade her was embarrassed until she found out we were Ambers previous people; she than asked me if she had had any training as a protection dog: I told her no and she related that about 2 months after she got her a Ex decided to come pay her a visit, when she screamed Amber once again went Hell hound on him.
The diner hummed, packed with people eating a quick meal before heading out to New Year’s Eve parties, leaving only one seat at the counter. The man entering took the last seat next to a tall, thin woman nursing a cup of tea and waiting on her meal.“Happy New Year,” he said as he sat down.“Hmph.” The woman offered as a non-acknowledgment of his sentiment.“Sorry,” he said. “Hi, I’m—” she cut him off with a raised hand.“You’re you, I’m me, pleasetameetcha, blah blah blah.” She picked up her tea and sipped while he ordered. “This isn’t a bar, so don’t try chatting me up.”“Sorry,” he said again. “You have plans for tonight? Watching the fireworks over the lake?”She let out a heavy sigh. “You just don’t know when to stop, do you?”“Probably not.” He took a sip of the bitter coffee the diner served and looked at her again. “It’s just that you seem a little down, and the fireworks are always breath-taking.” He shrugged. “It won’t fix anything, but it might take your mind off it for a while.”“I suppose that’s what you’re doing tonight?” she asked.“Every New Year,” he answered. “There’s just something about the play of light reflected off the lake that makes it so… I don’t have the words for it.”“A romantic, huh?” She paused as the waitress sat her plate in front of her. “Or just trying a different tack?”“No, I’ll cop to being a romantic.” He chuckled. “It’s not manly or cool, I know, but I can’t change who I am.”“Fine.” She talked between bites of food, less annoyed by the intruder than she wanted to be. “So don’t change.”“What do you like best about New Year’s?” he asked.“I don’t.” Her answer was curt, around a mouthful of salad.“I see.” He said it like someone had just told him that an invisible pink unicorn was walking through the diner. “So how do you celebrate the new year?”“I don’t.” She popped a bit of steak in her mouth, hoping he’d get the hint that the topic was off-limits.“Ever?” he asked. “I mean, you must have, at some point. With family, when you were younger?”She was ready to tell him off, but realized she didn’t want to. Not yet, anyway. “I… used to.” She took a sip of her tea. “About seven or eight years ago I stopped.”“What happened?” His green eyes had an open curiosity that she found difficult to ignore.“I… got drunk one New Year’s Eve and tested a prototype machine before it was ready.” Her face turned to the half-eaten plate in front of her. She pushed it away, her appetite gone.
“Did… did someone get hurt?” The curiosity turned to concern.
“No, it just… didn’t work as expected.” Her expression turned sour.
“So your experiment failed?” Curiosity returned to his face. “Did the prototype get destroyed? Can you try again?”
“I didn’t say it failed.” She sighed. “It just worked in an unexpected fashion, which I might have been able to foresee had I been sober when I fired it up.”
“Well, that’s a good reason to not drink while experimenting, it hardly seems reason to give up celebrating at all,” he said.
“If you had to….” She sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fair enough.” He ate in silence for a minute, then put down his fork and turned in his chair to face her. “What I like best about it is a fresh start. A whole new year to try again, start over, or start something new.”
“It’s arbitrary.” Her appetite had returned, and she picked at her plate. “If it was a Solstice, then yeah, days are getting longer or shorter depending on which you choose.” She cut another bite of steak and popped it in her mouth.
“There’s no reason,” she said after swallowing, “that the change from December to January should be any different than the change from March to April.”
“But the year is changing, marking another trip around the sun.” The man ignored his cooling plate and continued to face her.
“Do you really think the year makes the difference?” She frowned. “Maybe for you it does. For me, it’s always the same. Tomorrow’s just another day.”
“Another day, another year.” His eyes smiled.
“So you really think 2020 will be different from 2019?” Her brown eyes locked on his.
“Probably,” he said. “Likely better.”
“A romantic and an optimist, huh?” She chuckled. “That’s an odd and unlikely combination.” Her voice dripped sarcasm.
“You said you stopped celebrating New Year’s Eve seven or eight years ago.” His eyes turned curious again. “What have you done since?”
She frowned. “Every year, for the past seven? Yes, seven… years I sit here on December 31, in this seat, and have a steak dinner before going home and going to bed.”
“That would be sad, if it was true.” His eyes narrowed. “Since this place only opened last year, I know that’s not the case. But, you want to keep it private, I understand.”
“You really don’t,” she said, “but thanks for trying, anyway.” She left a fifty-dollar bill on the counter and walked out.
Once back in her third-floor walk-up she locked the door, changed into pajamas, and set some music playing lightly on the stereo. She plugged in her phone. December 31, 2019 10:03 PM the display showed. Will I just cease to exist in 2020? What happens for them?
She soon fell into a fitful sleep. As she slept, she relived starting the machine in her dream. Even in her dream she experienced the hazy excitement of what it would mean if her machine worked. She tried to stop her dream self, but to no avail.
“Stop!” she screamed. “It doesn’t work the way you think!” Her dream self ignored her. The dream continued with the machine humming to life and then a blinding light.
She woke in the morning and looked at her phone. It showed her morning list of top tweets. The first was an all-caps greeting from the president, wishing a happy New Year to his “enemies” and the “fake news.” She knew it by heart. As much as she had hoped for a different year, it was the same. She locked the phone, the display showing January 1, 2019 8:04 AM.
TikTok Exposed REAL Grocery Price Inflation
Why do many Chinese people become much more patriotic and defensive about China after living in the West?
Originally Answered: Why do many Chinese become much more nationalistic and defensive about China after living in the west?
Because people realize the “west” they have been told about simply doesn’t exist.
Let me explain. Before the reformation of 1978, almost nobody had been to western countries, except for politicians and scholars. The country itself is not satisfying as well. Japan, Singapore, even North Korea (under Soviet reinforcement) is better than China in many ways. This, to the Chinese people, is mind blowing. People were taught that countries like Korea used to be sovereign states of China, but China is now left behind.
It wasn’t until the beginning of this century that Chinese started to go out and explore the rest of the world. But the idea of being left behind is still in many people’s mind.
However, when Chinese finally made it to the west, they get shocked by the fact that the so called “lighthouse of democracy” (nick name for the United States) is not perfect. People get frustrated by racism, foreign nationalism and violence in the foreign nation.
It is not their fault, not at all. But still, people believe that this can’t be true.
“How can there be so much racism? I was taught that Asians have the highest income here! Why is this happening?”
“How can there be so much nationalism? I was taught that the media of the United States was never controlled by their democratic government! Why is this happening?”
“How can there be so much violence? Why do people get shot almost once a week? I thought this wouldn’t happen in a democratic society!”
…
Several years gone…
When they look back to the place they just come from, a country growing at an astonishing speed, they finally understood why.
They now know every country has its own pros and cons, and they now know that the country they come from isn’t that bad at all. In the contrary, it might even seem to be a better choice for them.
Chinese people are sometimes fooled by its own kind that if you go to the west, you get everything: you get money, a happy family and a nice job. In fact, this is also what many US immigrants in the early 20th century believed. “Go to America! And you’ll get everything!”
But when your own country grows from “nothing” to “something” to “something more than something”, you’ll start to wander: is the US always better than China in every aspects? Is my country really worse than the US?
Development is the key.
That’s how you get nationalism.
Edit: the point I want to make clear of is that older generation Chinese have this strange “fairytale” thought about the west. It’s not because of propaganda, but because people accept the feeling of China being a backward country and the fact that the west is indeed much more advanced. But the economic boost changed all that. Now, many Chinese regain their confidence of being one of the top countries in the world. The Germans, Japanese and Russians all experienced the change when their country rises.
PREPARE! “We Have Never Seen Anything Like This In Recorded History.”
As a police officer, have you ever let someone by with a warning during a traffic stop and later on pulled them over again for the same violation?
I sure have! A particular young lad with an obnoxiously loud and very illegal aftermarket “muffler” installed on his modded Honda Civic. Both, the first and second times I pulled him over, I gave him a warning, informing him that the State law is very clear, that the installation of “mufflers” that do not dampen noise as effectively as the stock one does is prohibited.
I saw him continuing to drive around relatively often (it was hard to miss whenever he went by) but I deliberately waited about a month between the three more times I stopped him (preemptive countermeasure to any Harassment claim), and ticketed him all three times. The third ticket, however, was not for the illegal muffler, it was a Criminal Citation for driving on a suspended license: it was inactivated by the DMV for ignoring the requirement he actually pay the previous fined. Also, at that time, State law REQUIRED police to impound the vehicle of anyone caught driving on a suspended license. So I did, and never saw that car again. (No doubt it was because he couldn’t afford the impound & storage fee on top of all the tickets he got from me and probably other officers as well.)
Yes, I felt bad for him the first time I stopped him, which is why he got the warning. The second time, he told me that the replacement muffler had been shipped but hadn’t arrived yet, but had to get to work. I pointed out that he probably still had the stock muffler & strongly suggested he reinstall until the (unnecessary) new one arrived. But I let him off. I didn’t hook his car until four MONTHS later, during which time there were MANY times I saw him driving but didn’t stop him. By the end, no, I didn’t feel bad for him at all— all that happened to him he brought upon himself & he had his eyes wide open the whole time.
Man Silences Audience Full of Women..
Why should we not approach a stranded ship?
The true story of U-118 at Hastings and the dangers of old ships.
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Aerial view of German U-118 U-Boat washed up on its way to France April 15 1919.
After World War 1 ended, the German Navy surrendered and many of its ships were interned at the Royal Navy’s chief naval base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands north of the Scottish mainland. However SM U-118 was surrender by the Imperial German Navy to the Allies at Harwich on 23 February 1919. U-118 was due to be transferred to France, but while on tow from Harwich to Brest, in company with UB-121 during the early hours of 15 April 1919 she broke tow in a storm , and ran aground on the beach at Hastings in Sussex at approximately 00:45, directly in front of the Queens Hotel.
Initially, there were attempts to re-float the stricken vessel. Three tractors were used to try and pull the submarine back into the sea and a French destroyer then attempted to break the ship apart using her guns, all efforts were unsuccessful, and the closeness of the submarine to the public beach and the Queens Hotel prevented the use of explosives.
U-118 had been launched on February 23, 1918, she was 267 feet long, displaced 1,200 tons and was armed with a 150mm deck gun, 14 torpedoes and 42 mines. SM U-118 had a lackluster career, sinking only two ships. She was surrendered to the Allies on February 23, 1919, exactly one year after she was launched.
The city fathers decided to make the best of this instant tourist attraction, the Admiralty put the local coast guard in charge and allowed the town clerk to charge sixpence apiece to visitors wishing to climb onto the deck of U-118. After two weeks, nearly £300 had been raised for the Mayor´s Fund for the welcome home of troops from France.
Special excursions inside the submarine were arranged for important visitors, these were led by the two coast guardsmen, but the visits were stopped after two weeks when both these gentlemen became strangely ill. Instead of getting better, they got progressively worse, until, by February of 1920, both were dead.
Their autopsies revealed abscesses in their lungs and brains, probably caused by chlorine gas leaking from the sub’s damaged batteries.
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U-118 ashore at Hastings crowded with tourists.
The decision was made to break up U-118 and sell it for scrap. Hastings was presented with the 150mm (6-in) deck gun, but they decided to get rid of it in 1921. It is believed that portions of the sub’s keel still sit under the sands.
Putin Responds to Trump Wanting to End the War in Ukraine!
What Chinese foods in America impress Chinese people visiting America?
Thanks for the A2A, Liana.
My then 8 yo daughter had an one-month home stay at my cousin’s home in Denver, Colorado.
I video chatted with her daily. She told me she loved eating at Uncle Woo’s restaurant. Uncle Woo is my cousin’s husband, a second generation Chinese American who runs a Chinese restaurant in Denver. I was so grateful and relieved to hear that.
Me: ‘Great! What’s your favorite food in Uncle’s Chinese restaurant?’
She: ‘Sushi!’
Me: ‘Er… Sushi is a Japanese food… anyway I’m glad you love it. What’s your favorite topping of sushi? Tuna?’
She: ‘Tempura!’
Me: ‘Er… Tenpura on Sushi? I’ve never heard of that. Tell me more. What’s it like?’
She: ‘Uncle and Auntie deep fry big shrimps, top them on the rice roll, and dip sweet salty sauce on them. Yum yum!’
Me: ‘Wow that sounds unique. I wish I could taste them too.’
She: ‘You know what? Today Auntie taught me to make dumplings. I wrapped many dumplings. And they are flower-shaped!’
Me: ‘Impressive! I’ve never seen flower-shaped dumplings. Must be beautiful! What’s the fillings?’
She: ‘Cheese!’
Me: ‘Er… I can’t imagine what they would taste like… did you eat them?’
She: ‘Yes! Those are my No.2 favorite! We wrap them like flowers, then auntie deep fry them, they taste super creamy.’
When she came back from Denver, she brought many ‘Lucky Cookies’ as souvenirs from USA to her friends. The ‘Surprise!’ inside the cookies gave kids so much fun.
She also taught her grandma to make flower-shaped cheese-filling dumplings when we visited them in Beijing on Chinese New Year, and shared them with our neighbors.
Chinese people always say ‘Be it a black cat or a white cat, a cat that catches mice is a good cat.’
I say be it Chinese or American, be it Japanese or Italian, a food that is delicious and fun is a good food.
And salute Uncle Woo’s family, salute food lovers all over the world who constantly create new food cultures to warm our stomachs and hearts.
SCOTT RITTER JOINS ON PUTIN’S KNOCKOUT BLOW TO NATO
Perfect Backyard Porterhouse
grilled porterhouse steak
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
9 x 13 inch aluminum foil pan
2 pounds baby new red potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
Place potatoes, fennel, shallot, butter, red wine, salt and pepper in foil pan. Seal tightly with aluminum foil and place on medium-high grill to steam, approximately 20 minutes.
Add asparagus to vegetable tray; stir and continue to cook over medium heat 5 to 10 more minutes.
Season steaks with salt and pepper. Grill to medium rare or desired doneness.
Remove steaks and let rest for 5 minutes.
Serve steak with vegetables and sauce from pan.
Notes
* Other cuts that you can use for this recipe: T-bone Steak, Ribeye Steak
What is the strangest scam a car dealership ever tried to pull on you?
NOTE: This is NOT my uncle’s actual car, but very similar to the one he bought. Picture for illustration purposes only.
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When my uncle retired, he decided to treat himself to a brand-new Corvette. He shopped for weeks, finally choosing a loaded model in a bright racing yellow.
He was so excited on delivery day. I drove him to the dealership and when we arrived, his new car was out front, facing the street but parked very close to the wall of the showroom. He didn’t care because he’d be driving his new car and I would be driving my car. The salesman rushed him through the paperwork, gave him the keys and said he had another appointment to get to. This annoyed my uncle considering the amount of money he had just spent. But he was still excited, so he hopped in and fired up the 427 engine. I told him I’d follow him to the gas station; this happened in the days when a dealership provided just enough fuel to get you to your first fill-up.
He pulled out and turned right down the boulevard. A few blocks later, he pulled into a station, then swung the Corvette around the pump, perhaps so he’d be facing the street when finished gassing up. My mouth fell open in horror as I watched him swing around. The entire passenger side of the car, the side that was against the wall at the dealership, was totally smashed. Dents, paint ripped down to the fiberglass, trim completely missing. The car was destroyed on the passenger side. I pulled over and tried to warn my uncle before he saw it but I was too late. He had gotten out with a big smile on his face, ready for his first fill-up with his brand new Corvette, only to see this total mess. We both stood there dumbfounded for a moment, but soon anger took over.
We immediately returned to the dealership and found the salesman, who was on the phone. I had to restrain my uncle from hitting this guy, he was screaming at him at calling him every name in the book. We went outside and showed the salesman the car, and he had the balls to accuse my uncle of being the one who damaged the car! By this time a small crowd had gathered around the scene, and finally the owner of the dealership came out.
The salesman admitted that he had smashed the car when he was bringing it out of the storage lot, and didn’t want to lose the sale, so he hid the damage by parking it so it wasn’t visible. The owner immediately fired the salesman, apologized to my uncle, gave him a loaner car for free while they ordered a new Corvette, then when he came to pick up the replacement car, the owner gave my uncle a check for $10,000, which was more than he paid for the car! Because of all of this, my uncle didn’t sue the dealership. That salesman’s actions were the scummiest I’ve ever come across.
She Instantly REGRETS Divorcing Her Husband When She Realizes No One Want Her with 5 Kids | The Wall
Why do so many people think that dying their hair to look like an Easter egg and then walking around in public is so attractive?
I used to date a gay cop.
If we were out to dinner, he could become visibly fixated and angry, almost trembling with rage, because some stranger across the room had dyed and shaped their hairstyle into a violet Mohawk.
This really happened, decades ago, and I am still confused.
Returning to our date, I am siting there, thinking FFS, you’re a gay cop and you cannot handle anyone who does not fall in line according to your standards. It’s just hair. It’s not anti-social. The guy has cut his hair to express an identification with counterculture, maybe. It’s different, but who cares?
Gay cops are hot.
I gave him too many passes despite this scary inclination brought forth by non-conforming people of all stripes. It was amazingly predictable and a frightening irony. We have freedom of self expression in this nation, though we may lose it soon. If Republicans want state bans on contraception FFS?
The brunt of their authoritarian rage in full plumage is difficult to ascertain.
I think I finally told him, “You’re a gay cop. Not the fashion police, you know?”
In America, we don’t have a fashion police with enforcement powers.
And for damn good reasons.
Seriously, who gives a shit? Why would anyone give a shit?
The guy with the Mohawk is not your enemy.
You need a scapegoat.
Deep in this guy’s angry soul, he desperately needed everyone to conform or it upset him, as if his insistence on compliant appearances belied the inner shame that drove him to law enforcement in the first place, not that all cops are steeped in hypocritical denial.
I do not suffer from the need to judge something or someone I do not understand who does not pose any real threat to me. It does not cross my mind. Not for a second. But there are people in this world who will judge anyone who dares to step out of line as expressed in an unorthodox hairdo.
Do you not have bigger issues on your mind?
People dye their hairdos like Easter Eggs because, I assume, it’s fun. They like it when they look in mirror. It communicates their freedom of spirit to everyone. It adds color to their lives, and what in the hell could possibly be wrong with that?
Please remove the baton of imperious piety from you know where.
And relax. It’s just hair. It can’t hurt you.
Let people be different.
It’s not that hard.
It’s also one of your fundamental responsibilities as a citizen under the present Constitution as long as it continues to exist under the new tyranny of right-wing control. Good God, you went on a tirade when Twitter evicted their trolls, suppressing what you call freedom of speech, but you’re uptight over pink hair. It drove you crazy when the courts finally shut down Alex Jones and his lie factory for good.
You can’t see the freakish contradiction in your need to police “freedom” ?!? You can’t understand that freedom of speech does not mean the right to lie?
By definition, it means you can’t police other people and control their chosen forms of self expression, until they pose a direct danger to you or others.
You don’t get that? By definition, it means other people can dye their hair as long as they so choose even if it bugs you. Jesus. Seriously. Get a life.
What is the dirtiest fine print you’ve seen in a contract?
Not dirty money-wise, but it was infuriating on principle.
I was in a car accident, 100% the other party’s fault. The police report cited them as being at fault (failure to maintain control of the car). Their front end hit my front end, I was pointed south on a south-bound freeway, and they were pointed north (they lost control in a heavy rain).
Arbitration between the two insurance companies determined that the other party was 100% at fault. I got my deductible back, and my insurance covered the loss of the car.
My insurance did NOT cover a couple of over things. Some fishing gear was stolen (OK…”came up missing”) from my vehicle while it was at the collision center lot. I cracked a couple ribs during the accident, and couldn’t mow my very large lawn for a few weeks, and had to pay somebody to do it. A few other things. I wanted their insurance company to cover those losses. I could have asked for pain and suffering, and probably could have jacked up a lot of other expenses, but I didn’t; I just wanted them to cover a few clearly articulated losses.
The contract they sent me had a statement “I understand that this is a questionable claim….” followed by a statement that this would be the end of the matter.
I called the rep at the insurance company and told him on no uncertain terms that that the “questionable claim” statement was coming out before I signed the contract. I didn’t object to their wanting to close off indefinite demands, and was amenable to language that said the deal was done and over with once they sent me a check, but there was nothing the least bit “questionable” about the claim, and if they wanted to push the issue, I would conduct a more thorough review to my losses, and take them to court in a case that they had, for all practical purposes, already lost.
I got a revised contract with the offending language removed less than an hour later.
Fiancée Went MENTAL When I Said To Cut Ties With Awful Family, Now In Disbelief Wedding Is Canceled
If she can't be corrected then she can't be directed.
If she can't be directed then she can't be protected.
If she can't be protected then she can't be respected.
If she can't be respected then she can't be selected.
How do rich people actually avoid jail?
Former defense counsel here.
There are a few typical advantages that wealthy people have that many others don’t:
They can afford highly-specialized counsel that deal only in their specific charge. An attorney who does nothing but DUI charges is likely going to be very, very good at defending DUI charges.
Along with point one above, certain very wealthy people can actually out-spend the District Attorney’s office at trial. They can afford top-tier expert witnesses, independent crime scene investigators and several skilled attorneys. The DA will not be able to keep up with what a certain subset of the population can afford to spend on their defense.
They likely don’t have criminal records. This isn’t to say that people who aren’t wealthy do, but people with means tend to commit less crimes…or at the very least get caught significantly less. Not having a criminal record gets you significant leniency during sentencing and plea negotiations.
Wealthy folks also tend to have a lot of what we in the business call “mitigating factors.” These are detailed, legal reasons for why a sentencing judge or prosecutor should go easier on this person as opposed to the average joe charged with the same crime.
Although this is rare, a few wealthy people also have an inordinately high level of influence in their community. It can be difficult for individuals to come forward to testify against them openly and willingly. This can lead to difficulty for prosecutors in building a strong case, which can lead to favorable plea deals for the defendant.
Using these tools, many wealthy individuals are able to get highly favorable outcomes from the judicial system here in the U.S.
Keir Starmer is now the UK’s new Prime Minister. What is his stance on China? Will the UK-China relationship improve during his time in office?
It is not what is Kier Starmer stance on China? It is China is watching if Kier Starmer wants to cooperate and partner with China or wants to do shit and be a US dog like his previous leaders, that is your choice. If you want to be a dog and do US bidding China will handle you based on your decision.
If you want to be a US slave or dog and do shit on China. China will return the favour and gives you double the dose! On the other hand if he is smart and wants to do what is good for UK, China will reciprocate in kind! The ball is on your court! You decide!
China is the world’s most humongous market and manufacturer, you can partner them and be prosperous and win EU market or you can be a dog and pretend you are fine with your economy tumbling negative with a 5–10% inflation. You British decide you want 3 good meals a day or have a 30 second limelight being an assistant sheriff to a dementia or degenerate.
Your choice. China will watch what he do not merely what he say! You Caucasian Anglophones thinks too much of yourself! You need China not China need you! UK market is about the size of a province in China nothing much more than that! It UK stop buying Chinese it may affect China 0.0.5% of their business but if China stop UK it cost UK 5–8% inflation! That is simply mathematical! Sunak, Liz and Boris are simply too dumb to realised and the chose a dog’s role that brings no benefit and a whole load of problem for UK!
Starmer needs to decide carefully and so does the British people!
If You Only Watch One Video, Make It THIS One
I think that he is running for President. But, aside from that, it’s a good video.
What facts about Japan do foreigners not believe until they come to Japan?
I have been living in Japan for three months now and one thing I realized is that there is no tipping here. At all.
I asked my Japanese friend why this was so. He asked me, ‘What is tipping?’
I said, ‘When you think a service in a restaurant is proper, the person in charge gets your food on time, we leave some money for the waiter’.
And he said, ‘But aren’t the workers supposed to be efficient? Isn’t that their job?’
Me: Ah well. Umm. Hmm. Yeah you are right.
It’s considered in the Japanese society that it is one’s duty to do their job perfectly. It’s even difficult explaining them such things as why one should tip in a restaurant!
Let me add some more things here.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that they have braille everywhere. Everywhere including beer cans and washlet (Japanese hi-tech toilet) buttons.
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If I got lost on an African safari and came face-to-face with a growling lion, what should I do to garner the best chance of survival?
Originally Answered: If I were to get lost on an African safari and come face to face with a growling lion, what should I do to garner the best chance of survival?
The first thing you do when coming across a “growling lion” is freeze and avert your eyes. You also do not point at it.
If a lion is not habituated to man it will most likely run. The danger arises with lions that are more used to people.
Look at the animal’s tail. When a lion is angry or feeling threatened it will sweep its tail from side to side. If it is hunting it will keep its tail stiff and twitch it from time to time. It is much more serious if it is actively hunting you. If you see stalking indications then raise your arms above your head and wave them and most importantly SHOUT YOUR HEAD OFF. If you have something in your hand then throw it at the lion. Even if the lion charges you do not run. Believe me this can be extremely intimidating. They charge at 80 km per hour and the roaring is deafening. If you have frozen and then lion is not approaching but not leaving either then start to back slowly away. If it starts to move, then freeze immediately.
My wife, Marjet, once walked into a whole pride at a concession we were running in Botswana. It was early morning during the cool season and she was walking from our home to the camp (a couple of hundred meters away). The lions had just arrived and were sunning themselves in the tall grass, so she didn’t see them till she was right on top of them. Despite the aggressive roaring and repeated charges from different lionesses she held her nerve and walked away without a scratch. Needless to say she doesn’t take any nonsense from me…
Night time encounters are another story. I was once doing problem animal control in Gache Gache in Zimbabwe, trying to bait and shoot a lion that had killed several people and the night before had almost succeeded in breaking into Chief Mangare’s hut. It was dark but moonlit and I was lying on the ground, carefully backed into a euphorbia hedge along with two game scouts and a fellow ranger. I heard a very faint noise behind me and the lion was crawl-stalking me and just 10 foot back! He had actually carefully crawled through the dense hedging to sneak up on us. He was too close for me to be able to turn and shoot. However, I turned on the torch in my hand and shone it in his face. He ran off. So, if you are walking in the bush at night (it happens in safari camps especially) and come across lions, keep your beam in their eyes and back away.
One of the biggest myths is fire. Lions are not afraid of campfires and will often walk round them and see what’s happening. However, keeping a fire between you and a lion is probably better than nothing!
Normally, I do not post about bloody or gore related things. For, most certainly, I do not NOT want them to manifest in my life. So I m very careful what I say, what I post and what I do.
Today, I want to relate a story. And it is not a pleasant story, either. But hopefully someone will learn something out of it.
I have a thing called a “nightmare memory”. Actually, a couple.
This is a memory of a horrific event.
I will relate this one particular incident. When I think about it, I have chills and it shakes me to the core.
It was maybe 1967, and my uncle and his family came to visit. We were going to have a nice dinner, and the boys will all go playing golf.
Shortly after they arrived, we were all in the fenced in back yard, and my cousin Kenny was swinging the 3 iron. This is a golf club with an angled steel metal wedge at the bottom, and as he swung hard, he hit my sister Miriam in the face with it.
Across the street was our neighbor and he was a medic during the Vietnam war, my parents banged on his door, and he ran out… and began immediate triage.
The parents and uncles all filed in the car, and took off to the hospital. I was left at the house (as I was the “oldest”) and I had to clean up the mess, and put stuff away and wait for them.
Lots of bright red blood over everything.
My one Siberian husky dog was there sniffing the blood in the grass with this perplexed look. I took him back up to his pen and locked him in, and then just watched television and built models for the rest of the day.
They came home after 11pm.
The facial damage was excessive, but there was a skull surgeon in Pittsburgh that was able to work on her, and she was fine. No major organ damage. Eyes and nose was fine. So was the brain. But yeah, she was traumatized all right.
She had a scar for the rest of her life, but it grew fainter and fainter, and it didn’t seem to matter all that much as she didn’t have any trouble getting boyfriends and dating.
But that moment! Lordy!
What is to be learned?
Well, for one, horrific events can be repaired, and if quick action is taken catastrophic events can be avoided.
Two, never, ever allow children around clubs, stick or bats unsupervised.
My dog; Frisky, was unaware of everything, and only noticed something was up when he smelled the blood in the grass.
I wish that no one need ever experience such an event! I truly wish. Take care everyone. Be good.
Today…
What does it feel like to live in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant?
Originally Answered: What does it feel like to live in the U.S. as an illegal immigrant?
Well, my grandmother was one, as were a couple of older relatives. She’s back with us now and her health is failing, so there’s no harm telling her story.
In contrast to Jon Davis’ story, there’s nothing dramatic about her entry at all. She just got on a plane with a large suitcase and threw away the return ticket. In fact, the Chinese euphemism for migrating illegally is 跳飞机, or to “jump from an airplane”.
The few illegals whom I know of went during the height of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis when many people lost their jobs. The educated ones got their visas, while the less educated and/or older ones like my grandmother simply booked a tour package and jumped ship. I remember sending her off at the airport; half the tour group were lugging huge oversized suitcases and giving tearful farewells, which seemed oddly melodramatic for a supposedly week-long holiday tour.
In addition to economic reasons, there are usually deeply personal reasons as well. My grandfather died in 1996. Another relative had a bad divorce. Yet another lost her entire family in a car accident. I suppose leaving the country was one way for them to heal, and the US was as good a place as any other.
My grandmother enjoyed her tour and jumped ship in New York. She was 64.
She found a tiny room to rent in Chinatown, and that became her home for the next couple of years. She first found a job as a hairdresser, discovered that she had no talent in cutting hair, and then found a job as a nanny for a Taiwanese family with whom she would work for the next ten years.
I visited her once when I was still a student in the UK, and I remember thinking that she seemed very happy with her lot. She had a nice little apartment to herself, a fulfilling career as a nanny, and she was able to travel around the country without problems. She had access to healthcare, kept out of trouble, and was able to save up a tidy sum.
The Chinese community in NY’s Chinatown is tight knit one. When my grandmother had her first stroke, others cared for her until she regained her mobility and her faculties. Then she had a second stroke and was completely paralysed for a few months. Bit by bit, she regained her mobility and mental faculties again. She couldn’t even speak without slurring her words for about a year or so, and continued reading and practising her speech till she recovered almost completely.
The older generation of Chinese are tougher than a $2 steak.
Her daughters decided enough was enough. Come home, they said, and bought her a return ticket; a ticket that was never used. My grandmother refused to get on the plane. She had built a new life for herself, and found it difficult to leave everything behind yet again. The toing and froing went on for a couple of years until she was diagnosed with diabetes. She finally came home after 14 years abroad as an illegal immigrant.
I suppose her experience wasn’t too bad. She left all her troubles behind, found a fulfilling career at a late age, saw the Grand Canyon, and came home with substantial savings. She used those savings to buy a couple of houses and lived off the rent, bought some jewelry, and travelled around the world. Not too shabby for a little old lady who barely spoke a word of English when she jumped off the plane.
OnlyFans is Under Investigation
What is the saddest thing about your father and/or mother?
My parents were married for 47 years when my father fell ill in 2022. I’d seen him the day before he went into the hospital, he was complaining of a stomach ache and not feeling well, but my dad had a high pain tolerance being retired Army. My mom’s birthday was the next day so he tried power through, at 3:00 in the morning he woke up my mother and my brother and they took him to the hospital. My mom stayed with him until that evening when he sent her home to get some rest and he said he’d see her the next day.
My mom got a call at 1:00 at night seeing they intubated my dad because he started to fail and they still hadn’t quite figured out what was wrong with him yet. My mom rushes to the hospital, my brothers and I rushed to the hospital where they have had my dad intubated and sedated.
They told us that he had something going on with his pancreas they believe that his gallbladder had failed and he had gallstones blocking his duct to the pancreas.
My dad died 8 days later never regaining consciousness.
Two days before he passed I gave my mom the present I had helped my dad pick out. It was their birthstones and the inscription “ love you always”… on a ring in the shape of a heart.
They loved each other so much.
The truly sad part is I discovered he had stage 4 kidney disease, and didn’t tell anyone, which explains why his organs were failing and the dialysis wouldn’t work.
My mom doesn’t know and I don’t think I’ll ever tell her. She blames herself for not trying harder, yet she would blame herself for trying to hard.
I miss him every damn day
Edit wow over 500 of votes I’m very thankful everyone. And I’m fixing my grammar mistakes. This was the first time I wrote this down and it was painful enough I did not proof read it very well, sorry for any mistakes. And for anyone who says that that’s life and it’s bitter at the end I don’t see it that way. My mother especially doesn’t see it that way. St /he says my dad lived a full healthy happy life. He was happy with his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his wife and all of his accomplishments. His illness was short only eight days and in the end I take solace in the fact that he had a great life a very full life he did lots of things that most people would never have done. Been to lots of countries, met lots of different people. I only hope that I can die happy and at peace like him. It’s just so painful, I’m the only daughter, the eldest and the one that’s the most like my dad. I feel like I’m missing my other half. It is easing a bit since it’s almost 2 years but I’m glad everyone liked my story it was very therapeutic for me thank you
Red Wine and Herb Steak
Red Wine and Herb Steak
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 (2 pound) top round steak (1 inch thick)
Instructions
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large, self-closing bag or glass bowl.
Add steak and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.
Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade.
Grill or broil steak for 8 to12 minutes per side or to desired doneness.
Slice on the diagonal and serve.
She Regrets Ordering Food for Her 3 Kids While Her Date Was in the Toilet
What are some of the most morally justified crimes ever committed?
“If I Sleep for an Hour, 30 People Will Die”
These are the words of Adolfo Kaminsky.
A teenager, criminal mastermind for law textbooks and Angel from heaven for Jews of France.
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After dropping out of school at a young age, Kaminsky got hired for a clothes dryer to supplement the family income. He spent hours reckoning about how to remove stains from clothes. Studying chemistry textbooks and trying out new experiments at home enlightened him about his job.
In 1943, he and his family were arrested and directed to the internment camp for Jews near Paris. It was the last straw before death overtook. However, their passports turned out to be their life-savers. Argentinian government protested their detention since his native place was Argentina.
That was the instant when he understood the significance of “papers”.
The Kaminsky family was freed but they weren’t safe yet. They sought out the help of a Jewish resistance group to get them underground. Adolfo was sent to pick up the false papers when the group’s member told him they were struggling to erase off the ink from the paper. This is when Kaminsky advised using lactic acid which he had learnt from his job. It worked
This was the headstart in Kaminsky’s Criminal career, a career which saved over 14000 Jewish lives. He joined the France Jewish Resistance group. He would get tips on who was about to be arrested, then warn the families, assembling new papers for them on the spot. Criminally, it was “Forgery” but it saved lives.
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It is estimated that the whole group saved around 11000 children from being deported and killed. With those skills, he could have made a fortune in the illegal market but he would never accept payment for his forgery. Instead, he earned his fortune as a commercial photographer.
Even after the war, he helped the resistance groups of other countries making false documents in order to save lives. He estimates that in 1967 alone, he supplied forged papers to people in 15 countries.
This is him now, your average white-bearded “old uncle” who lives in the neighbourhood. His daughter recently wrote a book on his life in early times.
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Mr Kaminsky and his daughter.
What most of us teens can never accomplish, he achieved humanity’s most prestigious feat- saving lives just at a mere age of 19.
Sometimes, the most unassuming people do the most benevolent things with absolute altruism.
Britain is not a democracy: How UK elites installed PM Keir Starmer by destroying Jeremy Corbyn
Should minors be tried for murder? If so, why? If not, why not?
Do you know these two people?
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These two are Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. They are children.
Well so, what did they do? I hear you asking yourself.
That’s easy. They murdered someone.
On the 12th of February, 1993, an innocent two-year-old boy named James Bulger was out with his mother at a shopping mall.
So were Venables and Thompson. Earlier that morning, the two of them had skipped school, and were now spending their time stealing things from the same mall that little James was in.
Noticing the busy Mrs. Bulger, Venables and Thompson approached James. They took him by the hand and led him out of the mall, without his mother noticing.
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The two boys then proceeded to take James to a canal. There, they dropped him on his head. Bruised and crying, James was led further across Liverpool, ignored by passersby- they thought James was a little brother.
Thus Venables and Thompson reached the Walton and Anfield Railway Station, without much difficulty. They then proceeded to torture James.
They threw paint in his eyes.
They put batteries in his mouth.
They threw bricks at him.
They hit him with a metal pole.
They laid him across the train tracks and covered his head with rubble.
They killed James Bulger.
Venables and Thompson were later caught and tried as adults. Both of them cried when they were questioned, and both lied outrageously over the manner of James’s death. Venables blamed Thompson, and Thompson blamed Venables. Both boys expressed sorrow for Mrs. Bulger, but they only seemed to cry when their own mothers did. Otherwise they were perfectly calm, if a little bratty.
Thompson went so far as to put a rose on James Bulger’s grave.
“Why did you do that?” the detectives asked.
“Well, if I did that then I couldn’t have killed baby James,” Thompson replied. “I put that there so James in heaven could know I tried to help him.”
Thompson said that he’d tried to pull Venables away from James, screaming at him to stop. In reality, both of them had tortured him, and both of them had done nothing to stop the other.
During questioning, a psychologist examined the boys to see if they could determine morally right from morally wrong.
“What you did was wrong,” she said, to Venables. “Do you know that?”
“Yeah.”
The two of them were perfectly sane and knew right from wrong. Both were imprisoned for what they did, but they were later let out for good conduct (Venables was later put back in prison, on another offense).
So yes, minors SHOULD be tried for murder- depending on the situation. In court, those under ten years old are not deemed mature enough to understand morals. However, if they do- and if they are sound of mind- there shouldn’t be a reason that can stop them from being tried. It should be noted, though, that no child was given the electric chair or the lethal injection, except for one case a very long time ago (the accused was very likely falsely arrested).
There are some crazy kids out there who know what they’ve done and know why they’ve done it. They know they murdered. We know they murdered.
So put them on trial for it.
Disney World EMPTY on July Fourth?! HUGE Must-Know Story of Attendance Collapse — Cut in HALF?!
Poland Army Chief “Prepare for FULL SCALE WAR with Russia”
Poland’s Army Chief of Staff, General Wieslaw Kukula, today publicly urged his people and nation to prepare for full-scale war with Russia.
Poland is preparing the Military for a full-scale conflict with Russia, Polish Supreme Commanding General Wieslaw Kukula said at a press conference!!
Poland needs to prepare its soldiers for all-out conflict, its armed forces chief of staff said on Wednesday, as the country boosts the number of troops on its border with Russia and Belarus.
Poland’s relations with Russia and its ally Belarus have deteriorated sharply since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, starting a war that is still being fought.
“Today, we need to prepare our forces for full-scale conflict, not an asymmetric-type conflict,” army chief of staff General Wieslaw Kukula told a press conference.
“This forces us to find a good balance between the border mission and maintaining the intensity of training in the army,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, deputy defense minister Pawel Bejda said that as of August, the number of troops guarding Poland’s eastern border would be increased to 8,000 from the current 6,000, with an additional rearguard of 9,000 able to step up within 48 hours notice.
In May, Poland announced details of “East Shield,” a 10 billion zloty ($2.5 billion) program to beef up defenses along its border with Belarus and Russia, which it plans to complete the plans by 2028.
The border with Belarus has been a flashpoint since migrants started flocking there in 2021 after Belarus opened travel agencies in the Middle East offering a new unofficial route into Europe — a move the European Union said was designed to create a crisis.
Warsaw has ramped up defense spending to more that 4 percent of its economic output this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kukula also said the current high interest from candidates to join the army posed a dilemma over whether to take in more recruits than budgeted for at the expense of military equipment procurement, especially as he said interest was expected to start declining sharply from 2027.
The size of the armed forces stood at about 190,000 personnel at the end of last year, including ground, air, naval, special forces and territorial defense forces. Poland plans to increase this to 300,000 troops within a few years.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – 1950’s Super Panavision 70 – Full movie
Will China become the threat of the world since its increasing economy and military?
There is absolutely no indication that China will behave this way to the world. Every indication says that China will be peaceful and benevolent.
China has fought no wars in the last 45 years. Guess how many wars the USA has fought.
China has sanctioned no country. Guess how many countries the USA has sanctioned.
China has not interfered in any country’s internal politics. The USA interfered in many countries, including Iran, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and China.
China helps other countries through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over 150 countries participate in the BRI.
China trades with all nations and is the largest trading partner to over 120 countries.
China tried to bring peace to the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts but the USA blocked all attempts.
Like many other countries, China has territorial disputes but these will likely be resolved diplomatically.
China’s military modernization is in direct response the USA’s militancy towards China, Russia and many other countries.
So the answer to your question is a resounding No!
Have you ever lost anything while riding a bike?
Just recently, one that I feel really bad about: Exchanging some books at the library, they were having a shelf of YA giveaways out front. All completely new. I initially passed, but they insisted and I finally took one. Had an interesting cover and the blurb seemed like it could be interesting. My bike bag was already stuffed, but I stuck it on top of everything else and tied it down.
Well, four miles later, I got home, and the bag was one book lighter. Somehow slid right out. I hope that wherever it ended up, someone snagged it and maybe got something out of it, but yeah, a real waste.
~
Oh, another one from this spring: Coming back from an aerial studio out of town, I took the freeway back into town. (Honestly, it often feels safer than city streets, even if everyone thinks I’m insane.) Crossing one on-ramp I had to cut over quick, and I guess it was a little too quick, since I had to block the retaining wall with my arm to hold my balance. It scraped a bit. Meh. It didn’t occur to me until hours later that I didn’t see my snake bracelet, so either I’d been wearing it or it’d fallen out of my purse at some point, and I could think of only one place it even might be.
Figured it was a long shot, even if it was there it was probably run over and ruined, but next day I rode back out there anyway. And what do you know, right at the end of the onramp, it was still sitting right there in the gutter, unharmed.
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Now that’s just the last two I can recall, extend out over 30+ years of biking as a total derp and I’m sure you can imagine how it’s been. Thankfully, most of the time I do hear whatever it was hitting the ground and can turn around.
Steam Wars: Alice’s Galactic Duel – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
What’s the craziest contract language you have caught?
Brace yourself. You could be asked to sign this contract, too.
Last summer, our HVAC system failed. We needed to buy a new one. We got a quote for $11,844–0% interest for 25 months. Those terms sounded pretty good to us, so we then received the financing agreement (“Home Improvement Retail Installment Contract”).
It was unbelievable. Really. Beyond crazy.
First of all, yes, the price was $11,844 so long as the buyer didn’t default in any way. If the buyer defaulted, the interest rate would go to 24.99% and the number of payments would rise from 25 to 60. That would result in $9,010 in finance charges and total payments of $20,884.
Gulp!
But we’re pretty good about paying our bills. Still, I read the contract to determine what would constitute a “default.”
If we were more than 10 days late in a payment, that’s a default. Ten days late and we would get hit with $9,010 in finance charges. But that was just one triggering action.
If we failed “to perform any act” required by the contract—such as providing at least 30 days notice of a change of address—that would constitute a default. Oh, but it gets better!
As the lender puts it, if “We, in good faith, believe that the prospect of payment or performance is impaired,” that’s a default. In other words, you could be paying on time. You could be doing just fine financially. But if the lender believes the the prospect of payment is impaired, the lender can say that you’re in default.
The financing agreement allows the lender to foreclose on your home.
It also allows the lender to take the borrower’s personal property.
Oh, but you’ll at least know there’s a problem. Right?
Wrong!
From the contract: “We are not required to: (1) demand payment of amounts due; (2) give notice that amounts due have not been paid, or have not been paid in the appropriate amount, time or manner; or (3) give notice that we intend to make, or are making, this Contract immediately due.” Read that again. They’re not required to notify you of any problem or that they intend to foreclose or seize your personal property.
And there’s another “gotcha.” If the HVAC stops working—even if you’re making all your payments on time—they can foreclose. Specifically: “You will keep the Property in your possession in good condition and repair.” Otherwise, yup, you’re in default.
Below is just one page of the financing agreement. I boxed some of their language; my commentary is in the yellow boxes. Because the one page doesn’t show the identity of the would-be lender, in the interest of accuracy and full disclosure it’s: Service Finance Co., LLC, 555 S. Federal Hwy #200, Boca Raton, FL 33432, (866) 254–0497.
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Why do surnames come from boy’s surname but not from girl’s? As a feminist, what’s your opinion about this? Can it be changed?
Thanks for the A2A.
The first time I realized this ‘surname change’ thing was in Japan.
My female coworker Tanaka san announced her wedding. From the next day, everybody in the company was required to call her ‘kurihara san’, which is her husband’s surname. We got the name change notification from our HR department, and the mail address update notification from our IT department. Tanaka san, er, I mean, Kurihara san (It took us coworkers quite a while to get used to her new name) changed her official seals and name tags, updated all the registrations, did countless paperwork. Being a big company with thousands employees, such ‘name changing’ stuff is a serious work of our HR department which they had to deal with on a weekly base.
The second time was in Canada.
My husband and I were on honeymoon. We joined a package tour to breath-taking beautiful Banff National Park. Once our local guide called somebody: ‘Mrs. **’. Nobody answered. ‘Mrs. **’. Still silence. He came to ME, ‘Mrs. **?’ Oh My Gosh! He was saying my husband’s surname! I didn’t know he was talking to me!
Being Chinese, I grew up in a society no such a thing anybody changes name because of marriage. My ears didn’t have this ‘setting’ to suppose anybody would call me by my husband’s surname.
On the other hand, I’ve heard in ancient China, married women used to be called by this combination of ‘husband surname + father surname + shi’ (shi is kind of ‘clan’). For example, your father’s surname is Li, and you marry to Mr. Wang, then you would be called ‘Wang Li shi’. The first name of a woman used to be a kept secret only known by her husband, just like her body. From 20th century, as a result of feminist movement, people changed mindsets upon women’s first names. Women didn’t need to keep their first names secret to the public any more. I searched on the internet and found in 1929, KMT Nanjing government announced its Civil Law which defined the names of married women something like this: husband surname + former family surname + former first name. For example, your former name is Li fangfang, and you marry to Mr. Wang, you would become Wang Li fangfang. (I guess that’s probably why I still see women name like that from Taiwan newspapers. Please correct me if I’m wrong.) Interestingly, it also said in case a man marries into a woman’s family (which is called ‘ru zhui’ in Chinese. It’s not common but it existed and still exists), the man should practice the same. So if Mr. Wang dacheng marries into Miss Li’s family, he would be called Li Wang dacheng. In 1950, CCP government published new Marriage Law which stipulated: ‘Married men and women have equal right to keep their own names (including first names and surnames).’ And it became a norm in China mainland. Li fangfang is always Li fangfang. Wang dacheng is always Wang dacheng. I grew up with this norm.
It doesn’t necessarily mean the man-woman equality level is higher in China than in countries where married women are supposed to change their surnames. Especially in rural regions, the traditional patriarchy still has strong influence on the majority. And as a custom, most people still name after their fathers than their mothers.
Comparing China to Japan/Canada, I found another difference. (Please correct me if I’m wrong).
The tax.
In Japan, the income tax amount you need to pay changes a lot depending on your marriage status, your spouse’s income, and if you have children. In another word, the basic income tax unit is a FAMILY, rather than an INDIVIDUAL. I’ve heard similar tax policies in Canada and lots of western countries.
In China, your income tax has nothing to do with if you are married, if you have 8 young children, if you have parents to financially support. The income tax is only based on the INDIVIDUAL income.
So you see, in China, the basic economic units of the society are more likely considered as INDIVIDUALS, rather than FAMILIES.
Like my coworker Tanaka/Kurihara san, name changing costs LOTS of work. And what’s the benefit from doing it? When a society is individual-based rather than family-based, I don’t see any benefit to pay the cost of name changing.
My guess on this topic, is that the choice of surname reflects the changes of the family structure as well as the social structure.
Time changes, economy changes, human relationship changes. What will be a ‘marriage’ like in the future? Will it still exist at all? What will we define a ‘family’? What will be the ties to connect humans and warm our hearts?
Let’s see.
BIOSHOCK – 1950’s Super Panavision 70 (Extended Cut)
Which country has a larger nuclear arsenal: China or Russia? Why do some people believe that China has more nukes even though their ICBM and SLBM forces are smaller than Russia’s?
China’s ICBM forces are no longer smaller than Russia. Russia is limited by the START treaty which is still in effect.
This limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads on ICBMs to 1,600. China is NOT under any restrictions. China already has 100 ICBM silos then built 400 more 5 years ago. They have loaded their silos by now.
Each ICBM has 10 warheads on it. So count it yourself.
This is JUST silos. This does NOT include TEL (transport erect launchers). Trucks that also have ICBMs on them and can launch from anywhere.
No one knows just how many ICBMs China has deployed. But it is a heck of a lot more than what the US and Russia has deployed because they are limited by treaty.
China’s SLBM deployed warheads number over 300. And they are adding new SSBNs which can carry 24 missiles per sub. With 3–6 warheads per missile.
China has also been updating their Type 094 to carry JL-3 missiles. They have 6 of these and some older SSBNs that carry the JL-2.
Russia has more SSBNs than China. They currently have 11 with various missiles onboard.
What is the most inappropriate clothing you have seen a student wear at school?
Working at a community college in the 90’s, I dealt with a whole lot of teenagers who had gone to small rural schools and this was their first time meeting lots of new people. One young lady came in wearing a ripped up T shirt with a different color sports bra under it and cut off jeans shorts that were really short and ragged. I just had to mention her clothes since she was in business classes and it turned out she was really poor. I spoke with the head of the department and he pulled $20 from his own pocket and by the end of the next day, I had over $300 (large department) so I found her and we went to the local thrift store where $30 would garner me several outfits for work, decent jeans and all kinds of good stuff. After finding enough for a full week of classes and then some, for less than $100, I spent an additional $75 for clothes for her younger brother and sister and a Sunday dress for mom. I ended up taking her home since she missed her ride and saw where she lived when I helped her carry everything in. The place was small but as neat and clean as they could make it and her mom was floored over what we brought in. Along with clothes, the thrift store gave me two boxes of food, including milk and fruit.
It seems this was a turning point for them since the father had just gotten a decent job and the food carried them to his first paycheck (he had been laid off a few months earlier). The girl was very grateful and so were all of them and a couple years later the son came to the college (scholarships paid for all three kids so very bright) and I hear the younger sister became a nurse after she attended 2 years there and then to university.
Oh, the remainder of the money was used to start a fund for future students in the same predicament so sometimes inappropriate clothes actually lead to good things.
Bram Stoker’s DRACULA – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Does the Chinese government have plans to write an official history of the Republic of China period?
Yes, it has been published.
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China has always had a tradition of “the current dynasty writing history for the previous dynasty”. For example, people from the Ming Dynasty wrote about the history of the Yuan Dynasty, and people from the Qing Dynasty wrote about the history of the Ming Dynasty… The “History of the Republic of China” compiled by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has been officially published by Zhonghua Book Company.
The History of the Republic of China is the final conclusion of historians on the Republic of China (1911-1949)
The coffin lid now closed, there is nothing more to say.
It is not only a custom for the successor to edit the history of the predecessor, but also a practice in conformity with the international law on the succession of government.
However, “ROC” has not yet, which it should have, formalized the Qing history. This might be partly because of the restless destiny of ROC and partly because of its uncertain status as legitimate ROC after 1949 on Taiwan. Having not rested Qing in peace by publishing its history, ROC shirks its historical responsibility.
Be quiet
Why didn’t Sears adapt?
I was working with the President of Sears and a handful of his most senior Vice Presidents for about two years, five years ago. I flew into Sears headquarters outside of Chicago about every other week. At the same time I was working closely with the management teams of Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Walmart, Radio Shack, and Target. But I spent a lot more time with the Sears team than any of the others. Here are some things I noticed:
Trends
On the one hand, general purpose department stores like Sears are suffering across the board and have been for 30 years. Every major trend in retail is working against these people. In order of timeline: malls are losing traffic and closing, and the anchor stores are taking the biggest hit. More of retail has moved to specialty brands and eCommerce. Over the last ten years luxury retail is the only non-digital retail segment that’s improved, and Sears doesn’t have access to that. On the low end, Walmart and Target have gotten wiser and savvier (maybe because they’ve been pushed by Amazon) and are eating the world.
Playing not to lose
Over the last few decades Sears has been a radioactive hot potato, and ended up in the hands of a “buy it and strip mine it to turn it profitable so we can sell it to someone else” kind of company. The president was a nice guy, but didn’t live at headquarters and wasn’t from the industry. He was plugged in from the holding company that owned them and was charged with stripping away the fat while they turned it around.
Unfortunately, the fat was the look and feel of Sears retail locations, and once you strip away the shopping experience, the “meat” of their profitability and unique differentiators, their nationwide appliance service team, their lead in US appliance sales, their Kenmore and Craftsman brands, and their automotive centers, eroded to specialized local competition.
When something like this happens, a few trends emerge in the kind of people you work with:
Very smart people who are undervalued are immediately recruited away – there goes your innovation and ability to keep up with competitive trends and any shot at being a market leader
Not great people who are willing to work for a depressed company join in to backfill, or lifers who are too lazy to look for another gig
You keep some smart people who are just crazy loyal to the brand/company
I got to work with all of these types at Sears, and sadly, the crazy loyal smart people weren’t much more effective than the not-great people.
Crazy loyal senior VPs at Sears were seen as combative and arrogant by their vendors and competitors. In previous times, they would have been held in check by savvy industry veterans who were self aware and strategic. But now, these loyalists were running the show and they were too proud/nostalgic to see that Lowe’s and Home Depot were already eating their lunch, and that their once platinum authority and influence over the manufacturing landscape (appliance manufacturers) was already gone.
Sears has been dying for 25 years, just very slowly
It could be that Sears was too dependent on malls and being a huge department store with an emphasis on the lower end of the market and Home Depot and Lowe’s were just too good for this to have turned out any other way.
At the same time, I think it would have been easy for Walmart to concede that metro areas didn’t want them and give up, but they adapted and built a chain of Walmart grocery stores to extend their brand and penetrate those markets anyway.
It would have been easy for them to roll over and let Amazon take digital, but they radically threatened their own Arkansas-centric family culture to build one of the best eCommerce teams in the world in the SF Bay Area and then bought Jet.com.
I could say similar things about Target, whose biggest earlier competitor, K-mart, is going the way of Sears, or Best Buy, whose earlier competitor, Circuit City, has already died.
Smart retailers have adapted, but Sears never did.
Shrek – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Is China a good destination on studying, and is it powerful in all areas or only in the economy?
Yes, China is a good place to go for your studies. It has very good universities. In fact, according to the CWTS Leiden Ranking, China has 16 of the top 25 universities in the world for quality technological research output.
China is a superpower economically, technologically, and militarily. In fact, China has the world’s largest economy by purchasing power parity (which is a better measure of economic power than nominal GDP).
China is the world’s technological leader. It leads the world in 37 out of 44 critical technology fields, according to a report from ASPI. It is granted more patents than the USA and Japan combined!
China has a massive and modern military. The world’s largest army. The world’s largest navy by number of ships. The second largest aircraft carrier fleet — the Type 003 Fujian supercarrier is absolutely phenomenal.
China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon 5th-generation stealth fighter is arguably the best in the world.
Diplomatically, China is also very powerful. It has earned the respect and admiration of most of the world (i.e., the Global South), thanks to things like the BRI, BRICS and SCO. China has earned the reputation of being the most peaceful world power (no wars fought in the last 45 years).
What is the worst case of ‘crappy design’ you’ve ever seen?
There’s a fine line between designs that are jaw-droppingly original and ones that are truly awful.
Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to lean heavily on the latter side of the line, so the world’s filled with design atrocities that will make you cringe. So bad they’re good?
Nah,So bad they’re the worst!!
‘Muddy Water’ pop dress..
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Perfect for a “I crawled out from my grave” look.
What is the cost of going through the Panama Canal in a yacht or motorboat? Is it possible to go through for free?
When I traveled through the Panama Canal in May of 2022, I paid approximately $2,200.00, plus additional fees (a few hundred dollars) for a “Canal Agent”, to coordinate and complete all of the paperwork (all in Spanish) that is required for passage through the canal. The fees charged are proportional to the size of the vessel. My ship has an OAL of 76 feet and it weighs 50 tons. Smaller or larger vessels would be proportionately less or more expensive. Container ships and super tankers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is less than the fuel expense of crossing between the two oceans around Cape Horn (and much faster and less dangerous!) To my knowledge, no vessels pass through the canal for free. This is because the operational expenses of running the Panama Canal (personnel, maintenance, etc.) exceed $8 million per day! Panama can only recover those costs by charging fees for passage through the Canal.
Aside from the costs of passing through the Canal, there is currently an additional concern; and that is the amount of time you might have to wait until you’re allowed to pass through. Due to an extended drought of many years, the amount of rainfall needed to replenish the water level of Gatun Lake (which is used to fill and operate the locks for each ship passing through the Canal) is inadequate. Consequently, the number of ships allowed to pass through the Canal each day has been greatly reduced. Since time is money, many large container and cargo ships find that it is less expensive to off-load their cargo on one side of the Canal, have it trucked to the other side of the Canal and reloaded onto another ship to complete the journey to the intended destination. If you have a smaller boat, it might even be possible to have your boat shipped by truck to the other side of the Canal.
So if you are contemplating passage through the Canal, you really need to thoroughly research not only the costs involved, but also the amount of time it may take before you’re able to pass through the Canal. (Once again, time is money.) Either that, or plan on greatly extending your voyage by passing around Cape Horn. That endeavor takes much more time, is quite risky, requires crew with considerable experience, requires knowledge about what season is most conducive to safe passage and expert weather forecasting for proper timing of the most challenging part of the trip.
There is one last thing to consider. Passing through the Panama Canal is much more than just getting from one ocean to the other. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!! You will likely be within a stone’s throw of HUGE ships, some of which you will even share space with while in the Canal. You will witness not only the Canal gates opening and closing, but also millions of gallons of water churning around you each minute trying (but not succeeding!) in pushing your vessel against the Canal walls. (Your vessel will be securely tied off to each side of the canal, maintaining control of your vessel’s position continuously.) Your memories of the sights and sounds that you can only experience by passing through the Panama Canal will be ones that you carry with you, and share with family and friends, for the rest of your lifetime. It is definitely a “bucket list” opportunity that few in this life ever get to experience. So if you actually do make it through the Canal, consider yourself very fortunate indeed!
Shorpy
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How Americans Got So Dumb
How does it feel to be extremely poor?
Do not read if you were born with silver spoon in your mouth, your intentions may hurt.
This is Normal routine of a lower middle class guy. Close your eyes and feel the following lines…
Your mother is pouring more than one litre of water into 250 ml milk, because you can not buy more milk due to lack of money.
You can not join your friend’s party because they are all from rich families and you are studying in such a good school because of scholarship.
You do not celebrate your birthday because your family cannot afford even the money for cake.
Your father walks more than 10 km daily to save 10 ₹ only (₹ 10 INR = 0.15 USD) for doing a job. (For whole year in heavy rain, in sizzle, in bark sweeping cold)
You have to eat boiled potatoes and crushed tomatoes with chapati,(Indian flat bread) every second evening.
You can not go for school trip with your so-called friends beacause you have to save money for the whole month.
A 10 year kid can understand that his family is so poor, I can not survive here.
You can only see expensive(?) things toys, gadgets, food etc. You can not buy.
Your friends always bring noodles, burgers, dry fruits, different sweets, various salads, cottage cheese and you always bring Paratha with mango pickle for lunch.
You use 2nd/3rd hand books and your whole class buys new books every year.
Some of your good friends understand your status and always do their part to help but you can not repay their help.
Relatives show their true colours and do not help you in emergency situations.
People always pull your leg and make sure you do not overcome this problem by making lots of issues at your home as well as the outer world.
Everybody exploits you, on the streets, relatives, even at school.
You have to wear same dress for every occasion and function because you don’t have lots of clothes to choose from. All photos of your school days are in the same dress.
Your friends always discuss where they went for vacations, but you don’t have any story.
You could not prepare for national exams because you were almost always detained by your school for not submitting the fee.
Puberty didn’t hit you because of lack of nutrients in your food.
You avoid roaming with your friends because you don’t have enough money to pay atleast your bills.
Owner of Factory where your father works, is such a blood sucker. He didnot increase salary for 3–4 years.
At Diwali (biggest Indian festival) everyone makes varieties of food and distribute as Prasad, but your mother collect Prasad and distribute it to different people who gave us Prasad, because we can’t make/buy it.
You buy old books and magazines from ragman for reading, because you can not buy new books.
Your father and mother eat less food to fulfill your hunger.
You live in a home (in which roof made by iron sheet)[1] in 45 degree temperature. When your all other friends and relatives have Cooler/AC.
You do not go to canteen in your college with your friends because you afraid someone will come and join you.
You go to bring drinking water at 4AM while your all neighbours have their own water tank.
You run/walk 3–4 km for saving money and time daily.
Your whole childhood ended for waiting in a Teddy Bear and Remote Control Car.
You don’t give gifts to your friends on their birthdays.
Your mother add more and more water in vegetables to increase it’s volume and we all can eat.
Hope you can feel “ How does it feel to be extremely poor?”.
What are the reasons why Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations?
In your country, there are many states or provinces etc, right?
In USA, New York is a state of USA. Can NY become a member of UN? No. It is the US federal that represents USA to occupy a seat in UN.
Taiwan is a PROVINCE of China, UNGA made it crystal clear to the world on 2024/5/13. Instead of just saying Taiwan is Part of China as before.
As a province of China, Taiwan hence cannot become a UN member unless China is willing to make an exception for Taiwan. But I dont see it happen because the USA-Taiwan dual are playing political games.
Dont be fooled by USA the global trouble maker.
Face mask sign
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A lot of Chinese people I know live in poverty, but why does China still take pride in economic growth?
Actually poor people are probably the most pro-CCP group in China.
My grand parents was born in 1930s. Suffered from WWII in 1940s, the famine in 1960s, the culture revolution in 1970s. My grandpa lost his father in WWII, his mother remarried and moved to another village left him a young kid only a small mud hut, my grandma’s family is also in extreme poverty to agree my grandpa, an orphan to marry her.
If you use a western standard, they are still living in poverty now, however they are 100% satisfied with current situation comparing to their first half of their life.
Meanwhile, these people who complains the most are not the poor group, take one of my brother, my uncle’s son for example, he owns a shop selling decoration materials for buildings, earned a lot during the decade of urbanization, he earns less now due to the slow down of urbanization, he is the one complaining day by day rather than the poor.
You see? Managing the expectations is easier than actually doing something good..
Bright, bright, bright. It was always too bright, always bright, always grating, grating at the back of his eyes, in the back of his mind. Peter no longer squinted. The lights that lined the room bored into his brain, boring and drilling, but Peter no longer squinted.The window, the singular window, told him it wasn’t food-time yet, but he couldn’t help but wait, shivering, by the door slot. She would come soon—or maybe not. Time didn’t exist in his blinding cell, not until the sky outside the window slit turned dark. When he stood, he could reach it, peering outside at the endless sky.Peter shivered, sitting on the damn floor. The room had begun to stink again, but he didn’t mind. It meant she would be arriving soon, to clean. Peter loved it when she came. She didn’t look like him, with her stomping boots and her black-eyed mask—Peter often wondered if they were of the same kind—but when he could see her hair, he felt at peace. They had the same brown hair, hair that trickled over her shoulders and cascaded down his back. Sometimes she let him touch it, gently and softly.On very special days, she would stay longer, and run her careful hands down the ridge of his backbone. She would help him to his feet, ever gentle, ever soft, and stretch out his arms and legs so she can run a bit of cold metal down them, bumping into his skin every so slightly, ever so often. He no longer made a sound when she did—she didn’t seem to like his sounds much anyway. He liked hers, though. Peter loved to hear the sounds she made when she came to see him. There was one she made, that she said so gently, with so much devotion. He longed to hear it. He practiced making her noises, so maybe she would stay longer, but she never stayed. Peter bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, both excited and cold. A very special day would be coming soon.Most days, all he could hear was the buzzing of the lights, but sometimes, if Peter huddled by the edge of his cell, he could hear muddled sounds. He thought they might be from others like him, but he’d never seen anybody but her. Maybe there were others out there, others like him. Peter longed to see them. Their sounds surrounded his dreams. He practiced making her sounds a couple times more—she would be so surprised to hear her sounds. Maybe then she’d stay.Food plopped through the food slot, and Peter rushed over, grabbing it as soon as he could so it wouldn’t lay for long on the damn, cold floor. It wasn’t bad—it wasn’t sweet today, but it was food, and he had been so hungry. At this point, Peter knew the routine well. After food came the darkness outside the slit of a window, and sometimes, if it was a very special day, she would come. Surely a very special day was coming soon, Peter thought. He had been waiting for a while now.It was! It was a very special day! Peter leapt to his feet, walking up to the door. She pushed him back as he walked in, which was normal—Peter knew by now that he was not supposed to see whatever was behind his door. She had less brown hair now, and she let him run the tips of his fingers over the feathery ends. He watched her adoringly while she did her measurements. She used the special sound, the one that Peter knew, only once. Peter waited patiently while she tested his memory, his reflexes, using a small shock to let him know what he would done wrong and something small and sweet when he did something right. This was all typical; Peter barely needed to think about it anymore. He made sure not to relieve himself while she was there; she didn’t like it when he did that in front of her, and it always made her leave sooner.Finally, she turned to leave, and Peter made his move. “Peter,” he sounded, and she turned with a start. Peter bounced up and down. He surprised her! Maybe she’d stay. “Peter,” he sounded again, and to his delight, she started making sounds of her own. “Peter.”
She made more noises, wiggling her finger back and forth on the little item she always brought with her. Then she said something else to him, but that sound he didn’t recognize.
“Peter,” he tried again, but she didn’t seem as surprised this time. He was far taller than her now, but she could still put one hand on his head. He closed his eyes. Maybe this time she’d stay.
But she didn’t. She left, leaving Peter in the cold, bright room alone. It was okay. That was okay. He would practice her sounds and maybe next time she’d stay longer. Peter settled on the floor and put his arms over his head, ready to sleep. Next time, he would be better at her sounds.
A muffled thump against his window startled him out of his rest. Something must have smacked against it. It wasn’t the first time that had happened, but as he trotted over to the window, he found it was different now, for the first time in eighteen years. There was a crack, splicing down the middle. Peter pressed on the window gingerly, and the freezing glass shifted under his fingertips. A cold stream of air swirled in, and with it, a tiny speck of something wet that settled and melted on Peter’s skin. He pressed harder, and harder, and harder and suddenly it snapped, and the glass under his fingertips was suddenly gone and his arm was out, out in an environment that was much colder than his own.
Peter pressed on the other side, and this one cracked too, but this crack stung his skin, as if she was still there, shocking him for being wrong. Peter pulled his hand back in shock—it was wet now, and vividly red with blood. It was colder in the room now, with the frigid air flurrying in. Part of Peter wanted to stay behind, to huddle in the corner. He doubted this is what she wanted him to do. But part of him felt exhilarated.
Peter propped himself up on one elbow, standing on his tippy-toes and ignoring the biting sting in his arm when it pressed against the jagged edge of where the window had been, and what he saw amazed him; there was so much outside his room, so many more colors, so many more shapes. Entranced, he stuck his other arm through, ignoring the cold, ignoring the stinging of his arm. Suddenly, wildly, taken by this other world, Peter launched himself through it, bits of where the window used to be piercing and tearing at this stomach and the paper-thin skin of his thighs until he was falling, and then he landed in something cold, something wet, knocking this wind out of his lungs.
And when Peter stood up again, he wept.
The world outside his room was so much bigger than he’d known. Something alive, something he’d never seen, fluttered over his head, making a sound he’d never heard. The wind blew over his naked body, making the thin hairs that covered his body bristle, before the wind swept past him, rustling a huge, spindling something farther down the path. Peter took a few steps toward it, his feet sinking into the white wet something that covered the ground. He took a few more steps, more than he’d ever taken in his room before, and soon he was running, speeding, faster than he thought he would ever move, and out of his mouth came a sound he’d never heard, and it filled his heart.
He reached the spindling something, touched the rough covering, felt pieces break off and crumble in his hands. The fluttering thing, the one that had flown over his head, lighted on the spindling something, looking down at him, and making a sound that was high and piercing and startling and Peter couldn’t help but shriek after it in delight. It flew away from him, and he followed it, running faster than anything Peter had ever seen.
He followed it a ways, until the white wet powder that coated his bare skin began to make his feet numb until they wouldn’t move. Peter was surprised—his feet pierced, like the cuts on his arms and stomach, but when he sat to look at them, he couldn’t see any holes or any blood.
His arms started to feel sluggish too, Peter noticed, and when he looked at them, he saw them change color from pink to blue to grey. They were hurting too, and Peter started to feel less sure of himself. He took to his feet again, plodding after the little fluttering thing, but it didn’t last. His feet, his legs were too tired.
It was okay, though, Peter thought, falling to his knees. He didn’t mind. He was starting to feel quite warm, actually, which was nice. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made a mistake though; he knew she wouldn’t like him being out here, and he hated to let her down. His stomach and thighs were sticky with blood now, seeping and dying the fresh soft powdered ground.
Peter lay down. The ground beneath him was soft, at least—he liked it more than lying on the cold tile of his room. And the sky—oh! —the sky was so much richer now that he was outside, and speckled with the little fluttering things, calling to each other as they traversed the sky. Peter loved it all, as much as he loved her, and he wished he could show her all of this wonder that had been outside his room the entire time. Most of all, he just wished she was there. Peter couldn’t move his arms or legs anymore, but it didn’t matter. It was okay, just to look up, look to the sky.
He had hardly closed his eyes when he heard her voice. She sounded so far away from him—he tried to sit up, to see her, and he found he couldn’t. That was okay.
“Peter,” she called, and he sounded back.
Peter was happy, as the strength left his chest. She had gotten to see the outside world with him after all.
Barney the Cursed Dinosaur – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Who are the most clever prison escapees?
Richard Lee McNair.
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He is a convicted murderer who is currently serving two life sentences. He is most famous for escaping prison three times from three different institutions. He was also featured frequently on the show, America’s Most Wanted.
On his first attempt, he was just apprehended and was handcuffed to a chair and left alone in the room. He then proceeded to use the lip balm in his pocket as lubricant to squeeze his hands out of the handcuffs. He led the police on a foot chase through the town but was eventually caught when he decided to jump off the roof of a three story building.
In his second attempt years later, he escaped by crawling through a ventilation duct. Once free, he grew out his hair and dyed it blonde as a disguise and was freely roaming the U.S. for ten months before his capture.
His final (and most brilliant and famous) escape was ten years later. He worked in the mailroom and planned his escape for months. He created a pod with a breathing tube and was mailed outside the prison. Once out, he cut himself out of the escape pod and ran to the next town. On his way there, he was stopped by a police officer who had suspicions that he was an escapee. However, McNair kept his cool and deceived the cop with his plausible explanations.
He remained free for a year. During which, he stole cars and cash from dealerships. Having worked as a car salesman before, he knew exactly where the car keys were located and knew how to avoid security. He would also only get brand new cars since the window sticker would identify whether the car had a GPS tracking system (which he avoided). He would also choose white cars since “everybody had them”.
Here is the video of him tricking the cop:
Bad design
I’m Having An Aneurysm Just Looking At This…
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What’s the strangest request you’ve had at McDonald’s?
Like a lot of people, one of my former jobs was working at McDonald’s. I had been doing a lot of back-breaking labor work on golf courses and working inside in air conditioning seemed appealing.
Like most who start out, I was assigned as grill cook on the quarter pounder grill. Two words: vaporized grease. Wow.
Anyway, I’d been working there for 5 months or so. It was basketball season and the very large city high school near our store just got done with a game. We had been slow in the hour preceding this tale, so I had been given a written list of cleaning tasks to complete in the down time.
I had completed 10 of 16 items on the list when the basketball game let out and we went from dead to as busy as a store can get. I jumped off the list and onto the grill, making quarter-pounders as fast as was legal.
In the midst of this chaos, my manager asked, “Clint, why isn’t that trash out?”
I answered that it was number 12 on her list of things to do and I was on number 11 when she told me to start making burgers. I thought making burgers was more important than getting the trash out, so I thought I’d start making burgers.
So…this is where our story gets fun!
She looked at me and said, “Clint, I’m not paying you to think…”
Tick. Tick. Tick.
I took off the really stylish polyester McDonald’s visor that I was wearing, and laid it down on the quarter pounder grill.
“Then fuck you. You aren’t paying me at all.”
I walked out.
You may ask. What was the strange request? Ah, our story continues…
I went into the “crew room” to change my clothes and get my coat (it was winter in Illinois). I was tying my shoes when our district manager walked into the room and politely asked me what had just happened. I told him the story, just like I have explained it to you.
“Clint, I don’t want you to leave.”
“I can’t work where I’m not allowed to think.”
“What if I fire (the manager)?”
“You need to fire her, but I’m still leaving.”
“What if I offer you her job?” ←——— STRANGE REQUEST ALERT
“Thank you, but no. I don’t want to be here in a year, telling some kid he isn’t being paid to think.”
You can learn something from every job you have. In 35 years, I’ve never treated an employee like I was treated.
Japan Beverage – Vending machine operator. They had the twisted practice of giving employees a quarterly quiz called “paid vacation chance,” and only those who pass the quiz are allowed to get paid time off. Oh, and 100+ hours of overtime was not uncommon.
Hitachi HPS – IT solutions. After working a brutal 160 hours of overtime, managers would verbally abuse factory workers, yelling, “it hurts to look at you – get the hell out of here” and “you should probably just quit your job already.”
Monte Roza – Restaurant chain. Employees sometimes worked until 3 am and then had to be in for the next shift at 6am. One employee died from fatal insomnia due to overwork.
GonCharoff Chocolaterie. A 20 year old employee was constantly harassed by his boss and committed suicide in 2016.
Ministry of Finance. Sexual harassment is rampant.
Suruga Bank (I’ve actually banked here and witnessed blatant sexism twice within 15 minutes of walking in to their bank). They had a massive scandal recently linked to systemic misconduct.
Nomura Real Estate. They average about 180 hours of overtime /month per employee.
Mistubishi Electric. Between 2014-2018, five employees died from overwork (karoshi) and many others have been hospitalized.
Yamato. Japan’s top logistics/delivery business. One manager was caught on video kicking an employee, calling him an idiot and shouting “I’ll kill you.”
Harsh truth
Found on X (Twitter): Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman etc. depend on thousands on Chinese suppliers for everything — software & hardware.
Like it or not, the US NEEDS China!
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What did you eat, only to regret it moments later?
Feuilleté d’andouillette.
It looked so appealing. A delicate parcel of flaky pastry, baked to golden perfection.
“One of those, please.”
The traiteur hesitated. “I wouldn’t recommend that. An acquired taste”.
“Quite. I live here now, I ought to start acquiring a taste for local foods.”
It’s hard to describe the regretful smile on his face, as he gently lifted the feuilleté from its showcase vitrine.
On reflection, he was probably thinking this:
“I cook with passion. I serve with pride. Against my advice, this stupid woman is going to walk out the door with andouillette. Decades of future custom will be lost.”
He wrapped it in ribbon-tied paper, as if it was a parting gift from an unrequited love. “I could have given you anything..but you refuse to see the good in me…”.
“You won’t like it.” He called after me.
Andouillette – pay attention, you will thank me later – is sub-mucosa of pig intestine, stuffed with strips of more substantial bits of intestine (both small and large), and stomach. The sealed pastry cheats the nose of the aroma; so the taste, as you bite into it, fills the whole oral cavity, revealing itself to your olfactory senses via crawling up the back of your palate and punching you in the brain.
Shit. It tastes like shit.
Now, other cuisines make use of offal, but one is given to believe that all those tubes and pouches are given a good scrub beforehand. The French, proud of their inimitable culinary traditions, appear to have gone against the universal norm, and chosen instead to marinade the offal in shit. And then, presumably, drizzle their creation with a réduction of shit, for a more intense gastronomic experience.
He was right. I didn’t like it.
I did continue to frequent his establishment, though. A very fine traiteur. He caters to all tastes.
Donkey Kong – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Would you rather live in the most powerful country or in a country where you could live the most happily?
Logic dictates the answer…
What does any person want in life?
personal safety
financial security
food security
housing affordability
good health care
good education
good infrastructure
peace and stability
How does living in the most powerful country give you all this? Especially if the country is led by a buffoon (Biden) or a clown (Trump) or an authoritarian strongman (Trump). Especially if the country wastes your precious financial resources prosecuting overseas wars.
8u9kalqg antony blinken xi jinping afp 625×300 19 June 23
On April 22 US Congress voted in the $61 billion “Ukraine Response” bill. On the same day it also voted in a $8.1 billion “Indo-Pacific” bill.
The latter allocates $1.9 billion to replace DoD arms that will be given, or have been given to Taiwan for free.
It also allocates some $1.7 billion for Taiwan to use to order arms from US companies.
$2.7 billion in weapons to Taipei in just one fiscal year for free.
Two days later on April 24 the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken traveled to China, and demanded that her government stops Chinese companies from selling electronic components and factory equipment to Russia.
Don’t you just love the American Empire?
The US formally recognizes there exists only one China with a capital in Beijing. This from the US point of view makes Taipei a renegade government on sovereign Chinese territory. Nonetheless, the US gives away weapons to Taipei for free, while demanding China damages its economy and stops selling non-weapons to Russia for cold cash. (Nothing is said of machine tool exports to Ukraine and Western arms makers which China is also willing to fulfill.)
China already refrains from giving away weapons to Russia, and largely refrains from selling weapons and ammunition. Yet this is not enough, a hostile Empire that arms Taipei against China for free, demands that Beijing sanctions itself. Sanctions itself in order to help the Empire exhaust and humble Russia so that the Empire can then focus all of its resources on China alone.
And what’s will all the utopianism anyway?
I can’t believe anyone at State Department seriously thought Beijing would comply with these shocking demands, and that they would do anything but offend and aggravate the Chinese, so why even bring them up?
Did Washington seriously not expect that eventually Russia would start investing in its military production capacity, and that China would make its machine tools available for that? (As she makes them available to anyone willing to pay for them.)
The only shocking thing is how long it took for Russia to start doing it. Did DC think the inactivity would last forever?
Screenshot 2024 05 02 135949
Now DC will pass some punitive sanctions on Chinese manufacturers and banks that will delay some shipments and make others marginally more expensive, but most of all will help confirm to Beijing that DC sees it as an enemy.
BTW, the Russians are not entirely dependent on machine tool imports. Since 2014 they have been building CNC machines of their own — but they lack the capacity to build them on a truly grand scale like the Chinese.
China calls for the launch of an international investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. pic.twitter.com/BzGOdZ2eod
Col. Larry Wilkerson: This is the American Empire Collapsing Before Our Eyes!
Why do wealthy people buy mansions when they do not use every room of them?
Large mansions are mostly a holdover from a previous era. For the most part, they are obsolete. When you get beyond about 6,000 sq. feet, (about three times the size of an average nice American home) you have far more space than you need.
This is especially true for most wealthy people who practically live at the office. No one wants to be in a mansion during the day when the Army of Help goes through the place with vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers and a general atmosphere better suited to a construction site.
Everyone thinks this:
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And forgets about this:
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I’ve been in a few of these mansions and it’s typical for the family to confine themselves to . . . wait for it . . . about 2,000 square feet of the home and just ignore the rest. You can easily tell which rooms look lived in. The smart rich people have a smallish -for a mansion- (5,000 sq. feet) but veeeery nice home on a veeeeery large property.
There is no need for an entire wing for the live-in staff because it’s down to only one or two people: the nanny, only if there are young children and maybe a live-in maid. Everyone else commutes in.
Gone are the days of guests coming to stay for the summer, large banquets and banquet halls, dance floors and ballrooms. These functions are better served by hotels. Mansions do not need to be self contained cities anymore.
If you’re super famous then you still don’t need a huge house, just a large property with a big gate for privacy and maybe a security service to keep watch.
So mostly they’re there to look pretty. They’re not especially useful anymore.
The necessary one
Maytag Blue T-Bones
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Ingredients
4 T-bone steaks, about 1 inch thick
2 large sweet onions, such as Vidalia, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons dry red wine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 ounces Maytag blue cheese, crumbled
Coarse salt
Instructions
Sprinkle steaks with salt and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Sauté onions in butter and oil over a medium low heat until they are soft and starting to brown.
Turn heat up to medium high and add red wine. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated off. Remove from heat.
Heat grill. Grill steaks for about 5 to 6 minutes per side or until they reach desired doneness.
Remove from grill and top with blue cheese and onions.
Secretary of State Blinken announces the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is underway
Speaking at the NATO Summit, taking place at the White House, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed: Donated F-16 fighter jets are “on the way” to Ukraine.
The F-16’s are coming from Denmark and the Netherlands. Here is video confirming what he said:
This is a GIGANTIC problem.
The F-16 is a remarkable aircraft. Even though it was designed decades ago, it is still one of the most capable, agile, fighter jets in the world.
But in order to make it so agile, the designers had to carefully match it’s weight to it’s speed. And one of the areas where they had to cut weight, is in the landing gear.
So when the F-16 needs to takeoff or land, it **must** have a smooth runway. Except . . . there are none left in Ukraine. Russia has bombed them all.
Realizing this, NATO has told Ukraine that the donated F-16’s may be able to takeoff and land at NATO bases in Poland and in Romania.
Well, Russia isn’t having any of that crap. Russia has made clear that if planes takeoff or land at bases OUTSIDE of Ukraine, while they are killing Russian troops INSIDE Ukraine, then those planes and the bases they use are legitimate military targets.
NATO, using it’s well-established and child-like intellect, says “No, the bases are NOT party to the conflict and if Russia attacks a NATO base, then Article 5 of the NATO Treaty (Collective self-defense) can be invoked for war against Russia.”
Well, we’ve all been watching for months as this situation has developed and now, at least according to Secretary Blinken, we have arrived at the moment of truth.
HAL TURNER EDITORIAL OPINION
None of us is certain (yet) as to whether, or when, those donated F-16’s will start taking off for missions against Russian forces.
None of us is certain (yet) if Russia will be able to simply shoot-down those planes over Ukraine air space, thereby negating the need to hit the launch bases.
But ALL OF US are going to find these things out, very soon.
The trouble is, the mass-media in the United States, and in Europe, has been utterly derelict in its reporting of how serious the situation has become and as a result, the general public in the US and EU, have absolutely no idea AT ALL, how close we all are to World War 3.
The general public – for the most part – has not even been told to have emergency food, water, medicine, flashlights, batteries, a portable AM/FM/SW radio with spare batteries, a first-aid kit, a generator with fuel for temporary electric power to keep their refrigerators running, or communications gear like CB or HAM radio for communications if/when all the grid goes down from the coming war.
The general public is blissfully ignorant that THEIR survival is at stake.
WHEN this war breaks out, I fear it will escalate so fast, so out-of-control, that we will see nuclear weapons used WITHIN HOURS.
When that happens, there will be sheer PANIC. The masses (who are asses) will all freak-out and try heading to stores for food, water, etc., and the stores will sell-out (or be looted out) within hours.
Then, I suspect, we will see lawlessness on a scale never before seen. Roving bands of urban savages, hungry and without money, will storm into homes to steal food, water, money. Homeowners, defending themselves, will likely shoot many of them dead.
But if hundreds of lawless maniacs are storming a house, there’s only so much a family can do before they’re over-run.
The police? Will likely be home defending THEIR OWN families, and will be useless to respond to the widespread and escalating anarchy, if they even respond at all..
As the urban centers are exhausted of food to steal (within a couple days), the savages will fan-out into the suburbs. I suspect far more incidents of homeowner self-defense will take place there. I predict hundreds to be gunned-down by armed citizens defending hearth and home.
I predict it will all be to no avail, because the city-dwellers are simply not equipped to feed themselves, and their survival instinct will be the driving factor in their mob mentality.
Add to the mayhem the absence of electric power (grid down), dying batteries in cell towers, downed or non-functioning Internet and telephones, and you have the perfect recipe for Societal collapse.
FOR OVER TWO YEARS, I HAVE TOLD READERS OF THIS WEBSITE, AND LISTENERS TO MY RADIO SHOW TO HAVE “PREPS.” EMERGENCY FOOD, WATER, MEDICINES, GENERATOR, FUEL, FLASHLIGHTS, SPARE BATTERIES, COMMUNICATION GEAR LIKE CB OR HAM RADIO, PORTABLE RADIOS FOR NEWS AND INFORMATION. My warnings have mostly fallen upon deaf ears.
Now, we’re coming to the point where what I have warned of, is about to begin.
In recent years, the United States and some of its Western allies have formed a systematic network to smear Xinjiang through “academic institutions,” “experts and scholars,” and “actors,” driven by anti-China forces. These forces mislead international public opinion and distort the Xinjiang narrative through false information and financial support. However, the truth is gradually being revealed. Independent news websites like “The Gray Zone” in the U.S. and “Australian Alert Service” in Australia, as well as press conferences held by the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, have progressively exposed the truth behind these lies.
I. Geopolitical Manipulation by Western Countries
Since the Cold War era of the last century, the United States and its allies have been using the Xinjiang issue for geopolitical manipulation. During the Cold War, the U.S. supported anti-Soviet forces to counter the Soviet Union. After the Cold War, the U.S. and its allies shifted their focus to China, supporting separatist and terrorist activities in Xinjiang, intending to undermine China’s stability and development. U.S. neoconservative forces believe that by weakening the influence of Russia and China, they can achieve the goal of maintaining a unipolar world. For a long time, anti-China organizations and extremist groups such as the “World Uyghur Congress” and the “East Turkestan Government in Exile” have continually emerged, with extremist ideologies spreading rapidly in the Xinjiang region, resulting in numerous terrorist attacks.
II. Adrian Zenz and His False Research
Adrian Zenz, an extreme right-wing fundamentalist Christian, proposed the false conclusion of “millions of Uyghurs detained in Xinjiang” by piecing together dubious sources. He is a “senior fellow” at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, established by the U.S. government to promote regime subversion. Zenz’s research is based on extremist media reports and speculation, and his “research findings” have been widely accepted and promoted by Western governments and media. Zenz’s research data is unreliable, his methods unscientific, and he even used erroneous and exaggerated data in his paper to draw the so-called “genocide” conclusion.
III. ASPI and Its False Reports
A report released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in 2020 claimed that “at least 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred to inland factories for ‘forced labor’ between 2017 and 2019,” but the report is full of holes and lacks basic factual basis. ASPI is not an independent and objective research institution, but is funded by the Australian Department of Defense, NATO, the U.S. Department of State, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and arms dealers. The main author of the report, Vicky Xu, is an anti-China individual who has defended the “Falun Gong” cult and described Australian Chinese who oppose Hong Kong rioters as “brainwashed by the Chinese government.”
IV. Western Media Hype
Western media not only fail to investigate and verify but also compete to hype up reports that smear China. Barry, a former British media professional, exposed the whole process of Western media fabricating fake news about Xinjiang. After being commissioned by the BBC, Zenz fabricated so-called “research results,” which were widely quoted, hyped, and promoted by Western media such as CNN, BBC, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. On February 10, 2021, Xu Guixiang, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Party Committee, pointed out at a press conference that the BBC has long been producing fake news on Xinjiang-related issues, seriously deviating from professional journalistic ethics.
V. Facts and Truth
Faced with these false information and smear campaigns, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region has revealed the truth behind these lies by holding press conferences. The counter-terrorism and de-extremization measures in Xinjiang are aimed at maintaining social stability and protecting people’s lives and property. These measures have gained understanding and support from the international community. The development and stability of Xinjiang is the most powerful response to those forces attempting to undermine China’s stability and development through smear campaigns and rumors.
In conclusion, the United States and some of its Western allies have attempted to undermine China’s stability and development through systematic false information and smear campaigns on Xinjiang-related issues. However, facts will eventually triumph over lies, and the truth cannot be tarnished. The international community should view Xinjiang-related issues objectively, not be blinded by false information and rumors, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.
The Simpsons – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
How will the ambitions of U.S. chip diplomacy impact China’s dominance in chip manufacturing?
It is not a diplomacy when the aim is to destroy.
It’s the idiocy of this so-called “diplomacy” that trump and Biden can believe they have a chance against the Chinese.
They didn’t learn the immediate lesson that isolating China from the global initiative for the GPS and Space programs just made it existential for China to do it on its own. . . .and believe that sanctioning China from accessing advanced chips would not force China to work to become self-sufficient in chips given that the country is already the world’s largest chip consumer and has the operating base producing all the legacy chips to grow its chips ecosystem for produce advanced chips.
China will become self sufficient in chips and control the industry by the end of this decade. And it is the “ambition of this U.S. chip diplomacy” that made all of this possible.
Another Example: Mass-Media Becoming Irrelevant . . .
In yet another example of how the so-called “Main Stream Media” is becoming irrelevant, the New York Times . . .
If you aren’t familiar with the “grammar” of the New York Times front-page layout, it goes like this: The top-right is the LEAD story, the top-left is the sub-lead, everything else above-the-fold is the important news of the day.
Today, the News York Times says the SECOND most-important story is Mounting Pressure from Senior Congressional Democrats to push Biden out of the Presidential race. The THIRD most-important story is the shocking French election results; upending all expectations.
The MOST-IMPORTANT story? Elon Musk’s successful space launch destroying nine bird nests.
To the liberal nitwits at the New York Times, BIRD’S NESTS are the most important story of the day.
These people are apparently nuts; which is why rational, normal, people . . . . don’t pay much attention to the mass-media anymore.
Their priorities are absurd, their thinking is child-like, and their “facts” . . . . are manipulated at best, deliberately false at worst.
Modern Women are FURIOUS because Men are going their own way – it’s hitting them where it HURTS
I once, a long time ago, was a Design Engineer at Magnavox. This was a large International company that made all sorts of electronics products from televisions to radios to everything in between.
Once, I was put on a project to design a unique cost effective big-screen projection television. The goal was to save $10 per unit. And since we were selling something like two million of these per year, the saving could easily reach $40 million dollars.
For about six months we worked like the devil. We did unpaid overtime, working 14 hour days, and all weekends. It was my first experience in corporate project management, and I think that I learned a lot from it, and we really came though. I believe that we saved something like $20 per unit. So instead of waving the company $40 million dollars, we saved the company $80 million dollars!
We all got a nice meal out of it and a certificate. And that was that. Actually, I and the staff were kind of upset that there were no financial compensation or at least comp-time for our efforts. However, some fo the older guys on the team told me not to worry. Come Christmas, our bonuses would reflect our efforts.
About five months later, Christmas season arrived, and the company held a nice Christmas party. And at the party, the bonuses were handed out.
I was pretty excited. Expecting hundred of thousands of dollars in bonus. After all, 10% of $80 million is $8 million dollars. That’s quite a lot to spread about to us five engineers.
So I opened the envelope.
But I didn’t see a check.
Instead I saw a gift certificate for Walmart worth $5. The smiling face of my section leader just disgusted me, and so I got up and left the party. It was, needless to say, the very last company party that I attended at that company.
…
That was my first taste about what it is like to be a worker-slave. But you know, it really didn’t hit me just how absolutely fucked up it was until twenty years later.
Hey! You want a big laugh?
There’s women who WANT to be Boss-Babes and live this lifestyle.
Idiots.
Today…
What is the saddest thing someone has said to an anesthesiologist before undergoing major surgery?
A young woman in her early twenties with a kidney tumor. (An extremely rare case from the start.) The tumor has already spread to the lymph nodes, and both the kidney and positive lymph nodes have to be removed. And they are.
But not much later, she is back in the hospital with new symptoms, and the cancer is again in the lymph nodes. She needs a second operation but now the situation is even worse — the cancerous lymph nodes mass is very close to the vena cava (a large vein which carries blood to the heart from other parts of the body), and if it grows some more, it will enter the wall of the vena cava. And that will be the end of it.
The urologist who will perform the surgery knows this, and she also knows that the patient has just become a mother, with a baby of six months old.
Before she goes asleep, she looks the anesthesiologist and urologist deep in the eyes, and asks whether this is her last chance to see her baby become a toddler. And the silence answers her question more than any words can.
Less than two months later, she is in the hospital again. The cancer has grown into her vena cava, and she has only a couple of weeks left. And when she hears the news — which she, as a young, very intelligent and independent woman, had expected but tried to ignore the best she could — she starts crying, crying, crying.
And only one sentence vibrates through her trembling heart as her world shuts down —
Her baby is eight months old.
Her baby is eight months old.
Classic Blues Music Best Songs || Excellent Collections of Vintage Blues Songs (Lyrics)
What was the rudest thing done to you by a next door neighbor?
I moved in with my girlfriend in 2016, because it made the most financial sense. She owns the house and has been living here since it was built, I had a stable job and good income. She also went through a nasty and protracted divorce a few years before we met. The neighbors to our left were big fans of her ex – they would spy on her and report back to him on a regular basis. Her ex had assured everyone in the neighborhood who would listen that he was going to win the divorce, get the house, and she would be living in her car. Well … it didn’t quite work out like he planned, so he set his acolytes on a mission to make her life miserable. That also didn’t work out like he planned.
I personally caught the guy standing in the driveway leading to our lower garage taking pictures of my car while I had it up on jack stands for some front suspension work. We weren’t in violation of the HOA rules because the car was in the garage while I was working on it. He skedaddled back across the property line as soon as he knew he was being watched.
Later on, I can only assume it became clear to him and his wife that I wasn’t going anywhere. He took every opportunity to try to provoke me into doing something stupid. I didn’t rise to the occasion, and he eventually tired of it. One afternoon, I was walking down to the backyard, he was in his driveway, and he starts flipping me the bird and yelling something I couldn’t understand. I kept walking like I didn’t have a care in the world.
I told my girlfriend that the best revenge we could take on them would be to live the best life we could and be happy in spite of them. When they sold the house and moved out, we threw a small going away party in their honor … without them.
Have you ever had a co-worker who smelled terrible? How was it handled?
I have had some co-workers that smelled strongly of sweat, I chose to ignore it. Some with bad breath, that I just tried not to get too close to.
But I think, with my experience now, if I had a co-worker who smelled bad regularly, and people were talking behind their back, I would find a way to talk with them kindly, alone. Because you never know what is really going on.
I’m afraid that there was a time I may have smelled bad, but nobody told me. I don’t sweat much naturally and I always wear antiperspirant, so that wasn’t it. I also shower every day, and have short hair, so my hair gets shampooed every day.
The problem was my clothes washer. When I bought my apartment, the previous owners left me a clothes washer. But it was upstairs, and there was a problem with the amount of water it could get. It wouldn’t fill up all the way, or rinse efficiently. I started to notice blotches of detergent on my clothes after being washed, and with some investigation, found what the problem was. I was living on very little, and could not afford to have the plumbing redone up there, so I had to opt to do my laundry at a laundromat.
It was (is) expensive for me ($13 a load). I was also working very long hours, so I could only go once a week. I had very few clothes, as well, so sometimes had to wear things more than once. I also have a dog and cat- my cat would pull open drawers and lie on my clothes, and I was always in contact with my dog, so there were hairs on everything, and I think, a musty animal smell. I could smell my clothes after a while, myself!
So I suspect that people around me probably did too, and maybe I became the focus of gossip, I don’t know. Maybe they thought it was a result of not bathing or something. I would have liked to be alerted sooner, by someone kind, and at least have someone know what the problem really was!
Now, I still go to the laundromat, but twice a week. It is costing me a big portion of my income, and sometimes I have to go late at night, when I am exhausted. I also add products that are supposed to sanitize and help rid of odors, and I hang up EVERYTHING in the closet. I use a closet perfume spray on everything in there. I change as soon as I get home, so I wear them for as short a period of time as possible.
But it is so humiliating to imagine I could have been that stinky co-worker, and everyone just talked behind my back. Be kind.
ODESSA Massacre: BRITISH and U.S. Soldiers Soared Into The Air Along With Administrative Building
Why have people forgotten what the People’s Republic of China did to Tibet, and when are we going to see a “Free Tibet”?
Why have people forgotten what the PRC did to Tibet?
Prior to 1960 :-
Tibetans could not own any property or Pastureland and everything was controlled by the Monasteries
Tibetans couldn’t gain education and study
Tibetans couldn’t travel
Tibetans had no way of going to other parts of China or Nepal or India except through very fatiguing journeys
Every Goat, Tak and Tal (1 Tal =0.247 Acres) was owned by the Monks and the Tibetans were SERFS and their marriage was also decided by the Monks
Post 1960:-
Tibetans still can’t own property or Pastureland which is owned by the State yet Tibetans can lease the same and be masters of the lease. They can keep 3/4 of their produce and do what they want with it
Tibetans must gain education and study. Literacy rate rose from less than 2% in 1960 to almost 70% in 2024. Tibetans are entitled to FREE EDUCATION upto Graduation.
Tibetans can travel and get a Passport
Tibetans have Railroads and Top Class Roads connecting them to China & Nepal and they can travel very fast and in great comfort
Tibetans can own businesses , make money and pay taxes and build homes and get married as per their own choice
Tibetans rule themselves as members of Provincial Committees and the Party Leadership at Grassroot levels
So the Average Tibetan saw his life change in a positive way
It was just a change from one Master to another Master
One Master were the Monks who were oppressive and treated them like Dirt and Servants
The Other Master was the CPC – the Communist Party which treated them fairly, gave them a long rope and helped them develop as long as they didnt whine about western ideas of freedom (In which case their spine would be crushed)
It’s why the British were able to rule India so easily
For the Average Indian – his master changed from the Upper Caste Landlords who beat them, starved them, raped them without consequences to the British who exploited them but otherwise left them alone and even protected them to some extent under a British legal system
Their lives were better which was why they watched with glee when Indian Leaders were hanged to death and secretly CHEERED
The People of Tibet gained thanks to China
Only the Monks lost and they have no sympathy from anyone except the West
Mao wanted to put them in Labor Camps and the Tibetan People would have cheered
When are we going to see a free tibet?
Never.
The Tibetans don’t want a free tibet.
They are Chinese today.
Back in the 1980s when Tibetans from India came over, they hid them and helped them distribute agenda
Today they catch them, beat them to pulp and hand them over to the Authorities
The Average Tibetans do
Tibet is gone today
It is XIZANG and the people are now Chinese, especially the Kids
Their loyalty is to the Party and State and China
They regard Indian Tibetans are TRAITORS and regard Arunachal Pradesh as their home and those who stay in Arunachal as Infiltrators
What was the most inappropriate thing you watched as a child, that your parents were okay with?
I wasn’t allowed to watch TV.
My mother was a single mother, and didn’t fight with me about much. But there were a few things she was very adamant about.
There was no television, video games, or phone time for more than 30 minutes a day. This one lasted till I was 12. Other rules included an 8 PM bedtime until I was 12. No sugar either- ever. She still won’t let me have sugar, if it’s under her control. The one time she let me have a coke was when I was throwing up and dying.
So instead of television, video games, or a phone, I had books.
Books quickly became my everything. I would read them day in and day out. Cell phone in class? Forget that, I would read in class. My teachers were not any fonder of this than a cellphone, because it’s kind of hard to send someone to the office for reading in class (I mean, they tried, but the principal laughed at them).
Instead of taking away toys or electronics, my mom took away my books. And even then, she would have to take away my notebooks too, because I would write stories in there.
It was literally the only form of punishment that worked.
So one day, I was in third grade and my mom has caught me reading after bedtime. She took away all of my books.
Needless to say, I was bored out of my mind.
“Mom, can I have my book back? I’m bored.”
“No, you cannot. You’re in trouble. Go play with your toys or something.” She told me.
“But I don’t want too.”
“Too bad.”
“I’m booooooooooooooored!”
For the next three days we continued to have the same conversation.
On day four, my mom handed me a book.
“You can read this. Nothing else.”
It was “Twilight”. I had no clue what it was about, but I was excited.
I sat down and read the book.
And I understood none of it. I didn’t know what a Vampire was, for one.
I bugged my mom so much asking for definitions, explanations, and other things she ended the punishment early.
She took the book back, as well.
“If you ever want to read this, do not ask me for explanations.”
So her punishment backfired.
That’s probably the most inappropriate book she let me read, when I was young. She gave up after about age 11 with the book censoring.
I did end up reading the entire book, but I didn’t understand it.
Trip to Guangzhou Metro Line 18 – The fastest metro line in the world
What is the rudest thing that a new neighbor has done to you immediately after you had moved in?
Originally Answered: What is the rudest thing a new neighbor has done immediately after you moved in?
When I bought my home, we were unloading the truck: six very tired people, who were just trying to get the job done. The front door is standing open as we carry in boxes. I look up as a woman walked in, with two little boys in tow, and says “Hi, I am your new neighbor.” I have a house full of tired cranky people, and she thinks I have time for a social call? Really?
She followed me around for about an hour telling me she had heard that a disabled person (me) had bought the house, and how her friend used to own it, yadda, yadda, and I finally turned to her and said, “Please, we have work to get done and I will be glad to sit down over coffee, and get to know you, but today is not the day.” She gathered up her two little boys, and as she walks out my from door, she says over her shoulder, that she and her husband will be by tomorrow “to discuss the rent.” I looked at her and said stupidly “huh?”. She then proceeds to tell me that although I bought my manufactured home through the bank, that she and her husband owned the land it was on, and they would come down and discuss rental amount, etc.! I looked her straight in the eye and told her that I did not buy the house through a bank; I bought it straight out right for cash, for the house, buildings and the land they are on! There is no bank involved. She gives me a dirty look, and says “my husband will have something to say about that!” Turns around and walks out the door.
The following day, I saw her husband coming home from work, so I stepped outside and asked him if he wanted to speak to me as his wife said. He looked at me, kind of embarrassed, put his head down, and said “yeah, I am sorry about that, but when she heard a disabled lady bought the house, she figured she could scam you for some cash. I am really sorry, but she just does these things…”
Grrrrr…! She figured she could rip off a disabled person and get away with it? Nope! Needless to say I rejected all offers of friendship until she sold her house and moved. Buh bye!
Idiocracy deleted scene#4 (Museum of Fart)
Does the mainstream US mass media operate against US national security? Why is the mainstream US mass media so pro–Israeli AND so pro–Netanyahu? Does AIPAC operate against (or contrary to) US national security?
It is known that 90% of US mainstream media are funded by Congress.
So, if the congress is pro-Netanyahu, MSMedia will be pro Netanyahu.
In fact, I heard some MSM is funded or owned by billionaire Jewish Americans. Who knows, These billionaires may be pro-netanyahu.
Israel under Netanyahu has been ruled by UNSC & ICC that it has committed genocide.
By supporting Israel, USA has lost its moral high ground on the world stage. USA has damaged its reputation as a world leader. … USA has damaged its soft power on world stage.
Does this loss of soft power threaten US national security?
In a short run, probably no. In a long run, probably yes because it speeds up the collapse of US “empire”.
What was your “I think our neighbor is an actual (professional) criminal” moment without any police presence or contact? What made you realize/suspect that your neighbor was in fact a criminal?
When I lived in Florida we had the corner lot, which was nice, until we noticed the next door neighbor had “visitors” who loved to use one of “our” curbs to park on. Only they never stayed long. Day and night, randomly through both, different cars would pull up on the curb, someone would go inside for maybe ten minutes or so, and leave. They also had a yard “business,” except we only ever saw the work truck drive a few streets over and park for the day. We aren’t dumb, we figured the lady next door was selling crack, not to individual users either, she was the distributor. We were in that towns version of a ghetto anyway.
Then the feds contacted us once and wanted to use our place to stake them out. That let us know our guess was right. (They never did go past the asking permission faze)
Then a little later we were visiting my MIL, who had always hated where we lived. “Did you see some 60 year old white woman was just arrested for selling crack in your neighborhood?!” She exclaimed pretty quickly after we got there, she’d read it in the newspaper. “Was her name Jane Castro?” Wide eyes from the MIL. “How’d you know?” Shrug. “She was our neighbor.” 😂😂 MIL HATED that.
But she was better than the dog fighters who moved in after that. That’s a much more sad story because we had to see animals be killed in training.
China Slams US for Plundering Syria
What is the most ignorant thing someone has said to you?
Two days after my wife passed away, some idiot from one of the insurance companies I was contacting said this to me when I told them of Margaret’s death;
“It’s all part of God’s plan.”
My response was definitely not God-like (the following is from memory but it is quite accurate);
“Well, what kind of an arsehole is your God? Because that’s the shittest plan I’ve ever heard of. So your God invented cancer, allowed my beautiful wife to catch it, let her suffer for over seven years with it, dragged our family through hell because of it and then his best option was to decide she had to die? Your God doesn’t deserve to be in charge of his own left nut, let alone the whole fucking world. I apologise for the swearing, but while I fully respect your right to your religion, please fully respect my right to absolutely ignore your fucking nutsack of a religion.”
The insurance company was informed, the recording of the call was listened to and the above mentioned idiot has gone off for human training.
Religion has its place, but that place is not in my ear. Not now.
How does “kicking husband onto the couch” actually work?
How does “kicking husband onto the couch” actually work?
Here is the answer: It doesn’t. At all. Period.
I have been very happily married, for 19 years and counting, to my beloved wife and mother of 4 of my children.
Now you must understand that being “happily married” does not mean that we don’t have conflict. It does not mean that we never fight. It does not mean that our marriage is some “Leave it to Beaver”/Norman Rockwell depiction of what marriage should be.
To illustrate this point, early in our marriage, we had a fight. Lots of yelling. I don’t even remember what the fight was about. What is relevant to the question is the tactic my wife used to convey her displeasure.
“You can sleep on the couch tonight!” she yelled.
I was taken aback. We were arguing about something, and she thought she could relegate me to the couch like a misbehaving puppy?
She thinks that she could do this in our home? Not her home, but our home?
She thinks that our relationship is that unequal?
No. Just no.
Strangely, I instantly forgot what we were even arguing about. I took a deep breath.
“The answer is no. If you are so angry that you need some space, no problem – go find that space.
“I will sleep in my bed. It’s your bed too. You can choose to sleep in it or not, but you will never tell me where I sleep in my own house.
“We can fight, but how we do so is going to decide if this marriage is going to be successful.”
She stared at me with an angry scowl, then went into the next room and called her friend. She gave a synopsis of the argument, and then asked what she should say to me.
Her friend’s response? “Make him sleep on the couch! That will show him!”
My wife: “I tried that. He says he’s not going to. He says he’s going to sleep in the bed, and I can sleep there or not…”
“He can’t DO that!!” her friend said.
About 30 minutes later my wife came out. We started laughing together after she recounted what her (unmarried and single) friend had given as advice.
“I guess it only works if the man actually sleeps on the couch,” she said.
“Baby, do you want a husband or a dog?”
And then it was over. We went to bed.
Together.
Modern Women Have Realized They Made the Biggest Mistake of their Lives
2. The airplane oxygen masks only last for 15 minutes.
3. The human brain is the smartest and most crucial organ in the human body, right? But that’s an idea your own brain came up with.
4. When you blush, the lining of your stomach blushes too.
5. 300 million of your cells die every minute, which is like an abortion per hour.
6. The youngest person confirmed to be pregnant was only 5 years old.
7. People cook meat to kill the parasites inside, but the corpses of the parasites still remain in the meat.
8. Roaches can’t walk backward, so if one crawled into your ear, it would be stuck there.
9. Pineapple contains the enzyme “bromelain”, an excellent meat tenderizer. So when you eat pineapple, it’s pretty eating you back.
10. There is more actual lemon juice in lemon-scented cleansing spray than there is in the lemon flavor drinks.
11. In 1944, 9 airmen survived when their planes were shot down off the coast the tiny Pacific island of Chichijima. 8 of the young men were captured by the Japanese, tortured and EATEN. The only survivor was George HW Bush.
12. Instead of looking UP into the sky, you are actually gazing DOWN into the infinite universe, with only gravity holding you to the surface of the Earth.
Idiocracy Prison Escape
Starship Troopers (1997) Outpost 29 Battle 4K
Vietnam from $1 to $1000
How I tried gold digging, BJJs and my dad tells me to get plastic surgery
A Day at Cummins
This is one of the prisons at the ADC. And yeah, I am well familiar with this facility during my “retirement” from MAJestic. It’s part of my past. And good and bad, it made me what I am today.
We crash landed about eight months ago. It’s only an approximation because I’ve lost count of the days. The crew split up the first time someone mentioned cannibalism casually as if were an option. None of wanted to become the next textbook Donner Party.Now I spend most days discovering new species to observe their main form of sustenance, and then I typically mimic them by eating whatever they couldn’t finish. The lizards know where all the good stuff is. There are a couple of mammal-looking creatures that are covered in hair and tend to scavenge during the late afternoon. All the little creatures, though, generally have a lack of taste buds. It would be like eating at a restaurant that was given rave reviews by reviewers with no sense of seasoning.I dug a small enclave on the side of a hill next to a wall of cypresses that only has one way into the hole and one way out. Then I cleaned it up as much as possible by covering the ground in a couple of layers of cushioned debris. The hill keeps away most adverse weather. I thought about trying to create some sort of knife-like tool as a method to hunt protein, though the process became too tedious after trying to hit two rocks together over and over.The small things of convenience that civilization provide hit me the worse first. I missed not being able to order pizza, going to a big store on the corner with all the hard parts of preparing food already done, and talking to other people. I never thought I’d miss talking to another person until I experienced complete isolation.Occasionally I would use the little critters as entertainment to talk to, but the conversation was all one sided. They never challenged me, which seemed nice at first because they didn’t have the verbal fortitude to combat my linguistic might. But invariably the self-realization that I was talking to myself and projecting my thoughts onto these lesser conscious creatures seemed all too depressing to continue.The captain of the ship died in the landing. I believe it was in his contract that he would be responsible for naming this strange land that we came upon. I asked him what he planned on calling it, but he responded that he didn’t know. He wouldn’t know until he saw the place. It would be too presumptuous to name a discovery that could be great, could be awful, could be somewhere in between, before even seeing what it all looked like. He didn’t even have a few rough drafts saved up. He simply intended on naming this land the first thing that came to mind, no matter how horrible, wonderful, or plain it might come out.I believe the succession of the naming responsibility fell on the first mate, and then probably some of the higher members of the crew, possibly a few of the scientists, whichever guy was responsible for making sure the restrooms were cleaned, and then may around the last, or near the last, there would be me. Unlike the captain, I had come up with quite a few reserved names in case I was called upon to name the place. Keep in mind that I’d never seen this place when I came up with these names. No one had. They were back burner sort of names that I knew would never be used. Gregotia. Fanalicka. Vosylianopical. Key Tone Island. x-3190p. Though my secret fantasy would be that it would be named after me. Fresno.
But now I no longer knew where any of the crew that survived the crash had gone to, nor did I know whether or not any of them were still alive. The basic maintenance of living became more and more a fruitless endeavor. I woke everyday thinking this might be the last. No one would know I died here. No one would care. My body would decay after months of these alien creatures feasting on my deceased being. I started to become more morbid the longer I stayed in this forsaken land.
I tried venturing out ever so much on a hesitant scale to possibly make contact with either an indigenous population, or maybe even some of my remaining crewmates. Perhaps they’d given up the notion that it could possibly be a good idea to eat one another. Hopefully after months of continuous isolation they’d made the realization that it would be best if we stuck together. And while I hoped that whatever, or whomever, I discovered would be friendly, at a certain point I no longer cared. I simply wandered as far as I could comfortably go without losing track of my base camp.
The first few times were more exploratory, to make sure the land I occupied was not as finite as a mole hill nor as infinite as space. The land was a bit more desolate than I anticipated. It had all been sterilized and smelled of a foreign chemical agent used to eradicate any semblance of micro-organic life as a means to protect the inhabitants from all alien virus. I couldn’t imagine being sick in a place I didn’t recognize, with no semblance of health care in sight, or at least none that I recognized.
To that extent, I had no idea what I would say to the first alien I met. I don’t imagine they’d be able to understand me. But maybe they were advanced enough that they had some sort of ultra-cool technology that could translate any and all languages throughout the galaxy, and somehow, despite no reasoning for it to work, English was categorized in it and this imagined being would be able to understand my pleas. Though if somehow it could even possibly understand me, I didn’t know if it would treat me amicably. Certainly I was always trained to come in peace. It was the universal message of interstellar media: always travel in peace of other creatures so as to not to disturb their ecosystem. But if they attacked first, then…?
Months of malnutrition had done nothing for my strength, though that’s not to say that I was very strong to begin with. And in terms of any logistically savvy fighting skills, I dare say I would more than likely be at a disadvantage if I came across any hostile life forms. The less terrain I recognized, the more cognizant I became of how vulnerable I truly was. But then, contact.
“Hello,” I called out. “I come in peace.”
The creature didn’t budge. I took a step forward, intentionally making a scruffing sound against the ground to make the alien aware of my presence and movement. Still, no response. I thought for a brief second that perhaps the creature was deaf, or maybe even dead and just positioned upward before some sort of ceremony to commemorate its life. I called out once more, again reiterating that I came in peace.
“I know,” the alien responded. “What in the hell? Put the stapler down and get back to class.”
The alien sounded like Mr. Everret from gym class. It even mimicked his attire and mannerisms. But I knew the truth. Somehow this world had the capability to transplant familiar memories of mine as a way to put my guard down. But I remembered the ride over here. I remember losing my crew one at a time as they all descended into an alien world devoid of pleasantness and camaraderie. These aliens were reading my mind, infiltrating my thoughts to make me think I was back home, enjoying another day at school. But I knew the game. Play along until they all had their guard down. I holstered my laser gun and retreated back to my enclave, seeing nothing that I recognized.
Avatar – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
What’s the biggest sanitary oversight you’ve ever witnessed at a restaurant?
At the pizza place I worked at when I was a teenager, we had a long marble countertop that was used exclusively to punch down and roll out fresh dough balls into pizza crusts. Since pizzas were made to order, this counter had flour and dough on it all the time. Well, space was very limited so above this counter was a series of shelves where folded pizza boxes where kept up out of the way. Each night, the crew was supposed to refill the box bins at the front counter for the next day. Well, I was scheduled to work the grill on this particular Saturday morning, and I noticed there were only a few boxes left in the box bin from the night before. So as crew leader, I asked the new 16 year-old kitchen helper to fill up the box bins. Well, he goes to get them and instead of using the folding ladder to reach them, he moves the ladder out of his way, hops right up onto the counter full of flour and dough with his filthy tennis shoes and grabs ONE box. Then he jumps back down and while looking furtively over his shoulders, he uses his equally filthy hand to wipe out the shoe imprints in the flour. He even stepped on a dough ball sitting on the counter, flattening it and leaving a perfect imprint of the sole of his shoe across it. He flips the dough ball onto the the floor and attempts to kick it out of sight and takes the box into the back of the kitchen??? He goes out the back door, apparently took time to smoke a cigarette, came in the front door, and handed the girl at the register the one empty box???????? What!?????
This occurred in full view of a the dining room full of customers. I was so stunned, I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. I just absolutely couldn’t believe my eyes. Unfortunately, neither could the health inspection officer standing at the counter waiting to meet with our manager about the scheduled health inspection that morning. Well, the consequences for that idiot’s actions resulted in a $30,000 health violation fine to the restaurant. The appeal was denied so, that one incident put the restaurant out of business.
Vintage art
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Secret Courtship
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Grilled Stuffed Peppers
grilledpepper FillWzExNzAsNTgzXQ
Ingredients
6 large green bell peppers
1 pound ground beef
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 small onion
1 package Lipton Spanish Rice
1 (12 ounce) can V8 juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic
Aluminum foil
Instructions
In a large skillet brown ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic and onion.
Next in small sauce pan prepare Spanish rice. Mix cooked Spanish rice with browned hamburger and add V8 juice and mushrooms; mix well.
Wash and cut the tops off the peppers. DON’T throw them away. Clean out peppers.
Place a piece of aluminum foil on each, large enough to cover bottom and sides of peppers on each.
Stuff peppers, making sure the pepper tops will fit after they are filled.
Place on grill and cook slowly until bottom sof peppers are blackened.
Caspar Grosse, a German medic in that unit, said he saw the soldier plead for medical attention in a mix of broken English and Russian. It was dusk. A team member looked for bandages.That is when, Mr. Grosse said, a fellow soldier hobbled over and fired his weapon into the Russian soldier’s torso. He slumped, still breathing. Another soldier fired — “just shot him in the head,” Mr. Grosse recalled in an interview.
Mr. Grosse said he was so upset by the episode that he confronted his commander. He said he spoke to The New York Times after what he regarded as unwarranted killings continued.
…
In a second episode, a Chosen member lobbed a grenade at and killed a surrendering Russian soldier who had his hands raised, video footage reviewed by The Times shows.
…
In a third episode, Chosen members boasted in a group chat about killing Russian prisoners of war during a mission in October, text messages show. …
BE THAT GUY – Best Hopecore Motivational Compilation
Most cars I’ve had idle around 700 rpm. Why is 700 rpm typical? Why not make idle speed 100 or 200 rpm? Wouldn’t a slower rpm save gas? Would the engine stall at that low of rpm?
The idle speed is usually between 600 and 1,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) for most cars. The idle speed cannot be too low or too high, because both situations can cause problems for the engine and the car.
If the idle speed is too low, the engine may not have enough power to run the important parts of the car, such as the water pump, the alternator, the power steering pump, and the air conditioning compressor. This can make the car overheat, drain the battery, make it hard to steer, and reduce comfort. Also, the engine may not get enough air and oil, which can make it burn poorly, build up carbon, and wear out faster. The engine may also stop or hesitate when you try to speed up from a stop.
If the idle speed is too high, the engine may use more fuel and produce more emissions and noise than necessary. This can also affect the transmission and the brakes of the car, because the car may move forward or backward when you change gears or apply brakes. Also, the engine may wear out faster because of more friction and heat.
So 700 rpm is a common idle speed for most cars because it is in the middle of the optimal range which makes sure that the engine works well and uses less fuel. A lower rpm would not save fuel but rather risk stopping or damaging the engine. A higher rpm would not improve performance but rather waste fuel and cause noise or vibration.
But before you go – a click on the upvote button will make both of us happy.
Have a good day/night.
RETIREMENT REGRETS: Top 5 regrets from elderly (70-80 yrs old) retirees!
Has there been a boxer in history who was intimidated by their opponent outside of the ring, but not during the actual fight?
Yes. I would say Muhammad Ali VS Sonny Liston. Ali has written that he could not beat Liston in a fight outside the ring, and that he was outright afraid of Sonny Liston. Even inside the ring, with rules, he was not sure he could win.
[Joe Louis was in the Liston camp, so Ali brought Sugar Ray Robinson to the Weigh-in for emotional support]
The young Ali/Cassius Clay used his own counter intimidation tactics. At the Weigh-in, he became hyper. Even more hyperactive then normal,… he went into overdrive! It was natural. He didn’t fake it BUT he let himself go with it, talking incessantly, taunting Liston, sticking his tongue out, etc. The police were afraid there’d be a fight right there. But Sonny was calm..
Norman Mailer has point out that Sonny was secretly fond of Clay, like a big brother . But he was also afraid of the Black Muslims and it was rumored that Alisia Muhammad was also fond of Cassius Clay. So here we get into that weird Ryan- Garcia- land. But that’s where boxing has been for …Ever. It is the most head trippy of sports.
Ali later said that, for the first time, he saw a little crack in Sonny’s stoic exterior… Sonny was not afraid of any man…any NORMAL man that is. But a CRAZY man ? So Clay took the act even further. He got so, into the character that his heart rate , measured at weigh-in, was off the charts.
But Sonny’s heart rate also went up ! And he didn’t know what to say or think about Clay’s display.
That weigh-in may have evened the “Intimidation score”, and carried into the fight. Now, It was the Great Intimidater Baer himself, VS…a Crazy Man! You can see that in the first few rounds . Sonny was fired up, not relaxed like his usual self. And Clay/Ali was even more energetic and brash then normal. He put himself into that character and it worked FOR him as well as AGAINST his apponent. As Mailer said, Sonny threw that jab and missed by a mile, and we knew we were on for a different kind of night.
Every Level of the Internet Explained
What’s something you’ve done that unexpectedly made you a lot of money?
I went on a vacation years ago. I left my wife with her parents and family and decided to take the rental car for a drive. I ended up in a pawn store a few hours away.
I asked the pawnbroker what he had that was a bargain. He pulled out a nice strand of pearls… but I could see that he had a LOT of pearl strands in the desk drawer and in his safe.
He offer to sell the one strand to me at a great price. I said, “what if I buy them all?” He said there were 400 strands total. We ended up doing the deal and I loaded 400 strands of pearls in my car and drove back to the lake house.
I paid $10 a strand for 18″ strands and up to $40 a strand for 86″ strands. Except for the large endless strands, all the rest had 14K gold clasps on them. The clasps at the time were $20 each wholesale, so I knew I couldn’t go wrong with this deal.
Anyway, I was selling the pearl strands for $99 to $150 each and they were still a bargain. A VP of my bank came in to buy a strand. He liked it but wanted something “better” for his wife. I said I have just the thing for you in my office.
I went and put one of the same $99 necklaces in a $15 wooden box and took it out to him. I slowly opened the beautiful box in front of him. “”Is this more like what you are looking for?” He LOVED the pearl strand in the box. He said “how much is this one?” “This one is $400”, I replied. “Sold”, he said.
Basically I sold a $15 wooden display box with a $99 pearl necklace for $400.
That was the day I discovered that perception is everything.
What was the most shocking crime you have ever heard of?
A call to a mother.
Shibli Sadiq Hridoy, a 20-year-old Chittagong, Bangladesh resident, contacted his mother Nahid Akhter on August 28, 2023.
His voice seemed quite frightened during the call; he told his mother that some people had kidnapped him, and they were beating him mercilessly.
After some time, Nahid got another call, but this time it was a different person on the phone. He said something that created a huge panic in his family.
Who was Shibli?
Shibli, who was born into a poor household, used to study and work to pay for his college tuition.
He worked as a manager on a poultry farm, and the farm six people worked under him.
Shibli being the youngest, and the other six workers being in the age group of 24 to 26, started being carless at work, thinking Shibli wouldn’t say anything.
At first, he explained to them nicely about their mistakes, but still after not obeying at work he started to take action against them which didn’t fit well with them.
This conflict started to get worse until the farm owner called everyone and calmed them.
Shibli forgot and moved on, but the other six did not and started a plan for revenge.
Planning for the revenge.
Two months after the incident, the fateful day came on 28th, August 2023, where they kidnapped Shibli while he was working on the farm.
After kidnapping Shibli, the kidnappers called Shibli’s mother Nahid Akhter, and demanded 15 Lakh Taka (Bangladeshi currency).
Shibli’s family was very poor and started asking people for help with the money.
Even after 3 days, they could not collect the said amount for the kidnappers, and Shibli’s father requested the kidnappers to decrease the money.
The kidnappers knowing that the Shibli family was poor, had reduced the amount to 2 Lakh Taka.
Shibli’s father, with great effort, finally collected the amount.
On September 4, 2023, the kidnappers called Shibli’s father to come to Bandar Ban district with the money.
Shibli’s father in hopes of getting his son back reached the said place and gave the money to the kidnappers.
The kidnappers got caught.
The kidnappers told Shibli’s father to go home now, and his son Shibli will return to the house.
As soon as Shibli’s father reached home, he could not find Shibli, thinking he might come late.
Shibli’s parents waited for 3 days before reaching the Police, and when asked why they came so late, they said the kidnappers had warned them not to tell the police, or they would kill their son.
Shibli’s mother told the police that he quarreled with those six people who worked under him.
Police caught all six workers of the poultry farm.
Their names are Umongching Mama, Suichjingmung Mama, Angthumung Mama, and Ukyathmai Mama. The other two names are unknown.
Initially, all six stayed quiet during the police investigation, but after being questioned aggressively, one of them broke down and told the narrative.
A confession that shocks a country.
He said they only wanted to kidnap Shibli, torture him, and leave him after receiving ransom money.
The plan changed when Shibli learned the identity of his kidnappers and his workers.
Fearing he might go to the police after his release, they killed him by choking his neck.
One of the workers, Umongching Marma even admitted that he cooked some of the flesh of the dead body and ate it.
They then threw the body down from a neighboring hill, and when the police arrived on September 11, 2023, they discovered Shibli’s skeleton bones.
This case had become a topic of discussion throughout Bangladesh country through news channels.
People were furious at the kidnappers, and as the police were transporting one of the main accused, who had admitted to eating flesh to the police, people gathered around the station and grabbed Umongching, who was cruelly beaten by the crowd and murdered.
Jalapeno Rib Eye Steaks
Jalapeno Rib Eye Steaks
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1/4 cup cilantro or parsley, chopped
1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapeno peppers, chopped
4 (8 ounce) rib eye steaks
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (comino)
Instructions
Prepare grill or broiler.
Combine cilantro and jalapenos in a bowl.
Cut a pocket in the side of each steak, without cutting all the way through. Stuff pockets with cilantro mixture and secure closed with wooden picks.
Combine remaining ingredients and pepper to taste in a bowl and rub over outside of steaks.
Grill or broil about 5 inches from heat source 4 to 5 minutes per side, or longer for more well done meat.
Remove wooden picks before serving.
9 Minutes of Delusional Woke People Getting OWNED #1
1. If you have a few hours to kill on the airplane, delete pictures from your phone.
2. Use your travel toiletries at home the night before you leave for a long trip.
3. Sign out of your Netflix when checking out of an hotel.
4. When using a grocery delivery service, tip a set amount, not a percentage.
5. Waving someone through a stop sign when they stopped after you is not doing anybody a favour and most competent drivers are just annoyed at you for behaving unpredictably.
6. If you need to memorize something, read it, record it and play it quietly at night.
7. Save your PowerPoint presentation as a .ppsx file that starts automatically when opened.
8. Marry someone who will always have your back, even when they are mad at you.
9. If you find a faster way to do something at your work, keep it a secret from your manager.
10. Your company didn’t know you existed before you applied and won’t notice you when you’re gone. Take care of yourself.
11. Before buying something, ask yourself 2 questions: “Where will I store this thing?” and “How difficult will it be to clean this thing?”
12. If the person you are dating invites you over for a home cooked meal, take the initiative and just start doing the dishes without asking. You can thank me later.
13. Ask the person you are dating the non-negotiables of yours in the first few weeks.
14. If you know how late you are going to be, add an extra 5-10 minutes to it. It might be annoying for the people when you say it initially, but when you come before the time you said, it will evoke a far more positive reaction than underestimating the lateness time.
15. Pay Attention to the smell of your home when you come back from a trip. That’s what it smells like to guests all the time, you just get used to it.
16. Never try to be the man your father would want you to be. Be the man you would like your son to be.
The 7 Princes of Hell in 7 Minutes
What is the most disrespectful thing your neighbour has done?
She came over and knocked on my door and by the look on her face I could tell she was livid and so I asked her if everything was okay. She pointed to the mutual hedge between our houses, which I had clipped the day before. Now keep in mind this hedge is mostly privet which is just underbrush basically. Of the two of us I am the one who keeps my yard up and she is not that interested in yard work. But this day she was upset because I had dared to clip the bushes more than she thought was appropriate. I had clipped them before and it was no problem but now she was not happy. She proceeded to cuss me out saying…”Who f…ing does that?” They were clipped a bit more than usual but they would grow back, I said. She would not back down and was threatening me with a lawsuit and fines until I finally told her I wasn’t going to stand there and take that abuse.
Several hours later, I was coming down my driveway and I saw her sitting on her porch. She practically leaped off the porch and came into my yard shaking some papers in my face telling me she had talked to her lawyer. Turns out they were clearly meant to scare me, which they didn’t because they were very bogus-looking papers.
Then the next morning, early, a policeman came to my door before I was even dressed. He seemed rather embarrassed to even be there when I asked him what the problem was and so I asked if it was concerning my neighbor? He nodded and said, “Ma’am I’m just doing my job and I need you to fill out some papers.” I asked him if it was against the law to clip mutual bushes and he just said, “Ma’am, she filed a complaint so we have to follow up.” Well, he went to his police car and sat there for the longest time and then he drove off and I never saw him again.
My neighbor was still on the warpath and she would do things like park in our mutual driveway and park at the very edge of the drive so that I had to park on the street and couldn’t get in. One time she actually parked behind me blocking me in. And if a friend came and parked in the driveway she put a note on their car, saying “PLEASE don’t park here!!!” Eventually she sent me some more papers from some legal something or another; it seemed like more hogwash to me saying that it wasn’t safe for either of us to park in the drive in case there was a fire because the fire trucks couldn’t get in there and I would be responsible and she hoped I would do the right thing.
Now I was beginning to doubt the mental stability of my neighbor and I just took all this in without saying a whole lot. But after the police visit I did write her a letter telling her the police probably had better things to do with their time and if I ever clip the bushes again I will be sure and ask her and I did deliver the letter in person.
Time went on and she would barely speak to me for over a year. If I was working outside, and the houses are close together, and she was on her porch I would say hello and she would not even look at me. But I did not return her coldness with coldness and I did not seek revenge and eventually she started saying hello again. She even left me some cookies for Christmas one time. Of course they were packaged because I may not have eaten them thinking she was trying to poison me otherwise. Haha.
So this is my disrespectful experience with my neighbor. Hope you learned something about those supposedly nice neighbors of yours. You never know.
Argentina Faces Reality: Renews RMB Currency Lifeline, Expands China Trade For Economic Survival
What’s the difference between working in Japan vs. in China?
Being a Chinese who has working experience in both China and Japan, here is some of my personal observations, please take it with a grain of salt (Warning: Generalization ahead!) :
Office politics aside, (it happens in both countries, of course, as well as in any other countries) imagine employee A and B.
A is smart and can-do but pretty “lazy”. He often rushes into the office in the last minute in the morning. He never does overtime, and never needs to- he always has tasks done perfectly, much earlier before it is due, which is why you can often see him net surfing or Skype chatting.
B works very hard but unfortunately, is not particularly skilled. B arrives at the office at 8:30am everyday and usually leaves the office at 9:30pm, sometimes works in weekends. He gives average performance, not perfect but okay. Sometimes he can not hand in the report on the very time, but he always tries his best to meet the ends.
Now what would their performance evaluation be like?
In a typical Japanese company, in most cases, B would be considered a qualified employee. He would have an average or even above career path, and would gain some respect from other coworkers. And A? He would not be liked too much, quite the opposite. Some managers and coworkers would doubt his work ethic and attitude, in many cases he would be isolated- certainly not a bright future.
Want to hear the opposite scenario? Welcome to China!
There is a famous Chinese saying which describes the majority of Chinese companies’ culture- “It doesn’t matter if it’s a white cat or a black cat, a cat that can catch rats is a good cat!” It ROUGHLY means- “I don’t care how you do it, how much time you spend on it, how much efforts you put in, which means you use, if the means are good or not… as long as you give me a good RESULT, you are good!”
Such a gap often causes culture shocks on both sides- Chinese who work in Japan and Japanese who work in China.
Some of my Japanese coworkers who work in a Chinese joint venture used to keep their Japanese style working habit- work long hours, make super detailed paper work full of numbers, report literally everything to the boss… Then they got blamed by the Chinese general manager- “Don’t bother me with those useless papers, don’t waste my time on endless meetings. How to do it is YOUR job. Just show me you DID it.” They found out no matter how much efforts they put in, as long as the result is BAD, the efforts would be considered as nothing, and any reason would be considered as excuses.
One of my Chinese coworkers (an IT guy) who received a training in Japanese head office got reported by his trainer, because he “played with his cellphone at working time.” He couldn’t understand why it was wrong since he already did a good job on the training project. The funny thing is the Chinese HR manager who was supposed to give him a warning could not give a good explanation either. She said, “You can’t do that. You know, it’s Japan.”
Process-focus Japanese and Result-focus Chinese, I feel they come from Mars and Venus.
I feel other differences too:
The HR system. Equalitarianism and seniority in Japan. Performance-only-matters company values in China. My coworkers often jokingly say “China is a capitalist country with a name of socialist; Japan is a socialist country with a name of capitalist”.
Data-and-detail-lover Japanese VS Data-and-detail-hater Chinese. A typical Japanese style business report format is an A3 paper, full of numbers, charts, with a super small font size, make you admire and dizzy. Still your Japanese boss will always find out any typos or inconsistent borders. Get ready to revise it at least 3 times. A typical Chinese style business report format is… well, in most cases (if it’s not an outward-facing presentation), you don’t need to make it. Your Chinese boss has no interest to read it anyway. Talk to your boss, better smoking together, in 5 minutes, that’s it. You will get a clear yes or no.
Risk-hater Japanese VS Risk-lover Chinese. My Japanese boss’s catch phrase is “What do you think about the risks?” And my Chinese boss’s response?- “Risks mean bad things not happened yet right? Let’s talk about them when they happen.”
Silent Japanese VS talkative Chinese. My Japanese coworkers generally don’t like speech too much. When they need to do a presentation, they often make a super detailed Power Point and read it word by word. Some Chinese leaders from the head office can give a whole 2 hours speech without a text, and amazingly, when you seriously think about the content, you will find… no real content there.
The list would go on and on.
Those differences always amaze me. From them, I guess the reason why Japanese products can KEEP a high stable QUALITY for so many years. I guess the reason why Chinese enterprises can DEVELOP unbelievable FAST.
I learned much from the differences.
Protestors Are Finally Getting Arrested
I asked my boss for a raise but he said I didn’t deserve it, so I sent him my resignation letter. Now he is asking me to stay with a higher salary. Should I accept his offer?
At some companies in Silicon Valley in the first dot com boom and the early 2000’s, the *only* way to get a raise or a promotion was not just to threaten to quit, but to actually get a job offer (whether you wanted that job or not) and then to actually quit. That was the only way management would take you seriously and grant you the raise and/or promotion you had asked for. Before the act of quitting, you were viewed as a just squeaky wheel. After quitting, they suddenly realized they needed your wheel, squeaky or not!
In my case, I didn’t specifically ask for a raise — I asked for headcount to do the job that had been assigned to me. I had been at the company for 7 years and held an incredible amount of institutional knowledge, even if the CxOs didn’t recognize that knowledge. The job was impossible to do by myself. I thought a team of 3 (including me) would do the job. Multiple times I made the argument for the additional headcount, the expected results, the ROI, and the basic logic. Around this time I had been assigned to a new manager with a lot of book learnin’ (Harvard JD/MBA), but little work experience and a new VP whose focus was elsewhere, but who knew what I was asking for and why.
Eventually I got fed up asking and got a job offer (for a company I would have worked for). The job offer came through while I was overseas in Dusseldorf visiting my most important partner. I immediately sent my resignation and two week notice to my junior inexperienced Harvard manager and the VP who was trying to ignore my request. Within minutes the VP called. I had no intention of going back to that job, but for some reason felt I should explain what led to my departure. The VP listened and asked good questions for 90 minutes while I was pacing the waterfront wall beside the Rhine. He called again the next evening. And the next. He finally asked what it would take to get me back. I figured I should go all out since I wasn’t planning to go back, I was really just pushing his buttons to see how far he would go. First, the two headcount. Done. Second a $20,000 raise. Done. Third, more stock options. Done. Next a $40,000 retention bonus. Done (to be paid quarterly). Last, I never have to see, talk to, or report to the junior book-readin’ Harvard schnog, I would report to him, the VP. Done. After all that, how could I say no?
Of course, within a year, more re-orgs and other changes made my overall division’s future at the company tenuous. The VP eventually asked me to make an impossible proposition to our most important client — basically tell them a massive lie — a proposal for work my company could never complete. I decided my reputation with the contacts at my partner companies was more important than the job. I refused to make the proposal and quit. But for a year, I got a big raise, a big sign-on bonus, more respect, and a better line of sight to the VP and CxO suite. I’d say it was worth it.
Prof. Mearsheimer REVEALS the Scenario of a DIRECT US-Russia and China Confrontation
When I was attending university, perhaps in my second year, I lived off campus (for a brief spell) in a run down Victorian house off in the bad section of town. And I would dutifully stop by the nearby local bagel store and grab a fresh bagel to munch on the way to my shitty cheap apartment.
One day, I decided to buy a amateur porn magazine that was on display by the door. And with a bagel in my mouth, I paid the 25 cents for the magazine. Maybe it was 75 cents. I don’t really remember. It was full of “swingers” and “home style” pictures of a sexual nature that people in that some group would post.
Some were gross. Just gross. While others had some pretty attractive gals, and one caught my eye. SO I bought the magazine and headed down the street to my apartment.
It was full of all kinds of people. Young, but mostly old and many fatties. Not a “playboy magazine” for certain. But just porn taken with 35mm film, or Polaroids and submitted to the magazine for publishing. If you got your picture published, the magazine would give you a $100. Pretty reasonable money in those days!
So I make it home, lay out my text books for my nightly study and finish eating my bagels. I’m going through the magazine and then I saw it…
… no doubt about it…
… there was my mother. With her current husband. And they were getting it on. Only one picture. But that was enough for me.
Oh, I never told anyone. I was discrete and kept all this info to myself. But I will never forget the shock that I had to my young 19 year old self in seeing my mother in a compromising position near our houses front door…!
Ah.
We all live our lives. Some of the things we want to keep private and confidential. While other things are ok to become public knowledge. My siblings no nothing about this. I never told anyone.
For whatever it is worth, I have a vault in my head full of these confidential confidences that I keep to myself. It’s a sign of maturity.
Don’t you know.
Today…
Chinese history lesson
In the year 290 AD, there was a retarded young man became the emperor in China.
His emperor father actually had more than one son, but ultimately chose him as his successor. The main reason was that this retarded son married a wife from a very powerful family, and a retarded emperor was actually very advantageous for his wife and father-in-law to control the power.
Today’s Biden is somewhat like this retarded emperor.
The people who truly hold power in America are those people around Biden, and they actually don’t mind Biden becoming increasingly incompetent. I
n fact, an incompetent Biden is very beneficial for them to control the power of America.
By the way, China fell into a bloody civil war after this retarded emperor.
GRUaRssaIAAKXMx
As a police officer, what law do you rarely enforce?
Here’s a list of 10 in my state that I won’t be enforcing any time soon… however my actual answer is far more basic/universal and, if any other US Cop out there thinks about it, it would be theirs too. But first, that 10 that immediately come to my mind:
Feeding the birds in public parks.
A shop selling toy handcuffs to minors.
A business that has more than 10 signs on its premises.
Dissemination of informational fliers on windshields of people’s parked cars.
Any car mod that is unrelated to lighting, noise, air emissions, or plate visibility. (Example: having custom tires on your vehicle that are wider than the chassis/fenders.)
Gambling (even if it’s between family, friends, or coworkers).
Stopping/Ticketing the rider of an eBike or Motorized bike for no other reason than that it was is traveling faster than 25mph (as long as the rider is under whatever the posted limit is, and not operating it in an obnoxious way, they won’t get a second look from me.)
Before it became legal, I never busted anyone who grew personal use amounts of pot plants on their private property or carried personal use amounts on their person.
Busting a kid who was riding an electric/motorized skateboard on the street for not having a Driver’s License.
Busting an intoxicated golfer when they drive their cart across the road to get to the next green. (For the moment they’re on a Public Way, that still fits the OUI/DUI Statute.)
Only when you become a Police Officer do you have true awareness of the voluminous amount of codes that make up a the Criminal and Motor Vehicle sections of the State.l’s law. A majority of people (and many police officers) would be/are shocked by the numbers and feel that a great many are weird, unnecessarily, or just really stupid. Heck, the “Drivers Handbook” available for free from the DMV in my state is 56 pages of diagrams of things like intersections, sign shapes, stopping distances etc, all in relatively large print. In contrast, the Motor Vehicle Statute book that the State Legislature releases to all law enforcement agencies here, is in excesses of 460 pages! It contains no pictures of any kind, and is written in exceptionally small print. So the simplest answer I can give— as would any other US Cop if they’re being super-honest with themselves— to the question of which laws I “rarely enforce,” is, literally, this:
“Most of them.”
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TOS-2 Wiped Out Canadian, French, and US Soldiers In CHASIV YAR┃Russia Captured STEPOVAY-NOVOSELOVKA
Why are Hong Kong people willing to accept that the British government’s BNO status is a trap when they know they are pawns against China?
Many who went to UK on BNO status are ”criminals” who had broken law 1 way or another.
Some genuinely do not know a thing. They just follow others.
See, UK & USA have run their scheme for more than 30 years. In the case of UK, it started in 1984 when UK realised China demanded return of HK in 1997. No negotiation.
UK’s plot was extensive covering all walks of life. Education is one of them. One whole generation was brainwashed to hate & fear of China.
So when UK opened door to accept BNOers, many people fled HK. They did not know UK was just sucking their money. That said, even they knew UK was sucking their money, out of hatred & fear of China, they might still go.
Human nature is funny.
I recently asked a person why she is afraid of ghost. I asked her if she has seen one. What is her experience with a ghost?
She cannot answer. Why then fear of ghost? Somebody told her ghost is terrible or evil Not good anyway.
I asked what makes her think god is not evil. Of course she cannot answer.
My point: it is all somebody who says so.
Same here with China. If you ask a BNOer why they hate China. They will repeat what others told her eg dictator. No freedom. Poor etc. If you ask them whether they have ever been to China, of course they have not. … again, it is somebody who says so.
Humans seldom do their own thinking.
BREAKING NEWS: Mike Johnson Hammers Joe Biden After Presidential Debate
As an attorney, have you ever experienced a case that made you re-evaluate your life?
Yes. I was appointed by the court to defend a gang member for armed robbery. He thought he was super cool and wanted to take the stand. I told him no, I warned him, he insisted over my objection.
There was only one thing going in his favor. The clerk at the place robbed said the robber had blue eyes. My client had brown eyes.
I felt my client was a very very dangerous person. I was sure the prosecutor would ask him if he had color contacts. They were in his pocket. When he lied and said no, I would ask to be recused from the case as you are not allowed to knowingly let your client lie on the stand. The judge would then know he was lying and I would probably be excused as counsel, etc. The ignorant prosecutor never asked. He was found not guilty.
The judge had a fit. He excoriated everyone but me…he said I was just doing my job. Two days later my client shot and killed an 8 year old girl in a rival gang revenge attack at the girl’s birthday party. The newspaper headline was the judge’s quote that he would never sleep again until every member of that gang was six feet under.
The judge called me and advised me that I would NOT be appointed to represent the guy again (Thank God).
The police declared a vendetta on that gang. Five years later the headlines said that gang was “eradicated” from Texas.
I never took another criminal case. I became a real estate attorney and did pro bono work for battered women and men who paid child support but were denied visitation with their children.
Robert remembered the sensation of falling. He remembered the feeling of cold dread as the engine stuttered and died and his stomach dropped through the floor. He could never forget the look on his colleague’s face as the colour drained from him and his skin turned paper white.He didn’t remember plummeting through space, searing through the planet’s atmosphere, or the deafening landing. His colleague, Martin, hadn’t been knocked unconscious and had managed to pull him from the fiery wreck before the smoke and flames engulfed him. Robert was out cold. All he remembered was darkness.Blurred colours greeted him as he opened his eyes, the world spinning in and out of focus. One woman, or two, or three, was bent over him. He heard her speak, the words moving through his sluggish brain like soup. He could make no sense of them. He tried to sit up, but a shooting pain split through his head and the woman pushed him back to the ground. Martin appeared then; despite his hazy vision he recognised his co-pilot. Three Martins. Groaning, Robert closed his eyes.It might have been a few hours later when he next opened them. The dazzling sunlight had dimmed slightly, and the air was not quite so hot. His vision took a minute to clear, but when it did, there was only one Martin sitting over him. He asked him how he was feeling, felt his forehead, his throat, checked his pulse. Irritated, Robert pushed him away and forced himself into a sitting position. His head was still banging, but not with quite so much volition as before.“We went wrong,” Martin uttered in a low voice, just as Robert asked him where they were.“What do you mean?” Robert replied, rubbing his forehead with one hand as Martin handed him a glass of water. It looked like water and tasted like water, but it was purple. Robert blinked at it, confused, and then looked up at the sky. It was as if it had been painted with purple water colours.“Why isn’t the sky blue, Martin?” Robert asked. He must have still been dazed from the crash, because he was much calmer than he should have been.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. We went wrong.”
“We were right on target to hit Mars.”
“This isn’t Mars.”
It was then that Robert noticed the huddle of young women standing a short distance away, grouped under a copse of trees next to a river. Lilac-coloured water cascaded from an eight-foot drop into the shimmering pool, before winding away through the trees. Robert stared at the waterfall, the women, the sky.
“Martin?” he said, his tone still strangely neutral. “Am I dreaming, or am I dead?”
“Neither,” his colleague hissed at him. “You’re on Venus.”
Robert nodded, tasting the words even though his brain couldn’t comprehend them.
“But we were on target for Mars.”
“Mars is red, Rob, not purple.”
Robert nodded again, sipping the purple drink as one of the women broke away from the group and sashayed over to them. She might have been the same one that had been crouched over him before; she had the same silvery-blonde hair and violet coloured eyes. Her dress was lilac and her feet were bare. If Robert squinted, he could see that all the women were wearing dresses of a similar colour and not one of them wore shoes.
Martin got to his feet as she approached and Robert staggered up next to him. He felt oddly light-headed but pain free.
“Do you think they want to kill us?” he asked Martin as he drained the last of the water. In response, he received only a glare.
The woman paused in front of them, looking suddenly unsure of herself.
“Tia,” she announced. “Robert and Martin, correct?” The pair nodded. She chewed her lip, her eyes straying disdainfully over their clothes. Martin was half in his spacesuit, Robert was only in a t-shirt and jeans. “But…” she said, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “Where are the rest of you?”
The two men exchanged glances. “The rest of us?” Robert repeated. “There’s only us two. We crashed.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” she said. “The water here helps with healing very well.” She paused, a light breeze playing with her hair. “But surely more are on their way? We have thirty women here, all waiting for you.”
Robert could feel his head begin to pound and not because of the crash-landing.
“We’ve come from Earth. Have you heard of it?”
If Tia had heard the sarcasm in his voice, she didn’t show it. Her eyes dropped to the floor, her lips twisting into a frown.
“Earth? No. I don’t know any Earth.” Her eyes narrowed then and her tone became suddenly accusatory. “You are from Mars. All men are from Mars!”
Robert stared at her. She glared defiantly back.
“Love,” he began, feeling his patience start to wear thin. “Nobody lives on Mars. The place is a rock, totally uninhabitable! We are not from Mars, we’re from Earth. Kindly tell me what planet you are from?”
“Venus.”
Robert opened his mouth to shoot back a snide reply, but Martin cut him off.
“Are there any men here?” he asked Tia.
“No,” she replied, clicking her tongue in annoyance. “All men live on Mars. There should be thirty of you arriving today for the Spring Festival, but so far we have only two and not even a decent two at that.”
She scowled at them both and turned on her heel to storm away, but Martin hastily dashed after her, apologies spilling from his mouth as Robert stood and watched, realisation beginning to dawn on him.
The sun suddenly broke out from behind a cloud and the brilliance of it dazzled him. He sat back down on the grass, his eyes straying from Martin and Tia to the group of women huddled by the river. When Martin returned, he was carrying another glass of water.
“She said this might help your head,” he said handing the drink to Robert. “Shame it can’t help your attitude.” He smirked but looked away hastily as Robert glared at him. “The boys stay here until they’re eighteen. She’s going to see if they can help us out with a ship. In the meantime, we can stay in the village.”
“She wants us to go then.”
Martin crouched down on to the grass in front of him. “This isn’t our universe, Rob. I don’t know how we’ve ended up here, but here we are. There’s no Earth in their solar system. All the men live on Mars and all the women live on Venus.” Robert found his eyes wandering back to the group of women. They were all young, in their late twenties or early thirties, and they were all beautiful. “This Spring Festival,” Martin continued. “It’s a mating festival, Rob. Thirty men come over to meet thirty women and they couple up and well… you know…”
“So what you’re saying is, we’re stuck on a rock in some other universe, who knows where, and we’re the only men? That’s what you’re saying?”
Martin grinned and hit him playfully on the shoulder. “More men are coming. When they get here, they’ll help us find a ship. We’ll get a ship, Rob, don’t worry.”
They waited for three days, but the men didn’t arrive. The women became fretful. Each day they turned up in their purple dresses with their hair and make-up done to sit by the river from sunrise to sunset and each day they went home by themselves. They weren’t interested in befriending the two astronauts. The majority of them seemed to blame the pair for the loss of their men.
It was late in the afternoon on the third day when the silver-haired Tia approached them, leading a teenage boy alongside her.
“This is Jay,” Tia said as she reached them. “Jay is seventeen and he studies solar engineering at the college. He will help you find a ship.” She smiled at them but her eyes remained troubled. “Maybe then you can return to your own planet.”
“And your men?” Martin asked. “Shouldn’t they be here by now?”
She turned to gaze into the sky and sighed. “Something must have gone wrong. You crash-landed in our meadow and they haven’t arrived. Maybe they crashed somewhere else? But what if there is no one there to help them?”
She patted Jay on the back and thanked him before leaving. He quickly dived into conversation with Martin, but Robert wasn’t listening, he couldn’t stop thinking about Tia.
Jay proved to be very helpful. He took them on tours around the village and surrounding areas. The village looked more like a city to Robert, with its sky-high buildings and its colleges, but it was welcoming and friendly. The women watched them in interest as they passed, and many trailed after them, like excited girls wanting autographs from their favourite pop-stars. The teenager took them to his college workshop where other young boys clubbed together to help build the pair a new ship, modelling it on what they had left of the one that had crashed. They were quick and nimble workers and it was completed in only a week. Jay told them there was a takeoff station at the bottom of the meadow where they’d crashed and they arranged to have the ship transported back there. When they arrived, a tearful Tia came rushing up to meet them.
“Something must have happened to them!” she sobbed, the tears streaking down her face. “Please, please, before you go, look for them! They could be danger!”
Robert gazed at her, at her shiny, soft hair that fell elegantly over the curve of her breasts, at the lilac dress that hugged her waist, at the tears that fell from her beautiful violet eyes.
“Of course,” he told her. “We’ll find them.”
A whole host of women gathered in the meadow to watch them leave, along with Jay and the other boys who had helped to build the ship. Martin pressed his face to the glass of the window as they rocketed away from the planet into the depths of space.
“We were on course for Mars,” he said softly, as Robert took the wheel. “How did we end up on Venus in another dimension?”
“Another universe,” Robert shot back. “We must have passed through… through a… a worm-hole or something.”
Martin gave him a sharp look. “You told me worm-holes don’t exist.”
“I must have been wrong.”
They trawled through space, searching for anything unfamiliar or unknown, anything that might have rooted an explanation as to how they travelled between universes. Robert had lost track of the days completely when he noticed something in the distance.
“Martin!” he hissed, squinting through the window of the ship. “Martin, get over here!”
His companion joined him, concern plastered over his face. “What?”
Robert didn’t answer, but merely pointed.
It was hard to tell what it was at first. It was if there was some sort of light distorting the view. It was a shimmering line, like the mist rolling in off the sea.
“We’re in the middle of space,” Martin said flatly. “We’re not going near that.”
“Yes, we are,” Robert replied, easing forward on the accelerator. “That might be just how we got here in the first place.”
Martin grappled with him for the controls but Robert was stronger and slammed the accelerator down, sending the ship careening towards the shimmering line. It widened as they approached, yawning open like a great mouth. Martin screamed as it swallowed them and they found themselves spinning and spinning and spinning through a mass of swirling, blinding colours.
When it spat them out, they both felt the engine lurch, and Martin grabbed Robert’s arm in panic.
“That’s how we crashed!” he yelled, but Robert was barely listening; he’d spotted the rocky, red planet of Mars and sent the ship spiralling straight for it.
Martin bellowed at his companion, trying to pull the ship up before they crashed, but it jarred against a mound of rocks and flipped on to its side. They piled out of it, helmets on, and sprinted away before it could burst into flame and meet the same fate as their old ship. It didn’t fortunately, but it didn’t look safe to fly either.
“Great going, Rob,” Martin grumbled, gesturing towards the heap of battered metal. “We finally make it to Mars and you go and break our transport. Again.”
Robert could have shot him a snide reply, he wasn’t sure it was entirely his fault they had crashed on Venus in the first place, but he wasn’t listening. His attention had been snared by a far superior, more colourful ship that sat proudly atop a rocky outcrop. A rather dilapidated ribbon was tied around it. It might have looked smart at first, but it was dirty from red dust and the bow had come undone. He began walking towards it, his heart pounding, leaving Martin muttering to himself amidst the rocks. He thought about the lack of atmosphere, the lack of hostile environment, and began to run, panicking even though he didn’t know these men.
Martin yelled after him, suddenly noticing the ship for the first time. They both raced towards it, knowing the men would have been unprepared, knowing they would have lacked oxygen.
Robert reached the ship first and banged on the metal door, bellowing at them to let him in. Martin was quick on his heels and joined him, banging on the door until it opened.
There was a cluster of young men, all late twenties or early thirties and all beautiful. They were stood behind the air lock, frowning at the two strangers in their space suits who were waving at them from the inhospitable landscape of Mars. Wordlessly, they welcomed the astronauts on to the ship, though they seemed wary and kept their distance.
“Where are you from?” the first one said, as Robert took his helmet off.
“Earth!” Robert replied proudly, ignoring their puzzled glances to continue. “We were on our way to our Mars, when we crash-landed on your Venus.”
“What my friend is trying to say,” Martin interrupted, as the group of men muttered amongst each other in confusion, “is that we’re from a parallel universe, and we crashed in your universe. You apparently, have gotten lost in our universe, but we can guide you back.”
The muttering continued but a few smiles began to appear among the bunch.
“You crashed,” one observed.
“You can’t return in that wreck,” another said.
“Guide us back to our Venus,” the first one said, “and we will ensure you can safely return to your own planet.”
The two astronauts gladly obliged and took the controls to return the vehicle to Venus. Martin was a bit dismayed about leaving the red planet so soon, after only just arriving and without conducting any of their research, but Robert found he didn’t care that much; he longed to return to Venus, to Tia.
They landed safely the third time around and the relieved, yet tearful, silver-haired Tia came running up as the group disembarked. She weaved through the handsome young men, searching for the alien astronauts who had brought them to her. She found Robert and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.
“Thank you,” she wept, “thank you so much.”
He didn’t say anything, but hugged her close. Martin took his shoulder, telling him they had to sort a new ship and get back to their own universe, but Robert had made his mind up.
“We’ve found a planet inhabited entirely by women,” he told his friend, as Tia straightened and wiped her tears from her flushed face, “and you want to leave?!” He turned back to the beautiful woman standing in front of him, took her hand and kissed it.
“Allow me to introduce myself, properly this time,” he told her. “My name is Robert, this is Martin. We come in peace.”
Giggling, she took his hand and led them both through the meadow towards the waterfall. The sun shone down on them through the purple sky, sparkling on the purple river. Far behind them, deep in space, the shimmering dimensional gap, the stitch in the universe that had brought them there, slowly faded to melt away completely in the unfathomable depths of space.
Nam Jim Wan
(Sweet Dipping Sauce | Thai)
This is a simple dipping sauce usually used with deep fried items such as spring rolls and stuffed chicken wings.
Ingredients
3 cups water
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vinegar (preferably rice vinegar)
3 tablespoons Chinese pickled plums
3 tablespoons thinly sliced prik ki nu daeng (red birdseye chiles)
2 tablespoons garlic, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons ginger, julienned or grated
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Boil the water, and add the pickled plums (sometimes sold as ‘salted plums’), and simmer for five minutes.
Remove the plums to a food processor and puree them.
Continue to boil the water, adding and dissolving the sugar, then adding the vinegar and salt. If any sugar is still undissolved, add a little more water until it dissolves.
Return the plums to the mixture, and then pour over the other ingredients in a sterilized preserving jar, and keep in a cool place for at least a week before using.
Can you introduce me as Joker? | Joker [UltraHD, HDR]
Why does China want to go to war with Taiwan even though Japan intervened? Do they really think they will win that fight?
Today’s China is militarily strong.
China is not afraid of USA. It of course will not be afraid of Japan.
A year or 2 ago, Taiwan asked Japan if it will help Taiwan in case of war,
Japan said they only plan up to the point of evacuation of Japanese in Taiwan. Translation: Japan’s war simulation tells Japan that it will not win China.
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As a Vietnam vet, what was the saddest thing you saw during the war?
Well, here goes, and it’s taken me 50 years to write or even speak of this event. I considered writing anonymously but that’s no way to get something off your chest.
I was with an infantry platoon in the Mekong Delta during the summer of 1969, we walked out of a woodline into an open paddy area and found several individuals dragging an unexploded 500 pound bomb across the paddy toward a wooded area. They were dressed like V/C, black trousers and white shirts, and probably about 500 yards away. This bomb would have made a devastating booby trap.
This was a so-called “free fire zone,” meaning all civilians and non-combatants had supposedly been relocated and only the enemy remained.
We opened fire and the subjects scattered into the woodline and we did not pursue them. It was getting on toward sunset and we heard crying and moaning from deep within the jungle. I, along with two other soldiers, was sent to investigate. We found a male subject laying on his back in great distress, when his shirt was removed there was a bullet hole in his upper chest/shoulder area but no exit wound. He was not bleeding, but that blood had to go somewhere, and it did, straight into his lung.
The other two guys with me argued that we should take him out and call for a dustoff (Medivac) but I was in charge and would not allow it. I said we were not going to endanger a flight crew to evacuate an enemy soldier who was going to die anyway. And besides, he might have been one of V/C who ambushed our platoon the previous week causing extensive casualties and loss of life.
So we waited as his breathing grew gradually more shallow; I kept shining my flashlight into his eyes and after about 20 minutes his pupils became dilated and non-reactive. This enemy soldier had died. Except. . .
The next morning our platoon was sleeping on dikes near the woodline and I was awakened by terrible screaming and crying from a woman and her children who had seemingly come from nowhere, there were no hooches or villages in sight. Our “enemy soldier,” whom I had watched and saw die, was in fact her 13-year old son.
At the time, and over the years, I’ve tried to rationalize my actions that evening: it was dark, V/C were all young looking, we couldn’t have saved him anyway, but the only true answer is that war had stripped away a bit of my humanity.
I saw plenty of sadness in Vietnam, but nothing was as sorrowful as watching a mother weep for her dead son.
And then I heard Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight (First Time Reaction) *
Hungry Food Porn
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A crying mother trying to drag a man to her dying kitten. Just unbelievable
What is the largest amount of money you have ever lost in a day?
Seven hundred quadrillion dollars. (USD)
This was about 10 years ago. I had a lunch date planned at a restaurant next to where I was working. We had a pleasant enough meal and at the end I was about to pay. My credit card was declined.
That didn’t make any sense. It was direct drawn on my bank account, I had plenty of money in it. Lunch wasn’t all that expensive for the two of us.
So I take a moment to go over to the ATM and attempt a withdraw. The machine tells me I have no money. I print out the balance and I’m over drawn by:
$700,000,000,000,000,000
Somehow I’d lost $700,000,000,000,000,000 and my account was now negative that amount.
I walked back to the office, borrowed $50 off a coworker to pay for lunch and walked back over to the restaurant. Needless to say I didn’t get a second date out of that.
So after lunch I start making phone calls and the bank just runs me in circles giving me one lie after another and telling me it must be my fault, and that I clearly “lost the money” and have “spent it on something I don’t remember” and that they will be “adding over draft fees” and various other fines.
I couldn’t get one idiot on the phone to actually acknowledge the total amount that they were claiming I’d lost. They simply saw the flag that I was overdrawn and proceeded to tell me it was my fault for spending more than my limit.
The next day I went into the bank and asked for a manager. That took a while, the cashier kept assuring me she could handle my needs and insisting that I didn’t need a manager.
I finally told her: look, unless you can explain to me why you stole 700 quadrillion dollars from me, you really can’t help me and I’m going to need a manager.
She told me I was making up numbers. I told her to go fuck herself and she shouldn’t be working in a bank if she didn’t know what a quadrillion was.
She went to get a manager to have me thrown out. I handed him the ATM slip and he just stood there without saying a word for a couple of minutes while his brain processed how many zeroes were on the paper.
He shooed her away and asked me into his office. I told him the run around I’d been getting from phone customer service and that I’d come in and asked for a manager only to be brushed off by the girl at the counter, I just wasn’t in the mood for any more bullshit.
I told him he needed to explain to me how they could possibly think I’d lost 700 quadrillion dollars beyond my spending limit.
We sat there for an hour while he made phone calls. At the end of that he assured me that it was all fixed and that the money was restored and my account would be usable within the next few hours.
I had to remind him to remove the over draft fees and various other fines. That took a few more phone calls.
So there you go. I lost $700,000,000,000,000,000 to a bank error. Thankfully it was found the next day after much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Edit: To those questioning the authenticity of this answer; realize, I didn’t have that much money to lose. My real balance was only about $1000 at the time. This was a bank error and the loss was a negative balance.
So yes, I “lost 700 quadrillion” in a technical sense but in the form of debt being added to the account. Restoring 700 quadrillion to the account (which they did) only put me back to my original balance of about $1,000.
The amount in overdraft fees was comparably small: only a few hundred dollars. However this would have been added daily until repaid and of course since the error was on their side: I shouldn’t (and didn’t) owe any of that either.
The bank was: Bank of America. I had used them for many years prior without a problem and continued to use them for a few more years after without any issues. (I later closed my accounts and switched banks for entirely different reasons)
Edit 2: Since it’s been asked: No I don’t know the details of how an error like that actually occurred. From the phone calls the manager made, I could only hear his side of the conversations. Most of it seemed to involve server migrations and backup systems, something had gone wrong in one conversion of systems with another, I can’t tell you the specifics. Such is the nature of computers, stick a decimal in the wrong place while moving numbers around and automated algorithms can do strange things.
Edit 3: I don’t know if I still have that ATM slip. Realize this was a decade ago, and that type of paper fades. The last I saw it, it was almost unreadable. I’ve moved 6 times across 3 states since then and one of my apartments was demolished. It may be in a storage box continuing to fade, or it may be gone. I don’t even know where to begin to look for it at this point.
I’ve had a lot of random adventures in my life, this is just one day of many that were weird. I’m lucky I can retain some of the memories; the baubles (and slips of paper) collected along the way come and go.
About Last Night’s Debate…
China’s workforce is aging out of their productive years and lacks the young people to replace them. As China fails out of being the planet’s factory, how will that affect CO2 in the atmosphere?
Sorry are we already in 2057?
This is 2024 and China just recently graduated 11.24 Million people and typically after 18 months – as many as 850,000 of these people will not have a proper advented job and after 36 months around 332,000 of them will not have a proper job
In fact after 18 months – only India with 2.265 Million unemployed graduates will beat China in 2026 as per the extrapolation
In 2023 – Chinas Factories created 1.37 Million new jobs and this year the target is 1.50 Million new factory jobs
Guess how many factory jobs Germany created in 2023?
Negative 86,800
They closed 86,800 Jobs
The previous year it was 72,000 Jobs
In all of Europe – Hungary is the only Nation that created an additional 10,740 jobs in 2023
US has lost a whopping 4 Million Factory Jobs in the last decade (2010–2020)
China has added 18.3 Million Factory Jobs in the last decade (2010–2020)
It is expected that China will add 12 Million Factory Jobs from 2020 to 2030 and 7.2 Million from 2030 to 2040
Yet they will be more and more specialized jobs and skilled jobs
Meanwhile China will see a transition to the Service Sector
Today Manufacturing commands 36% of all Jobs and Services 13% (26% is still Agriculture and 8.3% is Government Jobs and Civil Service including the Army)
Yet a decade ago it was 41.2% for Manufacturing and only 7.8% for services
By 2030–2040 – you will see only 20% Manufacturing Jobs and upto 45% Service Jobs on the Mainland
Take a look at Nations with the largest NEW factory jobs created in 2023
China (1.37 Million)
Russia (670K) [War Production included]
Mexico (311K)
Vietnam (273K)
India (221K)
Bangladesh (157K)
Brazil (131K)
China nearly created the same NEW factory jobs as the next 4–5 Nations combined
South Korea & Japan are far worse than China in demographics yet Japanese Workforce showed 22,000 more factory jobs than workers and Korea showed 6050
With a huge rural population – the earliest China can reach the same situation is 2057 and that’s the absolute worst case scenario
The truth is Ceteris Paribus – China is unlikely to have any major demographic work issues until around 2075–2100 AD
By then I am sure you will have enough Robots and AI to do the needed work
Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak
balsamic marinated flank steak
Ingredients
Balsamic Marinade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Steak
1 beef flank steak (about 1-1/2 pounds)
Salt amd pepper
Instructions
Balsamic Marinade
Combine ingredients in small bowl. Place beef steak and marinade in food-safe plastic bag; turn steak to coat. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours or as long as overnight, turning occasionally.
Steak
Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Place steak on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 11 to 16 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, 16 to 21 minutes) for medium rare (145 degrees F) to medium (160 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally.
Season steak with salt and pepper, as desired.
Carve steak crosswise into thin slices.
Why do people expect so much out of an Uber when it costs less than a cab?
I will never forget the girl who ordered a Uber Comfort which is up to 4 passengers. I showed up. Granted I have an SUV and can fit 6 passengers. Well she had a group of 7. Not squeezing you all in, sorry. Order 2 rides. They didn’t want to split the group so I said I couldn’t take them. She had such a sassy attitude. With all of the sass in the world she told her friends, “Wait, this is still on my dollar, so…” and she turned to me, held out her hand rolling her eyes a little bit and said, “Can I at least have a water or something?”
My jaw dropped a little bit. Not only was I cancelling her ride because she wanted to disobey the rules and the law, but she had the nerve to give me sass and ask for water! As if I carry water, candy, snacks, etc. for all of my passengers. She was going to pay $10 for a trip home for 7 people and expected water and snacks and candy and for me to let an extra person squeeze in the back??? Nope! Not happening! I don’t carry water for passengers. I don’t carry candy. I drive people from point A to point B and provide good customer service and a good attitude, decent music, a clean nice-smelling car with air conditioning. If you want water or snacks I can take you to a gas station! But to give me sass? I was so amazed at the nerve this young lady had to ask me in such a way for a water.
So, why do people expect so much out of an Uber?
Entitlement
People expect so much for so little. They want to pay less than a taxi service, expecting private car service. Some drivers offer amenities to boost ratings or tips, or allow passengers to break the rules to not lose out on a fare. Over time, this has led people to expect more from the service. If 1/10 drivers allow it, then all of the drivers should allow it, which simply isn’t the case.
But, in all seriousness, who we think is in control… ain’t. Someone or something, else is “pulling the strings”, and who or whatever they are… and I am not saying they are anyone non-human… but they actually are deluded amateurs.
First up, we see that the “president” is a figurehead. He has no ability, and is cognitive – lacking. In fact, I have seen “special needs” people with more ability than what he displayed on camera.
It was a disaster; a true and real “shit show”.
We also see “fake” presidents running around with fake masks, and earbuds. Not to mention a legion of “handlers” that make sure that he is “on point”. These “fake president Biden’s” never make any mistakes, stutter, or go irrational like the real (non-functional) president does.
So someone is running things. But who?
A unelected cabal? Or, just the “court hanger’s on” that orbit the office of the presidency? I tend to believe the later, and the rulings, the regulations and laws suggest trivial matters of political importance elevated to national discourse, while the serious issues of national concern are ignored.
Such as this…
snippet
As opposed to this…
CPI
I am not picking on one measure or the other, just making a very generalized statement that the priority sheet for the Federal Government is way, way out of wack. Special interest niche matters become national priorities, while real national emergencies are covered up, and ignored.
Que an Oliver Anthony tune here.
And with this all being the case 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5. Meaning, of course, that things are not adding up in the official narrative basket.
Oh, depending on what will happen, we will either get a war of distraction, more of the same (Weekend at Bernie’s) …
Fun-loving salesmen Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy) are invited by their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser), to stay the weekend at his posh beach house. Little do they know that Bernie is the perpetrator of a fraud they've uncovered and is arranging to have them killed. When the plan backfires and Bernie is killed instead, the buddies decide not to let a little death spoil their vacation. They pretend Bernie is still alive, leading to hijinks and corpse desecration galore.
weekend
… or a full-on clown show (Idiocracity).
trump
Sigh.
Post-Debate Reaction: The Most TERRIFYING Part of the CNN Presidential Debate
Thai Stuffed Omelets
Thai stuffed omlette
Yield: 2 omelets
Ingredients
1/2 cup ground pork
2 tablespoons chopped green beans
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon diced cooked carrots
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 to 3 drops Maggi sauce
4 eggs
1 teaspoon milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon MSG (Accent)
Pepper
Instructions
In wok or saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil.
Add pork, garlic salt and MSG. Stir fry for 3 minutes.
Add green beans, onions and carrots, tossing lightly.
Add sugar, Maggi sauce and dash of pepper.
Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.
Pour enough oil into skillet to cover bottom.
Lightly beat eggs with milk. Pour in 1/2 the egg mixture and spread evenly.
Add 1/2 of pork mixture.
Fold over 1/2 of the omelet to cover the pork mixture.
Here’s some of my latest AI generated art. Chinese girls and tigers on a clipper ship. Oh, yeah, I’m still playing around with this.
I find it fun and enjoyable.
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Now, I am trying a art plug-in filter…
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Which, of course, by nature… naturally tends to undress them.
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Maybe I should try a Greek mythology version.
Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 1(13)
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Here’s where I swapped out some Chinese ladies for some Vietnamese ladies…
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And this picture is my daily favorite. I really love the curious background.
@Default Create a anatomicallyaccurate photo realistic Baroques 3(12)
Today…
Was Trump right when he said the debate was rigged?
Yes, it was. In the sense that CNN organized the debate in such a way that they thought their set-up would help Biden come across better. They were also betting on the mic-off rules startling Trump and possibly causing a meltdown…
main qimg a3a447276a5fc51591dec61d5a7bcb10
The problem? CNN and many in more liberal spheres — myself included — have fallen for a trap. As Tony Montana used to say, “Never get high on your own supply!” They bought into the fairy tale of Trump, the raving, ranting madman. Versus calm, collected, has-his-wits-about-him Biden. Biden, who since 2020 only does well on strictly scripted performances. With the world hyperfocused on the issue of Biden’s age and frailty, all Trump needed to do was appear “presidential”.
And CNN helped him do it by enforcing strict time limits on questions. Trump kept his cool, spoke clearly and relatively coherently. And Biden, without an earpiece, autocue or script? Bombed. CNN had expected Trump, instead, to bomb. They forgot he always talks shit confidently on the fly — it’s his biggest selling point. The debate was designed to cause Trump to lose his shit, to become frustrated and angry. To shout and try to disrupt Biden’s answers, to act aggressive and nasty, much like Trump did in the 2020 presidential debate which he came out of looking badly.
And then… he didn’t. Faced with a whispering, frail Biden frequently losing his train of thought, Trump must have known from the very first minute that this was his night. That the stage was his, and that victory was all-but certain. Truth matters little when it’s a faint, confused whisper… and lies, presented with gusto, carry the night. Instead of attacking Biden on a personal level, Trump at times almost seemed to pity his opponent… he felt no need to be vicious, because the debate was the verbal equivalent of Mike Tyson fighting a sweet old grandpa.
What psychological tricks and hacks are useful to know?
If you haven’t slept well, tell your brain “I slept well”. You will feel fresh. It works like miracle.
Want to defeat a narcissist who insults you? Don’t react. Just ignore him completely in front of others. It will hurt his image and he will stop poking you.
Want to know if someone is attentive or not? Repeat your sentence with a slight change in it. If he is listening either his facial expression will change or he will point out and question the part.
Want to know a person is lying to fit in a group? Just watch his eyes when he talks, if his eyes seeks validation from others for what he said, then he is pretending. A liar /pretender always seeks validation for his talks to fit in the group.
Giving a presentation ? Always bring a bottle of water to the stage. When you can’t remember what to say, take a drink. Nobody will know the difference.
Build good relationships: Harvard University studied adults for almost 70 years and concluded that nothing leads to prosperity and healthy life as good relationships.
Avoid getting roasted. If you think that someone is going to talk badly about you in a professional setting, sit next to that person. It is much harder to speak poorly of someone who’s in close proximity to you, so they’ll probably take it easy.
Stop reacting: You lost your wallet? Had a terrible breakup? Working hard but no appreciation? Lost your job? Stop reacting in such situations. Don’t expect recognition for your efforts. Think twice, act wise!
30-days challenge: Want to kill a habit? Start a 30 days challenge and you will see the change.
Relationship Advice: Be with someone who gives you the same feeling as when you see your food coming at restaurant.
Biggest brain damaging habits:
No breakfast.
Over-reacting.
Smoking.
High sugar consumption.
Air pollution.
Sleep deprivation.
Head covered while sleeping.
Working your brain during illness.
Lacking in stimulation thoughts.
Talking rarely.
Never tell anyone 3 things:
Your Love life.
Income.
Your next big move.
Exercise: 20 push ups, 15 squats, 50 jumping jacks, 30 crunches! repeat 3 times = burn 100 kilo calories.
Inception.
This one’s my favourite. If you want to start a thought in someone’s mind, ask them to not think of that idea at all. For example I tell you NOT to think about DIAMONDS.
What are you thinking of? 🙂
Democrats In “ALL OUT PANIC” After Biden’s Debate Performance
The clips are so disturbing. This guy is “leading the country”?
FAKE “Joe Biden” Is Back! One Day After Dismal Debate with Trump; FAKE “Joe” Wearing Silicone Mask put on campaign trail
A FAKE “Joe Biden” is back and on the campaign trail, committing willful felony, criminal fraud against the American People and criminal Impersonation of the President of the United States.
The latest fake – this one with Hazel colored eyes instead of Biden’s blue eyes – appeared at a Campaign Rally. His silicone mask appeared to be melting or drooping near his eye brows, and coming unglued out of his ears!
The sloppy impersonation is designed to commit willful fraud upon the American people; to make them think they have an energetic and competent President, when the reality is they don’t.
Below is video from the campaign rally just one day after joe mumbled his way through the first televised debate with Donald Trump. No rational person can avoid seeing this is an impersonator. No rational person can avoid seeing the silicone mask sliding down where “Biden’s” eye brows are:
Fake Biden Eye brows
Or around his other eye, the silicone mask literally DETACHING around the eye socket near the nose:
Fake Biden Right Eye Mask Detaching
No rational person can avoid seeing this fake’s HAZEL-COLORED eyes instead of Joe Biden’s Blue colored eyes:
Fake Biden Hazel Eyes Not Blue
No rational person can avoid seeing the tabs in the center of “Biden’s” ear canal, drooping out from sweat or failing glue.
FAKE Biden ear tab
What you are about to see is willful, criminal, impersonation for the purpose of fraud. The Biden Campaign is committing it. The United States Secret Service (protecting this fraud) is committing it. The Democrat Party is committing it.
People are already wondering aloud if Joe Biden has Brown Eyes, so let me lay this diversion nonsense to rest, right now. Below is a photo of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, in the White House, taken by ABC News and being fed into my website from the ABC News Server:
obama biden ap ps 200114 hpMain
The direct Link to this image on the ABC News server is:
The diversion tactic of “I think I remember . . . . . brown eyes . . . .” is not going to work and is not going to be tolerated here. Joe Biden has BLUE eyes. The guy at his campaign rally had Hazel Eyes. Period. Full stop.
Zelenski Changes His Peace Plan
Zelenski’s ‘peace summit’ in Switzerland had failed:
The reviews of Zelenski’s latest show ain’t positive:
…
The summit served warmed up bullshit without any significant nutritional value. The most important points weren’t even discussed:
…
The war will continue until the complete destruction of the Ukrainian forces can no longer be ignored.
The last point may have come earlier than anticipated.
On June 27 Zelenski had changed tact (machine translation):
During a speech in Brussels, the president said that Ukraine wants to start negotiations on ending the war in the near future.“Ukraine does not want to prolong the war, we do not want it to last for years. We need to put a settlement plan on the table within a few months, ” he said.
Zelensky said that in the near future it is planned to develop a plan for the second world summit.
On June 28 he gave more details (machine translation):
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine will present its detailed peace plan “this year”.The President announced this during a press conference in Kyiv.
“It is very important for us to show an end-of-war plan that will be supported by the majority of the world. This is the diplomatic path that we are working on. Not everything depends on us, our production of technology, drones, and artillery is really increasing, because we need to be strong on the battlefield. Because Russia understands nothing but force. These are two parallel processes: be strong and develop a detailed, clear plan, and it will be ready this year, ” Zelensky said.
…
Note that the Ukrainian peace plan has long been presented by Zelensky. It implies the withdrawal of Russian troops to the borders. However, many countries of the world (especially representatives of the “global South”) consider it unrealistic.
In other words, a new plan will probably be prepared.
Earlier Russia’s President Putin had announced his conditions for a permanent peace agreement. How many of them will Zelenski accept within his new ‘peace plan’?
Yesterday’s assault by the Democratic National Council on the Joe Biden campaign has failed.
Thursday night, as soon as the Trump-Biden debate had started, anonymous DNC officials contacted their usual ‘liberal media’ contacts and denounced Biden’s performance. Even those media, like CNN and MSNBC, who have for years denied the obvious problems Biden has had, jumped onto the train. Biden, they said, should retreat.
The New York Times mobilized a slew of its opinion writers to convey the message:
But Joe Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, resisted the move:
President Biden knew immediately after stepping off the stage in Atlanta on Thursday night that the debate had gone wrong. In those first stricken moments after a raspy, rambling and at times incoherent performance, he turned to his wife, Jill Biden.
…
The first lady’s message to him was clear: They’d been counted out before, she was all in, and he — they — would stay in the race. Her thinking, according to people close to her, was that it was a bad night. And bad nights end.
…
So Dr. Biden spent the 24 hours after the debate putting her decades as a political spouse to the test, projecting confidence and normalcy while effusively praising her husband.
Pushed along by his wife Joe Biden did not step back. The DNC assault on his campaign had failed.
Late last night former President Barack Obama, likely the man behind the ‘oust Biden’ campaign, publicly through the towel.
Barack Obama @BarackObama – 18:36 UTC · Jun 28, 2024Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November. http://joebiden.com
Gleen Greenwald commented on Obama’s intervention:
Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald – 19:17 UTC · Jun 28, 2024Once the media starts to realize that they’re not going to get Biden out of the race, they’re all going to quickly retreat from the past 24 hours and get back on board.
Obama is directing them to do that and giving them the script to use:
The campaign to oust Biden has failed, but the damage is done.
Even pro-Biden voters will, from now on, watch diligently to find the flaws in the next Biden speech or debate.
Russian Note To The U.S.: Your Drones Are Now Targets
A new statement by the Russian Defense Ministry says:
The Russian Defence Ministry noted the increased intensity of U.S. strategic unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea waters, which are conducting reconnaissance and targeting high-precision weapons supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Western states to launch strikes at Russian facilities.This demonstrates the increasing involvement of the United States and NATO countries in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime.
Such flights increase the possibility of air incidents involving the Russian Aerospace Forces’ aircraft, increasing the risk of a direct confrontation between the alliance and the Russian Federation.
The NATO countries will be responsible for this.
The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov has instructed the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces to make proposals on measures for rapid response to provocations.
NATO reconnaissance and radio relay drones were regularly patrolling over the Black Sea before and during recent ‘Ukrainian’ attacks with long reaching, western delivered weapons on Crimea. This was also case during the recent release of cluster ammunition over a popular beach near Sevastopol which has caused several civilian death and wounded some 100+ people.
While the drones are nominally flying in neural airspace they are obviously used for attacks on Russia assets in Crimea. That makes them, arguably, legitimate targets for Russian air defenses. Russia had so far held back at destroying them. This will now change.
NATO or the U.S. may well regard such attacks on their ‘neutral’ forces as hostile. Some will press for retribution. But I am convinced that mere attacks on drones will not be seen as sufficient reason to launch World War III.
There are two species which I’d say are dangerous to humans. The first is the most obvious — the Komodo dragon. The world’s largest lizard has a mouthful of venomous knives. (Real venom — not, as was previously believed, just bacteria). Komodo dragons can and have eaten people. In captivity, habituated to handling, they are oddly sweet-tempered, though. But still, venom — it causes a rapid drop in blood pressure, leading to shock. Shock makes you easy to catch.
The second contender is the crocodile monitor, notable not for its size, but for the fact that it doesn’t have a mouthful of knives — it has a mouthful of razor blades. It can do so much damage with a nip, it could maim a human with barely an effort.
(Don’t do this):Because this teeny tiny croc monitor hatchling did this:
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Even an accidental nip could result in nerve damage.
In general, most other monitors aren’t particularly dangerous. Large ones could give a nasty bite, and the venom may make the person bleed a lot and be a bit woozy, but no one’s going to die or be maimed. A monitor’s tail-whip could leave some good bruises, or break a finger. That’s about it. Many monitors are too small to do any real damage.
The Younger Generation is Completely Over It ….
What’s the weirdest question you’ve been asked when crossing an international border?
Not really a weird question, but a weird interaction:
Necessary background to the story: When I was a university president, I was frequently called upon to be on accreditation teams that went to other university campuses to do a first-hand accreditation review. One time, I was invited to go to Germany because a US university in my region had a major branch campus in Germany where they offered an MBA program. Such an event rarely happens, so I was pleased with that opportunity to visit, however briefly, another country — you get an international trip, but you have to work much harder because they keep those teams small.
Story: After we landed in Frankfurt, the immigration officer at the counter asked me what the purpose of my visit was (it was just a three-day trip). I said, “I am here as part of an MBA visiting team.”
His face expressed considerable surprise, and he said, “Really?” with a skeptical smile on his face. While I was born in India, I had lived in the US for about 35 years by that time (50+ years now); I have brown skin and a British-tinged Indian accent. His question, in turn, took me by surprise because I kind of fit the visual stereotype of an academic guy. Why did he appear not to believe me? I have had a US passport since the early 1980s, so that couldn’t have been an issue.
So, I repeated that I was coming to Germany for a three-day stay as part of an MBA visiting team, saying that the other members of the team had probably arrived a few hours earlier.
Again, skepticism.
I just had to ask: “Why are you so surprised?” He certainly wasn’t required to answer, but he did: “Because you don’t look like a player on an NBA team!”
He was right; I don’t. I’m 5′-8.5″, with brown skin and not athletic looking at all.
“Not an NBA visiting team; an MBA visiting team.” “I’m a university president.”
“Oh, MBA. Okay then.”
Stamp, stamp, “Welcome to Germany!”
Russia Humiliates NATO in Conventional War | Andrei Martyanov
What secret did you learn about your neighbor that made your jaw drop?
Not exactly “a secret” but certainly something that wasn’t public knowledge:-
When my wife and I moved into this house near Cardiff (UK) in 2001, the next door neighbour was an older gentleman, I guessed he was in his mid/late 70s. He was always polite and pleasant, totally independent and looked after himself, his home and his garden very well. We’d see him every morning, always smartly attired in jacket and tie (and his flat cap) driving down to the local shops for a pint of milk and newspaper and, if either of us was outside, we always got a wave and a smile as he passed.
The only things he couldn’t manage were computer issues on his PC. So, very occasionally, he would ask if I could “pop around” and sort something out for him. It was usually something simple which could be fixed by clearing cache, or removing some troublesome advertising or similar, but he was inevitably very apologetic about “troubling you” or “wasting your time”.
He didn’t talk about his past much at first, but eventually a few facts emerged: He’d served in the war (1939–1945); he’d climbed the Himalayas in the 1960s (I still have a few of his photographs from when I converted his old 35 mm colour slides to digital); he’d lived ‘down under’ and worked for the Australian Government for a long time and he had even built his own house there by hand. All of which was quite fascinating to me, but he would rarely go into any detail, and most certainly not about his wartime history.
On one occasion he asked for “some help using a website”. So I went to his house and helped him book a Battlefield Tour as part of a regimental reunion. At this point a few details slipped out. This quiet, unassuming old chap had been one of the pioneers of what is now known as Special Forces, and he was with a group of Commandos behind the enemy lines on D-Day: “We were there to stir-up some trouble, and distract attention from the Normandy Beaches”. Then, “I don’t like to think of it much, because I lost so many of my friends at that time….”, a pause, and then, “Of course, getting myself shot isn’t a particularly pleasant memory either” (chuckles).
It turns out that only he and one other survived from his unit, with both of them injured. But they managed to link up with the Allied forces and he was evacuated to the UK. “Do you know where they sent me when I landed in Southampton from the hospital ship?”, he asked, and went on to describe how the wounded were just loaded, apparently almost randomly, to various hospitals around the country. “They sent me to Llandough Hospital (Cardiff), the very same hospital I’d been born in! How about that?”
After that opening, I did eventually get a few more stories from him (very, very occasionally) and I was privileged to see some of his documents and awards. But it was really only because of the Battlefield Tour’s difficult customer interface that I discovered I was living next door to a very brave man, a bona fide war hero.
Sadly his health deteriorated badly a few years later and he was hospitalised where he died within a couple of weeks of being admitted . . . . in the very same ward of the very same hospital he’d been evacuated to in 1944.
Shorpy
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What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?
One day my dad went out to the mailbox and saw it had been vandalized. It was crushed like it had been hit with a hammer or a bat. Without a word, he went into town and bought a new one and set it up. Two days later he went out, and it was crushed again. This time he got mad…
He pulled the wooden post out of the ground, dug a post hole and put a ten foot pipe into it with four feet above ground and six below. He poured concrete into the pipe. He took shelf paper that looked like wood grain and wrapped it around the pipe, so that from a distance it looked like a wooden post. He bought two mailboxes this time…he put the smaller one into the bigger one and poured concrete into the gap between the two. He then set it up on the post. The thing was rock solid.
That night, we heard a loud crash. Dad grabbed his shotgun and headed to the mailbox. Turns out a couple bullies that hated my guts had taken the bat to the mailbox as they were driving by, and about broke one of their wrists. The driver decided to take and push the mailbox over using his bumper of his Jeep. When that didn’t work, he backed up and rammed it, embedding the post into his engine.
Dad comes out of the darkness and starts shooting the tires with the shotgun. The boys are cussing and protesting, when one of them says his dad will kick my dad’s butt. Dad marches them up to the house and calmly tells him to CALL his dad.
The boy’s dad arrives and the first thing he sees is the Jeep. He starts cussing, but stops when Dad trots the two boys out and tells him what happened. Dad delivers an ultimatum … he can either call the cops and the boys will get arrested, or they can repair any damage to the mailbox, reimburse him for the mailboxes destroyed, and keep their mouth shut to the cops about what happened. They decided to do the latter.
As they are leaving, Dad says, “If you think I’m a bastard to deal with, you should try my son. He’s been nice to you so far … but he’s about to lay you low.”
To this day, when they see me coming, they avert their eyes and alter their path, even though in truth I’m pretty harmless.
The Dark Side of DARPA | The Human Cost of Technological Supremacy
Is China afraid of the United States?
Now it is not afraid at all, almost all Chinese people are waiting to see the jokes of the United States.
The level of Chinese fear of Americans has changed less and less over time, in fact, Chinese children born after 2005 have come to view the United States as garbage.
On the Chinese Internet, there is a saying that “Dignity is only above the edge of the sword, and truth is only within the range of the missiles”
The Chinese often refer to the Dongfeng missile as “Truth”.
It should be stated here that it is not that the Chinese advocate violence, on the contrary, the Chinese love peace, and the above statement is that the Chinese have drawn a conclusion from historical experience: in negotiating with the Americans, force is more effective than anything else.
I was born in the late nineties, and when I was in middle school and they were showing “Growing Pains” on TV, American was confident and brave and adventurous. When it comes to the United States, everyone thinks that the United States is a beacon for the world.
Later, when the United States invaded Afghanistan and defeated the Afghan army in a short time, I was shocked by the high-tech military equipment displayed.
Back then, Liu Cixin (author of Three-Body) wrote a short story “Full Band Blocking Interference”.
The content of the short story is that the United States and NATO troops invaded China, the PLA and NATO troops fought, China suffered extremely heavy casualties, and finally prepared to die with the NATO army, the United States in order to prevent too much loss before announcing a truce.
The Chinese were very afraid of the United States.
In 2016, when the Chinese Navy and the US Navy faced off in the South China Sea and the US fleet fled, the Chinese suddenly found out that the US military was not as strong as they had thought.
In the following years, the number and combat effectiveness of Chinese warships increased rapidly, and when the 055 warship appeared, the Chinese basically did not fear the United States.
When Chinese Internet users learned that the US military was riddled with drugs and that there were transgender generals, most Chinese took the US as a joke.
Until recently, the United States and the Houthis were fighting so hard. Now most Chinese (especially young Chinese) have come to regard the US military as garbage.
With the popularization of the Internet, Chinese people know the current situation of the internal division of American society, all kinds of stores will be robbed, and the drug problem is very serious. All Chinese are surprised that they have been deceived by the US media for more than a decade.
More than a decade ago, there was a magazine in China called “Yilin”, which advertised that the United States was paradise on earth. It said that Americans could give up building highways to protect the environment, and that Americans would not lock their doors at night because there were no thieves in the United States. Americans’ morals are the highest in the world. No one Fare evasion on the New York subway.The security in the United States is very good, even if the wallet is left in the restaurant for more than 24 hours, no one will steal it, and the clerk will personally contact the owner.
Because of this magazine, the Chinese people really thought that the Americans were just like the description in the magazine, the Chinese people kept working hard, dreaming that one day they could do as well as the United States, and decades later, China basically realized the appearance described in the magazine, and then the Chinese people suddenly found that they had been deceived by the magazine for decades
Why do most Chinese kids now think America is trash?
Because they learned through TIKTOK and YOUTUBE that the United States launched wars against other countries, such as the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, during which the US military randomly killed Afghan civilians. This behavior is completely different from what they see in Hollywood superhero movies.
At the same time, we learn that Americans sacrifice the majority for the benefit of the few in the United States, such as the drug epidemic, the gun epidemic, the supermarket robbery.
At the same time, the Chinese also learned that some states in the United States can even privately let students undergo sex reassignment surgery without parental consent. Teacher secretly brainwashed Male students’ You’re a girl ‘
In fact, most people in China think like American Puritans, and some of the actions of American politicians are contrary to universal values.
Thirty years ago, firearms were readily available in China, and although drugs were strictly controlled, many people substituted cough syrup for drugs. Thirty years ago, large-scale battles often took place in rural areas of Guangdong, often involving hundreds of people. Weapons are automatic gun or semi-automatic gun, and even artillery and explosives are found in the village. Three decades ago, walking the streets of China was a common prospect of being mugged, and women living alone feared being murdered.
Later, the government cracked down on crime and shot countless criminals. Law enforcement was so strict that people could be sentenced to death for theft. This process lasted about five years.
The Chinese society we see today is very harmonious and safe, the result of the government’s vigorous reforms three decades ago.
Tucker Reacts to Trump vs. Biden Debate During Sydney, Australia Speech
Please sit and bear with me as you read this. In an immense amount of time from now. Not millions of years or billions of years from now. But two times ten to the power 36 amount of years. That’s a two undecillion years or 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. A point when the stars will shine no more. The new dark ages of the universe.During the new dark ages, the final black holes evaporate, the last of the iron stars float in the void, the galaxies have all fallen apart, and proton decay threatens to dissolve the universe into elemental particles.Now there are just a mere four thousand humans left, but humanity’s life span is on the order of undecillion years. At this point humans age normally until our twenties, and then that’s it. Because of proton decay we must take quantum reinforcement showers to keep our atoms from decaying. This is the only form of death humanity now knows.Despite the size of the universe and against the probability of the Drake equation, humanity discovered eons ago that we were the only intelligent life. By this point there are now only two other forms of known life. Both made by human hands. Cryptales, which are creatures that evolved from living spaceships that now roam freely about the universe sucking up energy wherever they can find it, and the AbSent, a nasty group of artificially intelligent life that evolved from humanity’s attempt to create a sentient slave species.So, Gisoo was the last human to be born, and she had just discovered a small field of intact rocky bodies. This is odd because rocky bodies are rare. She was also in command of a bio-mechanized living ship called the Dream Vision that uses a captured supermassive black hole as its main power source.
“Gisoo, there are about two hundred metric tons of proton stable matter in the boulder field.”
“Dream Vision, prepare for capture.” Gisoo ran down the corridor towards the main control center.
“Gisoo, I’m detecting artificial intelligence.”
“AbSent! Damn I hate the AbSent!” Gisoo entered the main control center as the two intersecting doors rolled open.
“Gisoo, please advise a course of action.”
“We’re going to use the engine’s gravity-well and try to hold them at the event horizon for now. I don’t want to lose that much formed matter.”
“Starting gravity-well capture. Graviton shielding being opened. Super massive black hole exposure should occur soon.”
“Keep the lateral quantum sensors on the AbSent. I don’t want them to board us.”
“Yes, Gisoo.”
“Dream Vision, watch the Hawking radiation levels. We can’t afford to lose too much and I’m already seeing a spike.”
“Gisoo, AbSent has launched a nanite swarm.”
“Rip them apart proton by proton Dream Vision!”
“Starting cascading nuclear decay.” The nanite swarm dissolved into subatomic particles as Dream Vision blasted them with a decaying quantum nuclear wave.
“Dream Vision, can you confirm the boulder field has smeared across the event horizon?”
“Confirmed. We’ve successfully captured the boulder field, along with remaining AbSent.”
“Close up the graviton shielding, and scan for any remaining AbSent in the area. Once clear prepare for ether leap.”
“Gisoo, what is the final destination for the ether leap?”
“Head for Panagiotis the Elder at the boundary edge of the Universe. He wanted to see me in person according to his last transmission.”
Now two undecillion years is just enough time for the randomness of the quantum state to make something odd happen. This odd thing was the creation of what humanity called the ether. The ether was not some form of a hyperspace or dimensional rift, but a stable pocket universe intersecting with our own. No exotic particles were known to naturally leak out from the ether. Only the non-usable Kirsyn particles were emitted when black holes travelled through it. This is because the graviton shielding didn’t work normally in the ether, and Hawking radiation would leak out. Crossing over and through didn’t require as much energy as one would think, but then again no one understood the ether because its physics was unlike anything we understood. For all people knew the ether didn’t exist and yet it did. It had no dimensions or time-space. You were in the ether, but not at all in the ether either. All we knew is that it was a recent addition to the multiverse that developed before the current age. It made space travel easy along with interstellar communications. A spaceship would blink out from existence from one point in our universe and then pop into existence at its destination. The same with message beacons.
Now Gisoo was about to see an old friend at the actual boundary edge of the universe. The boundary edge was like the other side of a black hole’s event horizon, in that it was the very end of the actual universe’s expansion point.
They had arrived at a point along the boundary edge. As Dream Vision was coming into a docking position, in the far distance Gisoo could see the dark forms of Cryptales dotting the boundary edge. Dream Vision docked with the older Dragonsoul and Gisoo disembarked. The Dragonsoul had a musty smell to it as Gisoo walked about its cluttered corridors looking for Panagiotis the Elder, the oldest human alive.
“Elder! Where are you Elder?!”
Gismo heard a raspy voice call out to her. “Gisoo, is that you?”
After walking through the mess, she came upon a man tinkering with various pieces of ancient equipment.
“You wanted to see me.”
“Oh. Yes. That’s right. Something of great importance has come up.” The man got up from his seat.
“Did you finally figure out what’s on the other side of the boundary edge?” Gisoo picked up a piece of old machinery and looked at it.
“No, my dear. If only I could discover what lies on the other side. But it has only given me alas crumbs of subatomic particles randomly appearing on our side. What’s ever on the other side must be far larger than our current universe.” The man sighed.
Gisoo leaned on a piece of equipment. “Okay old man, what do you want to tell me?”
Sitting down again, he said, “Giles the Monk has finally solved the Rebirth Equation.”
Gisoo stood up and turned to the Elder. Her eyes became wide with surprise. “Impossible! That equation was unsolvable!”
“He did it. It took him nine quintillion years. Now the Tao Emperor has already constructed the device to use the equation. He plans to make a universe of everlasting light from stars. Endless power.”
“That’s insane. He would need a tremendous energy source for that equation. Where’s the Tao Emperor getting so much power?”
“The Obsidian Grip.”
“No way! Konishi hid it deep in the ether.”
“It’s true Konishi feared someday the Emperor would try to use the Obsidian Grip and the single largest supermassive black hole of the entire universe for some evil purpose. So, she figured out how to stop mid-leap in the ether. The only human to do so. No one else has ever tried since.”
This wasn’t the first time Panagiotis the Elder had asked Gisoo to go out on some adventure to fetch an ancient piece of technology. She had been doing this work since she was a teen. She wasn’t even six billion yet, and she had seen more of the known universe than the rest of humanity. Except for a few souls like the Elder and Gisoo, most of the four thousand humans all lived in a single floating colony powered by gathered decaying black holes. Even with graviton shielding a black hole would still leak the occasional Hawking particle.
Now the Tao Emperor had gathered a vast amount of technological and human knowledge to the point humanity considered him transcendent. He was responsible for the construction of the great colony ship, the Auku. So, Gisoo knew the stakes were high. The Emperor would use all he had to search the Ether so he could restart the stars again. Gathering energy from randomly appearing and disappearing Quantum Bubble Universes (QBUs or pocket universes) wasn’t enough power for him.
Gisoo picked up a metal part and began to twirl it around like a baton. “So, let’s say I go out into the Ether and search for the Obsidian Grip. Then what?”
“Well, you’d bring it back here.”
“Assuming I find it, and assuming the supermassive black hole hasn’t dissipated, why would I give you the most powerful known ship of all time?”
“Because I plan to use it to open a stable wormhole to the other side of the boundary edge.”
“You’re joking right?! Worm hole technology is ancient and unreliable. Humans couldn’t get them to work right long ago, and no one today would bother with it. What makes you think a wormhole can punch through the boundary edge to the other side?”
“For the last half a billion years I’ve been reworking Zamafuthi’s math for worm hole prospects. All I need is another few million years, and I know we can get through.”
“And then what? What will we find there?”
“A whole new universe to explore.”
Gisoo was still twirling the metal part about. “That’s a big assumption on your part.”
“Based on billions of years of observations that comes to us from the other side.”
She tossed the part into a bin and Gisoo began to leave the Elder. “Even if we crossed over, we don’t even know the physics on the other side. We all could die in an instant. I’ll tell you my decision if I find the Obsidian Grip.”
“Gisoo, come back here, impetuous brat! This is the single most important mission of all time! You can’t let the Tao Emperor have the Obsidian Grip to reignite the universe! There could be incalculable damage if he built the device wrong or Giles the Monk made a simple math error!”
Gisoo knew she could find the Obsidian Grip in the Ether. She had traveled through the Ether so much that she almost understood it. Finding the Obsidian Grip had an immense appeal to her. Giving it away to either the Tao Emperor or the Elder wasn’t even a consideration. She was more enthralled with having that much power in her hands. The rest of humanity would finally have to pay attention to her. No longer to be thought of as a by-product of an unknown union forced upon the people. For you see Gisoo was raised by all of humanity.
What you need to understand is that when creatures live long lives, they reproduce very little, and the same was true for humanity by now. For an unplanned child to come along was a social abomination. Not that people were not caring or loving, but there was plenty of social contempt for Gisoo’s existence. With a universe falling apart power was scarce and another human could disturb the balance. Therefore, Gisoo was the last human born. All of humanity swore never to have any more and made sure of that through their science and technology. The problem was Gisoo never knew her parents. When she was young, she imagined about her parents, but gave up all those dreams when she became a teen.
Now the Tao Emperor was the second to last child born. Never far from Gisoo’s thoughts was that the guy who was born 63 sextillion years before her was now worshiped, while society saw her as a pariah. It blew her mind that the remnants of humanity would let some kid dominate over them like he was the ultimate human.
Now while in an ordinary part of space Gisoo was taking a quantum reinforcement shower. Dream Vision was going to tell her about some abnormal Cryptale behavior.
“What do you mean a cluster of Cryptales? There should be none here.”
“Gisoo, there’s at least twenty Cryptales in a spherical pattern two hundred parsecs laterally.”
“That makes no sense. What are the scanners showing?”
“The presence of Kirsyn particles.”
“There must be a supermassive black hole in the Ether. How much?”
“The levels are at the point where QBUs may form.”
“No way! It must be the Obsidian Grip. That’s the only thing with a black hole big enough to create QBUs from Kirsyn particles.”
Gisoo could hardly contain herself. By sheer luck she had stumbled across the Obsidian Grip in just a million years of traveling the known universe in a random search pattern. She knew the Tao Emperor was still out there looking for it, but it could easily take him another billion years before they came across it. The bigger problem was trying to figure out how to get into the Ether and stop at the Obsidian Grip’s position. The math equation needed was straightforward as she understood it. The issue was reconfiguring the drive to work with the math. It’s one thing to have math, and it’s another thing to make it work. This was complex physical engineering. Physical engineering wasn’t her best subject, but she had no choice but take the time if she wanted to get to the Obsidian Grip before anyone else. The whole reconfiguration would take Gisoo a mere 12 thousand years to complete.
She hit the ether controls. “By Faythe’s ghost I did it! It’s massive! Larger than any bio-mechanized ship I’ve ever seen! What’s the state of the supermassive black hole?”
“Undeterminable. Quantum sensors are not working.”
“Pull us into a docking position.”
The Dream Vision pulled into an open docking bay along the underbelly. The Dream Vision was a fraction of the size of the Obsidian Grip. At least forty Dream Visions could have easily docked inside. The Obsidian Grip wasn’t a bio-mechanized ship, it was designed as a living citadel for humanity not unlike Auku. It had more power than Auku could ever have. And all that power would now be under Gisoo’s command. Gisoo could be the savior of humanity.
“Sensors are working again. There’s atmosphere and normal gravity outside. I’m still trying to access the main systems, but I’m having difficulty. There appears to be a different form of coding preventing access. It’s not normal bio-mechanized coding.”
Gisoo exited the Dream Vision, and as she did, she was greeted by a woman’s voice.
“Hello, I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m your mother.”
“The human mothership?”
“No, silly. I’m your actual mother. I was human, but I merged my existence into this ship to keep it here. Away from the Tao Emperor.”
Standing on the landing deck, Gisoo crossed her legs together in discomfort at what she was hearing. “I have no parents! No one was my mother or father!”
“While you had no father, I’m your mother. I’m Konishi, and my womb birthed you. I had to leave you behind, so I could hide the Obsidian Grip.”
“So, you cloned me?”
“No, nothing so primitive. My womb spontaneously created you. A product of random quantum fluctuations.”
“Are you saying the universe is my father?”
“I suppose so.”
Gisoo uncrossed her legs and began to goose step about the deck. “Assuming all that you’ve said is true. Why should I not turn you over to the Tao Emperor?”
“Because I’m your mother, and I know you wouldn’t do that.”
Gisoo stopped goose stepping and then stomped her feet as hard as she could. “How could you know me?! You haven’t even been around for my entire life! You abandoned me to a bunch of people who didn’t care about me!”
“Not true. They cared enough to teach you and loved you enough to allow you to become the adult you are today. You are exactly what I knew you would be like. You remind me of myself when I was your age.”
Gisoo calmed down and sat down cross-legged on the deck. She began to trace out math formulas with her finger. “Why didn’t you just leave the Obsidian Grip and return to Auku?”
“The only way to maintain the Obsidian Grip this long in the ether was to graft myself to the ship. There was no other way to prevent a supermassive black hole this size from decaying even in the ether.”
“For all this time you’ve been using your own willpower to keep the Hawking radiation from leaking out instead of the graviton shielding?”
“Yes.”
“So now what? It’s not like I can hug a spaceship.”
“We restart again.”
“So, you want me to give you over to the Tao Emperor so he can use the Rebirth Equation and ignite the stars again?”
“No. We restart everything. So, I can hold my child in the flesh once more.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will. Did you know I named you for the word ‘hello’ in an ancient human tongue? That was the first word I said when I found out I was pregnant with you.”
Gisoo always wondered what her name meant. There was no database that contained it or person who knew. Now that she knew she sort of thought it was peculiar. Couldn’t mom come up with something a little cooler sounding? Something like Fhaertala Inana. Now that sounded cool.
You see what Gisoo didn’t know was her name was the very word that both ended everything and began everything. One word that ended all time and restarted it. A word that allowed Konishi to nakedly expose the Obsidian Grips’ supermassive black hole to the unreality of the ether. In doing so, it set into motion something that dwarfed what the Tao Emperor wanted to do, or Panagiotis the Elder. For Konishi had both mathematically determined and mechanically built how to reset the universe’s clock, so once more she could hold her child.
Pork Riblets Simmered in Caramel Sauce
(Suon Kho | Vietnamese)
Traditionally, the riblets were grilled over charcoal to sear in the flavors before simmering. Ask a butcher to cut the ribs, as this is not an easy home project. To remove the fat, the ribs may be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated. The congealed fat can be easily lifted off the surface.
Suon Kho
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds meaty pork spareribs, cut crosswise through the bone into 2 inch wide strips
1/3 cup minced, grated or puréed yellow onion (about 1/2 small onion)
Cut each rib strip between the bones or through the cartilage into individual riblets.
Combine the onion, sugar, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce in a bowl. Add the riblets, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
If necessary, adjust your broiler rack so that the ribs will cook as close to the flame as possible. Heat the broiler for 30 minutes to get it nice and hot.
While the broiler heats, take the ribs from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature to take the chill off. Place them on a baking sheet and broil until they’re tinged brown, about 4 to 6 minutes per side; a little charring is fine. (You’ll hear a pleasant sizzle as this happens.) Alternatively, cook the ribs over high heat on a gas or charcoal grill, which imparts deeper flavor. The point here is to sear the riblets to obtain a roastiness and intensify the overall color.
Place the riblets in a saucepan with the Caramel Sauce, the remaining 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and enough water (about 2 1/2 cups) to cover most of the riblets. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and let cook for 40 minutes; the ribs should simmer vigorously, sending steam out from under the lid.
Remove the lid and continue to simmer until the ribs are tender (you can easily pierce the meat with a fork or knife tip), about 20 to 30 minutes. If there’s cartilage, you should be able to bite through it, with a slight crunch remaining. This latter phase of cooking allows the sauce to reduce and concentrate in flavor, and deepens the color to dark reddish brown. In the end, there should be a fair amount of sauce left.
Turn off the heat, tilt the saucepan so the liquid goes to one side and use a spoon or small ladle to skim the fat from the top.
Adjust the flavors with extra fish sauce, if necessary.
Garnish with the chopped green onion and serve with lots of steamed rice.
Notes
Low fat tip: Use nonstick spray for sauté ing the vegetables, substitute reduced fat sour cream and mushroom soup, and use 1 1/2 cups broth for the topping.
On his 1909 trip in the US, Freud had this to say about the country: America is a mistake, a giant mistake. Trump and Biden, two old fools competing to fool more fools in the game of liberal/electoral democracy, are living proof of Freud’s observation. Indeed, “In America, anyone can become president. That's the problem.”
If you grew up in the Mid-west; Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and Ohio, you know about “deer flies”. These nasty pests are delta winged biological hunter-biters and their bite is painful
Lipoptena cervi, the deer ked or deer fly, is a species of biting fly in the family of louse flies, Hippoboscidae. These flies are commonly encountered in temperate areas of Europe, Siberia, and northern China.
They have been introduced to North America.[12] They are parasites of elk, deer, and other deer family members, burrowing through the fur and sucking the blood of the host animals.
Adults are only 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) in length and brownish in colour. Their bodies are flat and elastic, making their removal difficult. L. cervi is a poor flier and can only fly for short distances. Once the insect reaches its target, it sheds its wings and starts burrowing through the fur.
They have a radar lock on that is terrible. Once they are on your radar you have to get behind glass or a mesh screen and watch while the bang, bang, and bag against that barrier trying to get to you.
Ah, you don’t wanna be bit. I’ll tell you what. You will end up with a red welt the size of a soda bottle cap. Yikes!
Deer fly bites can be painful due to their cutting and lapping method of feeding. The bite often results in visible bleeding wounds and general first aid-type skin creams may help to relieve the pain from bites. In rare instances, there may be allergic reactions involving hives and wheezing.
One took a dive bomb into my hair when I was at a guitar lesson around 11 years old. Wholly shit, It was painful and my dad took two hours getting dead deer fly debris out of my hair.
Holy smokes!
The Terrible Deer Fly – Plus – An Easy Control Method
Oh, the dredded deer fly! If you have been attacked by deer flies, you know they need no introduction. They are horrible pests. These flies show no compassion on the unsuspecting person who crosses their path. A few flies can quickly become hundreds the longer you stay in the area. They are very fast and will attack mercilessly quickly ruining your fishing trip or a family outing. (Photo Courtesy of Bugguide.net)
It is largely believed there is no effective means of controlling these flies. However, one researcher has said to have found a simple way to keep them at bay. It is something the kayak fisherman can try and on my next trip to the Louisiana swamps I plan on employing this technique. I will explain it in detail later in the article.
What is a Deer Fly, You Ask??
Deer Flies are true biting flies and the bites really hurt. Only the female bites. Females have small dagger like blades within their mouth parts that slice the skin to draw blood. She then fills up on a blood meal. They are very aggressive.
The flies breed and live in swamp and marsh locations. They also live in forests close to grassy clearing or open areas. They can be found in most states.
My Personal Experiences with These Flies
One of my favorite places in Louisiana is in the Sabine River Basin. It is 1000's of acres of marsh and swamp that is part of the National Wildlife Refuge. The brackish waters are loaded with redfish, sea trout and alligators. However, many parts are loaded with deer flies.
I spoke to the kayak fisherman in the photo who had just paddled through a swarm of deer flies - the same swarm that actually drove me away. He stated he had been bitten, but didn't seem to be too alarmed by it. I suppose there is not much you can do in a kayak surrounded by alligators except to keep paddling. Some say it is possible to get used to deer flies, but I don't imagine it to be easy.
Here is What I Have Learned About Them
Here is what I have learned about deer flies. First, they tend to reside in heavy congregations, but will not fly far to pursue a meal. Instead, they will wait until someone walks within a 100 or 200 ft of where they are waiting - then they swarm around you.
They pick up on exhaled carbon dioxide and move in quickly to the source. Deer flies love to bite around the head, arms, hands and upper body.
To get away from them, all it usually takes is to move away from that 100 to 200 ft range they originated from and they will break off the attack. This is important to know. Only a few will follow for an extra 75 to 100 feet outside of that range.
All I had to do to get away from them is to turn around and walk 100 ft or so and they were gone. Walk back toward them and they will swarm again. Hopefully your favorite places do not have infestation so close together. In those cases the only way to get away from them is to leave the area.
Some claim they will not fly into houses or cars, but that is not entirely correct. I am not sure about houses, but I have certainly killed a few that have flown into my car while I was stopped to photograph wildlife.
Methods used to stop mosquitoes usually will not work on deer flies. Some suggest using Deet, the strongest formula available, but is primarily because they know of nothing else to suggest.
A Truly Interesting Cure to Your Deer Fly Problem
The following method was discovered by a University of Florida researcher:
Take a bright blue container - a small can, jug, metal coffee can, flower pot, or anything that can be mounted on a pole. I imagine you can paint it that color, but it has to be bright blue. I haven't seen a picture of the exact color used, so saying it needs to be bright blue or bright royal blue is all I know. The blue attracts the flies.
I read where a person had a bright blue car and every summer his car was covered with deer flies. He never knew why until someone told him it was the color. The article said he sold his car to end the problem.
Next, cover the bright blue container with a sticky material, such as "Tanglefoot". Be sure it is clear Tanglefoot and not the dark colored one. Tanglefoot is a super sticky brush-on outdoor coating designed for this type of thing. The deer flies get stuck in the sticky goo and die.
The bright blue color is such a powerful attractant that people nearby are not even bitten. Since there is only a finite number of deer flies in one location, you can temporarily reduce the deer fly population to the point they are no longer a problem.
There have been several deer fly tests by people from around the country using this method and they all say it works great. I haven't personally tested it and am only going off what others say, Where I live now there are no deer flies. However, when I am back in Louisiana I will test it and give you my personal opinion. I am hoping the reports are right and it is an effective method of controlling the deer fly.
If you are kayaking in thick deer fly territory be sure to bring your pole mounted blue jug coated with tanglefoot. Put the pole in a rod holder or somewhere on the kayak so it extends several feet above you. This is exactly what I plan to do on my next fishing trip to the swamps.
In the link I have provided, you can also read about "trolling for flies" that has led to a decrease in fly populations. it's worth a try.
Be sure to let me know how it works. I would love to hear about it.
Visitor Addition:This comes from Parnell Ruiz. Thanks Parnell!"Just wanted to add to your deer fly article. Blue is definitely the color. I keep blue plastic helmets and coat them in "tangle foot" but don't coat helmet brim. While walking in the forest on my property in WI, I don't get one bite. They do attack from behind and quickly fill the back of helmet, then I just put helmet on backwards till full. Use acetone to clean helmet and repeat. Working on some type of blue apparel for my dogs. Thanks for site."
Today…
Bolivia coup failure
Why do some people cover their laptop cameras with tape? Is it just paranoia?
I once took a cyber security course in which one of the instructors hacked into six or seven laptop cameras in the class before the lunch break on the first day. The computers in question were brought by the students, not supplied by the training facility. By the second day, every student in that class had tape over their laptop cameras.
I’ve seen how vulnerable those things are. I will never again leave my laptop camera uncovered unless I’m actually using it.
Edit:
Of all the answers I’ve written, I never expected this one to take off. Over 13,000 upvotes and still climbing. Wow!
I’m seeing a lot of repeated questions in the comments, so I’ll try to answer the most common ones:
I won’t provide the name of the course or the company that taught it. Frankly, we weren’t particularly impressed with the overall content, the professionalism of the instructors, or the value for the investment. The one interesting takeaway from the course was that laptop cameras are vulnerable to hacking.
As I recall, the exploit in question used a malicious applet to take advantage of an unpatched vulnerability in Java.
Some laptop cameras have hardwired lights that can’t be turned off by software. But some cameras have a software toggle that can turn off the light while the camera is active. Depending on your particular machine, the absence of a light is no guarantee that your camera has not been activated.
A five second Google search will turn up numerous criminal cases that involve webcam/laptop camera hacking. In 2014, Jared James Abrahams was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sneaking nude photos and videos of several young women including Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf. This is not, by any means, an isolated case.
I have no illusions that hackers are slavering to catch sight of my naked body. But the wall behind my desk has a dry erase board and bulletin board areas that are usually covered in notes, drawings, diagrams, schedules, and schematics. Nothing classified, but often information that requires protection.
The machines that I saw hacked were all running Windows, but – according to the Mac Security Blog, Apple computers are also vulnerable to camera hacking.
Yes, your microphone is vulnerable too. Depending on the machine, you can block some internal microphones using a dummy plug in the mic jack. For some laptops, physically disconnecting the microphone from the motherboard isn’t too difficult. I personally opt for the dummy plug. It’s not 100% certain, but few defensive measures are absolute.
I’m under no impression that covering your camera and using a dummy plug for your microphone will provide perfect security. Frankly, there’s no such thing. In my opinion, these are just a couple of simple and inexpensive precautions that narrow your window of vulnerability. Nothing more.
And I’m done responding to comments on this answer. There are literally hundreds of articles and videos on the topic from people who know more about it than I do.
MOVING TO USA🇺🇸 | WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFORE MOVING (as a Ugandan🇺🇬) GreenCard, Culture & More
What screams “I’m upper class”?
I’ve been around quite a few wealthy people, but only a few of them have been what I consider upper class.
To me, someone who is upper class treats everyone with respect. They don’t flaunt their wealth, and they don’t ever try to prove they’ve got money.
I went to a very expensive prep school in New York, on scholarship. Many of the girls looked down their noses at me because my family was barely middle class, and I didn’t have the money to shop at Bloomingdales like they did. But you know who were my friends? The girls who had the same last names as buildings on 5th Avenue and famous restaurants. They didn’t care that I was there on scholarship because they weren’t competitive, like the girls who were continually trying to prove how wealthy their families were. Instead, they welcomed me into their homes and took me to dizzying social events. Class all the way.
When I was a senior, I was told that my scholarship had been paid for by the wealthy founders of Reader’s Digest, and the only thing they asked in return was that I write them a letter telling them about my high school experience and what my future plans were. I got the most charming handwritten letter back from DeWitt Wallace thanking me for writing! True class.
Later, in college, I worked a part-time job at a retail store. One night the very-impressed-by-himself store manager asked me to stay late and I told him I couldn’t because I needed to catch the last bus home. He said he would give me a ride if I would stay. And so I did.
Of course, when it was time to leave, the manager was long gone and I was stranded. It just so happened that the son of the founder of the major corporation that owned the store was interning there that month as preparation for going into the corporate office. He saw what had happened and gave me a ride home in his Mercedes Benz. He could not have been nicer or a better conversationalist on our ride to my home.
So, in short, I believe that people who are truly upper class are kind, considerate, and take their wealth out of the equation when dealing with other people. It’s simply a part of them, but nothing that needs to be mentioned, flaunted, or bragged about.
Which country has the better governance, China or India? Why?
This question would not be asked if you had been to both of those countries.
I have and you cannot even put them in the same league.
China is a global power, a middle-income country, with a literacy rate in the 90s and the largest manufacturing base in the world. China has a 100-year economic plan, which gives the whole country its priorities and the whole nation follows. China’s urban poverty rate is 1%
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Shanghai, China
India is a low-income country, with the highest population of malnutrition children in the world. It is also the biggest recipient of aid, in the world, just for this reason. India’s governance is fragmented, divided up into states that impede big business. The politicians are highly corrupt. Politics is full of communal venom. There are about a dozen active separatist movements. Their wealthiest city, Bombay, has half of its population defecating in the open.
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Mumbai, India
China is not only wealthier, more educated, and better planned, but it is also more peaceful, has lower crime rate and is safer. If you have walked the streets of Delhi and Bejing at night, the difference is absolutely clear.
As I have said before, China’s government is made up of extremely intelligent technocrats that have built their political career through decades of work for the CCP. The whole world may scoff at a one-party system, but there is plenty of politics within the party as well. You have to prove yourself at a lower level in various different capacities before being considered for the top job.
That is the reason why merit gets you to the top rather than family dynasties, nationalist or religious fervour.
NEW TREND!! Why Companies Have Started Firing Women (Compilation)
What is a stand you took during your wedding planning that you will never apologize for?
We had shared a home, a life, and three pets for several years, and we each had two teenaged kids. Mine lived with us, and his came to stay regularly. We all got along great.
We decided to get married, but wanted something fun and informal. His mother and my sister became absolutely intolerable, trying to control every detail, to the point that I told my partner I was ready to forget about getting married.
He said, “Is it the wedding you don’t want, or the marriage?”
I told him it was the wedding.
So he suggested we elope. We applied for a marriage license and booked a justice of the peace at the planned destination in Vermont. We booked rooms and the library/parlour at the country inn there. We had been to Vermont before, but not to this particular facility. But we liked what we saw from the online photos.
We packed up the teenagers and a handful of other people we’re close to, and got married at the country inn, which was charming. The staff was friendly and helpful, the ambience was delightful, and the justice of the peace who married us made the ceremony personal and special. Everything about that weekend was perfect: relaxed, fun, simple.
Once that was a done deal, our friend hosted a blessing of marriage and buffet dinner at her place several weeks later. My sister and his mother, who had been unable to travel for the Vermont wedding, were guests of honour at the party. They grumbled a bit about missing the “real wedding,” but they were the architects of that.
I’ve never regretted our “elopement,” even if we did have a bunch of teenagers along!
4 Things I Wish I Knew BEFORE Moving to the USA
The Moon
Getting to the moon was the hard part. But the US had already sent space probes into deep space so they were familiar with transfer orbits.
And getting the lunar module on the moon only requires the computing power of an Atari game console. Which they had.
The Apollo program used the first computer module. The hard part was making sure the radar altimeter worked properly.
The technology was crude by today’s standards but they worked. They also had gyroscopes to maintain stability. Sure they were huge by today’s standard but they worked.
Already proven on fighters and satellites.
If you go back 10 years then it would have increased the danger by at least 10 times or more. Because they really needed the computer. Without one, it’s eyeball landing. And they even practiced that just in case.
You can get a hold of the Apollo program documents. They literally documented everything. Including vibration testing on each individual bolt and screw. They knew what percent would fail and worked to make that close to zero.
What is concerning is that the Artemis program is ignoring all that. And they’re going to try and land a gigantic ship on the moon. The thing is 160 feet long.
The US and Japan tried landing on the moon with long tall objects and both fell over. The lunar soil is dusty and can easily cover a rock. if one leg lands on that, the SpaceX lander will fall over.
That is why all lunar modules that have successfully landed all use a wide base with a squat design. Even if you land on a rock on one leg, it will still be upright.
And they used hypergolic fuel. No need for ignition. Once the fuel mixed, it ignited. SpaceX is going to use normal rocket engines. And needs to land at least 4 more robot SpaceX cargo filled with fuel to refuel the lander to get off the moon.
A lot of untested tech that they are going to test on the moon and in orbit. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens. They’re doing the exact opposite of the Apollo program. Apollo tested everything to death. SpaceX, no need. They test while doing it.
Apocalypto and the Warning Signs of Societal Collapse (Film Analysis)
Who are some criminals you have the most respect for?
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Lyle and Erik Menendez.
These two brothers shot and killed both of their parents on August 20, 1989. Lyle was 21 years old and Erik was 18. They had killed entertainment executive José and Kitty, (his wife) in their home in Beverly Hills.
So far, they seem pretty deserving of a lifetime in prison, correct? But wait until you hear why they did this; they were scared shitless for their lives. Afraid of their own parents. Why?
Here’s a little bit of background on the two rich white kids:
Stuart Hart is an educational child psychologist and a professor emeritus at Indiana University, where he taught for 30 years. He also served as an expert defense witness in the trials of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez at their Beverly Hills home. At the time, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18.
In that case, the prosecution argued that the brothers had been motivated by greed, pointing to the lavish shopping they did after the killings. The defense said the prime motive was Sexual Abuse the young men suffered at their father’s hands.
After he began working on the case, Hart came to agree with the defense—when he took the stand, he argued strongly for the child-abuse defense. In 1996 Lyle and Erik Menendez were each sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but even today Hart views the homicides as a reaction to gross parental misconduct, rather than the work of cold, calculating killers.
TL;DR, these two dudes had their father sexually abuse and molest them all throughout their childhood, Lyle having gotten off the hook when he was about 13 years old but Erik continuously getting raped and sexually harassed by his own fucking father until he was 18.
Bullshit? I think not.
The consistency of the reporting of it, and the details of the reporting of it. And the consistency of those details. And the fact that this is humiliating.
You had an adolescent girl cousin who was saying that Lyle confided—not in terms of clearly stating what he was experiencing—but telling her he wanted to stay in her room.
There was another cousin who Erik reported to. And that would’ve been quite a risk for them: As young children—Lyle was about eight or so—anything that got back to his father was going to mean serious problems. So much reporting of sexual abuse is a case of somebody describing what happened to them with nobody observing them.
They had the proof, they had the witnesses, for these claims. At least, as much proof and evidence a person can get with this type of stuff.
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Just for an idea, look at the picture above. Why the ever-loving fuck is José holding Lyle by his crotch like that? Why not his stomach or some other body part?
The murder happened after Lyle had found out that Erik was still getting sexually abused by his father at 18. The events as told by Erik in a news report in the following Quotations:
“I remember it was Tuesday and I was coming in the front door of the house and mom and Lyle were coming out of the study and mom was screaming,” Erik explains, speaking from a phone inside the walls of Donovan Correctional Facility.
“They were in an argument and Lyle was saying that he needed it and it was important and mom in a rage said, ‘You don’t ned your effing hair piece!’ and she reached up and she ripped his hair off his head. I remember just being stunned by what happened.”
In old court testimony, Lyle explained that the alleged incident left him “completely embarrassed.” “[Erik] didn’t know I had a hair piece,” he said. “My brother and I, there are things we don’t talk about and that was one of them.”
“I told him not to worry about it, that he was my brother, that I loved him, basically saying I don’t judge you,” Erik continues, before detailing how the conversation then changed to another, darker topic.
“I asked him, ‘Do you remember when I was a kid, you asked me if anything was happening between me and dad?’ I said, ‘Lyle, it’s still happening,'” says Erik.
“He was like, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Still happening, just sexual things.’ He got suddenly really upset. Saying how could I let that happen, did I enjoy it, why didn’t I tell anyone, why didn’t I stop it. I was crying and I started having a small panic attack.”
Erik says his brother then asked if their mother knew about the abuse. “I said ‘no,’ [but] he said, ‘No, I think she does. I think mom knows.”
Lyle, in an effort to protect his younger brother approached and threatened José saying that, “You’re going to have to let him go; otherwise we’re going to tell.”
Their father shot back saying that they’d never dare and deeply regret it if they did. This got them paranoid that he was going to kill them in fear of ruining his perfect reputation, leading to them planning on the murder.
Time then comes and they do go through with the murder, killing both their parents. Personally, I think Kitty also deserved to die here. Along with fully knowing what was going on between them and their father and not doing anything to help, she also participated in her own form of sexual abuse.
Until he was 13, his mother would wash his body “everywhere,” he said. She also would invite him into bed with her and he would touch her “everywhere,” he testified.
“I took it to be love,” Lyle Menendez said, adding, “She was enjoying it.” But he was not enjoying it, he said, so he stopped the activities, which enraged her.
Throughout his adolescence, he said, she “harassed” him with increasingly bizarre sexual conduct.
Ew. How fucking disgusting. These people are sick, their kids didn’t ask for this. Killing their parents seemed like the only way out for them and honestly, I perfectly understand why.
There was a lot of evidence for them here. With witnesses testifying the boy’s claims and maids having said to have found child pornography magazines in José’s office to other people claiming to have been sexually harassed by him as well.
Though not many people were willing to risk ruining their reputations by testifying it in court, ultimately resulting in a lack of presented evidence as opposed to available evidence.
The first two trials they had were out of sync. The first jury declaring them innocent but faced backlash from the public who wanted them locked up for good. It was declared a mistrial and they restarted the entire case in front of the second jury, unfairly forbidding the mentions and evidence of sexual abuse as reasons to support their claims for self-defense.
Some people from the second jury later stated that if they had been told about the sexual abuse and the family history, they would have never placed them as guilty and resulted in giving them life without parole.
It’s pretty funny that the judge had to take an unfair route like that to actually win the case against the two. This also happened around the same time of the OJ Simpson case so it didn’t help either.
I sometimes wonder how different things would be right now if the Menendez brothers were the Menendez sisters instead.
Casserole Rye Bread
Casserole Rye Bread
Ingredients
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 cup warm water
2 envelopes dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rye flour
Instructions
Heat milk, sugar, salt and butter together and cool to lukewarm.
Measure warm water and dry yeast into a bowl. Stir until dissolved.
Stir in lukewarm milk mixture and flours. Beat until well blended (this is the secret to this bread).
Cover and let rise free from draft about 50 minutes or until double in bulk.
Stir batter down and beat vigorously about 30 seconds.
Turn into a well-greased 1 1/2 quart round bottom casserole. Brush carefully with milk and bake uncovered for about 1 hour at 375 degrees F.
Part IBefore in the beginning, there was NOTHING. Nothing but a whole lot of absolutely nothing. You couldn’t see NOTHING, because there was nothing to see. You couldn’t hear NOTHING, because there was nothing to hear. You couldn’t touch NOTHING because there was nothing to touch.One fine time out of nowhere, SOMETHING found time to come along —-zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. SOMETHING came along, looked here, looked there, looked everywhere and said, “I don’t see NOTHING, can’t hear nothing, there’s nothing here but a whole lot of nothing.”NOTHING didn’t say anything, NOTHING just listened to SOMETHING go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, talking about a whole lot of nothing.Then NOTHING got tired and said, “Hold it SOMETHING.”SOMETHING said, “Who’s that?”“It’s me, NOTHING, so you have nothing to fear in this atmosphere, I would just like to make it perfectly clear in your ear that I am also here.”SOMETHING was kind of scared. He couldn’t see NOTHING.Then NOTHING said, “Let me tell you something, SOMETHING, even though I’m Nothing, I am still something. In fact I’m the something that has you surrounded, I’m the something that is holding you up.”SOMETHING said, “Holding me up?”SOMETHING thought it was a stick-up and swung at NOTHING. Didn’t hit NOTHING because there was nothing to hit. SOMETHING swung at NOTHING, again. He swung again, missed, fell down, but didn’t fall on NOTHING. So the scuffle went on and on in the dark, SOMETHING swinging at NOTHING, SOMETHING swinging at NOTHING in triple darkness. And it went on and on and on until the darkness started to go away.Part IIAbout six- thirty in the morning NOTHING’S daughter, Dawn was looking at her mirror in the dark, SOMETHING snuck up on NOTHING, missed and hit NOTHING’S daughter Dawn. She dropped the mirror. The mirror cracked. That is where the crack of dawn came from.Part IIINOTHING also had two sons. One named Rise and one named Set. You could tell them apart because Set was always sitting down and Rise was always standing up next to Dawn.Dawn went over to Set and said, “Get up, Set, do something about SOMETHING. Us families are supposed to stick together.”Set looked up and said, “Don’t get me upset, Dawn.” Dawn said again a little louder, “Get up, Set.”“Don’t get me upset, Dawn.”“Get up, Set.”“I said, don’t get me upset, Dawn. Don’t get me upset.” “ I said get up Set.”Finally, Set got up. “Now you made me upset. I saw the whole thing. If you didn’t get in the way of SOMETHING, nothing would have happened. But I have a plan. You and Rise go to the East. I’ll go to the West and tomorrow evening we will meet and put something on SOMETHING from both sides. Now, get Rise, get on your mark and Go.”Set sat down and watched them go out of sight. “I fooled them,” he said to himself, “I don’t have to go anyplace. All I have to do is sit right here, Set laughed to himself, “I fooled them.”
So Set just sat there and it got darker and darker and darker. Set was scared, he couldn’t see SOMETHING or NOTHING. He just sat there in triple darkness.
Part IV
Then he looked out in the distance and it started getting lighter and lighter and he saw something coming toward him. Oh no! Oh no! It got closer and closer, and closer and closer and it was – Rise and Dawn.
NOTHING’S Son, Set regained his composure, cleared his throat – “uhrum” and said, “Where were you two yesterday?”
Dawn said, “Set, on our way here we decided to forgive and forget. Because in forgiveness there is healing, and we like the feeling, so we are going to be on our merry way.”
Set watched them go out of sight. And he said, “Well, I’m not forgiving and I’m not forgetting. I’m sitting right here in the West and this is where I’ll be sitting from now on. I’ll get even with SOMETHING all by myself.”
And ever since then, NOTHING’S son, Set has been setting in the West.
And that’s the truth about SOMETHING and about NOTHING.
And the moral of this story is: If you are going to do something about something, do it before the sun sets or you will get caught sitting on your ass-ets in the dark.
What is the most absurd thing you’ve been charged for on a bill?
I can think of two examples, both of which have soured me on them.
First was AT&T. I was living in Charlotte and had just gotten laid off. I was scrambling around town trying to find employment so I didn’t have to collect unemployment. The good part was I did find a contracting job that afternoon and would soon be hired, though the job didn’t pay much and lasted only 2 months.
I got home from an interview that afternoon and got my mail. First was a warning from Bellsouth (another company I despise) that I had an unusually high phone bill that month. I was concerned and then found my phone bill. $180!!!!!
I looked at the itemized bill and found the culprit. A third-party call from Valdosta, GA, to where I can only surmise was the USVI was on my bill. I thought, must be a mistake. I called Bellsouth and they referred me to AT&T, my long-distance provider.
The woman I talked to refused to admit the mistake. She actually doubled down, saying it happened so I must have agreed to it. I looked at the date. 2/13/1999. Not only was I not even at home for most of that day, but I was even further away from Valdosta than that, having been in that part of Georgia last in 1993. A supervisor said the same thing and refused to listen to me. I wound up having to eat the bill or risk going to collections.
When people ask me why I won’t get AT&T U-Verse, I tell them that story.
Second was an item the restaurant no longer carried, and it made an already unpleasant dining experience even worse.
My wife and I were downtown at an event, which made us take a late dinner. 7pm is late for us, but hardly an unreasonable time to eat. We decided to treat ourselves to a local restaurant in the area, one we had been to before without incident.
They gave us our menus. I ordered the short ribs and a salad. They brough out the salad pretty quickly. While I was eating, they came out (a half hour after I ordered) and said they no longer had short ribs, that the menu hadn’t been updated.
I got the menu and ordered something else. Okay, things happen, right?
Well in the meantime, a large party sat down and was promptly served. That would have been fine, except we were still waiting for our food. I talked to a manager who just brushed my complaints off. I almost walked out with my wife at that point, because it was approaching a 2 hour wait time (yes, 9PM!!!) after we had ordered, and the wait staff was ignoring us in favor of that large party.
The food finally came. It was not good, but I didn’t dare order something else so I ate it and waited for the bill. It was almost double what I was expecting to pay.. I hadn’t ordered anything that much more expensive so what was going on?
The itemized bill made it very clear. They had charged me for short ribs. You know, the thing they said they didn’t have any more. They took them off but no other recourse except a small dessert.
We have not been back, but my wife’s local woman’s club catered from them, and she told me the food was horrible
Vintage art
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What’s the most unforgivable statement made by your father-in-law?
I was undergoing IVF treatment as my husband has low sperm count. I, on the other hand was super – fertile and we had high hopes from the fertility treatment.
Soon we were called for transfer of fertilized eggs to my uterus. During this time, my in – laws came to visit us. We had not told them yet about the IVF, but since next day we had to visit the hospital, we confided to my mom – in – law. She was very happy and supportive and insisted that she will also come to the hospital. We both were very much okay with that. She is very helpful person and loves all her sons.
When my Dad – in – law came to know, he also started showing interest in coming to the hospital. He had lot of health issues – diabetic, heart ailment etc. I tried to tell him it’s uncomfortable for him as we don’t know how much time it will take. The hospital was quite far from our place and there were no decent restaurants in that area. Since we had already been there a few times, we knew this well. But, being an obnoxious person, he totally used his ‘dad’ card and got ready the next morning to come with us.
My husband was upset, but there was no time to argue, also he never listend to any reasonable request in his whole life. So we all went. As predicted it became quite late by the time the procedure was done. Even though we were all tired and hungry, the mood was happy as we – me, husband and his mom, were happy and hopeful after the procedure. Mom assured me that she will stay for at least 2–3 weeks as I was prescribed bedrest ( this is almost 16 years ago).
Meanwhile Father in law was cranky with hunger and also was not interested in staying so long, so he started getting a foul mood. He started grilling my husband about the IVF procedure – why it’s being done – it was very embarrassing for him. That too right in the restaurant. Then he asked, “How much did it cost ? “ My husband said ,” Rs.60,000/- “ Father -in -laws eyebrows shot up and he said , “ That’s too much ! “ Then he looked at me and said ,” I got mine for free !”
Oh my god, we were so angry to hear that ! I will never forget his face when he said those words.
But my mom -in – law had the perfect retort. She said ,” And that’s why you don’t respect them !”
Edit – Thanks for the support. Some of you have asked about the result of my IVF treatment – it was very much positive. I have 15 yr old twins – both are boys and they are fraternal twins.
Also some discussion was there about the treatment method that we selected.
I had already done two cycles of IUI. It was unsuccessful as my husband has asthenospermia. It means that sperms have reduce motility. So even though sperm count is good, the sperms cannot penetrate the egg.
The treatment I actually underwent was ICSI – a selective type of IVF, where a sperm is actually injected into an egg to bring about fertilisation.
The cost factor – it was highly reduced for me because I am a medical professional myself. The doctor voluntarily reduced the fees and took only lab and OT charges from us. My bro in law also had same issues and they had to undergo 3 cycles of ICSI and ended up spending almost Rs.2.5 lakh, 12 years ago.
John has something to say
John
What was the day that changed your life in a way you would never have expected when you woke up that morning?
A little over a year ago, on June 1, 2020, I woke up startled to hear my door pounding loudly. My girlfriend of just a few months was at the door and she looked like she had just rolled out of bed and run over to come get me (she had and she wasn’t wearing her shoes yet either). She told me that my mom and sisters had tried to get a hold of me but couldn’t because my phone was on silent, so they called her instead and that I needed to get dressed ASAP so we could go to the hospital. My father who had had a lot of health issues throughout his life but had always fought through it, had suddenly coded and the doctors managed to barely revive him long enough to put him into a medically induced coma.
We spent the rest of the day at the hospital saying our goodbyes and contacting our extended family members. My grandfather was in a care home at the time and my grandmother was also in the hospital being treated for a fall at home (they died 2 months apart later in the year) and my aunt, his only sibling, didn’t want to bother to drive down to Utah from Boise.
My mom got a lot of doctors opinions and he was given a lot of religious blessings that day and at the end of it all we decided to keep him alive to see if he would wake up. He was given a less than 5% chance of waking up, but he had beaten odds worse than that before and we all were sure he would pull out of it as he had in the past. My aunt ended up making the drive with one of my three cousins by the fourth day of his coma to help out because my mom was always at the hospital and since this was mid-COVID, they wouldn’t let anyone else in the room.
By the end of the week my mom had decided it wasn’t going to make sense to keep him in his coma and that we needed to turn off the machines, because he wasn’t improving in any way, and we didn’t have the income necessary to sustain it. We got extremely special permission from the hospital and were allowed to have 6 people in the room when we turned off the machines, and I would not wish that experience on anyone. I have nightmares that I won’t be able to talk about for years about that experience.
At the end of it all it took 5 more months and then my grandfather gave up the will to live and just passed away at the care home, followed 2 months later by my grandmother a week before Christmas. Currently, my family is locked in an extremely heated and horribly bitter lawsuit with my aunt over the inheritance from my grandparents estate and my family has fallen entirely apart.
My father passed away a year and 2 days ago as I’m typing this and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. If things had been different maybe we would still be a family and we would all still be at least talking to each other, but who knows.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant, sorry for bumming you out.
Salomar Barak groaned. The groan pulled her into consciousness. She opened her eyes, surveyed her surroundings, and almost cried. The freighter, her freighter, her beautiful Flaming Salomardorlay scattered about her, broken into hundreds of pieces. Held upside down by the safety webbing of her captain’s lounge, she looked over what remained of the cockpit.“Computer?”“Yes.”“You still work?” For a moment, Salomar dared to hope.“Not for long.”“What happened? Where are we?”“One, what happened? Unknown sound blast as we jumped.”“Energy blast? Sound? From who? From where? I don’t remember any ships in our gate.”“Records indicate blast from this ship.”“This ship? How?”“Two, where are we? Planet unknown. Not in my charts. Air is compatible for humans and other life forms. No time to discover if life is on planet, or what kind.”“Computer, is any of this ship salvageable?”“Negative”“The cargo?”“Unknown.”At first, the monotone voice of the computer was reassuring. As the gravity of the situation sunk in, Salomar wished for better news.“Damn! Of all the unknown, uncharted planets I had to pick for a crash, it had to be a water-world. How can anyone survive, breathing this wet air?” She listened, and heard none of her cargo call. She also heard no noises from the water indicating flesh eaters at a feast. Swallowing the pain of losing her ship, her savings, and her dreams, she cut the webbing of the Captain’s lounge and lowered herself into the water. Carefully, she picked her way through the flotsam and jetsam of what had once been the beautiful Flaming Salomardor. She allowed her tears to fall.The air, foul with a green fog that drifted aimlessly in layered tendrils, caressed her with inquisitive fingers. The water was warm, and where she stood, was shallow. And one or the other, or both, stunk of rotten eggs. The sunlight added an eerie glow. To the west, mountains loomed.“Warning! Warning! Warning! Fuel pod leak. Fuel pod leak. Warning!”“Frap! Just what I need. I can’t even stay at what’s left of the ship until rescue. Not that there’s much to stay at.“I’d best check the cargo before I take off. I doubt any of His Royal Majesty’s Pet Purple Birds survived, but on the chance one did….” The thought, muttered, trailed off into swallowing silence.Salomar waded to what remained of the cargo bay. Several broken eggs coagulated on the surface of the sea. Nine dead birds floated among them, dead parents guarding their equally dead children. “One bird missing–probably trapped under something. Well, I can’t stick around looking for it, even if it is a royal bird. A royal pain, if you ask me.” She slogged back to the cockpit and searched out her emergency kit. What she found was already waterlogged into mush and useless. The beacon was dry, and as long as it remained dry, would work. She hoped. She quickly stuffed a few rations not yet soaked into her ship-shirt pockets, along with a small signal light, and prayed the pocket seals would hold.
“Computer?”
“Warning! Warning! Warn….”
“Oh, shut up, will you? I know about the leak.” The computer did not shut up.
The action of her movements, the focus on what needed to be done dried her tears, but did not ease her pain. All her life she wanted to go to the stars. She saved every credit she could earn. She hired onto a freighter and gladly did whatever scut work she was assigned. Her own time she spent at the computer learning all she could about each and every job it took to run a ship, and how to pilot a ship through the void.
She applied for a job in hydraulics. No one liked hydraulics – literally, the ‘stink’ job on board. Accepted, she soon was in charge.
When she applied for communications, she was turned down. Too valuable in plumbing, they told her. Before they docked at the next port, she requested a meeting with the Captain. She told him her plan, to learn all the jobs necessary to run a freighter, showed him her transcripts from the training, and told him of her dream to own and pilot her own freighter. She also told him she would be looking for another ship when they docked, and would he please write a letter of recommendation for her.
By the time they docked, she worked split shifts between hydraulics and communications. It took 10 years to work her way through the ship and to save enough credits to venture out on her own. She was grateful her Captain had enough faith in her to help underwrite the Flaming Salomardor, and that he sent her what trade he could. He was probably her best, if not only, friend. Piloting a small freighter did not lend itself well to friendships. Let alone relationships.
With a sigh of resignation Salomar turned for one last look at what had been her home, her life’s work, her dreams. It was not easy to say a final good-bye to her freighter.
She hadn’t gone far before she realized she couldn’t hear the voice of the computer and it’s incessant warning. She was truly alone. Even the sound of her voice seemed swallowed by the eerie fog. The mountains, when visible, looked like abandoned black dragon scales stuck vertically in long dead and cold molten rock. Salomar saw no signs of life.
“I do believe, in the vids at least, this is where the monster rises from the sea to eat the maiden. Thank the gods I’m no longer a maiden.” Her attempt at humor failed to raise her spirits.
“Those mountains don’t look more than ten, maybe fifteen kilometers off, shouldn’t take too long to reach, unless I have to swim a good portion of it.” Alone, she began the long wade to the shore, humming a long forgotten nursery rhyme under her breath.
Salomar screamed. Heart pounding, knife drawn, she wheeled in a defensive crouch to face the monster attacking her back. “Oh. It’s you.” She looked into the face of the missing bird. Wading silently behind her, it pecked at her shoulder. “Well, guess we’d best see if any of your feed survived, then we need to get out of here. This water is creepy, and I smell the salt of a leaky fuel pod. Wouldn’t be nice to be here when the damn thing blows.” Salomar and the bird returned to the ship to search for the food. The computer still warned all who listened. Or didn’t listen.
The bird stood quietly and looked at the carnage of dead clutch-mates and broken eggs. Salomar could not see the mourning heart of the bird.
She found some dry seed and quickly jerry-rigged a pack from seed bags and rope to sling over the bird’s back. She took the beacon from her arm pocket and hung it around the bird’s neck. At almost three meters in height, there was a better chance of it staying dry on the bird, than in Salomar’s sleeve pocket. On their way out of the cargo area, she came across one of the silver and gold leads, meant only for the royal personages to handle, and fastened it on the jeweled harness worn by the bird. The jewels and cut metal reflected the green haze in laser sharp spears.
“Well, bird, anything as valuable as you must have a name, but damned if I know it. So I’ll just call you Bird, and you may call me Captain. Now, let’s head for those upended dragon scales that pass for mountains.
“With those bright red and purple feathers, you must be a male. It is the male isn’t it, that is the brighter colored? Perhaps I should call you Mister Bird.”
Bird stopped to look at her, first with his right eye, then with his left. Then he turned and continued walking.
“So, Mr. Bird, why does the Emperor want you? You appear too beautiful to be used as a beast of burden, even though circumstances beyond my control have unfortunately placed you in that capacity. And with the jeweled leads, you obviously aren’t meant for food. So, you must be a pet. A toy. Must be nice to be the Emperor’s toy. You’re too passive to be a guard bird. Or, maybe you were to be a present for the Empress? Ah, I bet that’s it, eh Mr. Bird?” Salomar prattled, just for the sound of a voice. On board the ship, she and Computer had carried on conversations, but here, in the shallow sea, she felt the aloneness.
The sun lowered until it seemed to balance precariously on the edge of the world. Through the ever-present mist, it appeared to rest there just a moment before tumbling into darkness.
There was no moon visible for this strange world. No stars shone through the mist. The mist glowed softly green, almost casting enough light for Salomar to see where they waded. She turned on her light; the mist threw it blindingly back at her. She turned the light off, and placed it back in the pack.
The only sound was the soft sloshing noises Salomar’s legs made cutting through the water, and her voice when she spoke. There were no jumpers from the water. No breakers to be heard crashing onto the shore. Bird made no noise at all.
The water, at its deepest had been to her waist, at its shallowest, to her knees. The water felt slimy, and began to eat her clothing. Her legs started to cramp.
Once full dark set in, Salomar noticed tiny lights darting in the water.
“Well, Mr. Bird, it appears we have company. I thought these waters were void of life, but there seems to be a great deal of life in them. I hope they don’t have a strong liking for human. Or bird. Let me know if they start to nibble on your legs. They seem to be staying away from mine.”
Bird ignored her and continued to walk. He made no effort to escape. He stayed with her; seemingly glad for the company, and the sound of a human voice. He walked next to her, matching her pace, rather than being led, or trying to lead.
Quiet, the bird focused on Salomar when she spoke, first with one eye, then with the other, as if absorbing every word, every nuance. When Salomar finished speaking, the bird would turn its head forward, and continue toward the westward mountains.
“You know, Mr. Bird, I thought you were the dumbest cargo I’d ever hauled. But I’ll be honest—you are fair company—a lousy conversationalist, but fair company. When we get off this forsaken planet, I shall personally ask His Royal Emperor Audubon the Eighth to see to it that you never lack for any of the comforts. And, by golly, if he’s willing, I just may petition him for you. Would you like that? Would you like flying about space in a proper ship hauling freight and taking time to see the sights? We’ll tour all the exotic planets. But no water planets, ok? Maybe even find you a mate. Then the three of us will see the Galaxy. How ‘bout that, Mr. Bird? Sound like fun?” Bird ignored her questions.
“Soda biscuits! I should be so lucky. With my luck, I’ll be tried for destroying His Royal Birds. I wonder who shot us, anyway. And why? And why just as we jumped? Are we getting any closer to those damn mountains? It’s hard to tell, in this slimy, foul mist.”
Salomar talked. It helped her remain awake. She put her arm about the bird, and used him for support, to relieve the cramps in her legs. Her voice slowed, then stopped. Asleep, she slid into the water and floated on her back. The bird walked, dragging her until brightness on the eastern horizon awakened her.
When she stood, what was left of her suit, floated off in shreds. She walked out of her left boot. A few steps later, her right boot stayed behind. Barefoot, she continued to wade. The pea gravel forced itself between her tender toes. The sun burned through the mist, blackened her skin. Still, the mountains seemed no closer.
“Y’know, bird. Ma was right, I’m thinking right about now. I shoulda stayed home, married some bloke, and had a passel of kids. But oh no, I had to do it myself. I had to go into space. I had to go into hock, too, but that’s not the point of this monologue. No, ‘bout now, I’m a wishin’ I’da stayed put—or at least not ventured past the freight station. I coulda worked there. That was in space, but closer to home. But, no….” Salomar spoke softly through cracked lips. There were breaths between words and many breaths between sentences.
Her sunburn blistered, cracked, oozed. She screamed with pain when she fell into the water. The seawater felt like acid on her burnt and cracked skin. Bird stood and watched, first with one eye, then with the other until she stood, and they continued their trek.
For the second night, the sun seemed to stop for a moment on the sharp edge of the mountains, as if deciding whether or not to plunge once more into darkness. For a second night, Salomar looked at the mountains, ever before her, yet never seeming nearer.
Her legs cramped. Her body burned. She stopped. Bird stopped. She slid into the water, and with a sharp intake of breath she stood, and shook herself. “Got to keep going. We’re almost there. ‘Most there.” The bird turned its attention from Salomar to the mountains, and trudged onward.
“Y’know, Mr. Bird, no one said hoppin’ freight around space would be easy, but by the gonads of St. Patrick, I surely thought it would be safer than the Navy. Those troop fight wars. About now, though, I wish I’da listened to Ma. Wonder how she is. A little late to worry ‘bout her, huh? Probably died years ago. But I wonder. She used to make the most wonderful spiced coffee in the Universe. Sure could do with a cup ‘bout now. Wonder if she ever forgave me for chasing my dream?”
Bird stopped, looked at her from each eye, and then resumed his walk.
The merciful embrace of fever clothed Salomar in the eerie glow of the mist. The mist thickened and twirled about her. She clung to the bird as dizziness swept through her. She pointed, excitement in her voice, “Mr. Bird, look—there’s Ma. There’s Ma! Ma? Did you come to save us? We have to take Bird, y’know. Yeah, we do.” The mist thinned, Ma dissolved, clarity returned to Salomar.
“Mr. Bird, we’d best get to land before long, or I won’t be worth much. I’m already hallucinating. Wonder when the rescue party will come? Hope it’s damned quick. There’s nothing in this water we can eat. I hope we can find something on the land. At least water. Ours is ‘bout gone.”
She opened the canteen, carried on bird’s back, and shared the remaining few drops. She deliberately replaced the empty canteen on the bird, “We’ll need it on land,” she explained to Bird.
Chills racked her body as they walked. “Ma,” she whined, “Ma, I’m cold. Please, Ma, bring me ‘nother blanket. I’ll be good. I’ll stay here, Ma, I won’t never leave you. Promise.”
Bird stopped, and watched Salomar carry on her conversation with her long deceased mother.
Salomar stopped. “Thank you, Ma. I’m all warm now.” Quietly, she raised her arms for a hug as she slid into the water. Bird watched. When Salomar did not scream, or stand again, Bird dropped the beacon into the sea then turned and climbed onto the rocks, shook the water from her wings and soared.
*Prepare my bed! The human is dead, as are my clutch-mates and the eggs of our young. I cannot hold my eggs much longer. Prepare my bed!*
‘Afa!It is Afa! She comes. Sing the chorus to Afa.‘ The golden male birds lifted their voices in praise and adulation. An escort soared from the cliffs to guide her to the nest awaiting her arrival.
Afa settled in her nest, drank nectar from the fruit of life, and began laying her eggs. When her five green eggs were in the nest, and she had slept a bit, one of the golden male choir relieved her of nest duty.
‘When Afa has rested enough, we would hear your story, and work it into song.‘
*Thank you, golden mate. I am somewhat rested. My clutch-mates and I almost didn’t make it. We were too far from the ship’s navigation system. At the last moment, we combined our efforts and sent a surge of song strong enough to avert the planned route. It is my eternal sadness that our burst also killed my clutch-mates. Our eggs died when we crashed into the Living Sea.
*The humans would have enslaved us for their enjoyment. They do not understand true royalty.*
The choir looked at one another, then at Afa. Finally, one dared to ask, ‘Afa, what are humans?‘
Joker Kills Murray – Ending Scene
Soft Baked Pretzels
homemade soft pretzels 9534
Ingredients
1 envelope dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour (maybe more)
1 beaten egg
Coarse salt (optional)
Instructions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water.
Add sugar and flour, and mix. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.
Let dough rise for 30 minutes.
Cut dough into 12 pieces. Roll pieces of dough into 16 inch ropes.
To make pretzels, curve ends of each rope to make a circle; cross ends at top. Twist ends once and lay down over bottom of circle. Spray cookie sheet with baking spray.
Arrange pretzels on sheet.
Brush on egg and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden.
homemade soft pretzels 9490
What is something you are surprised you survived as a child?
My sister recently found a cache of letters our mother had written to her mother. One of the letters, from early 1962 and written when I was 4, detailed the night she spent holding my little body as I was overcome with a high fever and suffered seizure after seizure after seizure through the night and into the morning.
The town was socked in by a rare snowstorm, my father was nowhere to be found, and she was home alone with me and my four siblings, who would have been 1, 3, 7 and 9. She kept feeding me aspirin and giving me sponge baths.
My tongue became so swollen she stuck her finger in my mouth to try to keep my airway open. Come the morning, my father finally showed up, my mother threw a blanket around me, left him with the rest of the kids, and rushed me to the hospital emergency room, where our family doctor was waiting for us at the door.
My temperature was 105.4 and my lungs were congested from viral pneumonia.
I was apparently so close to death that if she had had to wait just a couple of more hours, I wouldn’t have made it.
My mother spent a week with me at the hospital, not returning home until she could bring me with her.
Though I remember none of this, I was apparently the recipient of a large number of injections, 5 within the first 30 minutes, to the point that my behind reportedly became so sore that I couldn’t even sit on a toilet seat.
I became so terrified of and uncooperative with the nurses and doctors that I wouldn’t accept any oral medications or even food from them and my mother had to give them to me.
Two years after that, I spent another week in the hospital for tests and treatment for an apparent kidney disease that had me sleeping 12 hours a day.
So I guess I’m surprised I survived early childhood, in general. I didn’t get out unscathed, though. I’ve had a lifelong terror of needles and a pathological distrust of doctors.
As a mother myself, I’m glad I was the child in that experience and not the mother. I don’t know how she did that.
You will be alone most of the time. Not lonely, but alone. Try to understand the difference to avoid unnecessary suffering.
Happiness will not come easily as it came when you were young. You would have to work towards it. Discipline and sacrifice would be your best bet. Don’t get caught in the YOLO gimmick.
Life will get boring. Your mind will wander. Learn to control it before it starts controlling you.
Your best friend might no longer be your best friend. Your ex would have already moved on. You will struggle. But it will imbue you with lots of wisdom. So don’t curse yourself.
You’ll realise in retrospect that very few people really loved you whilst others just wanted something out of you.
Memories are not always good. More than often, they induce unncecesary fear, anxiety and mood swings.
Time starts becoming the most valuable commodity. It will treat you like shit if you treat it cheaply.
Whether you like it or not, people will talk behind you. Sometimes it would be the people whom you trusted the most. Learn to ignore them.
You’ll run down the guilt-valley more often than before. You will do things which you know is not good for you but will anyways end up doing it. You will invariably be distracted by foul things. This is your mind conquering your weak spot. Like I said, discipline can save you.
You’ll realize that success is not that easy after all. It’s that difficult. You would be tempted to give up on your dreams and live an average life. Don’t.
Things will go wrong. Personally and professionally. The unexpected will happen. There won’t be any reason/person to blame on. Your faith in humanity will plummet all of a sudden. But hey, don’t give up. Move on.
You will soon start noticing your parents are getting old, your best friend is suffering from illness or money constrait. You realize how much time you’ve wasted playing the ego game. So don’t wait. Make that phone call now.
Most of the times, you’ll experience fear for no reason. When things are going good, you’ll dread on ‘what if this happiness goes away?’. When things are not going good, you’ll still dread on what’s going to happen next.
You’ll get your heart broken multiple times. And you’ll have to break a couple of hearts yourself. That’s life. There no right and wrong here.
There are no good people/bad people. You’ll have to come out of this cynical mind-set. There are only people who bring you pleasantness and unplesantness. Remember, people who bring unplesantness to you might bring pleasantness to someone else.
You’ll realize that multi-tasking is not beneficial. You start focusing on one big goal/day rather than 10 small goals/day. You’ll learn to differentiate between being productive and being busy.
You’ll learn that not all emotions you experience are genuine. More than half of them are mere mind-games. Learn to distinguish to avoid bouts of depression.
You’ll be forced to change your attitude towards failures because you’ll have more failures than success. You will no longer react to events, but will eventually respond to it. Reacting will get you into more trouble. Responding will move you towards a solution.
You’ll realise that you can’t be friends with everyone. And you don’t have to be. Accept this fact sooner than later.
You’ll realise that earning respect is more difficult than earning money. And it’s the respect that would eventually make you feel proud about yourself in life.
“TO TARGET ALL OF BRICS’s COUNTRIES”, THE COLLECTIVE WEST PLAN.
Lordy! She is absolutely right!
To psychologists and psychiatrists: have you had a patient you really feared? Why?
I would like to be anonymous to answer your question.
I am a psychiatrist and I was in duty to give counseling and figure out any mental problems to the prisoners of Singapore.
I’ve met a lot of people but only one pops out in my mind when I read your question.
He was a boy, barely 15.
When I was looking at his medical chart, he was surprisingly a very bright kid, with an IQ level of 140.
But, he was arrested by police when his own parents lodged a complaint; they feared their own child might kill them.
He had his own way dealing with his life: he showed no emotions, nor answered any of my questions.
But, the one thing scares me the most was when I look through the CCTV, it seemed his body reacted with time; like some sort of a timetable.
He only went to the washroom at 2pm, 6pm and 9pm; and, slept exactly at 10pm.
Just before I retire, I revisit him back and had the chills for lifetime when he told me this, ‘when you were observing me, I too, was observing you. I figured you out, but you had no clue about me.’
Edit:
For those who asked in detail about this case, This is a situation I handled back in 2009. So, by right, he would be turning 22 this year. This boy was in prison 3 months before I was given in charge of his case which is around October 2009.
His parents lodged a complaint that goes like this, ‘finding him in their bedroom, holding a knife, staring at them while they’re asleep.”
However, this kid never once, caused harm to his parents or anyone else, but they were concerned with his behavior particularly in school; he disliked arts, and girls for some reason. He killed a cat because it was purring when he attempted a math question. There is no strange history or environment or any issues regarding his upbringing.
One notable feature of his; he is ambidextrous and he have no friends. He is somehow very observant, quiet and highly manipulative. I concluded him as a psychopath in my final report. And yes, I visited him for the last time in 2012. And I still wonder, what is really going on his head.
As a teacher, what is the saddest experience you’ve had while on the job?
I had a 22 year old student with a high school diploma struggling in my class. I stayed after every day to offer tutoring for my students. He walks in and notices he is the only one there, asks me if he can close the door to talk to me privately.
He closed the door walked to my desk with his head down, looked up at me with tears in his eyes and told me he couldn’t read.
I’m dumbfounded, he graduated from high school and can’t read?
He was a gifted football player, was passed in his classes so he could play. No worries for his future just a winning ball team.
I decided we would start with the very basics, he struggled to sound words out and I was at a loss. We worked for a month. Finally I figured out he had dyslexia when I had him copy a paragraph from the book we were working on.
I got us an appointment with the campus director, we went in and he sat there next to me mortified with tears running down his face. I told the campus director what was going on, that I think he is dyslexic and that is why he is having trouble learning to read.
We got him in for the specialized testing and he was diagnosed with dyslexia. We had to put him on a leave so he could go to special classes to learn how to read.
I had him the next year in my class again. He was a changed man, held his head up, and was at the top of the class. He pulled me aside to thank me for being the first teacher to care that he actually learned.
This was the saddest and turned into the happiest situations I had.
this is exactly how America will f!nish you
What are the craziest objects that you’ve seen TSA workers remove from someone’s bag to be confiscated?
A guy tried to take a big bottle of shampoo in his carry-on. The TSA guy told him to either throw it away or exit the line and check his luggage. The guy went on about how expensive the shampoo was and how he’d miss his flight if he exited. The TSA guy didn’t care. The guy then said, “Well… at least keep it so that somebody gets some use out of it.” TSA guy said, sorry, he couldn’t do it.
Another time, a woman in front of me got busted with several jars of jam. The TSA guy told her the same thing the other TSA agent told the shampoo guy. Either pitch it or else exit the line and check it in. “But you don’t understand. It’s JAM. It’s prize winning jam! Open up a jar and take a taste!” The TSA guy declined to eat the jam. The woman, now in tears, threw away her prize winning jam.
Not a confiscation, but while checking into Australia. Some of us were chosen to have our luggage searched. The guy in front of me had a suitcase full of porn. The Australian Border Force Officers didn’t bat an eye, didn’t smirk, didn’t say a word, just rifled through his suitcase looking for who-knows-what. The passenger turned nine shades of red. After their search, they packed it all back up and returned it to him.
This last one/best one I remember was a couple decades ago pre-TSA, but a couple in front of me were being searched by a very young Customs agent. He was going through the wife’s suitcase and pulled out an applicator tampon and held it up in the air: “Aha! What’s this?” Another Customs agent looking on immediately turned and stepped away. The husband yelled over to his wife: “Marge! Get over here and declare your Kotex before we end up in prison!” By now, the young guy realized his mistake and, now horrified, ushered them through as fast as humanly possible.
Pick A Side And Fight For It, Keep Your Head Down, Or Flee
Founder, CIO Mentor, and Member of the Bridgewater Board
Published Jun 25, 2024
As you know, based on my study of history, I believe there are now and have always been five big, interrelated forces that drive how domestic and world orders change. They are the 1) the big debt/credit/money cycle, 2) the big internal order/disorder cycle 3) the big external order/disorder cycle, 4) acts of nature (i.e., droughts, floods, and pandemics), and 5) human innovation that leads to advances in technology. Today, I am focusing on why I believe we are approaching the point in the internal order-disorder cycle when you will have to choose between picking a side and fighting for it, keeping your head down, or fleeing.
Pick a Side and Fight for It, Keep Your Head Down, or Flee
I believe we now have to face the fact that fighting for democracy as we know it—with thoughtful disagreement and compromises governed by rule of law—is unlikely to work. People like me who had a long shot hope for the emergence of a strong middle that fights against the extremists to bring the country together and makes major reforms to improve the system must recognize that the differences are becoming too irreconcilable for this to happen.
Based on the lessons I learned from studying history about how things typically transpire under similar circumstances, I believe that what we are now seeing is the parties increasingly moving to greater extremism and a fight-to-win at all cost mode. This is threatening the rule of law as we know it and is bringing us closer to some form of civil war. (As I will explain below, this is not necessarily a violent conflict, though that is possible).
When I wrote my book, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, which looked at the rises and declines of domestic and world orders over the last 500 years, I chronicled the six stages of the “big internal order cycle,” their symptoms, and the cause-effect relationships that drive them. Just like life cycles, these stages are logical and everyone goes through them, typically about once in a lifetime. Toward the end of the cycle, which is where all the signs and symptoms show us to be today, people typically face a choice between fighting for one side or another, keeping their heads down, or fleeing.
When I wrote the book in 2020, I saw the writing on the wall but had hoped for the possibility that we would not cross the brink into a type of civil war, so I estimated the chance of that as about 1 in 3. At the time, this was considered a crazy high estimate (this was before the 2020 election being contested and the January 6th incident). Now I think the risk of some form of civil war is uncomfortably more than 50 percent, and I am confident that in the next year we will know the answer to whether we will cross the brink.
In a Nutshell How It Works
Domestically in the US there are two political sides which are also each divided in two: 1) the right side (i.e., the red Republican team), which is divided into the hard right and the moderate right, and 2) the left (the blue Democratic team), which is divided into the hard left and the moderate left. Throughout history, in the later stages of the cycle of internal order and disorder, both sides become increasingly “hard” (extreme) for logical reasons. This is the part of the cycle that we are in. Classically, at this stage, wealth and values gaps are large, people have lost faith that the system will get them what they want, and the hard right and the hard left become increasingly committed to winning for their constituents at all costs, which eventually means abandoning the rules of the game and the judges and just fighting. In the current case and classically, the sides become unwilling to compromise as compromising is perceived as being weak and people are forced to either pick a side and fight for it, keep their heads down, or flee. You should be prepared to make that choice.
To make the decision only a bit more extreme than it currently is, in looking at these two sides, if you had to choose between a fascist government and a communist government, which would you choose? If you are not knowledgeable about what fascism is (a dictatorship of the hard right) and what communism really is (a dictatorship of the hard left), I urge you to get schooled because if you have to make choices, it’s important to really understand them.
The Case at Hand
Most importantly, there are now big irreconcilable differences that are producing win-at-all cost perspectives that are undermining the willingness to accept the judgements of the legal system. That is very relevant to nearly all decision making—most importantly to legal and political decision making in and beyond the election. We should acknowledge and worry about what’s going on and think about its implications. For example, we should pay attention to Maureen Dowd of the New York Times saying that the Supreme Court is “corrupt, rotten, and hurting America” and the numerous other similar attacks on the system. This is only one of a chorus of such comments. Comments like these beg questions such as 1) what is the definition of corruption, 2) if it is corruption, why don’t those who are corrupt get prosecuted and convicted, and 3) if the judicial system and the judges don’t make these decisions, how will they be made? Nowadays “corrupt” seems to mean what those on the other side of the political divide decide is corrupt. It is obvious to me that if people don’t rely on the judicial system to make unbiased decisions, decisions will instead be made by revolutionaries on both sides fighting it out. This of course is very relevant to the upcoming election, so let’s play out how that will likely go.
It seems to me that if Biden wins, it is likely that Trump and those on the hard right who he represents won’t accept the leadership of Biden and the Democratic Party, and that if Trump wins, those on the hard left won’t accept Trump’s leadership and tactics. What happens next depends on the strength of the legal system, with those on each side seemingly more willing to fight its judgments than abide by them if they don’t get what they want. For these reasons, it seems to me that there is a higher than 50 percent chance that democracy as we know it won’t run smoothly through the election and beyond, and that the still most popular view that everyone will abide by the votes and the rules (i.e., if we have ABC votes for president, senators, and congressmen, we will have XYZ policies enacted as a function of the system operating as it has operated) won’t prove true.
While it is now commonly believed that Trump Republicans are the greater extremists and the Democrats will be moderate, based on how things have transpired in history and what I see today, I’m not so sure. I think it’s more likely that both sides will be more extreme than is commonly believed. Given that it is doubtful that President Biden will remain president through his next term, we don’t know what part of the Democratic Party will win out in leading its agenda. While there are moderate leaders in the Democratic Party (i.e., Hakeem Jeffries, Gretchen Whitmer, and Josh Shapiro), those of the hard left (i.e., Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and AOC) have largely gone quiet, knowing that they would scare away moderate voters so it’s better for them to bide their time while they are pushing their hard left agenda behind the scenes. President Biden’s appointment of Lina Khan, a political activist of the left, to head the FTC is an example of the current administration using appointments the way Trump is making clear he will have his political appointees use their positions to pursue a hard-left agenda. In the recent past, leading Democrats have also expressed support for rule changes that would swing power their way (i.e., making Puerto Rico and Washington DC states so they could get control of the Senate, adding to the number of Supreme Court justices to get control of it, removing of the filibuster, etc.) Given all of this, I’m not so sure that hard left Democrats are out of the picture or are above using their government powers to achieve their political agenda any more than I believe that hard right Republicans are above doing that.
For all these reasons, it appears to me that we are probably headed toward an existential battle of the hard right against the hard left in which you will have to pick a side and fight for it, or keep your head down, or flee.
By flee, I think that will mostly be from one state to another and we will see increased emphasis on state rights rather than the central government being dominant. A clash between state governments and a fractured central government appears likely, which I would regard as a type of civil war even if not violent. If things get bad enough, some Americans will flee to other countries and foreigners will choose not to be here. Such disorder would also not be good for rule-of-law and our capital markets.
From studying history, I have seen these sorts of civil wars happen many times before—in the French, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Cuban and several other cases—so that the sequence of how this cycle typically transpires is clear and appears applicable to what is happening now in the United States (and in several other countries in varying degrees). For those who are interested, I have copied the section from Chapter Five (“The Big Cycle of Internal Order/Disorder”) of my book which the describes Stage Five (the pre-civil war stage that I believe we are in) and Stage Six (the civil war stage that I believe that we are in the brink of) of the internal order cycle. To be clear, I am not saying that we will certainly cross the brink into civil war—I am saying that there is a much higher probability of some type of civil war (including a non-violent one) than is commonly believed.
By the way, what I described here is about domestic conflict. A similar sort of conflict is happening internationally—i.e., there is a classic great power conflict with the two big sides internationally being the China-Russia side and the US -G7-Australia side and regional conflicts are being sorted out by nations in alliances with these two big sides. But that is a subject for another day. Let’s now focus on how the internal conflict dynamic typically works and apply that template to what’s happening to internal politics with this excerpt from Chapter Five of Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order.
Stage 5: When There Are Bad Financial Conditions and Intense Conflict
The most important influence that transpires in a Big Cycle is that of debt, money, and economic activity. Because I covered that cycle comprehensively in Chapters 3 and 4, I won’t explain it here in detail. But to understand Stage 5, you need to know that it follows Stage 3, in which there is peace and prosperity and favorable debt and credit conditions, and Stage 4, in which excess and decadence begin to bring about worse conditions. This process culminates in the most difficult and painful stage—Stage 6—when the entity runs out of money and there is typically terrible conflict in the form of revolution or civil war. Stage 5 is the period during which the interclass tensions that go along with worsening financial conditions come to a head. How different leaders, policy makers, and groups of people deal with conflict has a major impact on whether the country will undergo the needed changes peacefully or violently.
You can see signs of this happening now in a number of countries. Those that have adequate financial conditions (i.e., have incomes that are greater than their expenses and assets that are greater than their liabilities) are in relatively good shape. Those that do not are in relatively bad shape. They want money from the others. The problem is that there are many more who are in bad shape relative to those that are in good shape.
You can also see that these different conditions are big drivers of the differences in what is now happening to most aspects of these countries, states, cities, companies, and people—e.g., their education, healthcare, infrastructure, and well-being. You can also see big cultural differences in how countries approach their stressful conditions, with some approaching them more harmoniously than others who are more inclined to fight.
Because Stage 5 is such a pivotal stage in the internal cycle and because it’s the stage that many countries, most importantly the US, are now in, I will devote some time to going through the cause/effect relationships at play during it and the key indicators to watch in examining its progression. Then I will turn more specifically to where the United States stands.
The Classic Toxic Mix
The classic toxic mix of forces that brings about big internal conflicts consists of 1) the country and the people in the country (or state or city) being in bad financial shape (e.g., having big debt and non-debt obligations), 2) large income, wealth, and values gaps within that entity, and 3) a severe negative economic shock.
That confluence typically brings about disorder, conflict, and sometimes civil wars. The economic shock can come about for many reasons, including financial bubbles that burst, acts of nature (such as pandemics, droughts, and floods), and wars. It creates a financial stress test. The financial conditions (as measured by incomes relative to expenses and assets relative to liabilities) that exist at the time of the stress test are the shock absorbers. The sizes of the gaps in incomes, wealth, and values are the degrees of fragility of the system. When the financial problems occur, they typically first hit the private sector and then the public sector. Because governments will never let the private sector’s financial problems sink the entire system, it is the government’s financial condition that matters most. When the government runs out of buying power, there is a collapse. But on the way to a collapse there is a lot of fighting for money and political power.
From studying 50-plus civil wars and revolutions, it became clear that the single most reliable leading indicator of civil war or revolution is bankrupt government finances combined with big wealth gaps. That is because when the government lacks financial power, it can’t financially save those entities in the private sector that the government needs to save to keep the system running (as most governments, led by the United States, did at the end of 2008), it can’t buy what it needs, and it can’t pay people to do what it needs them to do. It is out of power.
A classic marker of being in Stage 5 and a leading indicator of the loss of borrowing and spending power, which is one of the triggers for going into Stage 6, is that the government has large deficits that are creating more debt to be sold than buyers other than the government’s own central bank are willing to buy. That leading indicator is turned on when governments that can’t print money have to raise taxes and cut spending, or when those that can print money print a lot of it and buy a lot of government debt. To be more specific, when the government runs out of money (by running a big deficit, having large debts, and not having access to adequate credit), it has limited options. It can either raise taxes and cut spending a lot or print a lot of money, which depreciates its value. Those governments that have the option to print money always do so because that is the much less painful path, but it leads investors to run out of the money and debt that is being printed. Those governments that can’t print money have to raise taxes and cut spending, which drives those with money to run out of the country (or state or city) because paying more taxes and losing services is intolerable. If these entities that can’t print money have large wealth gaps among their constituents, these moves typically lead to some form of civil war/revolution.
At the time of this writing, this late-cycle debt dynamic is now playing out in the United States at both the state and federal levels, with the main difference between them being that state governments can’t print money to pay their debts while the federal government can. The federal government and many state and city governments have large deficits, large debts, and large wealth gaps, and the central bank (the Federal Reserve) has the power to print money. So, at the time of this writing, the central bank is printing a lot of money and buying a lot of federal government debt, which finances the government spending that is much bigger than the federal government’s intake. That has helped the federal government and those it is trying to help, though it has also cost those who are holding dollars and dollar debt a lot in real purchasing power.
Those places (cities, states, and countries) that have the largest wealth gaps, the largest debts, and the worst declines in incomes are most likely to have the greatest conflicts. Interestingly, those states and cities in the US that have the highest per capita income and wealth levels tend to be the states and cities that are the most indebted and have the largest wealth gaps—e.g., cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City and states like Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey.
Facing these conditions, expenditures have to be cut or more money has to be raised in some way. The next question becomes who will pay to fix them, the “haves” or the “have-nots”? Obviously, it can’t be the have-nots. Expenditure cuts are most intolerable for those who are poorest, so there needs to be more taxation of people who can afford to pay more and there is a heightened risk of some form of civil war or revolution. But when the haves realize that they will be taxed to pay for debt service and to reduce the deficits, they typically leave, causing the hollowing-out process. This is currently motivating movements from some states to others in the US. If bad economic conditions occur, that hastens the process. These circumstances largely drive the tax cycle.
History shows that raising taxes and cutting spending when there are large wealth gaps and bad economic conditions, more than anything else, has been a leading indicator of civil wars or revolutions of some type.
To be clear, they don’t have to be violent, though they can be. I see these cycles transpiring in my personal interactions. For example, I live in the state of Connecticut, which has the highest per capita income in the country, the largest wealth gap and income gap in the country, and one of the largest per capita debt and unfunded pension obligations in the country. I see how the haves and the have-nots are focused on their own lives and spend little time worrying about the other because they don’t have much contact. I have windows into what the lives of both the haves and the have-nots are like because I have contact with the people in our community of haves and because the work my wife does to help disengaged and disconnected high school students in disadvantaged communities brings her into contact with people who live in the communities of the have-nots. I see how terrible the conditions are in those have-not communities and how the haves (who appear rich and decadent to the have-nots) don’t feel rich. I see how they are all focused on their own struggles—with the haves struggling with work/life balance, making sure their kids are well-educated, etc., and the have-nots struggling with finding income, food security, avoiding violence, trying to get their kids a quality education, etc.
I see how both groups are more likely to have critical, stereotypical impressions of each other that make them more inclined to dislike each other than to view themselves empathetically as members of one community in which they should help each other. I see how difficult it can be to help each other because of these stereotypes and because the haves don’t feel that they have more than enough or that the have-nots deserve their financial support, and I fear what the future might hold because of the existing circumstances and how they are likely to worsen. I have seen close up how COVID-inflicted health and budget shocks have brought to the surface the terrible conditions of the have-nots and are worsening the financial gaps that could bring about the classic toxic mix dynamic.
Averages don’t matter as much as the number of people who are suffering and their power.
Those who favor policies that are good for the whole—e.g., free trade, globalization, advances in technology that replace people—without thinking about what happens if the whole is not divided in a way that benefits most people are missing the fact that the whole is at risk.
To have peace and prosperity, a society must have productivity that benefits most people. Do you think we have this today?
What does history show as the path that bankrupt governments can follow to raise productivity that benefits most people? It shows that restructuring and/or devaluing enough of the previously created debt and non-debt obligations helps a lot. That is classic in Stages 5 and 6. Once the restructuring or devaluation reduces the debt burdens, which is typically painful at the time, the reduced debt burdens allow for a rebuilding.
An essential ingredient for success is that the debt and money that are created are used to produce productivity gains and favorable returns on investment, rather than just being given away without yielding productivity and income gains. If it is given away without yielding these gains, the money will be devalued to the point that I won’t leave the government or anyone else with much buying power.
History shows that lending and spending on items that produce broad-based productivity gains and returns on investment that exceed the borrowing costs result in living standards rising with debts being paid off, so these are good policies.
If the amount of money being lent to finance the debt is inadequate, it is perfectly fine for the central bank to print the money and be the lender of last resort as long as the money is invested to have a return that is large enough to service the debt. History shows and logic dictates that investing well in education at all levels (including job training), infrastructure, and research that yields productive discoveries works very well. For example, big education and infrastructure programs have paid off nearly all the time (e.g., in the Tang Dynasty and many other Chinese dynasties, in the Roman Empire, in the Umayyad Caliphate, in the Mughal Empire in India, in Japan’s Meiji Restoration, and in China’s educational development programs over the last couple of decades), though they have long lead times. In fact, improvements in education and infrastructure, even those financed by debt, were essential ingredients behind the rises of virtually all empires, and declines in the quality of these investments were almost always ingredients behind empires’ declines. If done well, these interventions can more than counterbalance the classic toxic mix.
The classic toxic mix is usually accompanied by other problems. The more of the following conditions that are in place, the higher the probability of having a severe conflict like a civil war or revolution.
Decadence
While early in the cycle there is typically more spending of time and money on productive things, later in the cycle time and money go more toward indulgent things (e.g., the finer things, like expensive residences, art, jewelry, and clothes).
This begins in Stage 4 when such spending is fashionable, but by Stage 5 it begins to appear grotesque.
Often, that decadent spending is debt-financed, which worsens the financial conditions. The change in psychology that typically goes along with these changes is understandable. The haves feel that they have earned their money so they can spend it on luxuries if they like, while the have-nots view such spending at the same time they are suffering as unfair and selfish. Besides increasing resentments, decadent spending (as distinct from saving and investing) reduces productivity.
What a society spends money on matters. When it spends on investment items that yield productivity and income gains, it makes for a better future than when it spends on consumption items that don’t raise productivity and income.
Bureaucracy
While early in the internal order cycle bureaucracy is low, it is high late in the cycle, which makes sensible and necessary decision making more difficult.
That is because things tend to get more complex as they develop until they reach the point where even obviously good things can’t be done—necessitating revolutionary changes. In a legal and contract-based system (which has many benefits), this can become a problem because the law can stand in the way of doing obviously good things. I will give you an example that I’m close to because my wife and I care about it.
Because the US Constitution doesn’t make education a federal government responsibility, it has predominantly been a state and local responsibility with school funding coming from revenue raised by local taxes in cities and towns. Though it varies from state to state, typically those children in richer towns in richer states receive a much better education than those in poorer towns in poorer states. This is obviously unfair and unproductive even though most people agree that children should have equal opportunities in education. But because this structure is so ingrained in our political system, it is nearly impossible to fix without a revolutionary reinvention of how we approach it. There are more examples of the bureaucracy standing in the way of doing sensible, productive things than I have time and space to convey here. It is now a big problem in America.
Populism and Extremism
Out of disorder and discontent come leaders who have strong personalities, are anti-elitist, and claim to fight for the common man. They are called populists. Populism is a political and social phenomenon that appeals to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are not being addressed by the elites. It typically develops when there are wealth and opportunity gaps, perceived cultural threats from those with different values both inside and outside the country, and “establishment elites” in positions of power who are not working effectively for most people. Populists come into power when these conditions create anger among ordinary people who want those with political power to be fighters for them. Populists can be of the right or of the left, are much more extreme than moderates, and tend to appeal to the emotions of ordinary people. They are typically confrontational rather than collaborative and exclusive rather than inclusive. This leads to a lot of fighting between populists of the left and populists of the right over irreconcilable differences. The extremity of the revolution that occurs under them varies. For example, in the 1930s, populism of the left took the form of communism and that of the right took the form of fascism while nonviolent revolutionary changes took place in the US and the UK. More recently, in the United States, the election of Donald Trump in 2016 was a move to populism of the right while the popularity of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reflects the popularity of populism of the left. There are increased political movements toward populism in a number of countries. It could be said that the election of Joe Biden reflects a desire for less extremism and more moderation, though time will tell.
Watch populism and polarization as markers. The more that populism and polarization exist, the further along a nation is in Stage 5, and the closer it is to civil war and revolution. In Stage 5, moderates become the minority. In Stage 6, they cease to exist.
Class Warfare
In Stage 5, class warfare intensifies. That is because, as a rule, l during times of increased hardship and conflict there is an increased inclination to look at people in stereotypical ways as members of one or more classes and to look at these classes as either being enemies or allies. In Stage 5, this begins to become much more apparent. In Stage 6, it becomes dangerous.
A classic marker in Stage 5 that increases in Stage 6 is the demonization of those in other classes, which typically produces one or more scapegoat classes who are commonly believed to be the source of the problems. This leads to a drive to exclude, imprison, or destroy them, which happens in Stage 6. Ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups are often demonized. The most classic, horrific example of this comes from the Nazi’s treatment of Jews, who were blamed and persecuted for virtually all of Germany’s problems. Chinese minorities living in non-Chinese countries have been demonized and scapegoated during periods of economic and social stress. In the UK, Catholics were demonized and scapegoated in numerous stressful periods, such as the Glorious Revolution and the English Civil War. Rich capitalists are commonly demonized, especially those who are viewed to be making their money at the expense of the poor. Demonizing and scapegoating are a classic symptom and problem that we must keep an eye on.
The Loss of Truth in the Public Domain
Not knowing what is true because of distortions in the media and propaganda increases as people become more polarized, emotional, and politically motivated.
In Stage 5, those who are fighting typically work with those in the media to manipulate people’s emotions to gain support and to destroy the opposition. In other words, media folks of the left join with others of the left and media folks of the right join with others of the right in the dirty fight. The media goes wild like vigilantes: people are commonly attacked and essentially tried and found guilty in the media, and they have their lives ruined without a judge and jury. A common move among 1930s populists of the left (communists) and of the right (fascists) was to take control of the media and establish “ministers of propaganda” to guide them. The media they produced was explicitly aimed at turning the population against the groups that the governments considered “enemies of the state.” The government of the democratically run United Kingdom created a “Ministry of Information” during World War I and World War II to spread government propaganda, and leading newspaper publishers were elevated by the government if they did what the government wanted them to do to win the propaganda war or were vilified and suffered if they didn’t cooperate. Revolutionaries did the same distorting of the truth in all sorts of publications. During the French Revolution, newspapers run by revolutionaries pushed anti-monarchist and anti-religious sentiment, but when those revolutionaries attained power, they shut down dissenting newspapers during the Reign of Terror. During times of great wealth gaps and populist thinking, stories that bring down elites are popular and lucrative, especially those that bring down left-leaning elites in right-leaning media outlets and those that bring downright-leaning elites in left-leaning media outlets. History shows that significant increases in these activities are a problem that is typical of Stage 5, and that when combined with the ability to inflict other punishments, the media becomes a powerful weapon.
It is well-recognized this is happening at the time of this writing. The perceived truth in media, both traditional and social, is lower than at any other time in our lifetimes. For example, a 2019 Gallup poll found that only 13 percent of Americans surveyed have “a great deal” of trust in the media and only 41 percent of those surveyed have either a “fair” or “great deal” of trust in the media. That compares with 72 percent who trusted the media in 1976. This is not just a fringe media problem; it is a mainstream media problem and a problem for our whole society. The dramatically decreased trustworthiness has even plagued former icons of journalistic trust such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, which have seen their trust ratings plunge. In addition to being politically motivated, sensationalistic stories have become commercially rewarding at a time when the media business is in financial trouble. Most of the media folks I speak with share my concerns, though they typically won’t share them openly. Still, in reflecting on the problem, Martin Baron, then executive editor of The Washington Post, said, “If you have a society where people can’t agree on the basic facts, how do you have a functioning democracy?” This dynamic is impeding free speech since people are afraid to speak up because of how they will be attacked in both traditional and social media by distortions that are meant to bring them down.
Even very capable and powerful people are now too afraid of the media to speak up about important matters or run for public office. Since most high-profile people are torn down, most everyone I speak with agrees that it is dangerous to be a high-profile, vocal person who fights for truth and justice, especially if one offends people who are inclined to use the media to fight. Though not discussed in public because of fears of media reprisals, this issue is continuously discussed in private. For example, during a lunch I had not long ago with a general who had held a very high political position and had just left government service, we explored what he would do next. I asked him what he was most passionate about. He said, “Of course helping my country.” I asked him whether he would consider running for elected office, and he explained that while he was willing to die for his country he couldn’t bring himself to run for public office because of how enemies would use the media and social media to make up lies to harm him and his family. This general and almost everyone I know who we should listen to are afraid to speak openly because they fear that attacks by extremists who oppose them will be enabled and amplified by the sensationalistic media. Many of my friends tell me that I’m crazy to speak so openly about controversial things such as those covered in this book because it is inevitable that some people or groups will try to take me down via the media. I think they are probably right, but I won’t let the risks dissuade me.
Rule-Following Fades and Raw Fighting Begins
When the causes that people are passionately behind are more important to them than the system for making decisions, the system is in jeopardy. Rules and laws work only when they are crystal clear and most people value working within them enough that they are willing to compromise in order to make them work well.
If both of these are less than excellent, the legal system is in jeopardy. If the competing parties are unwilling to try to be reasonable with each other and to make decisions civilly in pursuit of the well-being of the whole, which will require them to give up things that they want and might win in a fight, there will be a sort of civil war that will test the relative powers of the relevant parties. In this stage, winning at all costs is the game and playing dirty is the norm. Late in Stage 5 is when reason is abandoned in favor of passion.
When winning becomes the only thing that matters, unethical fighting becomes progressively more forceful in self-reinforcing ways. When everyone has causes that they are fighting for and no one can agree on anything, the system is on the brink of civil war/revolution.
This typically happens in a couple of ways:
Late in Stage 5 it is common for the legal and police systems to be used as political weapons by those who can control them. Also, private police systems form—e.g., thugs who beat people up and take their assets, and bodyguards to protect people from these things happening to them. For instance, the Nazi party formed a paramilitary wing before it came to power that then became an official force when the Nazis were in power. The short-lived British Union of Fascists in the 1930s and the Ku Klux Klan in the US were effectively paramilitary groups as well. Such cases are quite normal, so view their development as a marker of moving to the next stage.
Late in Stage 5 there are increasing numbers of protests that become increasingly violent. Because there is not always a clear line between a healthy protest and the beginnings of a revolution, leaders in power often struggle over how to allow protests without giving the perceived freedom to revolt against the system. Leaders must manage these situations well. A classic dilemma arises when demonstrations start to cross over into revolution. Both giving the freedom to protest and suppressing protests are risky paths for leaders, as either path could lead the revolution to get strong enough to topple the system. No system allows people to bring down the system—in most, an attempt to do so is treason, typically punishable by death. Nonetheless, it is the job of revolutionaries to bring down systems, so governments and revolutionaries test each other to see what the limits are. When broad-based discontent bubbles up and those in power allow it to grow, it can boil over to the point that when they try to put a lid on it, it explodes. The conflicts in the late part of Stage 5 typically build up to a crescendo that triggers the violent fighting that signifies the transition into what historians stamp as official civil war periods, which I am identifying as Stage 6 in the Big Cycle.
People dying in the fighting is the marker that almost certainly signifies the progression to the next and more violent civil war stage, which will continue until the winners and losers are clearly determined.
That brings me to my next principle:
When in doubt, get out—if you don’t want to be in a civil war or a war, you should get out while the getting is good.
This is typically late in Stage 5. History has shown that when things get bad, the doors typically close for people who want to leave. The same is true for investments and money as countries introduce capital controls and other measures during such times.
Crossing the line from Stage 5 (when there are very bad financial conditions and intense internal and external conflict exist) to Stage 6 (when there is civil war) occurs when the system for resolving disagreements goes from working to not working. In other words, it happens when the system is broken beyond repair, people are violent with each other, and the leadership has lost control.
As you might imagine, it is a much bigger deal to break a system/order and build a new one than it is to make revolutionary changes within an existing system/order. Though breaking a system/order is more traumatic, it isn’t necessarily a worse path than operating within a system.
Deciding whether to keep and renovate something old that is not working well or to dispose of it and replace it with something new is never easy, especially when the something new is not clearly known and what is being replaced is as important as the domestic order. Nonetheless, it happens, though typically it is not decided on intellectually; it is more often emotionally driven.
When one is in Stage 5 (like the US is now), the biggest question is how much the system will bend before it breaks.
The democratic system, which allows the population to do pretty much whatever it decides to do, produces more bending because the people can make leadership changes and only have themselves to blame. In this system regime changes can more easily happen in a peaceful way. However, the “one person, one vote” democratic process has the drawback of having leaders selected via popularity contests by people who are largely not doing the sort of thoughtful review of capabilities that most organizations would do when trying to find the right person for an important job. Democracy has also been shown to break down in times of great conflict.
Democracy requires consensus decision making and compromise, which requires a lot of people who have opposing views to work well with each other within the system. That ensures that parties that have significant constituencies can be represented, but like all big committees of people who have widely different views (and might even dislike each other), the decision-making system is not efficient.
The biggest risk to democracies is that they produce such fragmented and antagonistic decision making that they can be ineffective, which leads to bad results, which leads to revolutions led by populist autocrats who represent large segments of the population who want to have a strong, capable leader get control of the chaos and make the country work well for them.
Also noteworthy: history has shown that during times of great conflict federalist democracies (like the US) typically have conflicts between the states and the central government over their relative powers. That would be a marker to look out for that hasn’t yet arisen much in the US; it’s happening would signify the continued progression toward Stage Six.
There are far too many breakdowns of democracies to explore, let alone describe. While I looked into a number of them to see the patterns, I haven’t fully mined them, and I’m not going to dive into them here. I will say that the factors described in the explanations of Stage 5 when taken to the extreme—most importantly, terrible finances, decadence, internal strife and disorder, and/or major external conflict—lead to a dysfunctional set of conditions and a fight for power led by a strong leader. Archetypical examples include Athens from the late 400s to the 300s BCE, the end of the Roman Republic in the century or so preceding 27 BCE, Germany’s Weimar Republic in the 1920s, and the weak democracies of Italy, Japan, and Spain in the 1920s and 1930s that turned to autocracies of the right (fascism) to bring order to the chaos.
Different stages require different types of leaders to get the best results. Stage 5 is a juncture in which one path could lead to civil war/revolution and the other could lead to peaceful and, ideally, prosperous coexistence. Obviously the peaceful and prosperous path is the ideal path, but it is the much more difficult path to pull off.
That path requires a “strong peacemaker” who goes out of their way to bring the country together, including reaching out to the other side to involve them in the decision making and reshaping the order in a way that most people agree is fair and works well (i.e., is highly productive in a way that benefits most people). There are few such cases in history. We pray for them. The second type is a “strong fighter” who is capable of taking the country through the hell of civil war/revolution.
Stage 6: When There Are Civil Wars
Civil wars inevitably happen, so rather than assuming “it won’t happen here,” which most people in most countries assume after an extended period of not having them, it is better to be wary of them and look for the markers to indicate how close one is.
While in the last section we looked at nonviolent revolutions that took place within the order, in this section we will be looking at the markers and the patterns of civil wars and revolutions that were almost always violent and toppled the old order and replaced it with a new one. Though there are innumerable examples that I could have examined to understand how they work, I chose what I believe are the 29 most significant ones, which are shown in the following table. I categorized this group into those that produced big changes to the system/regime and those that did not. For example, the US Civil War was a really bloody civil war that failed to overturn the system/order, so it is in the second group at the bottom of the table, while those that toppled the system/order are at the top. These categories are of course imprecise, but once again we won’t let imprecision stand in the way of seeing what we couldn’t see if we insisted on being precise. Most of these conflicts, though not all of them, transpired in the archetypical way described in this section.
1719346104668
A classic example of a civil war breaking the system and having to build a new system is the Russian Revolution/Civil War of 1917. This put into place the communist internal order that eventually entered Stage 5 in the late 1980s, which led it to attempt to make revolutionary changes within the system—called perestroika (i.e., restructuring)—which failed and were followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union’s order in 1991. The communist domestic order lasted 74 years (from 1917 until 1991). That order was replaced by the new system/order that is now governing Russia, which, after the collapse of the old order, was built in the classic ways described earlier in this chapter in my explanations of Stages 1 and 2.
Another is Japan’s Meiji Restoration, which came about as a result of a three-year revolution (1866–69) that happened because the Japanese were closed off to the outside world and failed to advance. The Americans forced the Japanese to open, which prompted a revolutionary group to fight and defeat the rulers (led by the military shogun) in battle, which led to overturning the internal order then run by the four classes—the military, farmers, artisans, and merchants—that had ruled Japan. This old Japanese order run by traditional people was ultra-conservative (e.g., social mobility was outlawed) and was replaced by revolutionaries who were relatively progressive and changed everything by reinstating the powers of a modernizing emperor. Early in this period there were lots of labor disputes, strikes, and riots that resulted from the classic triggers of wealth gaps and bad economic conditions. In the reform process the leadership provided universal elementary education for both boys and girls, adopted capitalism, and opened the country up to the outside world. They did this with new technologies, which led them to become very competitive and gain wealth.
There are many such cases of countries that did the right things to produce revolutionarily beneficial improvements, just as there are many cases of revolutionaries doing the wrong things that inflicted terrible pain on their people for decades. By the way, as a result of its reformations Japan went on to move through the classic stages of the Big Cycle. It became extremely successful and rich. But over time it became decadent, overextended, and fragmented, had an economic depression, and fought expensive wars, all of which led to a classic demise. Its Meiji order and its classic Big Cycle lasted for 76 years from 1869 to 1945.
Civil wars and revolutions inevitably take place to radically change the internal order.
They include total restructurings of wealth and political power that include complete restructurings of debt and financial ownership and political decision making. These changes are the natural consequence of needing to make big changes that can’t be made within the existing system. Almost all systems encounter them. That is because almost all systems benefit some classes of people at the expense of other classes, which eventually becomes intolerable to the point that there is a fight to determine the path forward. When the gaps in wealth and values become very wide and bad economic conditions ensue so that the system is not working for a large percentage of the people, the people will fight to change the system. Those who are suffering the most economically will fight to get more wealth and power from those who have wealth and power and who benefit from the existing system. Naturally the revolutionaries want to radically change the system, so naturally they are willing to break the laws that those in power demand they adhere to. These revolutionary changes typically happen violently through civil wars, though as previously described, they can come about peacefully without toppling the system.
The periods of civil war are typically very brutal. Typically, early on these wars are forceful and orderly struggles for power, and as the fighting and emotions intensify and the sides do anything to win, the levels of brutality accelerate unexpectedly such that the actual levels of brutality that occur in the Stage 6 civil wars and revolutions would have been considered implausible in Stage 5. The elites and moderates generally flee, are imprisoned, or are killed. Reading the stories of civil wars and revolutions, such as the Spanish Civil War, the Chinese Civil War, the Russian Revolution, and the French Revolution, made my hair curl.
How do they transpire? Earlier I described the dynamics of Stage 5 that led to crossing the line into Stage 6. During this stage all of those intensify greatly. I will explain.
How Civil Wars and Revolutions Transpire
As previously described, the cycle of building wealth and wealth gaps that leads to a very small percentage of the population controlling an exceptionally large percentage of the wealth eventually results in the poor majority overthrowing the rich minority via civil wars and revolutions. This has happened more times than one can imagine.
While most of the archetypical civil wars and revolutions shifted power from the right to the left, many shifted wealth and power to the right and away from those on the left. However, there were fewer of them and they were different. They typically happened when the existing orders slipped into dysfunctional anarchies and a large percentage of the population yearned for strong leadership, discipline, and productivity. Examples of revolutions from the left to the right include Germany, Spain, Japan, and Italy in the 1930s; the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1980s to the early 1990s; the 1976 coup in Argentina replacing Isabel Perón with a military junta; and the coup leading to the Second French Empire in 1851. All those that I examined worked or didn’t work for the same reason. Like those of the left, these new internal orders succeeded when they produced broad-based economic successes and failed when they did not. Because broad economic prosperity is the biggest reason a new regime succeeds or fails, the long-term trends have been to both greater total wealth and broader distribution of the wealth (i.e., better economic and health outcomes for the average person). That big picture can be easily lost when one is in and experiencing one part of the Big Cycle.
Typically, the people who led the civil war/revolution were (and still are) well-educated people from middle-class backgrounds. For example, three of the key revolutionary leaders of the French Revolution were Georges-Jacques Danton, a lawyer raised in a bourgeois family; Jean-Paul Marat, a physician, scientist, and journalist raised in a bourgeois family; and Maximilian Robespierre, a lawyer and statesman also from a bourgeois family. This revolution was initially supported by many liberal aristocrats, like the Marquis de Lafayette, who were raised in moderately well-off families. Similarly, the leaders of the Russian Revolution were Vladimir Lenin, who studied law, and Leon Trotsky, who was raised in a bourgeois family of intellectuals. The Chinese Civil War was led by Mao, who was from a moderately well-off family and studied a variety of subjects such as law, economics, and political theory, and Zhou Enlai, who was from a scholarly middle-class family of civil servants. These leaders also typically were (and still are) charismatic and able to lead and work well with others to build big, well-run organizations that have the power to bring about the revolutions. If you want to look for the revolutionaries of the future, you might keep an eye on those who have these qualities. Over time they typically evolve from being idealistic intellectuals wanting to change the system to be fairer to brutal revolutionaries bent on winning at all costs.
While having large wealth gaps during economically difficult times was typically the biggest source of conflict, there were always other reasons for conflict that added up to a lot of opposition to the leadership and the system. Typically, in revolutions the revolutionaries with these different grievances joined together to make revolutionary changes; while they looked united during the revolution, after winning the revolution, they typically fought with each other over issues and for power.
As previously mentioned, during the civil war/revolution stage of the cycle the governments in power almost always had an acute shortage of money, credit, and buying power. That shortage created the desire to grab money from those who had it, which led those who had wealth to move it into places and assets that were safe, which led the governments to stop these movements by imposing capital controls—i.e., controls on movements to other jurisdictions (e.g., other countries), to other currencies, or to assets that are more difficult to tax and/or are less productive (e.g., gold).
To make matters even worse, when there was internal disorder, foreign enemies were more likely to challenge the country. This happens because domestic conflict causes vulnerabilities that make external wars more likely. Internal conflict splits the people within a country, is financially taxing on them, and demands attention that leaves less time for the leaders to tend to other issues—all things that create vulnerabilities for foreign powers to take advantage of. That is the main reason why internal wars and external wars tend to come close together. Other reasons include: emotions and tempers are heightened; strong populist leaders who tend to come to power at such times are fighters by nature; when there are internal conflicts leaders find that a perceived threat from an external enemy can bring the country together in support of the leader so they tend to encourage the conflict; and being deprived leads people/countries to be more willing to fight for what they need, including resources that other countries have.
Almost all civil wars have had some foreign powers participating in an attempt to influence the outcome to their benefit.
The beginnings of civil wars and revolutions aren’t clear when they are happening, though they are obvious when one is deeply in the middle of them.
While historians assign dates to the beginnings and ends of civil wars, they are arbitrary. The truth is that almost no one at the time knows that a civil war has begun or that it has ended, but they know when they are in them. For example, many historians have designated July 14, 1789, as the day the French Revolution began because a mob stormed an armory and prison called the Bastille. But nobody at the time thought it was the beginning of the French Revolution or had any idea how terribly brutal that civil war and revolution would become. While one might not know what’s to come, one can have imprecise markers that help one place where one is, to see the direction that one is moving in, and to know something about what the next stage will be like.
Civil wars are incredibly brutal because they are fights to the death. Everyone is an extremist because everyone is forced to pick a side and fight—also moderates lose out in knife fights.
As for what types of leaders are best for civil wars and revolutions, they are the “inspirational generals”—people who are strong enough to marshal support and win the various types of battles they have to win. Because the fight is brutal, they have to be brutal enough to do whatever is necessary to win.
The time that historians stamp as the civil war period typically lasts a few years and determines the official winners and losers, which is conveyed by who gets to occupy the government buildings in the capital. But like the beginnings, the ends of civil wars/revolutions are not as clearly defined as historians convey. The fighting to consolidate power can go on for a long time after the official civil war has ended.
While civil wars and revolutions are typically extremely painful, they often lead to restructurings that, if done well, can establish the foundation for improved future results. What the future after the civil war/revolution looks like depends on how the next steps are handled.
Conclusion
My study of history has taught me that nothing is forever other than evolution, and within evolution there are cycles that are like tides that come in and go out and that are hard to change or fight against. To handle these changes well it is essential to know which stage of the cycle one is in and to know timeless and universal principles for dealing with it. As conditions change the best approaches change—i.e., what is best depends on the circumstances and the circumstances are always changing in the ways we just looked at. For that reason, it is a mistake to rigidly believe that any economic or political system is always best because there will certainly be times when that system is not best for the circumstances at hand, and if a society doesn’t adapt it will die. That is why constantly reforming systems to adapt well is best. The test of any system is simply how well it works in delivering what most of the people want, and this can be objectively measured, which we can do and will continue to do. Having said that, the lesson from history that comes through most loudly and most clearly is that skilled collaborations to produce productive win-win relationships to both grow and divide the pie well, so that most people are happy, are much more rewarding and much less painful than fighting civil wars over wealth and power that lead to one side subjugating the other side.
When I was a boy, throughout fourth though (maybe) seventh grade, I would go hiking in the Pennsylvania hills. I would walk the tracks, and climb the hills. I would explore old abandoned buildings, and I would explore old garbage dumps… often finding many interesting bottles.
The whittle marked bottles were a prize.
whittlemarks small
Whittle marks are a very descriptive term for a bottle body feature that generally has nothing whatsoever to do with its name. The term "whittled" or "whittle marked" is a reference to a hammered or wavy surface to the glass that one could imagine was caused by the "whittle" marks of the mold maker on the inside surface of a wooden mold. Early 19th century glass makers called this effect "ruffled glass" while later it was referred to as a "hammered look" (Toulouse 1966, 1969a). See picture to the left.Appealing though this notion is, the large majority of molds used to produce bottles during the era covered by this webpage (1800 through the 1950s) were made of various metals, or in the earlier years, fired clay (Van den Bossche 2001). Although wooden molds were extensively used in the very early days of bottle making (pre-1800 up until the 1850s) and continued to be used for some applications until the early 20th century, including for the block in free-blowing, wood had too short of a life span to be of much use for most industrial bottle making where the temperature of molten glass was 2000°F and wood burns at about 1/4th that temperature (Whitall Tatum 1880; Toulouse 1966; Lohmann 1972; Boow 1991). It is believed impossible to visually determine that a bottle was blown in a wooden mold since these type of molds had to be kept very wet in order to avoid premature burn-out or even ignition when the hot glass hit the wood. Due to the water, steam was formed in the mold creating a cushion that the bottle "rode" on between the glass and the mold surface (Scholes 1952). This would not leave any trace of the mold surface texture and would likely preclude embossing on the bottle. When used, wooden molds were often lined with clay, coal, pitch, and other materials to try to extend the life. All were poor substitutes for metal molds (Atwater 1893; Toulouse 1966; Kendrick 1968; Lohmann 1972; Munsey 1970; Deiss pers. comm. 2005). Whittle marks were actually caused by a reaction of the hot glass hitting the surface of a colder mold; cold relative to the temperature of the molten glass. Thus, the alternative name for this feature - "cold mold" although it was sometimes the glass itself that was too "cold" relatively speaking (Ceramic Industry 1949). Molds needed to be red hot" to properly produce a bottle without the wrinkles or ripple-marks that are known as whittle marks (Scholes 1952). This hammered look of mouth-blown bottles was also believed to sometimes be caused by the rolling the hot parison on the usually colder marver (Toulouse 1966). In a sense, whittle marks are bottle "goose bumps." As glassblowers were paid for the number of intact bottles blown, not by the surface quality of the items, there was little incentive to pay much attention to things like whittle marks or for that matter, bubbles in the glass or other largely non-impairing flaws (Toulouse 1966; Munsey 1970). The August 1890 edition of the National Bottlers Gazette (a carbonated beverage industry publication) noted the following - "The hammered look that some bottles present is not a sign of weakness except so far as the appearance of the bottle is concerned. The cause of this 'Hammered' appearance is that the glass has been put into a mould which has not been sufficiently hot, and the steam from the surface has imprinted itself upon the bottle." The steam was from the water that metal molds were either sprayed with or dipped into periodically to cool them (Toulouse 1966).Kendrick (1968) suggested that the term whittle marks, though inaccurate, should be retained because of its ubiquitous use and because "although the (term) may be misleading as to the true cause of the deformity, it represents a true picture in the mind's eye of how the marks appear." This is not to say there have not been periodic debates over whether some whittle marked bottles actually do exhibit the signs of the wooden mold makers knife. The most notable argument for this was put forth by the pioneering May Jones in Volumes 7 & 8 of her "The Bottle Trail" publications during the 1960s (Jones 1967). However, as noted above, the steam caused by the hot glass vaporizing the moisture in a wooden mold would almost certainly preclude any subtle mold surface irregularities from expressing themselves on the bottle surface (Deiss pers. comm. 2005). It is now believed that the vast majority - if not all - of the bottles exhibiting whittle marks are the result of the noted glass to metal mold reaction. The bottle pictured to the above left exhibits an extreme level of whittle marks. This is an Old Dr. Townsend's Sarsaparilla (New York, NY) that dates from the 1850s (Shimko 1969; Odell 2000). This bottle was probably blown early in the day before the mold had warmed up much or after extensive cooling with water. Though having whittle marks way more distinct than normal, this bottle makes a good illustrative item for showing this feature. Most bottles having whittle marks exhibit them in less density and less distinctly than the pictured item. As an example of more subdued whittle marks, click on the picture to the right. This is a ca. 1865-1875 medicinal tonic bottle (C. G. PENDLETON'S / TONIC - the embossing is turned away in the picture) thought to be from Memphis, TN. (Incidentally, whittle marks can be evident on any color of bottle; dark ones were used here since the dark glass surface photographs better.)In the 20th century, much more attention was paid to all aspects of a bottles conformation and quality. Whittle marks were, as Kendrick noted above, a deformity of the glass and something that 20th century bottle makers worked to eliminate. They referred to whittle marks as "washboards", "brush marks", "wavy," "wavy surface", "ripple-marks", "wrinkles", "cold mold," and probably other terms (Anonymous 1949; Scholes 1952; Tooley 1953). Some automatic machines pre-heated the molds (called a "hot mold" - molds are also cooled if too hot) though whittle marks are observed occasionally in machine-made bottles also. These defects are less likely in fully automatic machines because they would run 24 hours a day rarely cooling off; the mold heat being supplied by the glass itself. In addition, the cycling time from one bottle to the next was very short since machines in the mid-20th century were producing soda bottles at the rate of 30-125 (or more) per minute with one operator - hardly time to cool of much. As a comparison earlier hand production operations produced about 1 bottle per minute with several people involved (Tooley 1953; Kendrick 1968; Jones & Sullivan 1989).(Note: A similar bottle surface irregularity that is seen now then on mouth-blown bottles is what is termed an "orange-peel" effect or surface. It is quite descriptive as it is a pebbly surface to the glass that very closely resembles the texture of orange peel. This effect is probably caused similarly to whittle marks, though it is possible that at it is caused at times by the rough surface texture of a more crudely made or worn iron mold.)
As were “Bitters” bottles. Though I never found an intact bitters bottle.
bitters
In 1803, the Farmer’s Cabinet, an agriculture periodical published in Philadelphia, first mentioned the word “cocktail” to refer to a drink—and not a horse with a shortened tail. Another early description of a cocktail, from 1806, calls for four ingredients: “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.”Bitters occupy a curious niche in the history of food and drinks, especially given their early history as patent medicines with rather dubious reputations. Take one of the oldest, Angostura. Originally, the company’s greenish-tinted bottles contained an herbal concoction made from roots, bark, and spices. The “Aromatic Bitters” took their name from the Venezuelan city where they were first created (Angostura was subsequently rechristened Cuidad Bolivar in 1846). Interestingly, early botanists also gave the name Angostura to three different species of trees, including Galipea officinalis. Because the bitters’ recipe is a tightly guarded secret, locked in a vault and known by only five employees, whether the trademarked concoction once contained the bark from any of these Angosturas remains something of a mystery. Either way, the recipe’s since to be reformulated—in much the same way that Coca-Cola removes the potent alkaloids in coca leaves—and now Angostura neither contains Angostura, nor is it produced in Angostura.I was curious about how bitters went from being drugs to an intrinsic part of today’s cocktail renaissance. I spoke with Brad T. Parsons, the author of Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas from his home in New York.How did bitters evolve from a substance kept behind the apothecary to a staple in the modern cocktail? The English used bitters in this drink called Canary wine. They were putting medicinal herb-based dashes and drops in these drinks, but bitters really exploded in American Colonial times, up through Prohibition. The word “bitters” is in the definition of the first printed usage of the word “cocktail.” It was any drink consisting of spirits, water, sugar, and bitters… There is some murkiness about when it went from being something someone sipped on its own as a medicinal to when it went into a cocktail, but people were taking these high-proof root-, botanical-, fruit-, or seed-based infusions for medicinal value.Around 1824, Johann Siegert, who was a doctor in Venezuela, began making Angostura as a stimulant for the troops to help them with malaria and keep them on their feet. As we get to the golden age of the cocktail, the late 1800s, bitters became more synonymous with cocktails no matter what bar you went to.Even during the Temperance movement, people who were teetotalers were still drinking bitters even though it was a high-proof infusion. During that time, people were putting these bitters into a poorer quality spirit, which was a way for it to taste better, or people were applying alcohol to their bitters to help their medicine go down, so to speak. I was never really able to pinpoint the year we went from these corked, apothecary bottles that people would nip to when they started putting them into their drinks and it became more of a concentrated drop versus a splash or a nip.Then we get up to 2004, when Gary Regan put his bitters back on the market and now you can get a dozen different bitters. There is a little bit of “everything old is new again” charm to it, but also it was a lot of people seeking out old copies and the internet leveling the playing field by finding old, rare books, you didn’t have to physically travel around and buy them at auctions, you could buy them online.
I found tons of Lydia E. Pinkham bottles which was a “remedy” for women. I think that it was sort of a cross between cough syrup and whiskey. LOL.
womans medicine
Lydia Pinkham was born in 1819 to well-to-do farmers William and Rachel Estes in Lynn, Massachusetts. Pinkham joined the Lynn Female Anti-Slavery Society when she was sixteen years old, and worked as a schoolteacher until she married Isaac Pinkham in 1843. Pinkham’s foray into the world of medicine began with her penchant for collecting recipes and brewing home remedies, then giving them to her neighbours. When her family fell on difficult financial times in the 1870s, the decision was made to turn her well-liked remedy into a business.It was marketed to women, and many women would write directly to Lydia Pinkham for health-related advice. She answered all their letters– even after her death in 1883! It was later revealed that her daughter-in-law Jennie Pinkham was the one answering the later letters.Today, many remember Lydia Pinkham as a champion of women’s health and provider of important information to thousands of women. The formula of her Vegetable Compound changed over the years, and survives today in different, modern forms.
Ball mason jars were in abundance, and they were so common, that I gave up collecting them.
ball jars
But, I’ll tell you that a fine cobalt blue telephone or telegraph insulator was a real prize. Oh, sure, we found brown ceramic insulators often enough, but the frosty pale blue ones were a real treasure.
oak aqua
When I went to anniversary, all my collections… from bottles to models, to books were all rummaged though by my siblings. My brother would trade them or sell them for things that he wanted, and my sisters just told my mother to throw them out. And so she did.
Very few bottles remained. Which is a shame as some (noticeablely the ink bottles with stoppers) were just beautiful.
Sigh.
And life moves on. Today…
Singapore’s Minister of Defense expressed concern in recent news about the global system potentially reaching a breaking point, emphasizing that Asian countries cannot treat this issue like “boiling a frog in lukewarm water.” What do you think?
Certainly true, but what can we do?
Look at Fumio, Suk Yeol and Bongbong.
The first two have literally run their countries to the ground pursuing foolhardy policies, with a mile-long list of anti-China measures.
Both administrations have hit record low approval ratings in the ~20% region.
20%!
How is that one man one vote rule by majority?
Goes to show who is the rainmaker behind the scenes, busy going around the world tying down coalitions to enact long-term policies that a strongman like Donald will find very hard to undo, such as the doubling of the Japanese “defense” budget.
Joe is sunshine after the Donald storm.
As for Bongbong, he is not only the son of an ousted President, he was a ranking member of the administration who fled when the Filipino people rose up in revolution. They fled to Hawaii with valuables valued at over a billion dollars (in current dollar terms), leaving behind outrageous opulence and excess they couldn’t fit in the plane.
The United States sheltered a corrupt President and has refused to repatriate the ill-gotten riches of the Marcos family.
Corazon Aquino who came to power post-ouster had the mandate from an angry electorate to make a series of Constitutional changes that was designed to prevent another Marcos from taking charge again.
And yet, Bongbong won a landslide in alliance with Duterte, despite a disinterested campaign.
Duterte has expressed massive regret, accusing Bongbong of reneging on assurances and representations made while sidelining his daughter.
Bongbong is now pushing to undo the shackles put in place by Aquino on the Marcos family, simultaneously seeking to overturn term limits and restore the Marcos dynasty.
Need I remind the reader that all three countries where the political process has been hijacked share a common denominator—U.S. troops on the ground, deployed with offensive capability aimed squarely at one nation.
The U.S. will promote anyone—good, bad, qualified, unqualified, doesn’t matter—as long as American policy goals are delivered. What carrots and resources were offered, especially the Philippines, given the absurd landslide and lightning betrayal that surprised both China and Duterte?
As long as national leaders remain willing to jump on the American ship, we are in for a really hairy rollercoaster. American policy seeks to benefit America and hurt its enemies, proxies be damned.
That is why my Harvard-trained American friend recently confided that even though he hates Donald’s guts and is ashamed to have him at the helm, he is of the opinion that a return to the White House may be a good respite, because America will find it much harder to incite and shape coalitions of conflict as an isolationist bully.
I am less sanguine. The world is in a way more dangerous place going forward than anytime this century. And if the United States fails to adjust to the cracks in American empire and downsize accordingly, the fading hegemon’s thrashing and flailing against the dying of the light will blight East Asia.
Dems In ‘FULL-BLOWN FREAK-OUT MODE’ Over Biden Poll Numbers
Well… DUH!
Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
stuffed cabbage rolls SweetAndSavoryMeals 6
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
12 large cabbage leaves
1 pound lean ground beef or lamb
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
Instructions
Wash cabbage leaves.
Boil 4 cups water.
Turn heat off.
Soak leaves in water for 5 minutes.
Remove leaves, drain and cool.
Combine remaining ingredients except tomato paste and water.
Place 2 tablespoons of mixture on each leaf and roll firmly.
Stack in slow cooker.
Combine tomato paste and water and pour over stuffed cabbage.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.
“What am I supposed to do at a bar?”
I went to a bar alone for the first time recently and I found it really boring. I brought a book in case I got anxious so I would have something to focus on but it pretty much came down to I either read, played on my phone, or stared at the wall. Everyone else there came with someone else and had someone to interact with but I just kinda… sat there.
Alright, let’s break this down. You want to know how to strike up a conversation with strangers at a bar without coming across as socially inept. I get it. Socializing can be uncomfortable, especially when you’re on your own and everyone else seems to be part of a group.
First off, ditch the book. This isn’t high school study hall; it’s a bar. The whole point of going to a bar is to interact with people, not to isolate yourself. If you’re buried in a book, you’re sending off vibes that say, “Don’t talk to me.” Same goes for staring at your phone or the wall. You’re not going to magically become more interesting to yourself by doing that.
Bars are designed for people to mingle and chat with each other. It’s not like you’re interrupting a serious event. So don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.
Next time, try this: walk in with the mindset that you’re there to meet new people and have fun, not just to kill time.
Sit at the bar, order a drink or two, and tune into the chatter around you. Before long, you’ll likely overhear someone nearby saying something that piques your interest or relates to a topic you know about. Or maybe a situation will unfold that perfectly sets up a joke you’ve been waiting to tell. When that moment comes, seize it. Jump into the conversation casually—no need to be overly aggressive or intense. A good-natured chuckle and a friendly head turn towards your potential new acquaintance is often all it takes to get the ball rolling.
If they’re open to chatting, great! You’ve just made a new single-serving friend. Engage with them, share some laughs, and see where the conversation takes you.
If they give you a polite “haha yeah” and then turn back to their friends, don’t take it personally. Not everyone is in the mood to make new acquaintances, and that’s okay. Just brush it off and move on. Simply move on and keep your eyes and ears open for the next opportunity.
Another helpful trick is to think of your position as one point of a triangle, with the bartender and someone next to you as the other two points. Strike up a conversation with the bartender, then casually include your neighbor in the discussion. Bounce between the two, feel out the vibe, and see if a larger conversation blossoms. Bartenders are often masters at facilitating these kinds of interactions, so don’t be afraid to lean on their expertise.
The triangle strategy with the bartender is also a smart approach. Bartenders are usually pretty skilled at facilitating conversations and making introductions. So if you’re connecting with them, chances are they can help bring your neighbor into the mix.
But here’s the most important thing to remember: if you want to meet new people, YOU have to be the one to initiate. Don’t just sit there sipping your drink and hoping someone will magically strike up a conversation with you. That’s like waiting for a leprechaun to appear.
Instead, embrace the discomfort and put yourself out there. Will it feel awkward at times? Probably. Will you face some rejection? Almost certainly. But who cares? Every social interaction is a chance to hone your skills and build your confidence.
And really, what’s the worst that could happen? Someone doesn’t want to talk to you? It’s not the end of the world. There are plenty of other people in the bar to chat with.
The bottom line is this: if you want a different social experience, you have to be willing to create it yourself. So stop being a wallflower and start being the social butterfly you wish to attract. Worst case scenario, you’ll have a few awkward moments and a funny story to tell later. Best case, you’ll expand your social circle and have a great time doing it.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has warned that 63 Banks are “vulnerable” to failure due to $517 Billion in Unrealized Losses, marking a “concerning uptick” in the financial sector’s instability.
Despite the claimed ‘resilience’ in the banking sector by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Biden administration, the specter of significant financial strain looms large. Unrealized losses on securities swelled by $39 billion from the previous quarter, driven predominantly by depreciations in residential mortgage-backed securities due to rising mortgage rates.
The latest FDIC report highlights that this marks the ninth consecutive quarter of substantial unrealized losses, a troubling trend that began with the Federal Reserve‘s interest rate hikes in early 2022. Simultaneously, the number of banks on the FDIC’s Problem Bank List has escalated from 52 to 63 in just one quarter.
These banks, identified with a CAMELS composite rating of “4” or “5,” indicate a heightened level of financial, operational, or managerial weaknesses. The total assets of these at-risk banks have surged by $15.8 billion, signaling potential vulnerabilities in the broader banking ecosystem. The widespread belief is that the banking crisis that began in 2023 is ongoing.
Following the dramatic failures of three of the largest financial institutions in American history last year, Philadelphia’s Republic First Bank also collapsed this year. Additionally, a recent study from Klaros Group, published in May 2024, suggests that hundreds of U.S. banks are at risk of failure.
The latest data presented by the FDIC serves as a sobering reminder of the ongoing challenges within the U.S. banking sector. Despite governmental assurances, the persistent rise in unrealized losses and the expanding roster of vulnerable institutions suggest a pivotal moment for so-called ‘economic resilience.’ The FDIC figures emphasize the persistent uncertainty regarding the stability of the U.S. banking system.
Amelia Earhart Landed on Gardner Island | Nikumaroro | The Earhart Mystery
This is fine, but the background music is damn irritating.
French Soldier Captured ALIVE By Russian Troops in Ukraine
French Soldier Captured By Russia in Ukraine large
Video below shows the capture of a French military by the Russian Army in the area of the village of Liptsy (Kharkov region), where active hostilities between the Russian Armed Forces and the AFU are now taking place.
This soldier was not “instructing” Ukrainian troops, he was engaged in an active fire-fight with Russian troops – and got captured.
Of course, we will likely hear how this soldier resigned from the French Army and became a mercenary with some unknown, never-heard-of Private Military Organization . . . but the evidence is irrefutable: French military is in fire fights inside Ukraine, against Russia. France is waging war against Russia in Ukraine.
Russia’s response to what Washington’s “clients” in Ukraine do may be “asymmetrical” and stronger than expected, the senior diplomat has warned
The US is close to making a “fatal” miscalculation in its attempts to deal with Russia and the Ukraine conflict, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has warned.
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The senior diplomat commented on Monday on the reported US decision to let Kiev use American weapons outside what Washington considers Ukrainian territory. The move is supposedly limited to a small piece of Russia’s Belgorod Region relevant to hostilities across the border in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region.
”I’d like to warn American actors against miscalculations that can lead to fatal consequences. For some unclear reason they underestimate how serious a response they could face,” Ryabkov told journalists.
Up to then the stated US policy had been to ban such attacks, to prevent triggering “World War III.” Kiev has said it is disappointed by the change, as it wants permission to fire long-range American weapons deep inside Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of “serious consequences” of potential long-range strikes “considering the [countries’] parity in strategic weapons.”
Ryabkov urged American policymakers to “spend some of their time, which they probably waste on computer games, judging by their air-headed approach to serious issues” on considering Putin’s words.
The official also warned that Russia could react asymmetrically to a Ukrainian attack on its nuclear deterrence, as Moscow would hold the US responsible. Officials in Washington “have given Kiev a permit for any crimes, any action, and do nothing to curb provocations by their clients… But the US does not get this for free and will feel consequences,” the deputy FM warned.
Ukrainian sources have claimed to the media that Kiev targeted two early-warning radar stations in Russia last month, allegedly damaging one. The facilities in question are designed to detect intercontinental ballistic missile launches and provide a response window to the Russian leadership.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on the reports.
America In 2024: Fast Food Is A “Luxury”, 11 Million Children Live In Poverty, And 1000s Of Stores Are Closing
Little by little, our standard of living has been eroding. A couple decades ago, we had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now most of the country is struggling. At this point, fast food is considered to be a “luxury”, 11 million children are living in poverty, and thousands of stores are permanently shutting down all over the United States because consumers have so little discretionary income these days. We are in the midst of a historic cost of living crisis, and those at the bottom of the economic food chain are being hit the hardest.
The ultra-wealthy don’t really care that food costs have been soaring, but for those that are barely scraping by from month to month it makes an enormous difference.
Once upon a time, fast food restaurants were where those that were struggling went to eat.
But now fast food is considered to be a “luxury” in 2024, and that is because fast food prices have gone absolutely haywire…
A Big Mac sandwich at McDonald’s, for example, cost $3.99 in 2019. Now, that price has more than doubled to $8.29, according to Fast Food Menu Prices, an online tracker.
Gone, too, are the days of the $5 Footlong at Subway. A BLT Footlong that cost $5.50 in 2019 now costs customers $8.49 in 2024, though prices can vary by location. Additionally, Chipotle’s beloved chicken burrito that cost $6.50 in 2019 now runs customers $10.70.
Fast-food executives have pointed to rising wages and increased costs for ingredients as factors driving up the prices on their menus.
I am sitting here looking at those numbers and I still can’t wrap my head around them.
I never imagined that I would see the day when it took more than 8 dollars to buy a Big Mac.
That is insane!
A different survey that was recently conducted by Lending Tree discovered that almost 80 percent of all Americans believe that fast food is a “luxury item” now…
Nearly 80 percent of Americans now consider fast food to be a “luxury item” as families feel the squeeze from the Biden regime’s failing economy.
According to a survey from Lending Tree of around 2,000 adults, what was once considered an affordable option for low-income workers is fast becoming the opposite.
Meanwhile, the number of American children living in poverty continues to increase with each passing day.
More than 11 million children were estimated to be living in poverty in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data published by the Children’s Defense Fund.
That equates to around one in seven children in the U.S., or 15.3 percent. It’s a high toll, and one even higher than the adult population, which was 10.5 percent for 19-64 year olds that year and 10.3 percent for adults aged 65+.
According to an analysis by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, this difference is due to factors such as the “cost of caregiving and its responsibilities, transitions to a single parenthood household, unemployment of parents, and disabilities of family members.”
Today, approximately 40 percent of the entire country is considered to be either living in poverty or among the ranks of “the working poor”, and 42 million Americans are on food stamps.
We now have an absolutely gigantic “underclass” that is largely made up of people that were once solidly middle class.
The rapidly rising cost of living is just shredding families from coast to coast.
In Montana, one senior is incredibly frustrated because his property taxes have increased by 790 percent over the past several years…
A senior from Montana has delivered a viral speech about the sorry state of property taxes in the Treasure State.
“I’m on Social Security, I’m 68-years-old and working just to pay my taxes,” says Kurt, in a clip shared on TikTok by Ryan Busse, who is running to be the next governor of Montana.
Kurt claims that over the last couple of years, his annual property taxes have soared from $895 to almost $8,000 — an increase of around 790% — which he says is like paying almost “$700 a month rent to the state to live in our own house.” The state has an Elderly Homeowner/Renter Tax Credit, and the maximum credit is $1,150.
His property taxes have skyrocketed because property values have skyrocketed.
And property values have skyrocketed because our leaders flooded the system with way too much money.
Small businesses are being monkey-hammered by inflation as well.
In fact, one recent survey found that 86 percent of all U.S. small businesses say that they are being hurt by inflation…
An overwhelming majority of small business owners say they are being hurt by rising prices.
The new survey released Wednesday by small business network Alignable shows 86% reporting being hurt by high costs with only 6% saying they are thriving and not struggling.
Alignable surveyed more than 3,000 business owners from mid-April to mid-May and found that they overwhelmingly lament the burden of inflation.
Dollar stores in particular are being hit really hard by rising costs.
For example, 99 Cents Only has decided to close all of their stores because conditions have changed so dramatically…
For years, dollar stores were a fixture in nearly every strip mall in California, offering cheap household goods, bread and produce, and even toys and gifts.
But if it seems like your favorite dollar store is heading for the exit, you’re not wrong.
2024 may be their swan song.
In April, California-based 99 Cents Only announced it was closing all 371 locations after decades in business. The retailer blamed economic factors, including rising levels of “shrink,” inflation, and shifting consumer demand that has presented “significant and lasting challenges.”
Not to be outdone, Dollar Tree has announced that it will be closing about 1,000 stores…
Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar, recently said it will close nearly 1,000 stores. That’s after Dollar Tree raised prices in the past couple of years for the first time in decades.
Overall, so far in 2024 retailers have already announced that they will be closing nearly 3,200 stores, and we haven’t even reached the mid-point of the year yet…
The retail industry is going through a tough time as it copes with inflation-weary consumers and a rash of bankruptcies, prompting chains to announce the closures of almost 3,200 brick-and-mortar stores so far in 2024, according to a new analysis.
That’s a 24% increase from a year ago, according to a report from retail data provider CoreSight, which tracks store closures and openings across the U.S.
The final countdown for the U.S. economy has begun, but most Americans do not even realize what is happening.
Most Americans just assume that our leaders can fix things by printing even more money and that conditions will “return to normal” eventually.
With a gleam of excitement in his eye, archaeologist Humphrey Abbot strokes his pride and joy, a massive black mustache. He has gathered a group of financiers in his mahogany paneled library to persuade them to invest in an expedition to Eygpt. After the brandy’s been poured and the cigars lit, Abbot clears his throat. “Gentlemen, I have invited you here this evening to tell you of a remarkable discovery I have made while researching the Great Pyramid of Giza. I found the following notation in an 1838 book, “Giza-What We Know,” by the late archaeologist Wilbur Thomas. I quote, “I have come across an interesting detail in the building of the Great Pyramid, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu. It alludes to an L-shaped underground chamber running parallel to the pyramid itself. The nature of the chamber is unknown, and its exact location is a bit of a mystery. The only way to gain access is by pressing a hidden stone that acts as a lever. This lever stone is identical to all the other stones in the main passageway. Thus making it most difficult to find.”Abbot adjusts the knot of his silk-crested navy blue Oxford College tie. “There you have it, gentlemen, the reason for this meeting. I wish to raise funds for traveling, permits to enter Khufu and bankroll for my two assistants, Barrows and Clark. I’ll also need funds for equipment and to hire workers. Just think of it, sirs! We’d be the first to uncover a never-before-seen chamber hidden for centuries! What mysteries does it hold? What is its purpose? And, of course, what will we add to history?” A well-dressed gentleman to the right of the room removes his monocle and holds it up to attract Abbot’s attention.Abbot addresses him. “Yes, Lord Bellington.”“If I were to invest in your venture, what exactly could I expect in return?”Abbot taps his lower lip with his finger. “Ahh. I see your lordship. You would like to know what your reward would be for investing. It will be your honor to present our findings to the Queen of England! Not a bad contact to have in Buckingham Palace, eh?” A smattering of low laughter floats through the room. After further discussion, an agreement is struck, and Professor Humphrey Abbot smiles broadly while making plans to leave for Eygpt. …Exiting the Cario airport, Abbot consults with his man, Phillip Barrows, who manages the ground crew and living quarters. Barrows has worked with Abbot for about ten years. He’s six feet tall and handsome with wavy, sun-bleached blonde hair. Abbot tells him to contact Abanoub Zewail, a man Abbot has previously employed. He is to provide tents, a good cook, and around ten trustworthy laborers.Timmy Clark is a former Abbot student whose primary function is to be Abbot’s secretary and go-for. Clark is a twenty-two-year-old American, somewhat shorter than Barrows, with an easy disposition. He is also somewhat of a ladies’ man, something Abbot intends to warn him about here in Eygpt. Abbot tells Clark to go to the Pyramids of Giza Visitor Center to see if he might obtain a permit to explore The Great Pyramid. With orders given, Abbot rubs his hands together in excitement.The encampment is a buzz of action. As tents are erected and electric lines are laid, Professor Abbott travels into town to consult with his old friend and fellow archaeologist, Professor Shakir Arax.Abbot is greeted by a short, white-haired man in his late sixties. “Humphrey, my friend, please come in! I’m anxious to learn more about your discovery. Dalal! Bring some hot black coffee to the study, please.” Turning to Abbot, he smiles. “Nothing is better for thinking than a good cup of black coffee.” He taps his temple. “It sharpens the mind.”Entering the study, Arax motions Abbot to a chair as he continues to the massive book collection behind his desk. In a faraway voice deep in concentration, he asks, “Did you say it was by Wilbur Thomas?”“Yes! Its title is “Giza-What We Know.” Arax scans for a few more seconds before exclaiming, “Ah! Here it is!” Standing on his tip-toes, he stretches to the third shelf and retrieves the book. Puffing, he walks to the table. “Humphrey, I would have reached up there ten years ago and easily gotten this book! It seems the older I get, the shorter I become!” Both men laugh.Abbot shows Arax the passage in question. Arax closes his eyes to think. Shaking his head, he opens his eyes and lifts his eyebrows. “I can’t remember having heard of such a chamber before. Perhaps it’s recorded on some old papyrus that describes the pyramid’s building. I’ll get them.” Arax returns with an armful of scrolls and gently starts unfurling them on the table. The two men ponder over them but to no avail. Arax is the first to speak. “I don’t find anything about an addition or exterior chamber, do you, Humphrey?”“I’m sorry to say it, but I don’t, Shakir. Thank you for all your help. I’ll have to find another way somehow.”
Arax strokes his small, grey goatee. “I was just thinking. Perhaps you might try remote sensing. It’s a technique where you climb to a very high place to see all the surrounding landscape and look for abnormalities such as depressions.”
Abbot pulls on the corner of his mustache. “Hmm. Perhaps if I rent an airplane, I could reach an altitude to see a depression like that. The ground is packed hard enough from all the tourists and such. Yes! I think it might work. Thank you, Shakir. You’ve been most helpful.”
“Think nothing of it. I’m more than happy to help. I might even come to the site in a day or two to see how the project progresses.”
“That would be wonderful, Shakir. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you.” With that, the two men part.
…
Professor Abbot watches the Piper Cub taxi to a stop. Inside, he sees Timmy in a lengthy conversation with the pilot before emerging from the plane. Timmy waves vigorously as he approaches his boss.
“Hey there, Professor. I got some great shots, and an indent can be seen next to the pyramid! You can see it good from the plane.”
“That’s great to hear, Timmy. Good news indeed. I’m looking forward to seeing the photos, but tell me. What took you so long to get out of the plane?” Timmy looks back toward the plane, “Oh that?” Abbot looks in time to see the pilot remove her headset and long blonde hair cascade over her shoulders. Arching his eyebrow, he side-eyes Timmy, who only grins and blushes. “I’m meeting her tonight for dinner,” he smirks.
Abbot and Barrows look over the snapshots the next day at the site. “It appears the length is correct, don’t you think, Phil?”
Holding a photo up for a closer look, Barrows squints. “It’s hard to tell from this distance, but you can see that whatever it is, it is centered to the pyramid. Will we dig straight down to it, Professor?”
“No. It is probably enclosed, hence the need for a hidden corridor or stairway for entrance. The main passageway is small, measuring only 3.4 feet wide and 3.8 feet high. I’ll have to send in one man at a time with some tape. He can mark each stone he tests with the tape before he moves to the next one. It will be hard work, but I can think of no other way, can you?” Barrows shakes his head no.
In the meantime, Timmy obtains a GPR, a ground-penetrating radar machine. It reveals an object approximately six feet deep under the surface of the sand. Though quite exciting, it shows little else. The crew even employs metal detectors but discovers nothing.
Finally, one of Abanoub’s men runs excitedly out the passageway, shouting in Arabic, “I found it! I found it!”
Barrows and Abbot dash to the pyramid, sand flying up behind them. Barrows stops short at the entrance. “I think my size will slow you down, Professor. Perhaps Timmy would be a more suitable choice for helping you now.” When Timmy arrives, Professor Abbot explains that Timmy is there to help him identify and record what they’re about to see. The two men squat down and duck waddle into the passageway. After laboring for about fifty feet or so, they reach the opening. Timmy continues a few feet further before turning around to face the Professor. “Gee whiz, Professor. This sure is exciting. Whoever thought there would be a chamber! Look! It’s a ramp! It looks pretty steep!”
“Yes. That’s why we must go back. If we were to go down there now, we’d be stuck. We must construct a way to get back out once we’ve gone down.”
The three men return a few hours later with a long measure of rope that has knots tied every few feet. Abbot throws the rope down the ramp as Barrows wraps it around his arm. Abbot then hands it to Clark. “Well, Timmy. Are you ready to give it a go?” Timmy’s eyes sparkle in the light of the electric torches as he smiles and salutes Professor Abbot. “Ready as I’ll ever be, Sir.” With that, he slips off the edge of the opening and slides to the end of the ramp. His “Aye-Hoo!” reverberates to the bottom. Abbot shakes his head while pinching the bridge of his nose. “Oh, that boy!” Barrows smiles and snorts.
“Timmy? Can you see anything?”
“Yes, Professor. There is an outline of a door. Due to its proximity to the bottom of the ramp, I would say it pushes inward. There are some hieroglyphics over the door, too.”
Abbot nervously strokes his mustache. “Do you think you can read them?”
There’s a hesitation. “Well, I’m a little rusty, but I’ll give it a go!” All is quiet while Timmy tries to decipher the message.
Anticipation overtakes Abbot. “Well, boy, have you discerned what it says?”
Clark’s voice wavers. “I believe so, though it’s somewhat confusing. It says, “Chamber of the Gods.” An imprint on the door is shaped like a strange hand. It consists of three digits and a thumb.” Clark conforms his hand to fit the imprint and then gives it a light push. The door glides open. “Professor! Come quickly! You’ve got to see this!” Clark’s voice echos up the shaft.
Abbot turns to Barrows. “Give the rope to someone else and follow me. I may need you.” Without hesitation, the sixty-seven-year-old man slides down the ramp. Barrows arrives seconds later. Abbot notices Clark’s face is aglow, and a strange light emits from the chamber. Clark’s eyes are large, and his mouth slightly agape. Abbot whispers, “Where the devil is that light coming from?” Clark gestures to Abbot with his hand proffering entrance. “Sir, this is your discovery. Therefore, you have the honor of entering first.” He bows slightly.
Abbot enters cautiously, glancing over the room. He soon discovers the light is coming from the ceiling and seems to grow brighter depending on which direction you move. “Fascinating,” he whispers. Along the wall, there are various stations with dials and knobs and switches. The wall at the end of the chamber is a large screen depicting an unknown section of outer space. Stroking his mustache intensely, Abbot announces, “Gentlemen, I believe this to be a live display!”
Barrows sits in an oversized chair that sinks a little under his weight. “Are we to believe that all those crackpots on TV are right? Aliens really did help the ancient Egyptians?” Behind Barrows, a small screen flickers to life. Abbot recognizes the man with the head of a hawk as the deity Ra, the sun god believed to be the creator of all other gods and humans. It speaks. “I see you are not Egyptians. I will speak to you in your native tongue. I am Ra! By opening the chamber, you have sent a signal confirming that the time has come for us to return. Your civilization has advanced to the time of being useful to our needs. Inform your leaders to prepare a temple of honor for us to abide in. We are coming!”
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Here is what China said to the United States Defense Minister. He was not pleased.
Part I – The 2024 Defense Summit in Singapore has ended. Below are the Chinese highlights re USA & Taiwan. Part II is about Philippines.
Re USA alone
1, China asked Austin if USA is planning to set up an Asian version of NATO. No answer. Austin then was quiet for 1 day. Later he admitted he was not pleased.
2, China accused USA to be the one who causes global unrest & war in the 21st century.
re USA & Taiwan, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun said …
1, Any country who helps Taiwan seceding from China will end up breaking its bones into pieces & destroying itself (粉身碎骨，自我灭亡)
2, China can control Taiwan like catching a fish that is confined in a container (瓮中捉鳖)
3, USA has been hollowing out the ONE China policy bit by bit (掏空一中原则).
(I add) USA has no credibility. Never keeps promise & follow thru the policy.
US Defense Secy Austin responded by urging China to have dialogue with Taiwan. Maintain status quo with threat or punishment.
(I add) Who stopped the dialogue? Taiwan. Who is behind Taiwan? USA.
Continue with Part II re Philippines.
What was the most legendary “I quit!” that you know about or witnessed?
Originally Answered: What was the most legendary "I quit!" that you know about or witnessed?
I worked at a Starbucks inside of a Target during two college summers. There was one employee there who had been there a few years, worked hard and was happy to train others, was often willing to pick up unwanted shifts, and regularly received good feedback. He was also one of the few people who worked there year-round instead of seasonally and was adored by customers.
His girlfriend moved a few hours away for college and he wanted to be able to plan ahead to visit her some weekends. At first he requested all weekends off, vowing to willingly work any hours/shifts needed during the week and then, when they refused, countered with asking for something like every other weekend off, the first and last weekend of every month off, etc. Despite many of us wanting more hours (so they presumably would have been able to cover the shifts he wanted off without issue), he was refused.
He requested yet another meeting with our manager to practically beg— he liked his job, loved his girlfriend, was a reasonable guy and valuable employee, and was being flexible in his requests. She refused.
Apparently the next part of the story involved him angrily responding about how hard he’d worked for them, how he couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t budge, and worked himself into a frenzy that involved him removing his company-issued shirt and apron and throwing it into our manager’s garbage can. I was delighted to be able to witness with my own eyes him parading shirtless through the store—but still with his required khakis, black shoes, and hat—hooting and hollering all the way. Dude looked like a glorious lunatic; it was fantastic.
**Disclaimer: this was a bad manager issue, not one that should reflect on the companies noted. The manager didn’t last long after the Shirtless Quitter—her best employee who often covered up her mistakes and did her work for her—was gone.
"President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that preserving historical memory is more than just a tribute to the sacrifices that our people and country made for the sake of our independence, but also guarantees our sovereignty and independence in the future.
It’s impossible to be a nation without historical memory, which fact the history of our country has proved many times.
The great victories of our predecessors date back to Kievan Rus, and the Napoleonic wars, the wars of the 19th century, the Crimean War and other military campaigns aimed primarily to weaken Russia.
It all ended in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II and creating the United Nations based on eternal vows to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.
The Nuremberg Tribunal appeared to have put an end to the arguments about who was right and who was at fault, who fought for a just cause and who fought for global domination using absolutely inhuman methods.
Unfortunately, we are witnessing the attempts to 'realise' history, to rewrite it, and to equate those who defeated Nazism to the Nazi hordes which fact is particularly salient in the case of Ukraine."
Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview for No Statute of Limitations project, Moscow, June 1, 2024.
10 reasons Cambodia is better than The Philippines
Why You Have Every Right to Cut Off Toxic Family Members
We’ve all heard the saying “blood is thicker than water.” It’s supposed to mean that family ties are the strongest bonds of all, that you should always put family first, no matter what.
Well, I call bullshit.
Here’s the truth: Just because someone shares your DNA doesn’t give them a free pass to be a toxic asshole in your life. It doesn’t obligate you to put up with their abuse, manipulation, or constant negativity. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean you have to keep them around if they’re dragging you down.
But for some reason, we’ve been conditioned to believe that we owe unwavering loyalty and unlimited chances to our family members, even when they’re consistently shitty to us. We make excuses for their behavior, we minimize their impact, and we keep engaging with them out of some misplaced sense of duty.
Fuck that noise. Your duty is to yourself and your own well-being. And if a family member is poisoning your life with their toxicity, you have every right to cut them out.
I know, I know – the mere thought of it feels sacrilegious. We’re not supposed to “give up” on family, right? We’re supposed to love them unconditionally, to turn the other cheek, to keep trying no matter how many times they hurt us.
But here’s the thing: That kind of blind, self-abandoning loyalty is a one-way ticket to misery. It’s not noble or virtuous to let someone continuously trample your boundaries and well-being, family or not. In fact, it’s a form of self-betrayal.
And look, I’m not saying you should cut off every family member who occasionally annoys you or makes a mistake. We’re all human, and we all fuck up sometimes. The key is to look at patterns of behavior. If a family member is consistently toxic, if they’re repeatedly causing you harm and showing no real interest in changing, then it’s time to re-evaluate whether they deserve a place in your life.
This can be incredibly difficult, I know. Cutting off a toxic family member can come with a tidal wave of guilt, fear, and self-doubt. You might worry about the fallout, the judgment from other family members, the loneliness of losing that connection.
But you know what’s worse than all of that? Spending your precious years on this earth being slowly eroded by someone else’s toxicity. Compromising your own happiness, sanity, and growth for the sake of an unhealthy loyalty. Betraying yourself again and again by allowing unacceptable treatment from anyone, blood-related or not.
So here’s my advice: Muster up the courage to put yourself first. Have the hard conversations, set the firm boundaries, and if necessary, cut the toxic ties. Will it be painful? Probably. Will there be backlash and confusion from some people? Almost certainly.
But will it also be a profound act of self-love and self-preservation? Absolutely. And that, my friend, is always worth it.
Remember, you get to choose your family in this life. You get to decide who deserves a seat at the table of your existence. And if a blood relative is consistently shitting on that table, it’s time to show them the door.
Cutting off toxic family members doesn’t make you cold, selfish, or unkind. It makes you brave, self-aware, and committed to your own healing. And that is something to be fucking proud of.
Australia exporting crime?
The world is changing.
I guess Donald needs to review his definition of shithole countries, especially color and continent.
Australian man, 39, charged for robbing Tampines moneylender of S$6,095 with knife
He allegedly put a 32-year-old female in fear of bodily hurt during the robbery.
Australian man, 39, charged for robbing Tampines moneylender of S$6,095 with knife
He allegedly put a 32-year-old female in fear of bodily hurt during the robbery.
Matthias Ang | June 04, 2024, 12:03 PM
seized
A 39-year-old Australian man was charged in Singapore on Jun. 4, 2024, for an alleged armed robbery of a Tampines moneylender.
According to charge sheets, Jose Manuel Pacheco allegedly robbed the moneylender at Block 503 Tampines with a knife on Jun. 3, 2024, at around 1:42pm and got away with S$6,095.
Charge sheets also show that he allegedly put a 32-year-old female in fear of bodily hurt while committing the robbery.
According to court records, Pacheco has been offered bail of S$20,000.
Victim took note of suspect's outfit while handing over the money
According to a press release by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Pacheco was arrested within half an hour of the alleged crime.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had allegedly robbed the victim at knifepoint while wearing a mask and a cap.
He had also supposedly demanded for the cash to be put in a bag.
The victim then handed over S$6,095.
Even as she was preparing the money however, she maintained her composure and noted the attire and appearance of the man, the police added.
Gave the police a "detailed" description of the man
The police were alerted to the incident at 2:10pm.
While responding officers were making their way to the scene, they received a detailed description of the suspect from the victim, which was vital to his arrest, according to the commander of the Bedok Police Division, Justin Wong.
Upon arrival, police officers noticed a man who fit the description and arrested him about half an hour after the robbery occurred.
The stolen cash was recovered in full, along with the knife used during the robbery.
The offence of armed robbery committed during the day carries a jail term of between two to 10 years and at least 12 strokes of the cane.
Americans First Time in China… NOT AT ALL what we expected
“I was always willing to be reasonable. Until I had to be unreasonable. Sometimes reasonable men, must do unreasonable things.” – Marvin Heemeyer
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June 4, 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of libertarian Folk hero Marvin Heemeyer’s Killdozer Ride through Granby, Colorado.
Buckle up for a wild tale in a Killdozer.
There once lived a man of humble means named Marvin Heemeyer. Marvin owned a muffler shop in Granby, Colorado.
Marv was a simple man. Paid his taxes. Owned his business. Lived a quiet life.
Until one day, the City Council went full King George on our blessed Patriot.
Now, The City Council had approved the building of a concrete factory across the street from Marvin’s muffler shop. That would have been fine- However, this building would block the only access road to Marvin’s business.
Marvin petitioned first to have the construction stopped- he was rejected.
Marvin petitioned again to build another access road. Even offered to do it himself- boom. denied.
So despite his best efforts, the concrete business was built anyway. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s construction cut off Marvin’s sewage lines from the town.
Marvin’s business was effectively isolated from the town right down to his toilets.
So how did the City Council respond? They did something right?!
Of course! Naturally, like every dystopian central planning board of fight communists, they fined Marvin.
So Marvin’s business was destroyed. He had fines to pay. He was ignored by his city government.
All seemed lost- But the spirit of the great American Swamp Fox coursed through the veins of our legend and he decided to do the only logical thing he could think of — And build a killdozer.
Over the course of the next 18 months, Marvin would upgrade a bulldozer he’d purchased with 3ft thick steel armor, a camera, and bullet proof glass.
And on the fourth day of June in the 2004th year of our lord, Marvin and his killdozer would burst through the side of his own muffler shop before plowing through the walls of that concrete factory like some kind of Paul Revere Koolaid Man off to deliver a hell of a message
Marvin and his mighty steed would blow through 13 more buildings owned by the tyrants who destroyed his life, as if they were the Hessian mercenaries at Trenton and he was their Christmas night surprise.
Marvin avoided all people using his camera. Marvin was a gentle man.
Entire SWAT teams were brought to their knees by Killdozer, like the cowardly redcoats at Lexington and Concord. Explosives were no match for Killdozer, for Killdozer was an impenetrable work of art— the Mona Lisa, if you will, of reconnaissance automobiles.
The comeuppance of the city planners would continue until Marvin and Killdozer became trapped in the final building where Marvin would sacrifice his own life and l immortalize himself in our hearts and minds, forever. There would be no other casualties.
A note discovered later would answer any questions as to why Marvin Heemeyer did what he did. It read,
“I was always willing to be reasonable. Until I had to be unreasonable. Sometimes reasonable men, must do unreasonable things.”
God Bless Marvin. And God Bless his mighty Killdozer.
Marvin Heemeyer
Girl LOSES Job Because Of TikTok
What is the saddest thing about your father and/or mother?
My parents were both born in the 1920’s. At the age of 8, my mom lost her eye after someone threw an open can at her. The doctors and teachers told her that she’d never amount to anything and that she was only good for having babies. My dad had (undiagnosed) mental issues from a young age. Both their parents got together and thought they’d make a good couple. There was no courtship or love, and my mom endured that extra pain for the next 44 years. They didn’t believe in divorce. My dad kept her pregnant so she had to stay home while he cheated on her with everyone that he could. I have proof from many sources. She was afraid and never stood up to him. Nearly 20 children later, her body could not take another pregnancy and she was done.
When I was 22, she started getting sick and was diagnosed with heart disease. He refused to let her have the lifesaving bypass she so desperately needed, because “Who wants a woman with that kind of a scar?!” Her death shattered our family, and it has never been the same. He died a few years later, and most people came to the funeral just to make sure. Mom was buried in the most beautiful casket created, and her funeral was so big that the church was overfilled and there were many people that had to stand outside. We buried that asshole in the cheapest box we could find.
I believe that mom is finally happy and at peace. Hopefully she’ll be reincarnated and have the wonderful life she so richly deserves.
Why is China losing the space station competition?
Let’s go into some very brief historical facts:
The International Space Station (ISS) was an unprecedented scientific and engineering collaboration among five space agencies representing 15 countries, took 10 years and more than 30 missions to assemble and launched to orbit the earth.
Having been banned, specifically by the U.S.A, from participation in the International Space, China decided to build their own space Tiangong station all by their lonesome self and, possibly by 2030 after the demise of the ISS, will be the only Earthling to have a working space station. Besides the U.S.A who had a huge head start in space exploration, China is now the only other nation to have successfully landed a rover on the Moon and Mars and ALL with their first attempt. Very recently, China launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt. Sometime back, the convicted war criminal Japan failed in their attempt to land a rover on the Moon as did Russia, Israel and other nations. Recently, India managed to successfully land a rover, while the Jepun tried again and managed to land an upside-down Rover which wasn’t of much use to anybody.
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So, as in space, without any doubt, China will excel in whatever they put their mind to do on planet Earth. And come to think of it, China accomplished all that in just over 42 years after coming out of isolation & hibernation. So, looks like Napolean is correct when he warned: “China is a sleeping giant, let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.”
The world can only imagine what else China can and will accomplish in the next 50-100 years.
So, what space competition are you talking about? That must be another one of your government and news media anti-China propaganda.
Tri-Tip Burritos
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Ingredients
1 medium-size tri-tip
1 large can green enchilada sauce
Fresh jalapenos, sliced (about 5 to 6)
Burrito-size flour tortillas
Sour cream
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Place meat at bottom of slow cooker.
Cover with entire can of enchilada sauce and throw in jalapeno slices.
Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
Before serving, take meat out (with portion of sauce) and place in bowl.
Shred with 2 forks (meat should shred very easily).
Warm tortillas and serve meat/sauce on tortillas with sour cream and Cheddar cheese as garnish.
“It’s Going To Get Ugly!” – Says Neil Oliver In Interview w/Jimmy Dore
How to stay young, even in old age: Don’t stop exercising, scientists say
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Exercise helps keep us young, and new research finds that statement is more literal than most assume. Scientists at the University of Arkansas report exercising slows down the aging process on a cellular level. The effect remains even if you start exercising later in life.
The team’s animal study used elderly lab mice nearing the end of their natural lifespan (22 months) and studied their interactions with a weighted exercise wheel. Mice rarely need any motivation to go for a run. Older mice run about three to five miles per day and younger mice run six to seven miles daily. The extra weight on the wheel also ensured the rodents’ muscles got an extra workout, with researchers comparing the workout to “a soldier carrying a heavy backpack many miles.”
After two months on the weighted wheel, mice were similar to those eight weeks younger compared to mice of the same age (24 months) who hadn’t worked out.
“Historically, they start dropping off after 24 months at a significant rate,” says Kevin Murach, an assistant professor in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation at the U of A, in a university release. In other words, an extra eight weeks of youth represents roughly 10 percent of the average mouse’s lifespan.
Exercise slows down the aging process in your DNA
Much of the science behind these findings is based on DNA methylation. Methylation is when little caps called methyl groups attach to DNA. They act as a key to turn on and off a specific gene. As the human body ages, DNA methylation increases. Some older adults even experience hypermethylation on muscle genes.
“DNA methylation changes in a lifespan tend to happen in a somewhat systematic fashion,” Prof. Murach explains, “to the point you can look at someone’s DNA from a given tissue sample and with a fair degree of accuracy predict their chronological age.”
While the association between methylation and aging is quite clear, researchers know less about the role of methylation in muscle function. For example, it’s too soon to say that exercising and reversing methylation improves muscle health. “That’s not what the study was set up to do,” Professor Murach comments. However, he intends to pursue future studies to determine if “changes in methylation result in altered muscle function.”
“If so, what are the consequences of this?” Professor Murach concludes. “Do changes on these very specific methylation sites have an actual phenotype that emerges from that? Is it what’s causing aging or is it just associated with it? Is it just something that happens in concert with a variety of other things that are happening during the aging process? So that’s what we don’t know.”
It happened so gradually that a lot of people didn’t even realize what was happening. The cost of living just kept rising faster than paychecks were, and little by little our standard of living just kept going down. Now we have reached a stage where the ultra-wealthy are thriving but almost everyone else is struggling. For most people, it is a real fight just to pay the bills from month to month. The majority of the population is deep in debt, and meanwhile the cost of just about everything is going up and up. Millions of Americans feel like they are drowning financially, and there is no easy way out. Sadly, many of them don’t even realize that the game was designed to get them on to a hamster wheel and keep them running for as long as possible.
When I was a kid, the United States had a very large and very prosperous middle class.
Life certainly wasn’t perfect in those days, but just about everyone that I knew could afford to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle.
In the large poll of 2,500 adults, 65% of people who earn more than 200% of the federal poverty level — that’s at least $60,000 for a family of four, often considered middle class — said they are struggling financially.
If 65 percent of those that “earn more than 200% of the federal poverty level” are struggling, what about those that earn less than that?
Needless to say, almost all of them are struggling.
That same survey discovered that 46 percent of Americans don’t even have 500 dollars saved up…
About 40% of respondents were unable to plan beyond their next paycheck, and 46% didn’t have $500 saved. The February poll found that more than half said it’s at least somewhat difficult to manage current levels of debt.
Over the past couple of years, the stock market has been “booming” and the ultra-wealthy have been getting richer and richer.
But things have been getting worse for virtually all the rest of us.
According to Zillow, over the past four years “the monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home has nearly doubled”…
The real estate firm Zillow reports that since January 2020, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home has nearly doubled. It’s up 96% in just four years.
According to Zillow, a typical buyer will now pay nearly $2,200 a month, with a 10% down payment. Meaning, homeownership now costs well above the 30% of median income that was once thought to equate to “affordable” housing cost in America.
Has your income doubled over the past four years?
If not, you are falling behind.
The American people absolutely hate what is being done to their standard of living.
Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, says one of the things he has learned in the past few years is that consumers would rather see the economy fall into a recession than to continue to suffer the pain of soaring prices.
“The American people – and maybe people in Europe, equally – really hate high inflation,” Kashkari told the Financial Times podcast “The Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes” last week. “I mean, really, viscerally hate high inflation.”
He is right.
I really detest inflation.
I am sure that you do too.
But what he didn’t mention is that the Federal Reserve and our politicians in Washington are responsible for creating the epic cost of living crisis that we are currently facing.
They caused this mess, and now they don’t seem to have any solutions for cleaning it up.
Meanwhile, economic activity just continues to slow down.
On Tuesday, we learned that the number of job openings in the U.S. has fallen to the lowest level in more than 3 years…
Job openings fell more than forecast in April, signaling a potential weakening in the labor market that could provide the Federal Reserve with more impetus to start lowering interest rates.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released Tuesday showed that the level of employment vacancies slipped to 8.06 million for the month, down by nearly 300,000 from March and close to 19% lower than a year ago.
Moreover, the total marked the lowest since February 2021.
And more workers are being dumped into the streets with each passing day.
California’s $20-an-hour fast food minimum wage has its first casualty.
Mexican chain Rubio’s Coastal Grill is shuttering 48 restaurants in the state – because of the ‘rising cost of doing business in California’.
‘While painful, the store closures are a necessary step in our strategic long-term plan to position Rubio’s for success for years to come,’ a Rubio’s spokesperson added.
As this year rolls along, we will see a lot more stories like this.
For a long time, our leaders were able to keep the party going by flooding the system with money.
Mark Spitznagel, chief investment officer of Universa Investments, is known for being a “permabear” when it comes to the stock market outlook.
Spitznagel told Bloomberg in an earlier interview that we’re witnessing the “greatest credit bubble in human history.”
“Credit bubbles end. They pop. There’s no way to stop them from popping,” he said, adding that the Fed has brought the economy to a place “where there’s no turning back.”
Spitznagel is right on target.
There really is no turning back now.
Our leaders have wrecked the greatest economic machine in the history of the world.
What is ahead of us is a tremendous amount of pain.
For years, little by little our standard of living has been collapsing.
But now we are entering a time when our economic slide will become an economic avalanche.
Decades of absolutely disastrous decisions have brought us to this point, and now we shall truly reap what we have sown.
Why It’s Never Too Late to Chase New Dreams
There’s a pervasive and utterly bullshit notion in our society that once you reach a certain age, you’re supposed to have your whole life figured out. That you should be settled in your career, content with your achievements, and coasting towards retirement on a wave of predictability.
Well, I’m here to tell you that’s a steaming pile of horse shit.
The truth is, you’re never too old to set a new goal or chase a new dream. You’re never too far along in life to make a drastic change, to start a new adventure, or to reinvent yourself completely.
But for some reason, we tend to internalize this idea that after a certain point, our lives should be set in stone. That it’s somehow embarrassing or irresponsible to want something radically different than what we have, to admit that we’re not satisfied with the path we’ve been on.
Fuck that noise. Life is too short to resign yourself to a script someone else wrote for you. It’s too precious to spend marching towards a future that doesn’t set your soul on fire, just because you think you’re “too old” to change course.
Listen, I get it. The older we get, the more entrenched we become in our routines, our responsibilities, our identities. It can feel daunting as hell to even consider upending the life we’ve built, even if that life isn’t truly fulfilling us.
But you know what’s even scarier than starting over? Waking up one day, decades down the line, and realizing you squandered your one wild and precious life on a path that wasn’t truly yours. Realizing you let your dreams wither and die because you bought into the idea that you were too old to pursue them.
The reality is, as long as you’re breathing, you have the power to create change in your life. You have the right to want more, to strive for different, to chase the things that make you come alive, regardless of your age.
Sure, it might be harder than it would’ve been when you were 20. You might have more baggage to sort through, more logistics to figure out, more naysayers to prove wrong. But so fucking what? Since when did “hard” become a reason not to go after what you want?
The most fulfilling things in life are often the most challenging to attain. And the older you get, the more grit, resilience, and wisdom you have to tackle those challenges. Your age isn’t a limitation – it’s a source of strength.
So if there’s a dream that’s been whispering in your ear, a goal that keeps nudging at your soul, a vision of a life that looks nothing like the one you’re currently living – listen to it. Feed it. And then start fucking chasing it, no matter how old you are.
Will it be a smooth, easy path? Probably not. Will everyone understand and support your new pursuits? Definitely not. But will it be worth it to look back on a life colored by your own desires, your own choices, your own relentless pursuit of what matters to you? Abso-fucking-lutely.
You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream. And anyone who tells you otherwise is probably just scared of their own untapped potential.
So shut out the noise, tune into your own desires, and get to work on creating the life you truly want. Your age has fuck-all to do with what you’re capable of achieving.
The world is waiting for your next move, your next goal, your next dream. Don’t keep it waiting forever.
China Steps Up Harsh Warning to E.U Days Before Tariff Decision
You know, and things that were normal to you at one place and time, seem strange in another.
Consider 1962 Connecticut, USA compared to 2024 Zhuhai, China.
Back then, everyone had a set of bongo drums. Pictures of extra big-eyed boys and girls hung on the walls. Men would get their shoes shined on the sidewalk and a “spit shine” was common. My cousins played the accordion, and my father would play the harmonica after dinner. I had a “Red Ryder” wagon that I pulled behind me everywhere, and a cowboy hat and a cowboy pistol that had a cap gun with these round red rolls of noise makers. We would eat wax lip candy and pretend to smoke gum that looked like cigarettes.
Today, everyone carries a cell phone. You pay in QR, and use face scanning to enter buildings and clock in at work. If you are hungry you get some dumplings or some mian (Chinese spaghetti). It’s pretty quiet as many vehicles are electric.
But, you know, some things never change.
Both in the 1960's and today, the world worries about a nuclear war between the USA and Russia.
And somethings stay the same, but change in odd ways.
Cuba broke away from USA influence, and became communist.
Taiwan is in the process of breaking away from USA influence and will become communist.
It’s so easy to get caught up in all this. I guess it’s our nature. Let’s not be so darn manipulated that it affects our health. Let’s just get on with our lives and give the finger to the rest of the world. What do you think? Eh?
Today…
Is there a fake Rolex that is so perfectly made that it can’t be spotted?
I really shouldn’t answer this question but, somehow, I can’t stop myself.
When I was a young man I desperately wanted a Rolex Submariner so, through a friend in the military with access to his base duty free store I got one at a price I could afford. He just wore it and walked through the customs’ check at RAF Lyneham: happy days all round.
He brought all the memorabilia with him – posh box, certificate et al.
I nearly exploded with pride.
The Rolex proved to be the biggest load of watch rubbish I have ever owned.
It didn’t so much tell the time as give its best estimate. On a good month, it was three minutes out. Bad months were even worse.
At the end of the year, I went to have it serviced and the bill was extortionate – absolutely daylight robbery.
So, an utterly crap time keeper and Rolex agents simply conning guilible customers that they are getting some super exclusive service.
In my mind, I can’t see any reason to wear a fake Rolex which just advertises the fact that you have been conned into thinking that you are getting something special.
Now, if you really want a special watch – something uttterly incredible, let me introduce you to my Casio.
I paid £65 ($80) six years ago for it. It never leaves my wrist no matter what I am doing – drilling in my workshop, scuba diving, sailing, welding, riding my motorcycle – it goes everywhere.
I could make up some fantasy about its accuracy but this would be a waste of time.
The truth is that I don’t know how accurate it is. Between British summer time and winter time it gains maybe four or five seconds – over six months.
The total “servicing” costs have been one new battery and the back re-sealed to original factory standards.
Note its battered appearance. That’s because it has worked all its life!
If you want a good looking, high quality, reliable and accurate watch just buy a Casio.
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Young Americans visit China for the first time and said this!!
Stable Diffusion fun images
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Barbecued Brisket with Noodles
Barbecued Brisket with Noodles
Ingredients
1 (2 1/2 pound) beef brisket
1 cup bottled hickory smoke barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 ounces wide noodles
Instructions
Place brisket in slow cooker.
In a small bowl, combine barbecue sauce, horseradish, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over brisket.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until brisket is tender.
Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.
Slice meat. Arrange sliced meat on noodles and top with sauce.
Life has already begun. There is neither an interlude nor a trial version. There won’t be a second chance to do meaningful things.
Fancy cars and big houses are not the assets. These are liabilities. They don’t make you richer but rather require additional expenses.
There is no a perfect moment to take an action. The best time to take a step is now.
If used properly, time is the asset you can convert into knowledge, skills, and money.
You are unlikely to get rich working for someone else.
Overnight success is a myth. Everything worth doing takes years.
Your weaknesses don’t matter. You should always be focused on your strengths.
Environment is what defines the level of your success in the long-run. People who surround you can either make you or break you.
No risk no gain. You cannot get anything unless you invest something.
Long-term reward is far more valuable than an instant gratification.
Good enough is shitty. Only excellence can make a difference.
Did you ever see karma hit someone who deserved it so befittingly that it was eerie?
Yes, this was just a week ago. I was coming back from a trip, towing my RV on the freeway doing about 65 in the slow lane went out of nowhere comes to kids apparently in their 20s in a silver Corvette doing easily in excess of 100 miles an hour weaving in and out of traffic and you’ve seen this before barely missing cars as they sweep across two and three lanes to get slightly ahead, but they’re doing well in excess of 100 miles an hour. Four minutes ahead on the freeway pull over on the side by the highway patrol are these two kids outside of their car being handcuffed. That’s what I call Karma very rarely do you get to actually see these jackasses getting handcuffed?
What China just did to the U.S. Military is SHOCKING and Taiwan is in Trouble
China is in a full-fledged financial panic, due to the collapse of the real estate sector, so isn’t it a joke to think that any Chinese would be cashing in their US T Bills, since that is the only real means of savings, that China or its people have?
Full-fledged financial panic?
I was just in Macau for a trade show, and the financial panic must be why I saw all these Mainland Chinese queueing up outside the Chanel boutique in the Four Seasons. I mean, in a financial meltdown, Chanel bags and shoes are the first thing you buy, right?
I can’t quite explain the hordes of Mainland Chinese tourists strolling around and taking photos on the Cotai Strip, though.
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Great Hall at the Venetian Macau on 24th May (my photo). Everyone speaking Putonghua and indulging in full-fledged panic eating…
Maybe they decided to delay the financial panic until after their holiday?
So much wrong in one short question.
Man Dies & Learns We Have It Completely Backwards! (Unbelievable Near-Death Experience) 2024
What’s the most offensive Christmas present you’ve ever received?
From my mom. She was mad so when she came down to see my brother and me, she gave me a purse of mine I lent her and some of my middle school clothes back to me, as well as a new pair of socks and a thing of kitchen rags unwrapped. The socks were nice though – I liked them.
She then gave my brother some brand new books he wanted wrapped and a $100 dollar gift card to Amazon lol. I got her some new Sephora make-up, a pretty snow globe, and something else I can’t remember. Barely had time to just put it in her car because she drove off angry and refused to open it.
The worst part is the only other Christmas gift I got was from my brother, but it was sweet and my best one.
Also in case there was confusion we were adults (I think 22 & 20 then?) that live in a city away from her now; our apartments were just down the street from each other and neither of us had cars, – that’s why she drove up.
My mom angrily dropped off some Christmas dinner her BF of a month made for us too before she drove off to his place. Still an awesome Christmas though! Played some of the games I bought my brother, together, and we watched cartoons while we ate and I made hot cocoa. Actually it was one of my favorite Christmases or favorite I’ve probably ever had. Love him. I’m 24 now and he’s turning 23 Sunday.
What was the most disturbing thing that your seatmate did during a flight?
This happened during boarding. I was running late and was one of the last people to board. I go to my assigned seat to find the guy in the middle seat is huge, like 400 pounds huge. I’m looking at my seat and trying to figure out how I am going to get my 250 pound body into what is in essence 1/3 of a seat. While I am looking the guy says “too bad you’re so fat, I don’t think you’re going to fit here. Maybe you should take the next flight.” Now I am normally the funny guy but this hit me wrong – before I could offer a smart ass remark the flight attendant came and she knew immediately what was going on. She told the guy that since he was really taking up two seats he should pay for two seats, but she would help out this situation and let him slide. He gave me a sickening smile and she said “I’ll get you another seat, let’s get you settled.” She promptly took me to business class and gave me the only open seat there. I did open the curtain during the flight to make sure my former seatmate saw me and when we made eye contact I gave him the biggest wave.
Pizza Porn
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Are there fake products which are better in quality than the original product?
When I was living in Beijing in 2010 as a foreign exchange student my dad came to visit. My dad is an avid skier and always buys North Face jackets.
He’s been skiing for over fifty years so knows his North Face jackets well.
It was winter in Beijing and pretty cold and I needed a new jacket.
I decided to take him to one of the “fake” goods markets in Beijing. This one in particular was called the Silk Market.
You bargain for everything in these markets and there were a few vendors selling “fake” North Face jackets.
I decided to try my luck and see how much I could get a North Face jacket for. After about what seemed like an hour of haggling, I finally got the salesman down to 250 rmb from his original ask of over 2000 rmb. (250 rmb is about 35 usd)
While I was bargaining, my Dad, the North Face jacket expert was inspecting their jackets.
He was amazed.
Everything from their labels to the actual tag was exactly as it was back in America.
I bought that jacket and to this day it still holds up.
Now that I’ve started manufacturing a lot in China, I’ve come to realize that large factories almost always produce more than what is ordered from bigger clients.
With the leftover goods, what do you think they do?
They sell them on local markets.
The jacket I bought that day in the Silk Market, might have come from an actual North Face manufacturer.
REAL Parallel Universe Stories That Defy Science
PLA military drills around Taiwan legitimate and necessary — FM spokesperson
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that the joint military drills surrounding the island of Taiwan are legitimate and necessary.
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It’s completely legitimate and necessary for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to conduct joint military drills surrounding the island of Taiwan, safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, strongly punish the separatist forces seeking “Taiwan independence,” and seriously warn against interference and provocation by external forces, said spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a daily press briefing.
He said the drills are fully in line with international law and practice.
Wang said that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. This is not only a historical fact, but also a real status quo. It will never change in the future. “Taiwan independence” leads nowhere. The Chinese people will never waver in their resolve to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
All “Taiwan independence” separatist acts will be hit head-on by more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, and all “Taiwan independence” separatist forces will be hit hard in the face of the historical trend of China’s complete reunification, he added.
“We urge the U.S. side to stop emboldening and supporting the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. Any act that endangers China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity will be resolutely and forcefully counterattacked by China,” the spokesperson said.
In response to another query about whether China plans to conduct more “punishment” drills, Wang said each time “Taiwan independence” separatists make waves, it garners stronger effort from China and the rest of the world to defend the one-China principle.
Figurative Art
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Have you ever reported someone to CPS or similar to remove a child from a situation? What about reporting family?
I had to report my best friend at the time…..She had 2 children, a 2-year old and a 1-year-old. I saw it get worse and worse.
It started with her yelling at, calling them stupid, retarded, pulling them around by their hair, slapping them and eventually punching them.
She left a bruise once that literally covered half of the 2 year olds face. I saw her pick him up with both hands around his throat.
I used to go to her house daily to make sure she didn’t hurt them. I tried talking to her and couldn’t get through to her, I even tried talking to other mutual friends to try and get them to talk to her too.
The father (who didn’t live in the home) called the cops one night after she picked the 2 year old up out of the car seat and carried him to the garage by his throat. ( all because she thought he killed her goldfish) I witnessed the whole thing.
When the cops came, initially I lied for her. After they left, she kept going on and on about the goldfish and how her son was still going to be punished more for it.
I tried to leave but I was afraid she would hurt them and I then realized as an adult I was responsible and if I didn’t do some thing then I was an abuser too.
So I called the police parked in my car outside her house and spoke with the same deputy who came out earlier that night, the same deputy that I bold faced lied to. I told them the truth about what happened. They came back immediately and took the children.
I had actually called their father first and told him what I was going to do in hopes he would show up and he could take them. Maybe he didn’t think I’d really do it? Im not sure but for some reason he never showed up. But he did eventually get them from foster care and they are currently with him now.
I hear My friend since gave birth to another baby. My friend hates me and I haven’t spoken to her since that night. I really miss her and her children but I think I did the right thing.
528 Hz MIRACLE FREQUENCY • MANIFEST YOUR DEEPEST DESIRES • WHOLE BODY REGENERATION
What is the reason that many Taiwanese people are against selling F-16s to Taiwan?
Since Taiwan Province is part of China, virtually no country in the world would invade Taiwan. Because it means invading the People’s Republic of China. Then, on the premise that ” no external enemy can invade Taiwan “, Taiwan buys a large number of weapons that can only be used against the People’s Republic of China.
The document on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States points out that ” both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to One China “. For four decades, it was said to be the basis of American policy toward China. This can be compared to: there is a family called China, the mainland and Taiwan islands are members of this family. They are family, therefore, their contradiction is parent-child contradiction, husband and wife contradiction, brother contradiction. But not between enemies.
But a man thousands of kilometers across the Pacific came up and told Taiwan that you have to carry guns and grenades when dealing with your family. Because your family will kill you. Perhaps an undeclassified historical archive records Taiwan’s intention not to buy weapons. But this good man thousands of kilometers away would threaten and deceive the two families in various ways in order to get one of them to buy weapons.
Only Taiwan’s elite can recognize this fact. However, some of the elite live a drunken life, they do not think about the future of Taiwan and its people. For them, even after his death. This elite is deeply tied to the national interests of the United States.
Other Taiwanese elites are worried. Their proper voice channels have been shut down. Warnings can only be issued through online media. This is why the purchase of American fighter planes is opposed by some Taiwanese.
The people of the Chinese mainland have been told for more than 70 years that Taiwan isle is our family and that we should maintain close relations with our Taiwan compatriots. But, after 2005, After Chinese mainland began popularizing the internet in both urban and rural areas (before the GFW in Mainland China blocked access to some foreign websites), Many Chinese dreams of kinship with Taiwan disappeared when people saw some Taiwanese cursing the Chinese mainland in Taiwan’s online community. They don’t understand why another family member would want to viciously attack a loved one.
Any discussion of Taiwan’s arms purchases will ultimately get around the topic of ” China’s reunification “.
My conclusion is: first, militarily, the Chinese Communist Party does not care about populism, which keeps the island from becoming scorched earth.
Secondly, in public opinion, the existence of GWF makes it impossible for the vast majority of nationalists in Mainland China to express their views on the world internet. This has kept the topic of Taiwan’s popularity at a low level.
Otherwise, if the so-called ” democracies ” rule China, only God knows the outcome. Therefore, CCP and GFW are the saviors of the Taiwanese people. It seems ridiculous, but it is.
Au Jus Beef and Noodles
crockpot mississippi beef and noodles
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds stew beef meat
2 (7 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, undrained
2 cups beef broth
1 (1 ounce) package dry au jus gravy mix
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste
Hot cooked noodles
Instructions
Place stew meat in slow cooker.
Add beef broth and mushrooms.
Add seasonings to taste and sprinkle in au jus gravy mix to taste.
Cover; cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours.
Serve over hot cooked noodles.
Notes
Store any leftover gravy mix in a cool, dry place in an airtight container.
The Beijing Municipal Government announced a free online education and tutoring platform available to all Beijing middle school students starting in 2022. The platform’s operating hours will be Monday-Friday at 6–9PM. In addition to teaching classes, students will be able to ask questions. One-on-one tutoring will also be available with each student getting up to 30 minutes per session.
Teachers will be drawn from Beijing’s highest-ranked middle schools. Nine subjects will be covered including mathematics, physics and English.
The program’s purpose is to give equal access to all middle school students regardless of family income. Previously, this service was only provided through private companies such as New Oriental. Costs per student were up to 100,000 yuan per family, restricting it only to well-off families.
Teachers will be ranked by their students and can draw bonuses based on the score given to them by students, and the bonus caps are set at 100,000 yuan per teacher per semester. In order to prevent gaming of the system, real-name registration is required.
The costs of the service will be covered by the Beijing City Education Department, which will also manage the system.
Analysis by China’s Future (Paul Denlinger): This year the Chinese government is making multiple moves to decrease the cost of raising a child, and this is the latest move. I expect this to be a test launch; if it works well, and the initial kinks in the program are worked out, I expect it to be pushed out to other cities in China.
Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chongqing are all Tier 1 cities. Living costs are especially high in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, which are just as expensive as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the US.
I expect the interest and demand for this program to be especially high in the Tier 2 to Tier 8 cities, because parents in those cities feel that their children do not have access to the same quality education, teachers and tutoring as parents in the Tier 1 cities. They are likely to ask that this program be launched in their cities as soon as possible, and will demand their municipal governments to offer the same progam as Beijing.
All of the programs aimed at cutting education costs have the same purpose: correcting the effects of the one-child policy, which lasted too long, until 2015, and which I have discussed in this answer:
A recent report suggests that China’s population peaked this year (2021); this means that the birthrate will fall below the population replacement rate in 2022. The Chinese government has not released the latest statistics, which suggests that the numbers are not good, and the government does not want to give them broad media coverage.
The most important feature of this policy is that it is a long-term policy. Beijing women cannot start popping out second and third children immediately, and the children will be 9–10 years old before they enter middle school.
For General Secretary Xi Jinping, this is a very tangible policy which he can use to promote his “common prosperity” policy all across China, and now, overseas.
Russian satellite is called a threat to the American spacecraft
The Russian satellite COSMOS 2576 has been identified as a spacecraft designed to destroy other satellites, specifically targeting American ones, according to representatives from the US Space Command. COSMOS 2576 was launched on May 16 from the Plesetsk launch site and is currently in the same orbital plane as the American optical reconnaissance satellite USA 314 (KH-11). Although COSMOS 2576 is currently in a lower orbit, it has the capability to increase its altitude, potentially allowing it to intercept USA 314.
Initially, space monitoring experts classified COSMOS 2576 as an inspection satellite, which are typically used for spying on other satellites. Russia has previously launched similar inspection satellites, such as COSMOS 2558, which targeted USA 326, and COSMOS 2542, which monitored USA 245.
However, the US Space Command has stated that COSMOS 2576 is not merely an inspection satellite but a fully operational anti-satellite weapon. It is presumed to have the capability to attack other satellites in low Earth orbit. American intelligence had anticipated the launch of COSMOS 2576 and has shared its assessment with allied nations.
The emergence of COSMOS 2576 coincides with concerns from the American side about Russia’s intentions to deploy nuclear weapons in space to destroy satellites. While such weapons have not yet been deployed, the Pentagon is taking the situation very seriously and considers it a significant threat to national security.
Which form of alcohol is considered the worst for a human body: liquor, beer or wine?
As a current alcoholic and someone that has heavily drunk for intermittent periods but have varied my drinking substance, I feel it would be only to be able to answer with qualifying my experiences with you.
11 years ago when I became an alcoholic, as a result of coming off a drug addiction and craving a mind-altering mood substance, alcohol felt natural. So I initially went straight to Vodka – I had quite a traumatic couple of months and it made sense. But over the course of a decade now, having had detoxes, rehab, 12 steps, hospital visits – it makes sense explaining each substance and what it did to me. Let’s be honest, they are all bad. Picking between them is like picking between the devil and the deep blue sea but these are my experiences:
Vodka – I used to drink 2 litres a day at my worst and by far this is the worst substance for me (please understand that knowing hundreds of alcoholics everyone has different experiences so I am only speaking for myself). Technically a scientist and anyone in any alcoholic profession would argue that whilst the toxicity because of the concentration is high, it is cleaner alcohol due to the process then standard drinks like beer and wine. I can say that if you drink this (and I always mixed) – it absolutely terrorises your stomach lining and throat. Killed my appetite but my weight drinking 6000 calories a day made my weight go up from 11 stone at 25 to 19 1/2 by 28. I would be sick every morning regardless and at least 3–8 times a day, impossible to drink water with a permanent headache from dehydration. My doctor said before detox I had 8 months left at my rate based on my liver tests which were 400 times abnormal. Withdrawals on the substance used to leave me unable to talk and walk, have seizures, cough blood, hallucinate, have crawling skin. Even drinking I was so drunk I could have been anywhere. Worst period of my life.
Wine – I switched to wine after 3 years of vodka and 6 months clean. I figured it was a middle ground between socially acceptable and as my partner of the same period of time likes a drink, we can be responsible. Worst hangovers ever. It’s so true that the darker the liquid the worse the hangover. If you’re an alcoholic you obviously aren’t getting the benefits that wine in moderation would give you. But the alcoholics that I know that drink wine age so much quicker then those that drink something else. They all end up flush. This lasted 3 months and I got too ill.
Beer – beer as an alcoholic is impossible to drink in large quantities. Too many bubbles. It’s the best of everything on this list but to qualify my answer, it is not possible for me to drink 30 cans of beer a day. But of beer, wine, vodka, whisky, cider, it’s easily the best for you internally. And if you can burp even better. I can’t so I would look pregnant 24/7.
Cider – cider is my current drink and the reason is that it is 4.5%, relatively clean if you buy a well-known brand and the hangovers are middle-ground. However and having stuck to this only for the last 6 years (minus a period I will explain), it is the worst for acid reflux. Every morning I wake up and my stomach is on fire with sickness every sort of 3 days. I drink about 18–20 per day but Gaviscon no longer works to protect against it. I mean it’s not ideal but a morning of 3 minutes of sickness beats the other 2 options with beer ruled out. I like to joke that at least I always get my 5 a day but drinking cider now means I am never drunk (paralytic) on this and i now never deviate from cider or beer. It is extremely high in sugar and I visit the dentist every 6 months to make sure my teeth are cleaned and checked because the acidity is so bad for them and you can’t live in the bathroom.
Whisky – terrible hangovers. There are scientific benefits in moderation.
Vodka again – having not drunk for 3 months before going on holiday in Sept 2019 – within a 2 week period of drinking cocktails on an all-inclusive and a month at home, I had hepatitis of the liver and having had an endoscopy, one of the worst experiences of my life, I was a week from death. I didn’t know that at the time but I couldn’t move. My partner had to put me in nappies, I wet myself, collapsed, dropped 30 pounds in 3 weeks. I was yellow. Thankfully I ended up hospital and having experienced DT’s, believing I was in a church and my doctor was trying to lure me to the basement to kill me, I checked out, went rehab and got clean, vowing never to touch vodka or any spirits again. And since that experience I haven’t.
My answer to you would be none of them. It has changed my life for the worst and I am so thankful I have a girl that has stuck with my for 11 years. If I could actually maintain my sobriety for a sustained period of time that allowed me to work, I would love to go in to school and educate children. Because no one educates people about long term affects and withdrawals and having lost both my father and grandad to alcoholism but having been young and not understood it, there isn’t enough education on the subject or resources. I am thankful I have a family that can afford treatment. I hope everyone could get the same.
TLDR – don’t drink. All the benefits over time go and offer you nothing. So have a cold can of pop or a cup of tea.
The Genetic Arms Race | How CRISPR and AI Destroy the World
"Oh, yeah, oooh, ahhh, that's how it always starts, then later there's running and screaming."
-Jeff Goldblum
When I lived in Boston, Massachusetts I loved it there. Boston was and still is a very beautiful place. But, I have to tell you all, my first wife was peaking in her mental illness at that time, and in a lot of ways it was really rough for me personally.
For a long time I would drive to work, and drop her off at a “day care” mental facility. There she would interact with other people who also had various issues, and were taught by trained experts how to deal with life, and society. And there, she would make friends. All of whom, by the way had their own really serious issues.
For her, being around crazy people was NORMAL. For her, even though everyone knew they had problems, there was a normalization of it, and they didn’t ever get an opportunity to compare themselves with others.
She had a friend. A girl. Now she had a very low IQ. Near moronic, but was nice otherwise. But being so low IQ, she attended the programs to help her cope in with real life. And my wife took a shine to her.
Watching those two together was agonizing. It was like watching two three-year old children trying to bake a cake. It’s just a real time-consuming mess.
Anyways, I wanted to go and drive nine hours to visit my father. So I am going to take my wife. And that was that.
But imagine my surprise when she and her friend piled into the car.
Ugh! They were all happy and oblivious to the understanding that I had to be consulted in this matter. But, You know, I shrugged my shoulders and didn’t say anything.
Trust me fellas… you NEVER want to argue with two bonified-crazy chicks.
Anyways, we drive to my fathers house, and unpacked. And then when my dad has a moment, he pulls me aside and looks at my wife, and her fried and asks me what the Hell?
They were oblivious. But happy.
I told him, with a shrug, “long story, But, she’s here for the ride. Just roll with me.”
He said “Ok”, and rolled away.
It was a cluster fuck.
But I was so used to taking care of sick people that I had become numb to it. I didn’t realize just how weird and fucked up it must look like to others. They were hyper, but walked like snails. They ate, but were very peculiar. They talked, but it was all garbled sentences with terrible structures.
And towards the end of the trip my father was with me, and looked over to then down the sidewalk. And he said to me “I don’t know how you do it. You must have the patience of an angel.”
And it was at that moment that I realized that my life must really look strange to the normal people out there. I mean, well, I suspected it. But it really hit home when my father told me.
Look, we always need a third person perspective on us; to shine a spotlight on us. So that we can see if we have a zit the size of a peanut on our nose, whether or not we smell, or we eat with our mouth open like a cow. We need that feedback.
Not just us, but nations too. Perhaps that is one of the big problems with the USA today. No real accurate feedback, just a reinforced narrative of “all is great” when in fact it really isn’t.
Get that feedback. Force it. You will be a much better person for it.
Today…
What Google Search Is Like Now
Short skit. But real and you all must pay attention to this.
Which country is the strongest in terms of the military in your opinion?
In my opinion, it’s China. I know most people will say it’s America but they’re dead wrong.
America has the largest military budget. America has over 800 military bases around the world. America has 11 nuclear-powered supercarriers. America has over 5,000 nuclear weapons.
But America has not won a significant military victory since the Second World War. It has not faced a true military peer in combat. Most of its wars have been wars of insurgency involving guerrilla warfare or urban warfare where supercarriers don’t mean shit.
America currently has a military recruitment crisis. Young Americans don’t want to fight in dishonourable wars.
America currently has a military maintenance crisis. While it has fantastic military tech, its weapon systems are in dire need of maintenance with not enough money allocated for such. For example, naval ships are queued up in long lines for maintenance.
China has the world’s largest navy by number of ships. It has a stunning array of destroyers, frigates, corvettes, and submarines. China’s shipbuilding capacity is 232X greater than that of America. China can replenish its ships much faster than America can.
China has the most advanced hypersonic missiles in the world. China bristles with anti-ship missiles which largely neutralize America’s carrier strike groups.
China has the world’s largest army, as well as a stunning array of advanced armoured vehicles and tanks.
Despite having a smaller nuclear arsenal, China has more than enough nuclear weapons to wipe America off the map.
China only needs to defend its territory; China has no ambition to project power like America does. China has the strongest military because China is unassailable.
Decline of Dollar and Censorship
What is it like to have a classmate die in college?
I tried explaining to my girlfriend that when someone dies, most people they know get over it in a few days or weeks and life just goes on.
She argued vehemently that no, that couldn’t be the case. Strictly on philosophical grounds she wanted to believe that everyone who had ever been touched by knowing that person would be forever changed. Their lives palpably and permanently altered by that hypothetical person’s untimely death.
I was four years older, more experienced, and so I knew better. By that I mean that I let her win the argument.
Then it happened. She returned to college after summer break. In the school newspaper there was a brief memorial. One of her classmates – a young man she had grown quite fond of – had perished over the summer. A car accident. Death was instantaneous.
There was no service. No moment of silence. People talked about it detachedly for a couple of days. Then life went on.
A few days later I drove an hour to her college to pick her up for the weekend. She remembered the argument we’d had six months prior, and apologized to me for being so wrong.
Then she fell into my arms and cried. Her tears weren’t in mourning over the death of her classmate. She cried in shame over how badly she had misunderstood humanity; our need to heal quickly, to avoid pain, to get on with our lives.
That was in 1978. Six years ago, in 2012, she died unexpectedly. My life has as a result been forever changed.
The US Is MILITARIZING Scandinavia Like There Is No Tomorrow. What Are They Planning?
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: Today we’re going to talk with Dr. Stein, 2024 presidential candidate in the United States and her policy advisor, Professor Michael Hudson. And we’re going to talk about Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel, and domestic policy in the United States.
And so let’s get started with the conflict in Ukraine. Michael, how do you find the current face of the war in Ukraine? How do you find the policy of the Biden administration? It seems that they want to continue this war in Ukraine. How do you find it so far?
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, despite the pretense that somehow Ukraine can still win, they know that the Ukrainians have already lost. The Russians are moving pretty much at will up to the Dnieper and then along the north shore of the Black Sea, all the way to Odessa. And once they move to Dnieper and Odessa, they’ve got really what they want in Ukraine. Now, there won’t be resistance.
So what does Biden mean when he said this will go on and on? He’s in agreement that just like Putin said it’s going to go on probably for 10 years, Biden says it’s going to go on for 10 years.
And the reason he’s saying that is because France and England both say that they’re going to come in, Poland is going to come in. And so the war in Western Ukraine is going to be not so much against the Ukrainian army, which is now pretty depleted, but against other NATO troops. And it’s going to be an escalation, and it’s going to be a forever war.
And the objective of the administration here is simply they believe that a forever war will keep depleting Russia’s arms and missiles and tanks and army so that it will be in a lesser position to defend China when Mr. Biden says that he intends to follow the military plans to attack China in 2025 and 2026. So the United States plan is for a forever war basically, extended from the Ukraine to China, and probably in the Near East, because Iran is the third main enemy designated by the United States.
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: Dr. Stein, how do you find the foreign policy of Biden administration in Ukraine?
JILL STEIN: As Michael describes it, this is absolutely Orwellian. It is terrifying. It reflects this mindset of a state of permanent war of a country that thinks that it is the sole imperial power, which is basically rampaging around the world and butting up against conflicts that are huge, that could go global, that could go nuclear. This is unfortunately a microcosm of that mindset.
It has been absolutely clear from the get-go that for NATO to continue to move to the East, violating the promise of the United States and NATO basically to Russia that it would not expand to the East, not one inch after the reunification of Germany, which constituted an existential threat to Russia, which was just recently recovering from the Second World War and the loss of some 20 million, maybe 27 million of its citizens after an invasion over the Ukrainian border.
So Russia is understandably touchy about its border, but no more touchy than the United States is about its borders. In the same way that the United States was ready to go to nuclear war, in fact, we had the nuclear bombs launched and in the air when it was discovered that Russia had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, we were ready to go to war to prevent that threat of nuclear missiles placed so close to our capital and to our country that there would really be no defense against a launch.
It’s exactly the same for Russia. This is understandable. This is what all informed Russia experts and Russia watchers had advised for years. It was considered insane to be butting up against Russia’s border and to be breaking the promise that had been made to Gorbachev.
It is an extremely warmongering, ill-informed, aggressive policy. When did this war surge? Actually, it goes back to 2014 and the interference of the U.S. in domestic Ukrainian politics in participating very much in the overthrow of the democratically elected ruler, president of Ukraine at the time, who simply wanted neutrality for Ukraine, which is essentially what Russia was asking for, was neutrality, not to take one side or the other. This war has been specifically ginned up by the U.S.
When the war in Afghanistan basically came to its disastrous end, as the whole war had been a disaster, when it finally wrapped up, that’s when the war industry cannot bear for there to be a peace dividend for the people of the world and the people of the United States. Instead, we were then plunged into this ginned up, absolutely unnecessary war, which could have been averted at any point.
Russia was begging for negotiations, which the U.S. basically refused to participate in. After the war had begun, there were negotiations that took place under the auspices of [Türkiye], where Russia showed that it did not want this war, it was ready to come to the table to negotiate and to compromise substantially. The U.S. and the U.K. basically shut it down.
This is a war being ginned up by the war industry. It’s absolutely a disaster. It’s part of an endless war machine that is impoverishing the American people and endangering the whole world. This could go nuclear.
As Michael was referring to recent statements by France and England, that France may be sending troops and that England was basically giving their blessing to the use of weapons provided by England to be used to attack the interior of Russia, it’s no surprise whatsoever that Putin basically said this is an existential threat and began to engage nuclear war exercises again, which is a horrifying development.
And there’s every reason for this war to end, but even as Ukraine is losing more and more territory now, you have Biden again, or Blinken, I think it was actually just the other day, declaring that there will be no end to U.S. support. And the Democrats, I must say, voted unanimously for this latest $61 billion to be thrown into this fire. It’s basically just fuel being thrown on a fire, which is a disaster above all for the people of Ukraine who are paying in blood here, essentially for the exercise of just military might on the part of the U.S. But it’s military might that is extremely ill-conceived and could be challenged by the other nations of the world.
The U.S. is no longer the sole power now, as it had been for prior decades. It no longer is. We’re living in a multi-polar world, no longer a unipolar world.
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, what makes it so striking is that the polls show that I think over 80% of the American public wants the war in Ukraine to end, or at least the United States to stop spending the money in Ukraine. They also opposed the genocide in Gaza. And yet, despite what the public wants, we’re having a Congress voting completely the other way, in the inverse proportion to what the American public wants, not spending on war, spending at home.
What you’re seeing is that this is not democracy. This is not the idea that other people have of how America works. How is it that the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress together are taking a position almost unanimously against what the people want, and yet America does not have a parliamentary system like Europe, where you can get third parties and fourth parties and fifth parties to provide an alternative.
There’s not an alternative in the United States, which explains the problems that Jill is having. She’s the only anti-war candidate, and she’s trying to get on the ballot. And the Democrats and Republicans are doing everything they can to prevent any third party on the ballot, which really means any second party to the Republican-Democrat duopoly.
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: Dr. Stein, can you explain what you’re facing right now in New York?
JILL STEIN: Yes, exactly. And that’s exactly where I wanted to go, because New York, in many ways, is the last stand of empire. It’s empire’s last stand. This is where the most difficult rules have been concocted in order to make our elections extremely undemocratic, in order to keep alternatives off the ballot, because the forces of war and Wall Street know that they cannot beat us in the court of public opinion. So their solution is to simply prevent us from having a voice in this election at all.
And as Michael mentioned, we are the only anti-war, anti-genocide, pro-worker campaign that is on track now to be on the ballot across the country.
So New York is where the most difficult rules have been put together, basically in a poison pill that was inserted unbeknownst to most observers. This was not debated. It was not discussed. It was just rammed into a budget package in 2022 in New York State by the now disgraced Governor Cuomo, who basically tripled the requirement. So the requirement is now for 45,000 valid signatures. Valid meaning the signature has to match exactly the signature on the voter registration form. If you used a middle name on your voter registration and you didn’t use it in your petition, your name can be thrown off the petition count. And so 45,000 of these are required, which is why we have to double the numbers, because the Democrats are using every dirty trick in the book in order to use trivial technical details to challenge the signatures.
And they have hired, as they have actually had the gall to admit, they’re shameless about this, they have hired an army of attorneys in order to challenge these ballot signatures to try to prevent their competition.
So when people bemoan the potential of Donald Trump to advance fascism, it’s really important to remind people that we really have fascism. Democracy is under attack. It’s terrible to challenge the peaceful transfer of power, but it’s also terrible to throw political opponents off the ballot. This is another hallmark of authoritarianism that has been practiced shamelessly by both parties, but in particular, by the Democrats for a long, long time. So this is why New York is such a really, it’s a moment of decision. It’s like, will genocide, will endless war, will the crushing inequality, will climate collapse, will the plight of workers, will the assault on our democracy with the police state now being called in to bash heads on campuses for students who are simply standing up for what the American people believe, for what the International Court of Justice has validated, what the United Nations General Assembly and the steering committee as well, the Security Council has also validated for young people who are simply doing the job of democracy, exercising their democratic rights. Their heads are being bashed in by police forces, largely trained in part by the Israeli occupation forces in these horrible, dehumanizing, and abusive practices. Young people are standing up against that.
This is where the American people agree, we need to be doing the right thing here, yet we have a Congress and a White House that is completely, there’s a total disconnect here. What’s wrong with the picture is that this is unfortunately the state of American democracy. It is in a state of all-out emergency, and we need to reassert that democracy by getting out and overcoming these obstructions and getting these critical issues front and center in this election.
We are otherwise on track to be on the ballot across the country. We have 75 percent over that, in fact, of the total burden of signatures that are collected. But New York is the main obstruction right now, so I really want to urge people to go to Jill Stein 2024
, or you can also go to the New York Green Party, you can Google the New York Green Party, and join the ballot struggle. Not only sign a petition if you are a registered voter in New York, but anyone who is a registered voter anywhere in the country can carry a petition, and we need to be attaining that margin of safety now of 20 or 30,000 signatures in the next two weeks. So we already have the bulk basically guaranteed, but we need to go all out in the remaining time.
MICHAEL HUDSON: I want to ask one question that I haven’t had a chance before. You know, scientists have a policy, strategy to get rid of mosquitoes. They make sterilized mosquitoes, and they let them loose so that the mosquito breeds ends.
Now, I understand that there’s another candidate that has already got 100,000 signatures, RFK, and all of his signatures for the ballot, had been, they go up to people and say, do you want a third party candidate? Well, many people have signed not knowing that he’s the third party candidate. They’ve covered that up. Now, my question to you is, if somebody’s already signed a ballot for one of these sterile mosquitoes, and the same people signed for your ballot, does that, is that grounds for disqualifying the whole page of signatures?
JILL STEIN: Yes, it is. And there are very complicated rules in every state, and they are different in every state. In New York, it is true that if a registered voter signs for one candidate, they cannot also sign for the other. And exactly which one gets discounted, I don’t know. It may depend on which set of signatures gets turned in first. But this is just another one of the booby traps that’s basically built into the ballot access process here, which is essentially, it is a screen, you know, it is a filter to prevent grassroots campaigns from getting on the ballot.
If you are a member of the parties of War and Wall Street, that is, if you are a Democrat or a Republican, this set of requirements does not apply to you. You’re essentially grandfathered in simply by getting the nomination of your party.
But for Greens, for socialists, for alternative third parties, for libertarians, that does not apply. We have to attain this mountain of signatures.
Now, if you are taking money from billionaires and bankers, and you have a super PAC that’s doing the job for you, a super PAC, which can accept, you know, money from billionaires without, you know, any limit on it whatsoever. It’s essentially a conduit for big money and for corporations to pull strings from the inside. If you’re doing that, you know, you can be quite assured that you’re going to get on the ballot.
And, you know, we know that RFK has a billionaire running mate who can help fund this. He also has a super PAC with, you know, basically billionaire funders as well. In fact, there are two of them who are funding the majority, you know. So what kind of democracy is that, you know, when basically it’s powerful special interests who are funding you? That is a guarantee, you know, that your campaign will be serving, you know, nefarious purposes, basically.
So if you’re a big money campaign, you can game these rules. These rules essentially are designed to stop grassroots, true people-powered political movements, which is why we must overcome them.
And, you know, there’s a whole game plan here because the state of emergency of our democracy has everything to do with money. It has everything to do with limiting ballot access. It has everything to do with the corporate consolidation of the media, which, by the way, can be challenged on day one. We can instruct our Department of Justice to undertake essentially antitrust lawsuits against consolidated corporate media as well. So there are solutions. You know, we can get money out of politics by having publicly funded campaigns. We voted that in my home state. We passed it by voter referendum to have public funding. And then the Democrats, the progressive Democrats, repealed it on a voice vote in our legislature. I mean, for me, that was the final straw to know that I would never be a Democrat. And I had never been a member of, you know, of either political party because I grew up in the Vietnam era. Again, seeing the Democrats calling out the police state to crack the heads of protesters who were objecting to another genocidal war.
You know, so for me, it’s this fundamental corruption of the entire system, which is embraced by Democrats like Republicans and exactly why it is we need to prevail.
And by the way, I won’t go into it at this moment, but sometime today before we’re done, I want to talk about that there is actually a pathway forward. This is a black swan election, and the American people have shown every indication of not proceeding along predictable pathways. Witness, for example, the primary of the Democratic Party here in New York State, where there was a phenomenal 12 percent uncommitted vote, but there was an equally phenomenal 83 percent no-show compared to the voters who turned out to support Joe Biden in 2020. They are voting with their feet and the floor has fallen through in the Democratic Party and people are, you know, tearing their hair out for other options here besides these two zombie candidates being rammed down our throats. So people need to feel very empowered here about totally transforming the direction of our democracy.
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, this seems to be a digression, but it’s not. It’s directly factored into what Nima’s question was about the war in Ukraine. Because New York is a Democratic Party state, and the Democrats and Ms. Biden have said that you are the main threat to Biden’s victory. Because if you get on the ballot, that means fewer people will vote for Biden, and they blame you for Donald Trump’s winning in 2016 under the fantasy that if people wouldn’t have voted for you, they would have voted for Biden, which of course is absolutely silly. There’s no way they’re going to vote for Biden.
Well, right now, you’ll notice that Biden and the Democrats in New York have done everything they can to promote the candidate of RFK Jr., a neoliberal libertarian, and who they think will take more votes away from the Republicans. So they’re all in favor of a third party candidate that will take votes away from Republicans. But they’re afraid of you. And as you know, the former managers of RFK have left his campaign to go over to your campaign. So you really have covered the whole third party scheme. And that’s what frightens the Democrats. That’s why this election shows, is America really a democracy or isn’t it?
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: We know that Biden is defining new tariffs on China, and these tariffs are going to influence the life of Americans. This is the same policy, the same old policy coming from the Trump administration. And right now, Biden is doing the same. What’s your take on these new tariffs?
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, it’s not only the tariffs against steel and against solar panels and e-mobiles. He also wants to confiscate TikTok, because it’s much more successful than any of the other major platforms in America. And both Biden has said that AIPAC and the Israelis are absolutely right. You must get rid of TikTok, because there are writers on there that say, we support the United Nations, and we support the International Court of Justice. They say that is anti-Semitic, because you can’t have any discussion that genocide is occurring or any criticism of Israel. They want to take over TikTok. So it will be stripped of any opposition to the government as Facebook and X and the other media are already there.
But what is so especially hypocritical is Biden says that, well, the reason we’re imposing the tariffs on China is because we want to industrialize the United States again.
The real reason is that he’s declared China the number one enemy, and he’s doing everything to do to sanction it. But the fact is, the pretense that somehow these tariffs are going to create jobs just exposes what’s gone wrong with the American economy. It’s been deindustrializing ever since the Clinton administration in the 1990s. And the last 30 years have basically concentrated wealth at the very top of the economic pyramid financially and left the rest of the economy.
The average employee is so expensive that if you were given every wage earner in America, all the food, all the clothing, all the transportation for nothing, they still couldn’t compete with any other country because of the two problems. The rents here are so high that they outstrip any other country, and the medical costs are too high, and the student loans are so high. If you have people entering the workforce who’ve had to pay $50,000 to $100,000 a year for four years and begin the workforce having to pay off a quarter million to a half million dollar in debt, how can their employers pay them enough money to live and still pay for their housing and the student loans?
There’s no way America can reindustrialize, and the United States is somehow trying to break off and isolate China and the whole global majority. If China, Russia, and the global South didn’t exist, they think somehow all the neoliberalized countries will be in the same boat, and yes, we will all be equally competitive, but what are we going to do about the 85% of the population? How can America compete?
I think Jill has some solutions.
JILL STEIN: Yes, exactly. I think that simply erecting tariffs, which will add further impediments to greening the economy, and it will also normalize a high cost for electric vehicles. It’s good for electric vehicles to be available at a price that everyday Americans can afford because if the price gets doubled, which is certainly what these tariffs will do because they’re 100% tariffs, it basically adds this huge inflationary factor to the American economy.
In terms of Michael’s larger point, you don’t create an industrialized economy simply by implementing a tariff. This is like the patient with multi-system failure on a bed in the intensive care unit. They have multi-organ failure, and you can’t just address one little superficial part of it. It needs a total reboot.
We need to address that cost of healthcare that makes American industries absolutely uncompetitive. We need to move to a Medicare for all system, which will not only improve our health, cover everyone in all capacities. There are huge holes right now in coverage, but it also cuts the total cost by half a trillion dollars a year. 30% basically of the cost can be recouped right away.
We need to address the issue of rent. Rents are completely going through the roof right now. Half of all renters are severely economically stressed, just trying to keep a roof over their head, paying over 30% of their income just for their rent, which doesn’t leave enough for putting food on the table after you’ve paid your student loans, etc. There are simple solutions that can be implemented nationally, including federalized rent control, including a tenant bill of rights so that evictions without cause basically are a thing of the past. There need to be accessible housing attorneys to assert tenant rights. We need to bring back public housing, which has essentially been prohibited by legislation that essentially makes it impossible for quality public housing, now called social housing, to be built.
There are practical solutions that we can put on the table to address that part of the uncompetitiveness of American industry.
Above all, we have a Green New Deal program, which will put substantial dollars, like trillions of dollars, initially in the first year to jumpstart an economic recovery program by training people and creating projects for greening our energy system, for phasing out fossil fuels within the next 10 years, for greening our agriculture so we can bring back family and community farms instead of this very destructive and unsustainable agribusiness that has basically put the family farmer and the Black farmer in particular essentially out of business. We can create the jobs that we need without creating these tariffs that essentially destroy the little bit of climate policy that’s underway currently.
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, there’s still a problem in trying to do this, and that’s the debt problem and the related problems that you have.
Right now, you have in the New York Times and the other democratic media writers by the journalist Paul Krugman, for instance, that’ll say, why don’t the wage earners get it? 80% of Americans say that the economy is very bad and that their living standards are bad. Paul Krugman says, how can they say that? The consumer price index is stabilized at 3.5% and unemployment is down. Gee, many families can get two or three jobs to get by. What are they complaining about?
Well, all of the attention from the economic reports of the Federal Reserve every week or every month are the consumer price index, but there are no indexes that are published in America of the debt problem. Debt is not part of the consumer price index. The reason that Americans are so unhappy right now is they’re debt burdened. They’re so burdened that arrears and defaults are occurring for every category of debt, for student debt, for mortgage debt, for bank and credit card debt, especially for automobile debt to drive to your job to get it.
The fact that the debt service is going up is basically what is blocking the ability of employees to buy the products that they produce. There’s no circular flow there. It’s all siphoned off to finance at the top.
The consumer price index doesn’t show how prices is going up right now because the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates so high, the mortgage rate is seven and a half percent. That means that if you take out a mortgage to buy a house, in 10 years, the bank gets as much for the house as the homeowner who sold. The doubling time of seven and a half percent is under 10 years at compound interest.
Just imagine, at this rate, individual families cannot afford to buy a house anymore.
What you’ve had since 2008 is something amazing that no one’s talking about. In 2008, before the Obama bailout of the banks, the home ownership rate in America was 59 percent. The idea was that the entrance to the middle class was going to be owning your own home. But right now, with the interest rates so high, people can’t buy homes. The home ownership rate now is below 50 percent.
America is no longer a homeowner society. England, Scandinavia, Europe, 70 to 80 to 90 percent of the population are homeowners, not the United States. After Obama evicted 8 million American families to bail out the banks from the victims of junk mortgages and false credit reports and bank fraud, their homes were all picked up by private capital firms like Blackstone and others. And you’ve had these private capital firms playing the role today that landlords did in the 19th century England, before you had all the reforms of classical economics. So America’s gone backwards. The word neo-feudalism is picking up more and more in the papers.
We’ve gone backwards and are making it really impossible to achieve an economic recovery without almost a total systemic reform. And I know Jill has outlined particular elements of those reforms. But as she said, one or two fixes won’t work. You really need the whole system. And in order to have that, you have to have a discussion of what are the problems and what to do. There’s no discussion of the problems. That’s one of the reasons that we need a politician who can actually introduce this discussion into the overall discussion and debate about policy.
You have to realize the problems that are holding America back, not just saying, you should be happy. We don’t know why you’re not voting Biden back in.
JILL STEIN: And if I could just add quickly, I saw something, you know, flashed by my iPhone, on my iPhone screen about the stock market attaining some unprecedented height as of today. You know, and this is the mindset of our political class. You know, they live within the top 5%. And so the economy is doing great as far as they’re concerned. But, you know, we’re in an economy where 3 billionaires have the wealth and resources of half the population altogether.
And, you know, year by year, this is not getting better. This is only getting worse, because we’re now in this like vicious feedback loop right now, where the economic elites are basically giving the marching orders to the political elites. And in many cases, they are the political elites themselves, you know, the billionaires who enter into our political system, you know. And so inside of the political system, they are then generating the policies that further concentrate wealth and the advantages of the oligarchs, you know. So we’re in a situation right now of oligarchy and empire. They go hand in hand in the same way that Martin Luther King said, you know, that we have this triple evil of militarism, materialism, extreme materialism, and racism, basically.
And, you know, and the system is like an airplane going into a tailspin right now on its way down. And we got to pull out of that, out of that tailspin. And it really requires a systemic fix. And that’s why, you know, that’s why we’re in this race. That’s why we need to be on the ballot in New York. That’s why we need, you know, every one of us to do everything possible, you know, to jump into the mix here and to, you know, get the airplane into a pull-up, we need to pull up out of this tailspin while there’s still time.
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, basically the real voters are the donor class, the billionaires that you’ve mentioned, because they can give money to back the candidates. And money is what buys television time, buys people to get the signatures on the ballot. And you could say it’s a democracy for the oligarchs, but that’s called oligarchy. And not only do these sort of unelected billionaires end up deciding who gets to be on the ticket in the primaries, depending on who they’re backed, but there’s also the blob, the secret government, the damage of the CIA, NSA, FBI, and the deep state.
And one of the programs that Jill has suggested is a new Church Commission. We need something like South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. What has the CIA and the National Security Council been doing behind our, to try to push for these regime changes all over the world that lead to the American involvement in wherever there’s been a regime change in one of the 800 military bases the United States have all over the world?
JILL STEIN: And to add to that, it was a big wake-up call for me when I discovered this kind of the hidden history here that the CIA has essentially overturned, the count is somewhere around 70 countries now since the Second World War. If you look at South America, one of the shining examples in South America is Costa Rica, which basically doesn’t have a military because when they had their revolution against their military, and I think it was 1952 or -3, something like that, but it was just before the CIA was created. And that’s why Costa Rica sort of stuck in under the wire. They actually had a socialist revolution. They dismantled their military. They put their national resources largely into the social needs of their population.
Whereas, go not too far away, you have Guatemala where the democracy, the democratically elected president, Arbenz, I think his name was in 1954, just a year or two later, he was then subject to regime change by the US acting on behalf of United Fruit, which did not want to see land redistributed out of the hands of corporations and into the hands of everyday people and peasants.
And it’s taken, what is it now, 70 years for Guatemala to recover. I think Guatemala just elected a real reformer. Let’s hope that holds steady. But this is not a simple thing when the US is in the business of overthrowing other democracies.
And so we badly need not only a Church Commission, we need to re-engage congressional hearings in general on substantive issues. One of the products of the Church Committee, which was the creation of these intelligence committees in the Senate and the House, they were supposed to do the watchdogging, but they’ve now become full collaborators in these plans and are not doing the watchdogging that desperately needs to happen. So we need to reconvene meaningful congressional hearings in the same way that we also need to hold the feet of elected representatives to the fire by forcing them to meet with their constituents.
We used to have an institution called town hall meetings. They are not used anymore because congressional reps and senators are way too busy raising money from their billionaire donors and their corporate donors, the surrogates for the corporations at any rate, the executives of corporations. That’s where they’re spending their time instead of actually meeting face to face with their constituents.
So we have some very serious problems here, but there are real solutions that we can bring to bear simply by virtue of the power of the presidency, the executive power, or the bully pulpit to really compel certain institutions to get started again to begin this process of recovery for our democracy.
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, I think there’s a reason why you just mentioned that the Congressional Oversight Committees aren’t doing their job. That’s because in the Democratic Party and the Republicans, every politician, in order to get on a committee, has to contribute. Given 100,000, 400,000 committee chairmanships, you have to raise $500,000.
Now, who has this money to give them? We’re back again to the PACs, the political contributors that determine who’s suggested. Now, the military-industrial complex will give so much money to their selected politicians that the politicians can buy their chairmanship of the committee, and other congressmen or senators can also use the money that their contributors give to the committee.
And this has been discussed for a long time, the corruption of Congress and why Congress does not represent the people.
There’s also a parallel to this that’s occurred recently, and that’s the same thing of billionaires determining policy has occurred, as you’ve seen in the last month, over the entire educational system of this country. You’ve seen all of the demonstrations opposing the genocide in Gaza, and you’ve seen two university presidents already fired because their donors of the university have said, We are not going to give you funding unless you fire, you take the names of all of the students and give us the names and expel them from the university because they’re opposing, they’re supporting the United Nations and the International Court of Justice. Support of the United Nations is anti-Semitic. You must fire them, and you must fire any faculty member that opposes American military policy.
Now, this has happened in one campus after another. Columbia is obviously the most notorious, but the first was Harvard. I think Bill Ackman, a fund manager, said, I’m withdrawing all my money from you if you don’t fire the president and put faculty members and a curriculum that I and my colleagues approve of. The same thing at Columbia. They threatened the donors of one of their hospitals, said, we’re not going to give you the half million dollars we promised or the 10 million to finish your diabetes hospital unless you fire the protesters who say, if you say that Palestinians are human beings, that’s anti-Semitic.
Congress has just proposed a law saying that to say “from the [river to] the sea” or to defend the Palestinians is, by definition, a criminal anti-Semitic act. This has actually been proposed in Congress. There’s very little chance of the Senate passing this because the Senate is not quite as nutty as the Congress, but I don’t think the rest of the world realizes how radical this change is and how nothing like it has ever, ever occurred before in American history, not even under J. Edgar Hoover in the 1920s.
JILL STEIN: Wow.
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: One of the other dimensions of this economic problem in the United States would be de-dollarization. We know that Putin and Xi are so hand-in-hand to de-dollarize their trades. And recently, Putin just said that in two years they could reduce their dependence on US dollar from 54% to 13%. That’s huge. And what’s going on, Michael, right now, considering Russia, China and Brexit?
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, here’s what I don’t understand. Biden repeatedly says, “China is our number one enemy,” “Russia’s our number two enemy,” you’ve seen the United States and its Europe satellites already confiscate all of Russia’s foreign exchange that’s held in Europe and the United States. Why doesn’t China fear this?
As you point out, it’s moving gradually to de-dollarize, but if America is actually going to go to war with a country, of course, it’s going to grab its foreign exchange and foreign reserves, just as it grabbed the foreign reserves of Iran, Venezuela, any other country, Libya. We still don’t have any idea what happened to Libya’s gold after Hillary Clinton and the French got in and devastated the country.
It’s obvious that the world is splitting into two parts, and this split in the world part is affecting the U.S. banking system very substantially because the International Monetary Fund just recently came out saying, finally acknowledging the third world countries, that is, the global south, cannot afford to pay their dollar debts. The flow of money is from the debtor countries to the creditor countries, not the other way around.
Every calculation shows that if the global south countries do not default on their dollar bonds or stop paying the dollar bonds, they will have no money at all for social spending of any form. And in order to prevent the currency from collapsing, just like the German mark collapsed when they tried to pay reparations, the global south countries are paying reparations for 75 years of financial colonialism under the way that the United States has forced a false austerity program on them, a false economic doctrine that austerity and cutting labor’s wages is the way to get rich.
The way to get rich is the way that America and Europe did. You raise labor’s wages to make it better schooled, better dressed, better fed, healthier. That’s the way to raise our productivity.
But debtor countries lack the money to do that, and they’ve followed the directions of the IMF and the Washington consensus. And they have every right now to say, we’re going to put our own population first, not the creditor nations. We cannot afford to pay the dollar debt without bankrupting our economies and having a revolution here.
I’m sure that right now when President Putin is meeting with President Xi, they’re discussing how to de-dollarize. Well, I think that if countries are going to, global majority countries, realize that, okay, we’re not going to pay the debts, the United States is going to essentially confiscate what they have in this country and do to them what it did to Venezuela and even Argentina.
So the result will be, anticipating this, I would expect global south countries to say, by the way, we have our gold in the Federal Reserve or the Bank of England or in Africa, the Bank of France, could you please return the gold to us? Get your gold out, sell your American securities, especially China will sell its billion dollars worth of treasury bonds and convert it into something else. Like, certainly 40% of it will probably go into gold. The rest will be to develop infrastructure throughout the Belt and Road.
Now, if that happens, and there’s no way that it can avoid happening, not paying the dollar debts is going to lead to insolvency for a lot of American banks. There will be a financial crisis here. If you can imagine, the government’s going to say, who are we going to put first, the banks or the voters? You can guess who they’re going to put first. And so this is going to be what the next administration is going to have to confront from as soon as whoever wins takes power next year.
JILL STEIN: And I’ll just throw in that this is sort of the ultimate dysfunction and incompetence, really, of our national so-called leaders who don’t have a clue about how to be a team player, whose military policy is formally described by the term full-spectrum dominance. That is, that the U.S. will dominate all potential areas of competition. We’re all about dominating competition and essentially squelching competition, as opposed to having some kind of a notion of collaboration or cooperation.
It’s as if the leadership of the U.S. and its allies are people who don’t have a clue how to be team players and who have to dominate their relationships, which is not a good way to make friends and influence people.
For many decades, the U.S. has prevailed coming out of the Second World War, where basically all other powerful countries were destroyed and we were protected by our distance from the conflict. So we emerged unscathed and became the global dominant power.
Well, time has run out, basically, and the curves have now crossed so that it is China and its allies, the BRICS Association, essentially, and much of the global south that is increasingly productive and prevailing and now actually has a larger GDP than the U.S. and its allies.
So, you know, we’re kind of running out of steam here in this illusion that we are kind of the dominant global player.
Our leaders could not have done a better job of mobilizing our chief competitors and bringing them together in alliance against us.
And sooner rather than later, for all of us, we need to have an enlightened administration that’s capable of being a team player and can be part of the global economy in a way that’s not exploiting, preying upon, and seeking to destroy the rest of the world, which is basically what the full spectrum dominance position says. That any rising power, even on a regional basis, will not be allowed to rise and that we will basically squash that power.
So this is not working out good for us. And what Michael has just described about, you know, the looming de-dollarization should be very good reason right now for people to stand up and demand that this incredibly dysfunctional, immature and incapable regime in the U.S. just be, they need to be retired. They need to be moved out of positions, not only of power, but positions of really controlling our lives and potentially destroying our lives, largely through conflicts that could blow up on us in many places around the world right now.
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: Michael, when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, we know that they’re saying that the United States is willing to fight the war in Ukraine to the last Ukrainian. Right now in this economic war of the United States and China, especially, Putin in his interview with Tucker Carlson said that we are looking for some compromise and cooperation with the United States. He, in his last visit to the United States, was seeking some sort of compromise and cooperation with the United States. The question here would be, is the United States willing to sacrifice each and every life in the United States in order to fight Russia and China?
MICHAEL HUDSON: It’s willing to fight every, fight to the last American too. Yes, it is. These are, the neocons are people who have, let’s say, not more than a chip on their shoulder. They really have a fear that if they don’t control the world, the world will do something that they might not like. There’s a desire for control of other countries and a fear that there’s really a different economic system than the system that has concentrated all the wealth in the hands of the 1%.
Well, it’s called socialism. And since China calls itself a socialist economy, the danger is that other countries may do what China has done and have the monetary system and the banking system a public utility.
Well, we have some people here like Ellen Brown that have talked about public banking. The one fear of the 1% who have made their money financially is that other countries will create a system where the economic surplus is used to raise the living standards of the population as a whole, instead of concentrating it in the 1%, especially the 1% that lives in the United States and is concentrating it all here.
This means the end of their dominance. And it’s more than total spectrum. It’s total control and total concentration of the wealth and decision-making power.
And the neocons want an economy that shifts resource allocation and policy out of the hands of Washington and other financial centers into the hands of Wall Street, England, the Paris Bourse, the Bank of Japan. The fight is over who’s going to control the economy. And this is where they’re willing to fight to the very end, just like the Roman oligarchy was willing to fight civil war rather than to give in, cancel the debts that the population was demanding in the civil wars that erupted in the first millennium BC.
So, yes, it’s literally a war of civilization. And you’ve had the Americans in the 1990s, the American phrase, the end of history. We’ve won. We’ve won, and now we can take over the world.
Well, now they’re saying there’s a fight of civilization, and they’re treating it just as you’re having in America and the whole world just like what you’re seeing in Israel, a fight between two irreconcilable systems.
Well, America says our democracy, which is their euphemism for oligarchy, is incompatible with autocracy, their word for socialism and a government policy run to try to uplift the economy as a whole. That’s the fight that we’re in, and it’s a fight that’s going to go beyond this election year.
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: Yeah. Dr. Stein, what would be your policy considering compromise and cooperation with the rest of the world, with the global majority?
JILL STEIN: Well, I mean, it’s clearly the only way forward. The U.S. is no longer the dominant economic power, nor are we the dominant military power. We sort of have parity with Russia in terms of nuclear weapons, but there are all sorts of other weapons right now where Russia seems to have the upper hand in the super fast missiles and so on. And it’s a crazy system in which we can all spend ourselves into oblivion in this endless arms race, which has basically been reengaged now for at least a decade or so.
But I think at the moment where we are right now, we can’t assume that we have parity or that we have adequate defenses against Russia’s super fast missiles. And this is not to reengage that arms race. That is not the solution. That’s never going to solve it. We’re already spending down in our own country the resources that we desperately need for housing and for health care and to deal with the climate crisis and so on. We need those resources.
In fact, we need to be demilitarizing. And so the foreign policy that we are advocating is a foreign policy based on international law, human rights and diplomacy. And what we see going on right now in Gaza is not only a death watch for two million people whose lives are on the line now by the hour, really, because there’s no water, there’s no food coming in. And now the little trickle that was getting into the country has basically been shut down by Israel when it took possession of the Rafah gate. And, you know, so I mean, this could, an epidemic, you know, cholera or whatever, you know, there’s just anything could happen now. People are malnourished. They don’t have food. They don’t have shelter. They’re being bombed. They’re being targeted. They’re being shot at like fish in a barrel. It’s just, you know, unconscionable what is going on here now.
And this is sort of a symbol of where U.S. militarism goes. It’s, you know, this is kind of the tip of the iceberg. It’s not the first genocidal war. You know, we killed three million people in Southeast Asia, you know, in that war, which was simply, again, about an exercise of U.S. power, really without a rational reason for it. And in all the wars since, we are spending down the resources of the American people in this foreign policy based on essentially militarism and the control of economic markets and resources. That’s what the game is about. It is an absolute disaster. We have lost every single one of these catastrophic wars, certainly since Vietnam and including Vietnam, but all the recent Middle East wars, which have been just a series of disasters.
And you have a media now, a mainstream media, which is, it is a lapdog. It’s not a watchdog. And without a vigilant media, you know, the public is endlessly misinformed and disinformed by our, you know, our security state and by the Pentagon writ large. So we need fundamentally a foreign policy based on international law, human rights and diplomacy.
And Gaza shows us where we are going in the absence of that. It’s not just two million people whose lives are on the line right now in Palestine. It’s also the lives and the future of Israelis, because when you have Egypt, the major partner of Israel in making peace with its neighbors, when Egypt is now joining the lawsuit with South Africa, and when Egypt has actually threatened several weeks back to tear apart its treaty with Israel, if Rafa proceeded, you know, they have good cause to do that.
Now you have crowds in Jordan where people are also demanding an end to the peace accords with Israel. So it’s the lives of Israelis who are also in the target hairs and absolutely people all over the Middle East. And because nuclear weapons could easily be triggered here, it’s really people all over the world. And if we are in the business of destroying international law and human rights, which is happening in Gaza right now and in Palestine, where we are normalizing the torture and the murder of children on an industrial scale, if we allow that to go forward, we’re basically normalizing this in a future where we are no longer the dominant power. So all of this needs to be seen as fundamentally a threat to the future of civilization and the threat to we ourselves, who are no longer top dog in this setting. So we need to start, you know, working for a world that works for all of us, like our own lives depend on it, because in fact they do and they will increasingly, going forward.
NIMA ROSTAMI ALKHORSHID: Michael.
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, I can bring Saudi Arabia into all of this. Jill didn’t mention it, but you’ve seen Saudi Arabia is in a squeeze. All of its national wealth, its government money, is held in the United States because when it increased the oil prices in 1974 and 75, it was told that you can charge as much as you want for your oil, but you have to keep the proceeds in the United States. We’re not going to let you buy any American industry that’s important, any company that’s an American company. You can buy treasury bonds, you can buy overall stocks, you can buy real estate like the Japanese have done and lost their shirts on, but you have to keep your money here, then charge whatever you want as long as we get all of what you charge.
Well, now they’ve done that since 1974. This is 50 years of their savings are there. Now suppose that their population that’s largely Palestinian rises up as they may do in Jordan or in Egypt. Well, if they rise up, they’re going to give pressure. You have to take the Palestinian side and break relations with Israel.
Well, if they do that, the Americans are holding all of Saudi Arabia’s and Kuwait’s and the United Arab Republic’s money in the United States hostage. They can do to the Arab countries just exactly what they did to Russia and Venezuela, simply confiscate it.
At a certain point, if Saudi Arabia that I think has applied for membership in BRICS, if it does indeed support BRICS, what is it going to do with the foreign reserves? Well, obviously the BRICS are going to say, we want you to keep your savings as part of the new civilization. I think if they anticipate doing that, they should begin to withdraw their savings in the United States. Again, put it into gold and other or each other’s currencies.
Well, you can imagine what that will do to the dollar. And if the dollar goes down, there goes the American price index way up. So the cost of America supporting the war in the Near East, and it’s really America’s war. Everyone says they’re blaming Netanyahu and it’s Israel’s war. All these bombs are Americans. It’s the Americans that tell the Israelis where to bomb. It’s the Americans that tell Israeli leaders, and I’ve heard them tell Netanyahu’s leader in person, you are a landed aircraft carrier. I’ve sat in on these discussions.
And the Americans want this war against Palestine. It’s the first step of greater Israel taking over Near Eastern oil on behalf of the United States. Obviously, it will get some for itself. But this is America looks at oil as the key to the world’s energy and hence the world’s industrial production. And if it controls oil, as well as food, then it can have a stranglehold on countries that do not produce their own and non oil energy and do not produce their own food. So this is the implicit threat to the Americans of the bricks and the new economic order. And it’s the promise to the global majority that yes, there can be a new civilization. We don’t have to do what America and Europe is doing. We can make our own fate. That’s what the whole fight is going to be about. And it’s going to be fought in the financial area, the trade area, and I’m afraid the military area too.
JILL STEIN: And just to underscore what Michael is saying here, Ronald Reagan himself said the quiet part out loud in the 1980s, when he said that Israel is the unsinkable battleship for the US in the Middle East. And I think it was Joe Biden himself who said, and I’m not sure when he said it, but that if we didn’t have an Israel, we would have to invent an Israel.
Again, this is all part of that major game plan of full spectrum dominance. The US will not allow any other power to rise in any region and take command of important global resources. So even before greater Israel, even with the lesser Israel, you have basically a very powerful military outpost for the US in this region of major oil resources, where the US is positioned to essentially control the flow of oil.
And that war is already taking place right now. And the skirmishes between Yemen and Israeli ships or other US and allied forces, it’s a taste of what’s to come if this is allowed to proceed. This is an absolutely suicidal, homicidal foreign policy that is just, we’re doomed here with this, because the world is armed and angry right now. And this needs to be put to a stop. We need adults in the room here who are able to approach international relations and diplomacy as adults and as members of a team in a multipolar world that just is the condition of the world today.
And we need entirely new leadership. Our current leadership needs to be removed from power as soon as humanly possible, so we can have a future not only to thrive in, but a future that we can actually survive in, because that is all very much imperiled right now.
MICHAEL HUDSON: No wonder they don’t want you on the ballot.
JILL STEIN: Exactly. If we’re on the ballot, mainstream media cannot lock us out. They will condemn us. They will vilify us. Bring it on. That’s all just fine. But they will seek to make us unknown. And currently we are unknown. We have, I think, the highest “do not know what that candidate is about” in polling of any of the candidates. And that’s the way they want to keep it.
Even some of the so-called liberal outlets that typically cover kind of a greater spectrum, they’re not talking about us. They are talking about solo voices in the wilderness who have the political positions that we do, but they’re not talking about us because we are actually on track right now to be on the ballot across the country. And New York is their last holdout. So again, I want to encourage people to go to Jill Stein 2024
and get out for a day or 10 days, whatever you can do to ensure that there’s a margin of safety, because if we are on the ballot, they cannot lock us out. And everything that we’ve been talking about here today, you will then hear about the mainstream media will be forced to cover these issues. We want this to be front and center. It has to be front and center. This has to be discussed. The minute it’s discussed, it’s unstoppable. In the words of Frederick Douglass, power concedes nothing without a demand. We need to bring that demand into political discourse. But in the words of Alice Walker, the biggest way people give up power is by not knowing we have it to start with.
And we do have enormous power, not only 68 percent, depending on which poll you look at, but there’s a strong majority of Americans that wants an immediate ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the genocidal war going on now by Israel on Palestine. There’s a huge majority there. There’s, you know, 44 million young people who have no future locked into student debt. And in fact, people under 25 now, 50 percent describe themselves as hopeless. 25 percent have considered harming themselves physically within two weeks of the poll. What does that tell you about the status of our civilization, where young people are basically being devoured by a predatory economy? What society, you know, lives on and perpetuates itself by devouring its young? But that’s now become, you know, the latest cash cow for the ruling elites.
If you look at health care, 87 million people who do not have adequate health care coverage, 100 million locked into debt.
So there is the makings here of a huge super majority, you know, even in a two-way race. But we’re going to be in a four-way race where a vote divided four ways can be won by as little as 26 percent. And in Wisconsin, for example, we’re currently running 22 percent among people 30 and under, people who sort of can say which way the wind is blowing, you know, who predict which way trends are going. And we’ve been running, I think, eight percent overall in Wisconsin. It’s not a huge leap to go from eight percent to 25.
This is entirely feasible, given that people revile the zombie candidates being forced down their throats right now. And this is, you know, this is the makings of a perfect storm to really demand the deep political change that actually is possible right now. And for us to have the courage of our convictions and to, you know, take the example of the students who will not be shut down, who are continuing to fight, you know, and a poll just came out, I think, today showing that the American people overwhelmingly approve of, you know, this fight by the students and, you know, and the effort to shut down this genocidal war. So if we stand up with the courage of our convictions, we really can change the direction of the future. And there’s no better time to make this happen than right now.
MICHAEL HUDSON: I think I should point out a technicality many people may not realize. It is unlikely that you will be elected as president, but that’s not, that doesn’t mean that either Biden or Trump will be the next president, because if you have enough delegates in enough states that actually go into Congress, then, and neither Biden nor Trump has more than 50 percent, and each of them have, you know, we’re talking about most American elections are 51 percent versus 49 percent. If you can get enough candidates, then the whole election is thrown into the House, and it’s a grab bag.
And that means that you’ll have the same position that a third party will have in Germany or England. You can say, well, if you want my vote to elect you or whoever the compromise president is, which may be neither Biden nor Trump, then here are the policies that I insist on in having to give my vote.
So you don’t have to be elected president. You just have to win enough delegates to be able to be in a position to dictate your terms, and as the trade-off time comes in November.
JILL STEIN: Yeah. And if I can just add on to that, the name of the game here, I think, is standing up and pushing against this very corrupt and dangerous system as much as we possibly can. It is entirely possible, it may not be likely, but it is possible to actually win the office especially in a four-way race, where three candidates are going to be splitting the pro-genocide, pro-war vote. It’s entirely possible that we could prevail over that, but it’s also possible we will fall short, but we come up with something like, say, it’s 6 percent of the vote or 10 percent of the vote. That is a huge leap forward. And typically, that is the way that political movements build. They attain one count in one race, and then in the next they attain greater. And in the system that we have right now, it is so biased against independent people-powered politics. It’s taken many runs to just get to this point, but this is a point at which we can continue to build. So the name of the game, in my view, is what Alice Walker said, that the biggest way we give up power is by not knowing we have it. We do have that power, and it’s absolutely critical to stand up and fight for it, like our lives depend on it, because, you know, in fact, they do more than ever.
Why would anyone want to live in a trailer park?
I lived in a trailer park for 14 years.
Living in a trailer park was the smartest decision of my entire life.
Why? Because thanks to my willingness to live in a trailer park, fix up and pay off two successive trailers, I was able to gradually build up enough equity to buy a house. This was in spite of being a single income gal in a double-income world; having no available help from family**; living in a high-cost, very desirable area; and working in a career I loved but that didn’t pay well.
First I bought a $5,000 trailer that had to be moved – hence the super-cheap price. I was able to arrange a lease on some property for the next five years.
When I eventually had to move elsewhere for work, the trailer had to leave the property but I was still able to sell it for $1,000 more than I paid. I had done some upgrades and added a small porch.
I had long since paid off the trailer, so the $6,000 was all mine. If I had rented an apartment over those five years, I would have walked away with nothing.
I put that $6,000 and some savings into a down payment on a much larger and nicer trailer (960 square feet with extensive decks) on a large corner lot in a mobile home park. I lived in it for nine years while working in my new community.
I paid it off and fixed it up. When the real estate market cycled up, I sold it for $5,000 more than I had paid for it. Again, if I had rented over those nine years, I would have had nothing.
I was self-employed at the time, so I moved to a nearby community that I had already identified as having lower housing costs. From the sale of my trailer, I put a substantial 30% down payment on my first house.
I’m still living in that house.
If I had not lived in a trailer park, I would not have my house. Without my house, I would be at the mercy of what is currently a tight and very expensive rental market. I would not have my beloved pups.
I put a suite into my house so it generates some income, which is useful since my job vanished in a corporate reorganization. The rental income is a bonus support as I’m venturing back into self-employment as I near retirement.
I have a mortgage but it is low. I have more than $400,000 in equity.
I’m far from wealthy…but I’m not at risk of being homeless either.
I recommend trailer parks to everyone who has limited income/resources but needs a toehold in the housing market.
———————
**For the record, my family likes me just fine but there are some life-challenged offspring in the tribe who need help more than I do, so any extra resources go their way.
Easiest Homemade Pizza Dough
easiest homemade pizza dough
Yield: 2 medium pizza crusts or one extra large pizza crust
Ingredients
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 to 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, divided
Instructions
Combine yogurt and 1 cup flour in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary until combined.
Knead on medium high for 5 minutes.
Slowly add additional flour as necessary to help dough come together. Depending on how thick your yogurt is, you may need up to an extra 1/2 cup of flour.
Dust clean counter top with flour and remove dough from bowl. Knead a few turns until dough is tacky, but not sticky. Roll out and add toppings as desired.
Bake in a preheated 450 degrees F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
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Are Europeans shocked when they first come to the United States?
I know I was.
Their border police seems to consider it their mission to make you feel unwelcome. Russia was indifferent, China was surprisingly friendly.
Their luggage system at the airport is primitive.
The country has more obese people than I’ve ever seen.
Technology seems backwards. I’ve seen coin operated public phones, video rental machines and that was just before COVID.
The car focus thing is silly, walking a mile to a bar wasn’t safe because there was no sidewalk
Food seems focused on quantity and everything contains sugar! I even had a pack of salt that had 3 ingredients, salt, anti clumping agent and sugar.
Public bathrooms the stalls never seemed to be ceiling to floor and the doors so low that I had to avert my gaze to avoid looking over them. This makes shitting a semi-public event.
These are in addition to the previous Trump tariffs, and more are promised in 2025. Additionally the misnamed US$400 billion Inflation Reduction Act is explicitly protectionist in imposing local content rules for specific parts of electric vehicles (e.g. the battery) with respect to qualifying for purchase and production subsidies. There is also the protectionist US$280 billion Chips and Science Act. Recently, the US also pressured the Mexican government into not financially supporting Chinese EV and battery plants in Mexico. The rationale put behind these additional protectionist measures was put forward in a speech by National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard at the Center for American Progress. In it, Brainard makes completely unsubstantiated claims that China has intentionally created industrial over-capacity in order to globally dominate certain industries.
In the speech Brainard stated that:
The President came to office with a plan to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up—a sharp departure from the trickle-down approach of the prior administration. On his watch, we are seeing record investment in clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
Investment must be paired with trade enforcement to make sure the comeback we are seeing in communities around the country is not undercut by a flood of unfairly underpriced exports from China. We have learned from the past. There can be no second China Shock here in America.
The above is of course the usual political BS, and bears no relation to reality. As long as US corporations are driven by an extractive and rentier mindset, any subsidies (in the form of direct subsidies or tariffs) will be used more to pad the bottom line than drive new investment. With a heavily oligopolized economy and corrupted politics, the US will also be open to the problems of South American Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) that stemmed from a lack of internal market competition and corrupt state-business relationships.
The following paragraph about the devastating impacts of the first “China Shock” upon American workers and industrial towns overflows with mendacity as it leaves out any mention of the extractive corporate elites and private equity types that outsourced jobs and production to China and other nations, while cutting investment to help goose profits, and fund share buy backs and consultancy fees. Even driving companies into bankruptcy as the most efficient way of feeding of the corporate corpse. The Democratic and Republican parties call such people “political donors”.
We saw what happened in the wake of the first China Shock, which harmed factory towns all over our country. Twelve years ago, here at the Center for American Progress, I discussed my concerns that China’s unbalanced investment- and export-driven growth model was imposing costs on growth in America and globally. I noted that “only by moving from an economy dependent on external demand and exports to one driven by domestic consumer demand” could China achieve its long-term growth goals consistent with broader global growth.
Then there was the usual misstating of the basis of China’s advantages being managed by a highly efficient and effective Party-state not beholden to a ruling capitalist class, and instead focused on the development of China and its people. The very opposite of the neoliberalism, financialization, rentiership, and political corruption (much of it legalized by the US Supreme Court) so prevalent in the US.
The Administration is committed to responsibly managing competition with China, as demonstrated by the President’s regular discussions with President Xi, along with the recent visits by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Treasury. We are committed to cooperating with China to meet the world’s most pressing challenges, including by supporting the deployment of clean energy technologies. Within that broader context, it is important to enforce our trade laws against China’s unfair nonmarket practices to prevent harm to American workers and businesses.
Then there is a further threat to the sovereignty of Mexico, as it has not properly displayed its subject vassal status properly with respect to industrial policy:
In negotiating USMCA, the previous administration did not adequately address the potential transshipment of Chinese exports entering the U.S. market via Mexico. Mexico is an important partner to the US in many areas. We look forward to working with Mexico to address concerns that some Chinese steel exports appear to be flowing through Mexico, and some Chinese auto companies may be considering exporting vehicles and auto parts via Mexico. The USMCA review in 2026 would be an opportunity to further discuss this potential risk.
The truth is that the US has seriously underestimated the Chinese Party-state for the past two plus decades. First of all it thought that it could limit China to the role of provider of cheap workers and markets for US goods, as its corporations moved large chunks of US manufacturing over to China. Instead, China expertly kept control of its financial sector and development model to continuously upgrade its production capabilities. While US corporations were happily throwing away industrial skills, such as tool and die making that take decades to perfect, China was building up those very skills. In the middle of the 2010s the US seemed to at last wake up to the fact that China has become the workshop of the world and had plans to further move up the value added curve; directly threatening US pre-eminence in high end technology industries and the related global supply chains.
But still the US underestimated China as it thought that it could trap China in the “middle income trap” by cutting off access to specific advanced technologies and putting tariffs on Chinese imports to the US. A major part of this was the attempt to completely destroy the leading Chinese technology firm Huawei, which was threatening the Google/Apple monopoly in mobile phone systems as well as leading with respect to 5G technology. The attack worked in the short term, but has now back-fired as Huawei and the Chinese Party-state understood that they would have to develop their own micro-processor supply chain. Thus was born the new Kirin 9010 7-nanometer processor that drives the newly-competitive Huawei phones, with Huawei now equalling Apple in China handset market share; while the company worked out how to use less advanced chips to drive its router products.
In parallel, China has greatly diversified its exports, partly driven by the movement of lower value-added activities offshore. China’s exports to developed nations including the US have stagnated for many years, while its exports to the Global South have doubled over the same period and are now twice those of exports to the developed nations. From 2022 onwards this rebalancing was given an extra boost as the Western sanctions on Russia opened many new opportunities for Chinese corporations. Much of this offshore production still uses Chinese components, but as the country of origin is not China they are not subject to the anti-China tariffs. The US is working to close such loopholes in some cases, as with solar cells, but this avenue still provides many possibilities for tariff-dodging as well as driving exports to nations other than the US. One area that has been predominantly driven by government support and domestic market dynamics is the huge increase in EV production in China, with approximately 50% of domestic new car sales now being EVs. In the past couple of years China has begun expanding its car exports into Asia, MENA, and Europe while also building car factories in such places as Thailand, Brazil, Mexico and Hungary. The Chinese EV industry has now reached such a scale that even foreign manufacturers find it preferable to build factories in China to supply other markets; the supply chain infrastructure is just so much better developed than anywhere else. Resulting in about 70% of all global EV production being in China, and the two leading EV battery manufacturers being Chinese. Even with this, a relatively small share of Chinese car production is exported, in contrast to a Germany which exports the majority of its car production. China is not even exporting EVs from China to the US in any meaningful numbers, so the 100% tariff on such imports actually removes some of the incentives for US manufacturers to move to EVs and serves to protect Tesla’s home market; the market where it makes the majority of its profits.
Fundamentally, the US is attempting to close the stable door after the Chinese dragon has escaped and is half-way to the next town. At the same time, the US has spent many decades gutting its own manufacturing capabilities, destroying its legacy of skilled workers, and replacing executives with engineering and manufacturing backgrounds with those that possess MBAs and legal and marketing qualifications. While strangling new investment, resulting in the ageing of much of what remains of US manufacturing establishments. Just look at the debacle created at Boeing, and the gutting of General Electric, by such executive teams. Another great example is a General Motors that recently announced a US$10 billion stock buyback, and a 33% boost to its dividend, while scaling back EV and self-driving investments and slashing 5,000 jobs.
With this starting point, and a government dominated by an extractive, rentier and financialized ruling capitalist elite, any thought that the US could magically rebuild its manufacturing capabilities in even a decade or two would be delusional. Michael Roberts notes here some fundamental differences between what the US is doing and how Chinese industrial policy is managed:
There are two things here. First, China’s state aid is mostly low-cost loans to industry, while in the OECD it is mainly tax concessions. That’s important because in China’s case, the state banks can direct resources and keep control of the allocation; in the case of the OECD, tax concessions simply leave the private sector to do what they want.
Second, China’s state aid aims at boosting manufacturing and export sectors, not protecting weak and ailing industries from foreign competition. In the case of the US, industrial policy measures like tariffs and the IRA are aimed at doing the opposite. A recent study by IMF economists Cherif and Hasanov found that the latter approach of ‘import substitution’ undermines growth in the long term since it creates ‘excessively coddled, inefficient industries’.
Without some government control over how the state largesse is spent, and the nature of the US capitalist ruling class, the tariffs and subsidies will more fill the pockets of owners and executives than drive a new industrial renaissance. They will also raise prices within the US and retard the US move toward a green economy. Cyrus Janssen captures the delusional nature Biden’s attempt to drive re-industrialization through tariffs and subsidies:
At the same time, China’s retributory moves have hurt US producers, and this will only get worse for the US and its vassals.
As Michael Roberts notes, countries with a higher level of technology than others can gain from an unequal exchange (UE) of value. Although the US trade deficit with China was US$279.4 billion in 2023 it still gets a net transfer of value from China. It gets good on the cheap when measured in hours of labor, but that has been diminishing over time as China climbs the technology ladder and closes the gap with the US:
However, as China’s ‘technology deficit’ with the US began to narrow in the 21st century, US UE gains began to disappear. “China has indeed succeeded in significantly reducing the importance of this unequal exchange, with its disadvantage in the transfer of wealth gradually diminishing: the proportion of this unfavorable transfer in the Chinese added value fell from -3.7 percent to -0.9 percent between 1995 and 2014. As a matter of fact, China had to trade fifty hours of Chinese labor for one hour of U.S. labor in 1995, but only seven in 2014.”
This gap has continued to shrink and Roberts and Carcedi found that “during the post Great Recession years (what I have called the decade of the Long Depression), China’s value loss on UE fell 40% as a share of China GDP.” In essence, China is doing to the US what the US, Germany and France did to Britain in the late nineteenth century.
It is this fast-disappearing profit from trade with China that is the real driver of the US attack on the Chinese economy, its exports and semi-conductor industry. The US is losing its imperialist profit extraction from trade with China and increasingly being squeezed out of world markets by Chinese goods.
The decline in US hegemony in trade and production is repeating what happened to UK hegemony in the 19th century. In 1885, Friedrich Engels pointed out that when a capitalist economy is dominant worldwide, it is in favour of ‘free trade’, as Britain was from the 1840s to 1870s. But free trade breeds rivals and after the experience of the depression of the 1880s, British policy changed from ‘free trade’ to protectionist measures for its colonial empire. Engels perceptively identified that it was the depression of the 1880s that broke the British hegemony. “England’s monopoly of the world market is being increasingly shattered by the participation of France, Germany and, above all, of America in world trade, a new form of evening-out appears to come into operation.”
Instead of attempting to come to some kind of mutual accommodation with China, the delusional US ruling class
is determined to strangle the Chinese economy, not only to ‘protect’ its weakening industrial sectors, but also eventually bring about ‘regime change’ in China itself. The US reckons it still has time as China and the so-called BRICS nations are still well behind the economic and financial power of the US-led imperialist bloc.
And as Roberts notes, “the cost to the US economy and the profitability of US industry will be considerable, and even more to the real incomes of Americans. But America’s ruling elite see that cost as worthwhile if it brings China to its knees”. With those lower incomes will come the increasing authoritarianism required to keep the lid on a boiling social and economic pot. None of this will produce a good outcome for the general US population, and probably in the end not even the US capitalist ruling elite, but that US elite never seems to learn; as with the utter failure of its sanctions designed to harm the Russian economy and drive regime change. Instead Russia has prospered with 5.4% annualized GDP growth in the first quarter of 2024, and President Putin’s approval ratings have remained extremely high.
Without a complete reorientation of the capitalist ruling class toward more domestic competition and a state-managed integrated industrial policy the US will continue to be beaten by China. The response may be a deepening tariff wall that cuts the US of from leading technologies, creating a parallel of communist East Germany.
After implementing the self-harming sanctions against Russia, Europe will now come under pressure from the US to join it in its crusade to hamstring China’s technological advancement; after European chip manufacturers have already been sideswiped by the US chip technology export bans on China. This has already started, for example with a speech delivered by Janet Yellen on May 21st. As the New York Timesnoted:
Following her speech, Ms. Yellen told reporters that the United States and countries in Europe have different concerns when it comes to commerce with China and, as a result, they could use different tools to address them. But she added that because many of the concerns about China’s heavy subsidization of exports are broadly shared, it is “more forceful to communicate to China as a group.”
The same article also referenced a speech made by German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Stockholm the previous week:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a speech in Stockholm last week, “We should not forget: European manufacturers, and also some American ones, are successful on the Chinese market and also sell a lot of vehicles that are produced in Europe to China.” He added that at least half of electric vehicles imported to Europe from China were Western brands.
With European, especially German, manufacturers suffering from the greatly increased energy prices produced by the sanctions and the destruction of Nordstream II (the culprit of which Germany seems to have no interest in finding, at least publicly), the last thing that European industry needs is more negative impacts. With a stable trade deficit between Europe and China, and large and increasing investments in China by European manufacturers, any trade measures taken against China could significantly impact an already weak European industrial sector. Especially when China has been forthright in stating its commitment to retaliate against any such measures. It has already launched an anti-dumping investigation into a widely used plastic that it imports from the US, EU, Taiwan and Japan, and has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on imported cars with large engines; directly targeting the German luxury manufacturers.
Europe will also be heavily dependent upon Chinese green technologies and imports to drive its commitments to reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. A drive which will have the side benefit of greatly reducing Europe’s large oil and gas imports. So this will be a significant test of the European capitalist elite’s ability to stand up to their US master. Will they cave in and once again sacrifice Europe’s industry to prove their fealty and vassalage, or will they be able to resist the pressure from the US. The latter case, perhaps partially obfuscated through performative but not substantive actions, would show a limitation of US power in Europe. The former would confirm Europe’s status as a true vassal of the US, as European governments significantly increase defence spending (much of which acts as a subsidy program for US arms manufacturers) against a mythical threat of Russian invasion.
Please just get off the show…
Easy Pizza Sauce
This is the same sauce used by many pizzerias. The thickness depends upon the amount of the water used. There is no cooking needed!
pizza sauce
Ingredients
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 1/2 to 2 tomato paste cans water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
Instructions
Mix well the tomato paste, water and olive oil.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and let stand several hours to let flavors blend.
No cooking is necessary. Just spread onto the dough.
Absolutely Anything (Full Movie | Watch FREE)
Today is a REAL TREAT.
This is a recent British Science Fiction movie, and it is a HOOT! But, if you go onto the internet the first fifty or so review are all bad. With quotes such as “Hollywood could do it better”, and what not. Nonsense. Someone paid to give this movie bad reviews.
It’s a solid 6/10.
Though if you look at this movie from the eyes of intention, it becomes a 8/10. Having your wishes come true is always interesting to watch, and the side unintentional consequences are often amusing given the proper context. I especially love the relationship twistings.
Anyways, here’s what IMBD has to say…
Little story about almighty power, when phrased correctly
The absolute power of wish fulfillment has been connected to many beings, genie and god among others, but now even aliens can make one's wish come true.
Absolutely Anything is a simple film blessed with nifty premise and charming charismatic lead in Simon Pegg. It's a light casual watch that surprisingly heartwarming and incredibly witty beyond the occasional quirky display, even though the premise doesn't have much depth.
Neil (Simon Pegg) is an ordinary teacher who has been given ultimate power by a group of aliens for the purpose of judging the entire earth. The plot and cast are rather familiar, including the love interest by Kate Beckinsale along with the usual best friend and silly talking dog. It's pretty hard to fail on delivering a talking dog, especially voiced by Robin Williams.
First and foremost, the humor is fun and fairly amusing. The script offers some ridiculous situations, often presenting these scenes for Simon Pegg to shine, and that he does. His character is utterly identifiable, wishing assortments of petty stuffs and ending up with stupid mistakes by simple poor choice of words. Some of these might feel overdone and the movie just goes for the boundary of safe route.
Pegg also seems like able to crate chemistry with the cast, and everyone is quite likable, aside from a few over-the-top moments for a couple of them. The movie doesn't venture into deep thought about absolute power or the logic of bending reality, it merely a mild enjoyment with nice characters, most of whom work in platonic relationship. One extra credit for the presentation is how the visual looks sophisticated, it uses the scenery of England and the special effects fairly well.
Absolutely Anything is a much humbler film than the title suggests, it provides ample of light entertainment with a commendable performance by Simon Pegg even if the premise feels outdated towards the end. Plus, having Robin Williams again, even in doggy form is a nice treat.
Free to watch. Please take the time to enjoy this.
Perhaps one of the toughest times in my life was a trifecta of events that blindsided me.
My mother died.
I got fired from my work abruptly and harshly.
My wife divorced me.
She also accused me of molesting her daughter.
I was arrested under the accusation, and spent a night in jail.
All my bank accounts were emptied.
My car was vandalized.
My credit cards were suddenly are maxed out.
And I ended up having to be the executor of my mother’s will…
With my sister and her sociopath husband trying to seal everything not nailed down.
During this period in my life, I was alone.
No friends, and I had moved to my mother’s house to take care of the estate, and get away from all the vandals that seemed to want to attack me in Little Rock Arkansas as some kind of “sex fiend”. Oh, yeah I was dealing with that nonsense.
During this time, I took stock at what I had, and I did have money stashed away out of reach from anyone in the USA. I had bank accounts in both The Philippines and in China. As well as relationships there.
And some time in the future, I will go though all that. But, for now, just know that it was a Hellish time for me.
My doctor prescribed me some medicine to “take the edge off”, and it helped, but what I really needed was more in terms of male counseling. But in the USA, at that time, the idea of “Bros” wasn’t that well established and the idea of “Rambo and Clint Eastwood like men” prevailed. Which sucked.
Every man for himself.
If you are broken… too bad.
Suck it up, bub.
…
I was living off of whisky, stress pills, and frozen pizza.
I spent the time planning and communicating with my attorneys that managed to throw out the accusations of me assaulting a girl… as there was no physical evidence of that ever happening.
But, the mere accusation got me framed up as a sex pervert, and I had a second series of charges to deal associated with that fiasco. In this grouping of lawfare, I had to defend my personality, and endure the charges that I had an interest in sexual activity with children.
So, I had to fly down to Arkansas to deal with that.
…
And as I left the house, I made sure that I had enough pizzas in the fridge to smunch on when I returned.
I well remember opening up the refrigerator and checking on the stack.
But…
Other things were going on.
Little did I know that my sister and her sociopath husband wrote a letter to the Judge and the prosecuting attorney telling them that I was dangerous and needed to be locked up.
They included a letter that I had written to my father expressing my worries and concerns about these accusations.
And so my father gave a copy of the letter to my sister… to help “explain” my worries to her so that she would show some concern for me. You see, he believed that as family that she would understand and stop saying such bad and harsh things about me.
Didn’t happen.
She didn’t care. She wanted all the money, property and furnishings on my mothers estate.
And so she saw an opportunity. And so she took that letter and mailed it to the prosecuting attorney and the judge.
You see, they wanted to loot the estate, and me being locked up would facilitate that.
$4.6 million dollars (in then prices)
…
So when I attended my court date, I met my attorney.
He was late for the hearing, and surprisingly beaten up. His face was all puffy, black and blue and it looked like his nose and jaw were broken. No idea why he was so beaten up.
My psychologist who evaluated me was absent as well. She was key to the determination of my mental and emotional health.
It turned out that her visa was reascended and she had 72 hours to leave the United States or suffer arrest!
…
So,…
My attorney was beaten up.
My supporting witnesses were all missing and were deported.
My sister wrote a letter that told the Judge that I was dangerous.
A private letter to my father was presented as evidence that I was a flight risk.
As the hearing began, and only seconds after he arrived he told me about the damning letter.
Fuck.
I should of left right then and there.
But, I was a good boy. I stayed.
And was promptly arrested and held in protective custody as a “close family member” confirmed that I was a dangerous villain and needed to be incarcerated. Hopefully, said the letter, for the rest of my life.
So I never returned home.
And the pizzas were never eaten.
…
I often think about those pizzas and what might have been. But now, youse guys know what happened.
Its so easy to accuse someone. Especially a man.
Its so easy to worsen the charges against that person as well.
Guard yourself and NEVER, EVER allow these people who will use a system against you to hurt and harm you. And be very careful who you confide in. In hindsight, my blue-pilled father was my worst enemy.
Hard times loomed ahead of me.
I endured them.
But not without scars.
Today…
What should I do if my child won’t stop screaming because I don’t buy him some toys in the store?
My oldest son threw a tantrum like that when he was three or four years old.
I took him out of the store and got down so that we were eye to eye.
I calmly told him,
“We are not going back in the store. You need to understand this. Now, the way you are acting is not okay. It seems like you might be tired. If you are tired, we can go home and you can take a nap.
I have other things I need to do. If you aren’t tired, we can go do them.
It is up to you, now. Are you going to be okay to go and do other things, or do we need to go home so you can take a nap? It is your choice, so choose carefully.”
He told me that he was okay, and that he could handle doing other things. We finished our shopping (at a different shop) and then went home. He never had another problem like that. Whenever he started to get whiny, I would ask him if he was tired. Sometimes, he would say yes, and I would finish up and go home. The other times, he would take the cue and adjust his behavior.
Whenever he would ask me for a toy (outside of birthdays, etc.), we would discuss the item. I might say, “this looks like fun, it isn’t expensive, and it won’t be the right season when your birthday comes, so I think it would be best to get it now.”
I also said things like, “I would have to work for two hours to pay for this. Would you be willing to do two hours of work for it?” He would generally say, “No, I don’t want it that much.” I would reply, “Well, that answers your question, then, doesn’t it?”
An 20 Year Old Cat was Taken to the Shelter, and a Man Decided to Help and Take Him Home
What is it that nobody tells you about having children?
Having children is awful. There are benefits that we all know about. But let’s stick with awful for a second.
A) A 1 foot tall US citizen suddenly moves into your house and you are FORCED to deal with it. It’s like an invading army taking over your home.
B) This 1 foot tall US citizen doesn’t speak English and yet demands you understand it 24 hours a day.
C) This new roommate you are forced to tolerate cries all the time. Deal with it.
D) This new roommate that you are basically required to love shits on the floor or shits in their pants and expects you to clean it.
E) You are expected to feed your new roommate and they have less motor control than someone with no arms and no legs.
F) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you are required to make sure this 1 foot tall human doesn’t kill themselves by mistake. If they do, then you might go to jail.
G) You have to touch their dirty genitals when you clean them. Oh yeah, you have to clean them. A lot.
H) At night (if you are a man), they climb in bed with the love of your life and suck on their breasts. If they were a normal roommate you might kick them out of your house at that point. But now it’s against the law to do that.
I) You and your spouse have gone from being lovers to being “parents”. It’s the funnest thing in the world to be a lover. It’s so much fun that we spend almost every moment thinking and dreaming about loving. It’s not as fun to be a parent.
J) You have no idea if this 1 foot tall person will turn into someone you like or hate when they are five feet tall. It’s sort of random although you hope for the best.
I have two daughters. They are the loves of my life.
This will make a man call her a UNICORN
Have you ever been treated differently at an airport because of your passport?
Oh how vividly I remember this experience. The experience I am about to tell you all about was the day I decided that I will do everything in my power to change my passport to a Canadian passport as soon as possible.
This story takes place back in 2009/2010 new years period. I was a PR in Canada, having immigrated in 2007 to Canada alongside my entire family. Due to some family reasons and situations, after landing in Canada, my dad, mom and little brother went back to Dubai for a year and I was in university in Ontario. I would visit them in Dubai during the winter breaks and summer vacations. This story is about the nightmare that I faced while on my way back to Toronto from Dubai.
Back then, we would take connecting flights, usually through British airways. As many would know, connecting flights from BA are routed through London Heathrow airport, for the most part. This story begins from the time I landed in Heathrow, after completing the first leg of my journey back to Pearson airport in Toronto. As we landed, I remember the captain coming over the intercom and advising us that, apparently due to “adverse” weather, the Heathrow airport had seized all their operations, which included my flight onward to YYZ. As I sat there, my mind racing, the next announcement made informed us that they are trying to arrange for hotel accommodations for the stranded passengers, and to contact BA customer service if we needed further inspection. I remember as we were allowed inside the terminal, there must have been hundreds, if not a thousand, people all in the terminal at the same time. As I walked forward, there were signs and people all around that were directing passengers around. As I approached, they asked me which passport I hold. At that time, I was an Indian passport holder, so I told them that. The expression on the person I was speaking to was eye opening. He sniggers and says, “oh ok, go to that line there, big fella”, pointing to a line of at least 400 people and filling in fast. As I stood in this line, I noticed that most of the people who had been on my flight, who were either EU or US or Canadian citizens, were being directed to a much smaller line, and were dealt with swiftly. As I watched, another 747 unloaded its passengers, and everyone of the EU or US or Canadian passport were pushed again to the front of the que. Seeing this, I was livid. I asked one of the guys working there, and all he asked me was, “what’s your passport or nationality”. Once I said Indian, he says, stay in that line.
I now realize that this disparity in processing immigration/passengers is due to the challenges of making sure that illegals don’t enter into the country, and each country has their own relationship with other countries, but as a 19 years old kid, I was mad. I was pissed that I was in a line going back atleast half a km, while people were allowed to jump ahead. Plus, when I finally got to the front of the line, I was informed that I would be getting a hotel about an hour away from Heathrow airport, and I would have to figure out the way to get there myself. All because, to my teen mind, the people who jumped ahead got all the hotels near the airport. This was the moment I decided that I will do everything in my power to get a Canadian citizenship and get my Canadian passport.
JD Vance Did WHAT to a Couch?
God. This stuff…
What’s the most ridiculous thing someone has done to get out of work?
This idiot, Aaron O’Neill worked at the Intel plant in Kildare, Ireland. After a night of drinking and taking drugs he didn’t want to go to work so paid his friend to ring in a bomb threat, on behalf of ISIS.
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Source: The Irish Times
Aaron O’Neill (20) had been out drinking and taking tablets with his friend Colin Hammond (21) when he decided he did not want to go in the next day.
He paid his friend to make the call from a payphone outside Hammond’s home.
The resulting 999 calls shut down a motorway, disrupted air traffic control and prevented 4,000 Intel staff from going to work. Garda Eamonn McFadden said that at a “conservative estimate” the incident lost Intel 6,000 hours of production.
Mr O’Neill of Chieftains Drive, Balbriggan and Hammond of Bath Road, also in Balbriggan, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to making a false report on the Bath Road on January 13th 2015. Neither man has previous convictions.
Mr Hammond told the operator there were bombs located at Intel which would go off in 12 hours.
“You will not find them. This is a warning, we’re everywhere now,” Hammond told emergency services. When asked who was making the call, he replied: “Islamic State.”
Described by Judge Martin Nolan as “profoundly stupid”, Hammond claimed he had been paid to make the call. He was ordered to carry out 200 hours community service in lieu of a two year prison sentence when his case was dealt with in October.
He said, “to put it politely” it had been a misconceived plan and accepted that the men hadn’t envisaged the calls to have the effect they did.
“It is a very, very strange way to avoid going to work,” Judge Nolan said .
And the best part is how they got caught –
Gda McFadden said that a month after the hoax, a taxi man arrived at Balbriggan Garda station with a passenger who wouldn’t pay his fare. The passenger was Hammond and a garda at the station recognised his voice from the hoax call.
Edit : I’ve included The Irish Times article at the end but I see I have been negligent in explaining actual events, mea culpa, I certainly could have explained this better – the person in question wasn’t directly employed by Intel, he was a subcontractor and directly employed by his father, so he simply couldn’t ring in sick, as I strongly suspect/believe that at the time he lived at home. He couldn’t pretend to be sick when he worked for his Dad.
Vintage art
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She Doesn’t Know Why She Can’t Find A Job
I Went To China And Drove A Dozen Electric Cars. Western Automakers Are Cooked
A trip to the Beijing Auto Show reveals just how advanced China's EVs are. So what are the so-called "foreign" automakers doing about it?
May 9, 2024 at 1:16pm ET
By: Kevin Williams
In just the past few months, the rift between the U.S. and China has expanded at an astounding rate. TikTok is set to be banned if it does not divest from its U.S operations. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to battling a surge of cheap Chinese clean energy exports. The Commerce Department is cracking down on chips sent to Huawei.
And yet plenty of critics still insist China’s advancements in its manufacturing abilities—especially in developing and selling electrified vehicles—somehow aren’t legitimate. Or that they’re just the byproducts of a government with too much cash that wants to elbow its way into the rest of the world.
I’ve personally been privy to conversations with auto industry insiders, engineers and pundits alike. Many of them believe China’s industries are not sustainable, and the cars it wants to foist on the public are cut-rate spyware machines designed to murder American citizens whenever the Chinese Communist Party flips the kill switch.
To these critics, if China had a truly open market, Chinese buyers would continue to purchase Western cars en masse, and sales of their models wouldn’t be falling off so dramatically.
It would be naive to assume that China doesn’t have its finger on the scale for EV production. But believing that the success of China’s electrified vehicle industry is all the sole result of a brutish government forcing its citizens to buy its domestic products rings false in an almost childlike, sour-grapes way.
I spent a week in China for the Beijing Auto Show, the country’s biggest car industry event. As a guest of the Geely Group along with a few other international journalists, I drove more than a dozen vehicles, sat in many more, and had a lot of important conversations. The real story is far more nuanced than a simplistic “Us vs. Them”; a story of a China that has fraudulently over-invested in electric cars and is desperately seeking a space to dump their inferior products.
That narrative is false. Western automakers are cooked. And a lot of this is probably their damn fault.
Shanghai Is Hot, Yet Quiet
I knew Shanghai was hot, but I don’t think I quite understood the scope of the Bund’s hotness until I stepped out of the terminal of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
Shanghai shares nearly the same latitude as New Orleans, and like its geographical American counterpart, much of the city is next to water, making it just as humid and swampy. I was jumpy and jetlagged, dripping with sweat, my shirt already sticking to my back but relieved that I had made it through customs and passport control.
I was in a new place that was as foreign as it was familiar. Western brands like Peet’s Coffee and KFC littered the terminal, with queues of Chinese folks and international tourists alike sucking down localized versions of iced coffee and tea lattes or chomping down on chicken sandwiches that were significantly more flavorful than what I could get at home.
The very first car I saw in the arrivals and pickup lane of the airport was a white Ford Explorer parked in the middle of a pedestrian crossing; it was almost like I hadn’t left Ohio. It was so familiar, this car was identical to the one back home, save for the Chinese characters on the rear hatch that designate the JMC-Ford joint venture that made the crossover.
The second I looked away from the Explorer, I realized just how different everything was. The arrivals area was just as busy as any airport in any cosmopolitan world city, but the engine and exhaust noises I’d typically hear back home, or even in Europe, just weren’t there.
Most cars in the pickup area were green-plated “new energy vehicles,” made by brands of all sorts, from BYD or Geely, and even Western brands like Buick and Chevrolet. It’s quite a sight: a nation swept up in an electric car mania, as evidenced by the near-silent crossovers, vans, and sedans aggressively flying over speed bumps while dodging pedestrians headed to rideshare, taxis, or public transportation.
Some of the China-only cars I had read about and reported on before, I was finally seeing in person. “Oh wow, that’s a Buick Velite 6; I’ve been reading about those online, they’re everywhere, here in China. Or at least, everywhere in the passenger pickup area,” I said out loud, to no one in particular. For a split second, I wondered: were the reports overblown? Was China’s love affair with Western cars still strong?
Of course, it would be silly to jump to that conclusion within the first five minutes of being in China, but the presence of so many Buicks felt antithetical to the idea that I’ve been told that no one wanted Western brands, including its EVs.
Right?
My time in China would revolve around a tour of Geely’s world headquarters in Hangzhou and several roundtables with executives from Geely’s brands. Then, we’d fly to Beijing for a day at the auto show and experience a full day at a racetrack to sample more than a dozen vehicles, including the latest models of all brands that Geely Holding Group controls, except Volvo and Polestar.
We’d drive from Shanghai to Hangzhou via the iconic Hangzhou Bay Bridge, a ride that was more than two hours long. I’d spend it in the back of a Zeekr 009, a van I’ve driven on a track in the U.S. I knew it was a fast van that cornered surprisingly flat, but that’s not really the use case of that vehicle.
The 009 is part of a luxury MPV (minivan) segment that essentially only exists in Asia, and arguably has been perfected by China. Instead of Cadillac Escalades or Lincoln Navigators, black car operators use vehicles like the Buick GL8, Toyota Alphard, Denza D9, Voyah Dreamer, or the Zeekr 009.
And in context, the Zeekr 009 felt so at home. It’s not a cheap van. I’d reckon that the one I was in was well north of $80,000, but the 009 felt so much more mature than the last Escalade or Navigator for-hire car that would have been roughly the same price. It was more than just the ambiance of the 009’s interior, with its tiger wood trim, full Alcantara headliner, real metal finishes brightwork and finishes in the interior, or first-class airline-style middle captain’s chairs that both cooled and massaged me, lulling me to sleep before I knew what happened next. The 009 felt like a low-slung Rolls-Royce with sliding doors, so I understood why it was such a popular option for Chinese businessmen.
The visitors’ center at its headquarters had examples of its latest models. Some of them were premium models from Zeekr and Lynk & Co, meant to battle brands like Acura or Audi.
Others were more mainstream, like Geely’s Galaxy subbrand, meant for middle-income value-conscious Chinese buyers, or potentially to be rebadged as Protons in places like Malaysia.
No matter the price point, they all felt incredibly convincing. They’re high-tech, well-executed machines in ways I hadn’t experienced from European or American manufacturers.
For example, take the Honda Accord-sized (and similarly priced) Geely Galaxy E8. Fully electric and on the same SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) platform as some Polestar models, the E8’s interior comes standard with a full-width 4K OLED display that serves as a central hub for all of the car’s functions. True, there are plenty of concerns that could be leveled at the E8 for its screen-only interface, but that does this screen a disservice.
Using it is akin to staring at a TV screen or a high-quality gaming monitor. The interface feels like it’s done with intentionality and care; important details like speed gear position are easily seen, whereas the HVAC and stereo controls are easily at hand and not buried in acres of menus. The screen itself is incredibly responsive, matching the inputs with as little latency as a high-end smartphone.
On the screen, an animation of the car sits in the midst of an ocean, overlooking a mountain range; It’s bright, it’s pretty, and it feels as if Galaxy E8’s interior is more like a remodeled living room, rather than the front seat of a car.
I was impressed. But when I got to the auto show, I realized I hadn’t seen anything yet.
The Beijing Auto Show is A Tour De Force
Thankfully, Beijing’s more than 700 miles from the balmy Shangai-Hangzhou area, and further inland location made for a comparatively cooler time. Unfortunately, Beijing’s traffic was infinitely worse than Shanghai’s. Despite leaving the hotel at 8:30 a.m., it took us more than an hour and a half to drive just nine miles to the New China International Expo Center.
The show itself was packed, incomparable to the ghost-town auto shows back home during their press preview days. Everywhere I looked, there were people: influencers, Chinese media, international media. Clearly, China missed the memo that these events are dead.
I’d later learn that the auto show had more than 100 new model debuts and concepts. That’s a far cry from the Detroit Auto Show last September, which only featured one fully new model. Two other models were refreshed versions of current cars already on sale. None were electric.
In China, the showroom floor was filled to the gills with new electrified models from every single domestic automaker. They all had something to prove, and by god, they were trying. There were hundreds of models on the floor from dozens of brands, most of them just as compelling as what I had seen the day before from Geely.
Most brands had doors that closed with a solid thunk, with soft-touch materials in the correct places, when appropriate to the vehicle’s price point. And no matter the price point, they all had responsive, integrated vehicle interfaces that were quick, pretty, and ubiquitous.
A basic infotainment system in any given moderately priced Chinese EV beats the brakes off some systems in cars that cost six figures.
There are reasons for that, but namely, Chinese EVs are so good now—as is much of its urban infrastructure—that concerns about range or charging just aren’t as pertinent to the average consumer as they once were.
Zeekr representatives said that now, the brand must figure out ways to attract consumers that don’t involve range or charging speed. Hell, the whole Chinese car industry has the same conundrum. Thus, all of its domestic brands (and some foreign ones) have ingratiated themselves with Chinese tech companies, and the two have moved in lockstep to figure out just what that means.
Of course, China has a lot of EV brands. Probably too many EV brands. But some of those brands are entanglements between China’s automakers and its tech companies.
Take JiYue, a combination of Geely and Baidu, a company often dubbed China’s Google. Its connected services and vision-only self-driving has a Full Self-Driving style car on the road, while Tesla waits to jump in. Or IM Motors, a premium brand that’s a result of a tie-up with SAIC and e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Then there’s the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, a collaboration between BAIC, Chery (aka Luxeed), Aito, and Changan, and smartphone and tech giant Huawei. The latter can either help design and market the cars themselves or add full-stack in-car solutions for a vehicle’s infotainment car architecture, all using the same Harmony OS that Huawei uses on its smartphones.
And of course, there’s Xiaomi, a phone manufacturer that decided to design and manufacture its own car. Unlike Apple, Xiaomi actually pulled this off, and the end product is so advanced it’s made headlines all over the world.
Whatever the flavor, these models are superconnected, full of high-end processors and tech meant to woo discerning Chinese buyers.
Just from what I saw, I understood why there were so many people at the Chinese domestic brands. Li Auto’s booth had a consistent queue to view L6 compact PHEV crossover, released at the show.
Even its current production models, like the L9 and Mega MPV, had lines of Chinese and International Media poking and prodding the cars. Changan’s Ford Maverick-sized convertible coupe SUV with a bed stayed swarmed the entire show. Xiaomi’s SU7 had a two-hour wait. Some international journalists gave up and stopped trying to see the car.
Western brands didn’t enjoy that fervor, though.
Nobody Cares About Western Brands in China
All of the press conferences for the model debuts were in Chinese, and I didn’t always have a translator or interpreter at hand. When I could, I wandered around, looking to see what else I could learn while in China.
The first stand I stumbled upon was Buick’s. It unveiled two GM Ultium-based concepts, the Electra L and Electra LT. It had also unveiled a PHEV version of its popular GL8 van. But where the hell was everyone? It was barely 10 a.m., on the first day of the Beijing Auto show; two concepts were just revealed sometime earlier that morning, yet there were only a handful of spectators at the Buick stand. There was no information on either concept. No one seemed to care.
Same story with the other Asian brands. Mazda’s latest model, EZ-6 (which isn’t really even a Mazda, but a restyled Changan Deepal SL03), had some of the usual influencers and journalists shooting quick walkaround content for their channels, but after that died down, most moved on to something else. Ditto for Toyota’s bZ3x and bZ3c near-production models.
“Chinese people don’t really care about concepts here,” Will Sundin of the China Driven internet show told me. “They want something they can buy and drive right away.” As we walked around, he elaborated on why Western manufacturers were losing so much ground in China. Sundin blamed it partially on Western brands’ inability to electrify quickly while offering low-quality software and mediocre value in their products.
Chevrolet showed off the same Equinox EV preproduction prototypes it had at the LA Auto Show in 2022. Both were locked and unavailable for in-depth viewing by the general public until a third unit showed up the next day of the show.
Also, the Equinox EV is still not on sale. By comparison, Li Auto’s L6 was available for viewing and purchase at Li Auto storefronts before the car’s official reveal at the Beijing Auto Show. Li Auto says it has 40,000 orders for the PHEV.
Why isn’t the Equinox EV on sale?
We explored the expo center more, but eventually made our way back to the Buick stand. I plopped down in the front seat of the Buick Velite 6, the electric wagon I had seen everywhere in Shanghai. I’d find out later from four different on-the-ground sources, including Sundin, that the Velite 6 is highly discounted and sold en masse to Chinese rideshare drivers.
It is a car that sells in numbers heavily to fleets because it is cheap and available, and less because it is desirable—not great for a brand that wants to retain its market share and raise its transaction prices.
Within five seconds of sitting behind the wheel of the Velite 6, I understood why. Sundin picked up on my disappointment.
“It’s a bit shit, innit?” he said. He was right. I couldn’t ignore what I was seeing. The Velite 6 felt like an electric version of a generation-old Chevy Malibu.
The delta of quality, connectedness, and value between the Velite 6 and any of the equivalent of the mid-tier Chinese EV vehicles I had experienced that day, was startling. By comparison, the Velite 6’s small screens and grey plastic interior were downright depressing to the full-width, super brilliant screens in any given Chinese EV.
The GM Ultium-based Buick Electra E4 was a slight step in the right direction, but generally nowhere near as nice as the Chinese premium brands it meant to go head to head with. It seems like GM understands this since it cut the Chinese pricing of the Electra E4 twice, well before any price war kicked off.
“Well, at least you guys in the States will get some new PHEV stuff, like the new Buick GL8 van, right?” Sundin said.
“No, actually we don’t get any GM PHEV models in the United States,” I told him. “Only a few GM Ultium-based EVs and they’re not doing all that well.”
I was embarrassed. Here I was in China, trying to empathize with Western brands, thinking they were being pushed out of China due to politics and things that were no fault of their own.
In reality, it felt like it was the late 1980s again, when American manufacturers felt like they could sell whatever underdeveloped models its accounting department had cooked up to the public, and we’d just have to deal with it. Now that I’ve seen a glimpse of what’s going on in China, the Western manufacturers, particularly the American ones, don’t seem like they’re trying at all.
Writer and podcaster Ed Zitron said something interesting during an episode of his podcast, Better Offline. Americans are almost made to apologize for their preferences when it comes to Big Tech. Some bigwig or boisterous startup guy had a big idea for a widget that no one wanted, and decided to half-ass a product that doesn’t work all that well.
When the public rightfully ignores a bad or unwanted product, there’s a new trend in tech to blame the clientele for not being smart enough, rather than facing the music that what was created just wasn’t all that good. I mean, just look at all the terrible AI-based pins that don’t do anything.
The auto industry feels the same way. Instead of automakers attempting to understand and meet the needs of the Chinese market, they’d rather just sell the cars they wanted to make. By comparison, Chinese automakers seemed to have tried harder to understand the desires of Chinese people.
Chinese buyers wanted connected cars with big screens, and by god, the automakers figured out a way to get that in there, and how to do it well.
All We Do Is Complain While China Advances
America’s looming TikTok ban feels like a direct allegory for China’s relationship with its electric car exports. I use TikTok; I understand how it works, and I agree that there are plenty of valid critiques to be leveled at the platform’s ability to spread misinformation, or how its endless scroll probably isn’t great for anyone’s mental health, especially that of the teens and tweens who love the platform so much.
Yet, so much of the coverage of TikTok’s ban refuses to acknowledge one fact: The platform is really, really well executed. TikTok’s algorithm is fantastic; it can compile a near-endless scroll of content that feels fresh, positive, fun and eerily, directly targeted to you. I’ve watched the viral power of TikTok straight up create music artists like PinkPantheress, or revive the career and launch classic artists like Sophie Ellis-Bextor or Kate Bush back onto the charts.
TikTok’s culture isn’t perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot healthier than whatever Meta, Google, and Twitter have created, where death by a thousand cuts of “enshittification” have made their services hostile and less useful to the end user. On Instagram Reels, the content moderation is so poor, that it’s not uncommon to see someone literally die on screen.
So, when automakers, tech companies and regulators push back on China, the sentiments that they’re just protecting our market from unsafe or security-challenged products feel hollow. Instead, it feels like grandstanding, and a tacit admission that they have no intention of trying to do better.
Instead of competing, they’d rather just shut out competition entirely. The concerns about cybersecurity don’t address the elephant in the room here: Your product sucks, compared to what China is putting out now. It doesn’t go as far. It’s not as well-made. It’s not as nice. It’s not as connected.
Western automakers aren’t entangled deeply with tech companies in ways that would serve the end user, Chinese or otherwise. They didn’t get way ahead of the curve to establish a battery supply chain in the ways China did. And they don’t seem to want to cater to the Chinese market (or any market, rather) through continuous updates and agility with their product line.
Even Tesla in China can’t be bothered to update one of its most important products, the Model Y, in this hyper-competitive market. Instead, it relies on margin-hurting gimmicks to move units, like constant price cuts, subsidized trade-in incentives, and 0% financing to get customers to buy a car that is aged and now uncompetitive.
Tesla didn’t even have a presence at the Beijing Auto Show. Elon Musk came and went to Beijing during the show, only to make a case for his robotaxi pivot with government officials. It’s like he’s already given up on cars here.
Volkswagen placed its ID cars on the market, then acted surprised when journalists and buyers alike rightfully criticized its poor software interface. Nissan at one point sold nearly as many gas-powered Sylphy (Sentra) sedans in China as Tesla did Model Y crossovers. Yet when it came time to electrify, it stuck a Sylphy body on top of the already outmoded 38 kWh Nissan Leaf running gear. It wasn’t great at charging, had limited range, and was pricey.
GM blew it here too. Up until the Beijing Auto Show’s debut of a PHEV version, the GL8 was one of the few vans in the segment without any plug-in capabilities. Green-plated New Energy vehicles are an important market in China, as are luxury vans. Why weren’t Western automakers paying attention? Why didn’t GM get an electrified vehicle on sale faster?
So at what point does blame shift from Chinese economic policy to the actions of the automakers themselves? How relevant, truly, are claims that China is “unfairly” subsidizing its EV industry to Western automakers completely misjudging the Chinese market, and low-key failing to craft products that Chinese buyers actually wanted? Why did they get so arrogant that they assumed China would buy their budget Peugeots, Citroens, Chevrolets, and rewarmed Volkswagens and Buicks forever and ever? Why the hell didn’t we subsidize our EV-building and clean energy industries like China did?
I’m not going to lie and say that the Chinese underutilization of its EV factories isn’t a problem, or that this isn’t an oversaturated car market that not all of these brands will survive. Of course, there are plenty of concerns around China’s poor human rights track record and the dubious sourcing of some of its raw materials; both Chinese domestic and foreign brands are criticized for this.
Also, as impressive as the Beijing Auto Show was, there was a slight air of desperation. Some of the smaller, more desperate brands I visited didn’t initially realize I was part of international media; looking for a win, they thought I was a potential distributor seeking to set up a contract to export vehicles to a country that wasn’t the U.S.
Some influencers that were not even remotely connected to the automotive industry were livestreaming and posting on Chinese social media about new car debuts, trying to bring a non-car-interested audience into the automotive realm. The once-banned “car babes” at Chinese auto shows have kind of crept back to the showroom floor, signaling a desire for attention and sales that they might not be getting.
And yet, those issues feel secondary. If China were to somehow rectify its production overcapacity issues, and acquiesce to every demand that Europe and the U.S. have of its EV sector, China would still have technologically advanced, well-made, interesting EVs. Arguably, it would still come out leaner and stronger.
If the U.S. and Europe get what they want—a crackdown on Chinese imports—it doesn’t feel like it would result in better cars. It feels like it would keep buyers of those markets locked to cars that aren’t executed as well. It’s nakedly protectionist because deep down, all of the Western auto executives and some hawkish China pundits understand that Chinese EV and PHEV models are more compelling than what European, other Asian, and American brands have come up with.
I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. We’re cooked.
People Have STOPPED PAYING THEIR BILLS!
MM is hungry
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This squatter is fucked
Blue Bayou Chicken Florentine
Blue Bayou Chicken Florentine
Yield:4 servings; 2 cups sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
4 (7 ounce) chicken breasts (with skin)
1 cup Florentine sauce (see below)
3 ounces chopped fresh or frozen spinach*
3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
2 ounces cooked and chopped bacon
Seasoned salt to taste
2 tablespoons melted butter
Florentine Sauce
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
3 sliced medium mushrooms
2/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon diced pimentos
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Chicken
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
In mixing, combine spinach, bacon and cheese; set aside.
Open chicken breast and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Stuff with spinach mixture. Fold and place seam side down in baking dish. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle outside with seasoned salt.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Top with Florentine sauce and serve over rice.
Florentine Sauce
Blend together flour and 2 teaspoons of the butter; set aside.
Sauté onions and mushrooms in 1 teaspoon butter (do not allow onions to brown).
Add white wine and reduce completely.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and slowly add the flour/butter mixture a little at a time until desired thickness is achieved. Continue cooking at a simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
Notes
* If fresh spinach is used, it must be blanched.
CHEATING Girlfriend Gets HUMILIATED During Wedding Proposal
What is the most brilliant example of taking advantage of a loophole you have ever witnessed?
I do not tell this story to brag. It is just so different.
My parents sold their small farm and moved to El Paso with my husband when we moved there. They would have had to pay a lot of tax. We found a house with room for inlaw quarters.
I hope l get this straight. It was quite awhile ago. They had one year to reinvest to avoid taxes.
I found out about once in a lifetime non taxable gifts. So l worked a way for us to give the down payment. Using a four way split where l would give my mother x amount of money and my father x amount. They used it for their half of the down-payment. My husband would do the same. We used the same four way split to cover their half of the house payments which was jointly owned. At the end of the one year they gave us their half as a once in a lifetime gift. They used the same four way which kept it non taxable.
We were not sure of the legality of this so we went to a lawer, he read it all over and said “l used to work for the IRS, if l had audited this l could not find a problem with it. Who figured this out for you?” When told him l did he said “Lady, you found one hell of a loop hole.”
Tate On Why Life For The Average Man Will Become Impossible
He has a great point.
Shorpy
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Corvette group road trip Palm Springs March 1969.preview
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On a scale of 1-10, how socially awkward are you?
So one of my seniors recently got to know that I won the QPCA and she decided to congratulate me. Her bad, and I’ll tell you why.
Now, when it comes to keeping the interaction alive, I’m pretty good at it.
But sometimes, ( sometimes = always ) I miserably fail in the more important thing, that’s keeping the interaction interesting ( interesting = continuable, without occasional cringing ).
So this is what happened,
She: It’s great that you won.
Me: Thanks.
She: But you don’t seem as sassy in real life.
Me: Umm, ya.
I don’t know why and I kid you not, but this time, I decided that I’ll keep the conversation going on. So I came up with this revolutionary compliment. Compliments that can change the world.
Me: You’ve got asymmetrical eyebrows.
She: °_° Wh.. What?
Me: Yeah, I never noticed. Maybe no one ever did, but your eyebrows don’t have symmetry.
She: Uh…. Ok?
Me (By now I realized that I fucked up, but never quit is a good motto and when to never quit is never taught ): And uh… if, if you notice closely, the left eyebrow is more bent than the… the ri…
She ( By now, she is regretful that she congratulated me in the first place ): Hey, you can go, seeya!
Me: ..ght eyebrow.
Now what’s important here, is that I tried.
( And Sarhad, what’s even more important here, is that you failed )
Only if I had known that asymmetrical eyebrows are not something great to talk about, I would’ve picked up something more intriguing.
Like I always have my moo point ( cows and magnets ) to talk about.
But I’ll admit, though social interaction is not really my prowess, I’m learning and I do want to get better.
It’s a skill which is not really optional, and which everyone should possess, to a certain level.
Yeah, on a scale of 1 to 10, I think I’m a pair of ever frowning eyebrows with rainbow eyelashes. Everything symmetrical.
Half a million likes!
She is right.
How should I deal with a coworker who never wants to pay when we eat out?
I often went out with two friends, who were also my colleagues, to a pizza house. We’d order two large pizzas and split the bill. The leftover would be packed, and one friend would always take it home. We lived in the same apartment building.
The problem is, when I eat I always take my time and I like to talk. At the end of the meal, I would always have eaten only two slices and yet I had to pay an equal share of the bill. I never got to take the leftover home.
One time I mentioned this problem to the friend who also never got to take the leftover home. I told her that I had a problem with us always splitting the bill because I always eat only two slices and never got to take home the leftover. The other friend would automatically take the leftover for herself and never once offered us if we’d also like to take it home.
My friend was surprised because she thought that the other friend and I took turns to take the leftover because we lived in the same building. Then she said that she also had a problem because she never got to order the pizza that she likes.
The thing is, I don’t eat pork so I get to order my favorite chicken bbq pizza. The two friends eat pork but it’s always the other friend who got to order her favorite pork pizza, and also the one to take all the leftover.
So we came up with a solution.
The next time we went again for pizza, I told the waiter that I was ordering a small chicken bbq pizza with a glass of coke, and that I’d pay my bill separately. The friend that I’ve spoken with also ordered her favorite Hawaiian pizza, small size, with drinks and asked the water to separate her bills too. Thus, the other friend also had to order her favorite pork pizza in small size.
I enjoyed my pizza, took my time eating it, enjoyed telling stories, and at the end of the meal told the waiter that I’d like to take home my leftover.
Needless to say, the friend who always took the leftover went home that night without any bring home because she finished her small size pizza. And the friend who I had spoken with was satisfied to have finally eaten her favorite Hawaiian pizza.
What is the biggest “I’m definitely fired” thing you’ve done at work, but nobody ever found out?
Many years ago I was working as a developer on one of the largest derivatives markets in the world. Part of our teams remit was supporting the live environment and as such I had on my sun workstation a 9 window virtual desktop one for each environment. we often jumped on each other’s workstations to do things, start/stop uat processes or get prod logs.. One day unknowingly to me, my boss was using my workstation and accidentally moved our futures trading market console onto my UAT desktop and later that day asked me to recycle UAT to pick up changes he pushed. I did it without though and within 30 seconds the Head of development (CTO) comes running across the floor screaming the futures production environment had just crashed. I looked at my screen and to my horror the console I just typed my command into had a prod$ console. My boss looked and me, I looked at him and we both thought the same and it wasn’t good! Immediately a witch hunt started and it was assumed the support guys had messed up (They forgot we had access). My boss quickly told me close all the consoles and go take a really long lunch so when they get to us, you’re not here to lie!
I got back an hour latter and my boss quickly announced “They found the problem, a bug in one of the support scrips means if someone cont-c it run kill -9 -1 to clean up, no one knows who IN SUPPORT did it but it wasn’t their fault”
It made the main 6pm news business section that day although I didn’t speak a word about it to anyone until a I left a years later. We also changed the background color of all prod consoles to red after that
How to get the pill
Do you think Ford and GM will see a significant boost in their stock prices following the implementation of higher tariffs on Chinese imports?
Quora Prompt Generator, this must be your way of trying to make a joke of Biden’s tariff on Chinese EVs? Or are you just totally clueless coming up with your usual silly questions?
First, there’s Ford. They’ve stopped all their EV productions and going hydrogen.
Let’s just say this is tantamount to Ford declaring that they’re jumping from the pot right into the fire.
And then there’s GM. Their QTR1 sales for 2024 was a paltry 16,425 . . .and Barra just announced cutting sales target from 400,000 to 200,000 for 2024, and even this is delusional. And when you hear Barra reassuring everybody that GM is still committed to stay in China, you can be sure GM’s days in China are numbered.. . .and management there has their bags already packed. With this, goes any hope of GM being able to come up with any competitive EV product.
So how is Biden’s tariffs going to protect a U.S. market where there’s nobody to protect? Their stock prices? Both are going back to their reliables – good ole American SUV and pickup gas guzzlers.
Ahh, but you say there’s still Tesla. So, why do you think Musk is now spending so much time in China? To be sure, he doesn’t really care about the U.S. market. He owns it already. He’s really worried that his existential market in China isn’t lost. He’d already fired all of his people handling their recharging network and revamping others. As the price competition gets more heated, the more threat there is to his position there. And that’s where Biden’s tariffs mean diddly squat..
What are some mind-blowing facts that sound unreal but are actually true?
1. People don’t have as strong intuitive sense of how much bigger 1 billion is than 1 million.
A million seconds is about 11 days.
A billion seconds is about 32 years.
2. Only 2% of people can hear their eyes move and blink.
3. The Facebook logo is blue because founder Mark Zuckerberg is red-green color blind, making blue the “richest color ” for him.
4. If you hold in your farts long enough, the gas can be re-absorbed and come out of your mouth.
5. Over 50% of pilots have admitted to falling asleep mid-flight. And of these pilots, 29% said that they had woken up to find their co-pilot asleep as well.
6. Most toilet paper sold for home use in France is pink.
7. There are more fake flamingos in the world than real flamingos.
8. Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not.
9. Giraffes and humans have the same number of necklines. Actually, all mammals do.
10. Sometimes, hiding your thumb behind all your fingers is a sign of panic.
11. Broccoli is a man-made vegetable and was created by breeding different types of cabbages.
12. Try to breathe and swallow at the same time. You can’t.
While conducting a surgery, have you ever found something unexpected?
A female marathoner was referred to me because her running times were increasing and she was progressively short of breath. She was also coughing up blood occasionally.
Ten years earlier she had removal of the upper 1/3 of her right lung(right upper lobe) for a benign tumor that bled often and obstructed that lobe of the lung.
To do this the surgeon must pull the remaining lower lung bronchus (intermediate) up and connect it to the trachea (wind pipe). This puts the sutured connection ring of tissues under considerable tension, tending to rip out the sutures leading to a catastrophic leak.
So the surgeon buttressed the suture line with several cotton pledgets. The surgeon obviously did a great job, she had been doing well for ten years.
When I looked into the lung (bronchoscopy) I saw a large mass of tissue I assumed was recurrent tumor completely blocking the right lung. But the pathologist found the biopsy tissue samples to be benign!
To clear the path into the lung I used laser through the bronchoscope to ablate the tissue. As I steadily removed tissue I found the suture line and then saw the many pledgets (small cotton pieces) the surgeon had used to support the suture line. I realized that obstructing tissue was a granulomatous mass the lung had generated because of the foreign body irritation from the pledgets. I steadily burned away the pledgets along with the old sutures until the area was completely clear and the airway to the lower lung was reopened.
This relieved her shortness of breath and she resumed running. A recheck 1 and 2 years later showed no recurrence of the tumor; she remained asymptomatic.
I expected to find malignancy but instead found a treatable benign condition.
20 MINUTES Of Modern Women BEGGING For A Good Man To Save Them
What is the craziest thing your best friend has ever done?
Guys, I’d love your feedback on this. I can’t believe my friend did this.
Last summer, my best friend was housesitting for about a week for her another friend and that friend’s wealthy family. They had a massive aquarium tank, eight feet tall with thick glass, almost as big as a room. It was only fish inside and nothing else. One night while storming, she wanted to go and swim in the tank. She absolutely loves fish and aquatic life. She got changed into some elastic shorts and a tank, turned off all the lights in the house, and with a towel walked barefoot up the small staircase that led to the top of the tank — her heart beating really fast with excitement. The top of the tank was already open, wide enough for her to easily fit through.
After she raised her arms over her head, she plunged into the water. The water was deep enough that she didn’t hit the bottom but her body went horizontal upon landing in the water. She said doing so was such a rush and that it was so warm and relaxing. While she swam underwater in the tank, lightning flashes lit up the inside. She said it was the most romantic thing she ever did, it was so quiet and peaceful underwater with the fish, and that she could feel the thunder vibrations from outside.
Woman gets reality check by dating a man that KNOWS his value…
You Stand up and fight
Last year my son was suspended. 3 boys corned him and were bullying him he kept is cool and attempted to walk away. One blocked his path.
At that point one shit stain said 2 sentences that changed my son’s life. “I’m glad your mom’s in a wheelchair. And I hope one of her seizures kills her.” See our families already known loss.
April will be 11yrs since my daughter and his sister passed away. She was 14m old.
So hearing this boy say he hoped I died was too much for my son. He turned to the leader and punched him right in the nose. To the school it didn’t matter what they had said.
The school district suspended my son cause he made it physically. So I took him out for ice cream. There comes a time when words do count and do cross the line. I support my son’s decision to finally say enough.
He knows he can’t hit someone and not have consequences.
But he also knows that there are going to be times in his life that he’s going to have to stand up for what is right. And I’ll support him when he does.
I was born to the wrong family
Have you ever lost respect for your parents because of one thing they said or did?
I was kicked out on Christmas eve by my mother when I was 17. That’s not even the subject of this story so you can imagine I didn’t have a good life growing up. She kicked me and my 15 year old brother out because (and this is a direct quote) “I have a life to live, and you and your brother have held me down long enough. I deserve to be happy.” She left the state with her internet boyfriend, that she knew for 3 weeks, a week later. We moved in with our aunt and her boyfriend. My aunt was like a mother to us, she helped raise us since our mother didn’t have the best taste in men. My brother and I got full time jobs and each of us gave our aunt’s boyfriend $50 a week (for rent and bills) and an extra $50 a week because all of us were saving to go to Florida to visit our grandparents and he was putting it into a savings account because my brother and I didn’t have one. My grandfather had health problems, he had heart attacks before and we all knew he didn’t have much longer to live. He was the best man I’ve ever known and he was the only male figure in my life that I could count on. My brother and I had been living at my aunt’s and her boyfriends house for about 6 months when my aunt’s boyfriend didn’t come home for 4 days. When he did finally come home, he was beyond messed up, he was slurring his words, he was falling asleep standing up, it was clear he was on something. My aunt told me and my brother later that he went on a bender with his boss. They spent 4 days smoking crack and snorting cocaine. She then told us that he spent all of the money that me and my brother had been saving to go to Florida to see our grandparents. $2400 we saved, gone in 4 days. But she said “don’t worry, we won’t charge you rent for 6 months and it will all equal out.” I heard my aunt on the phone with my grandma a week later. She told my grandma that we couldn’t come to Florida because “Stacey and her brother didn’t save any money”. My grandfather died 3 months later. It kills me that he thought my brother and I were too immature, selfish or had better things to do than to save money to see him. I wanted to tell my grandparents the truth but with my grandfathers health being what it was I didn’t want to upset him and tell him “hey your daughter lied to you, my brother and I did save the money but her drug addict boyfriend spent it all in 4 days during a bender.” This is literally one thing that my family has done to me or put me through in the 35 years I allowed them in my life. It has been 2 years since I cut the last toxic person in my family from my life and I feel so much better. The fact that I am a positive, healthy, loving wife and mother is a gift from a deity.
Black Tuesday 1954 Edward G. Robinson, Jean Parker & Peter Graves
Black Tuesday is a 1954 American crime drama film noir directed by Hugo Fregonese and starring Edward G. Robinson, Peter Graves and Jean Parker. The supporting cast features Milburn Stone, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly and Russell Johnson.
Full movie.
Film Noir.
A violent con, Vincent Canelli, escapes prison on the night of his execution. With the help of a phony newspaper reporter and Canelli’s girlfriend, Hatti, who has planned the escape, the con takes along five hostages: the prison priest, the prison doctor, one of the guards, the young reporter whose place has been taken by one of the gang, and the daughter of another guard. This young woman is kidnapped to force her father – who, unlike the guard who is taken hostage, always treats the death row inmates well – to facilitate the escape.
Pretty well done. I think you all will enjoy this one.
When I attended university, I lived off campus. My first year, of course, was spent in a dorm. But the subsequent years were all spent renting a room in a nice old German couple in North Syracuse off “Erie Blvd.”
Back then, it was a nice tidy house, with a tiny front porch. That is the whitish house at the end of the road. Not the big porch that you see today. But the garage hasn’t changed, and everything else seems the same. My bedroom was on the second floor in the off-yellow-white house; the last window in the picture above.
I found their house on Google Maps. Sure has changed in 50 years.
They had emigrated to the USA out of Germany after world war II, and the two grandparents were Heinz and Gertrude Kadel.
I would get up in the morning, exercise, and then run a few miles. Then change, and sit down to breakfast. The Mrs would make me a fine German-style breakfast spread. Often including an egg, some toast, and lots and lots of condiments.
braunschweiger on crackers
This was always a nice breakfast spread with a good cup of coffee. They never skimped on the coffee.
Cup of coffee
After that, I would ride the bus to the university. THis was about 40% of the time, the rest of the time, I rode my motorcycle. It was a 250cc Yamaha.
At that time, I rode my motorcycle back and forth to the university, and I had to ride right through a “bad” section of town. It consisted of project building housing for urban ethnic families. Lost of kids running around in gangs of 12 or so. many between the ages of 9 and 16.
My commute in Syracuse
Heinz was hard of hearing, and couldn’t speak English very well.
He also had early stage dementia, and he was a fright when driving in town. He was constantly driving on the wrong side of the road and shouting “Stupido Americano!”
Something a little like this…
angry Heinz
The Mrs was very nice to me and made me a fine German breakfast every morning with a cup of coffee.
And it was from here that I learned to love the toast with egg, and toast with braunschweiger meat, mustard, and tomatoes and onions on it.
braunschweiger sandwich web
Great memories.
Anyways, I lived in a spare upstairs bedroom, and it was so nice.
A simple bed, a nice window. A desk and a bedside table with lamp. Everything that I needed. Including a closet and a chest of drawers. It was painted in light yellow with 1960’s era lace and blinds. I really loved it.
Something like this. Only a nice bedroom, not the living room that the picture portrays.
something a little like this
There are many stories that I have of my university days, but some of my fondest memories were of living in that upstairs bedroom with the traditional German family.
Tradition.
This and other things that suggest tradition is what brought about the calmness that I so treasure today.
I REALLY do miss the breakfast spreads. You all have no idea.
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I do miss the German back yard… Throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall, they would gather together in the afternoon, and settled down in the back. There, they would enjoy the sun. Drink tea and eat snacks, and just listen to the birds and play with their little doggie.
Like this…
backyard
Today…
What are the things that make a millionaire go broke?
Meet Leonard Tose. He was a Philly boy like me.
He earned his fortune turning his father’s ten-truck business into a $20 million trucking company.
Leonard was a generous man. He gave freely to many local charities and even bought bullet-proof jackets for the Philadelphia police.
He once said,
My hobby is spending money.
He is best known as the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles American football team that lost the 1981 Super Bowl game to the Raiders.
Sadly, the Super Bowl loss was only the beginning of a long losing streak for Leonard.
He lost the Eagles in 1985, selling the team for $65 million to pay off more than $25 million in gambling debts in Atlantic City.
Sands Casino sued him in 1991 for another $1.23 million. He counter-sued (claiming they kept him drunk) and lost.
By 1996, he had lost it all in Atlantic City. Another $14 million was gambled away at the Sands (he didn’t hold grudges) and the final $20 million at Resorts International.
For his 81st birthday he was evicted from his mansion.
At a 1999 congressional hearing, Leonard testified that he once lost for 72 nights in a row. When Congress asked if he had any advice he answered,
1. Just after you brush your teeth, look at yourself in the mirror and smile. Even if you can’t think of a reason to, still just smile and keep it up for 10 seconds. Guaranteed you will spend rest of the day happier.
2. Finding yourself opening facebook or whatsapp again and again? Put away your laptop and phone and go on a short walk wherever you can. Walking is known to help collect your thoughts and relaxing you.
3. Meditate for 10 minutes. If you have no clue how to, just sit in a quiet place and try counting your breaths till 10-15. Your focus should be on your breath and no thinking. Restart counting as soon as your mind distracts you and you find yourself thinking of something else.
4. Before you sit to work, remind yourself of TWO things that you need finished today (only two, no more). Remind yourself again in the lunch time. There are high chances you will get more important things done this way.
5. Just before sleeping, tell your brain to wake you up at ___a.m. You will be surprised when soon you would stop needing the alarm clock. Still a stubborn sleeper? Put your cellphone some distance away from you when sleeping so that you need to walk up to it when the alarm rings.
6. Revisit your day and remember the positive/good things from the day. Be thankful for those.
7. Try to do at least one new thing – be it taking a different route to work, talking to a new person, experimenting an activity you haven’t before. Don’t let your curiosity and awe die in the daily grind.
Linda’s Own Midwestern Pot Roast
Once you cook pot roast in this manner, you will always want to make it this way. It’s fall-apart tender. The secret to good pot roast is coating it with flour and browning it well before baking.
2 cups hot water mixed with 2 teaspoons bouillon granules or 2 cups beef broth
1 large onion, cut into wedges
5 carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
3 or 4 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 stalks celery, cut into large diagonal chunks
Instructions
Mix garlic powder, seasoned salt and pepper with flour. Cover all sides of the roast with the flour mixture.
Brown roast in oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy Dutch oven, making sure the oil is hot when you place the roast into the oil.
Pour the bouillon water around meat; arrange vegetables around and on top of meat.
Cover tightly; bake at 325 degrees F for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat should tear easily with a fork.
Remove meat to a serving platter.
Serve with the gravy made during roasting. If desired, thicken gravy with a little flour and water mixed together.
Notes
Many times I will add one envelope of dry onion soup mix sprinkled over the roast and vegetables before baking.
Have you ever had a neighbor who believed they had free reign of your property?
When we moved to Louisiana, we found an amazing home that we love. It is on a lake and has huge windows looking out onto the water.
It is part of a subdivision where most of the houses have waterfront property on the development’s five long lakes that snake their way through the neighborhood. However, a few of the houses do not have waterfront property, and the HOA rules dictate that 15 feet from the water’s edge is a right-of-way for water access for all residents.
There is a cul-de-sac of homes across the street from our house that do not have waterfront property. Although the rules don’t allow it, the residents of the cul-de-sac often access the lake by cutting between ours and our neighbor’s home, on our private property. As it is otherwise a long walk around to the public access we have mostly ignored this.
Since our back yard is flatter than our neighbors, the cul-de-sac residents often set up chairs and coolers and fish from our backyard. One day a kid asked if they could take our small kayak out. I confirmed this was okay with their parent, had them put on a life vest, and let them take the kayak out. Another older child with the group ended up taking our larger kayak out. I naively didn’t see the harm.
The next weekend, the kids showed up and asked to take our pedal boat out. I allowed it, but had my son go with them.
A month or so later, my wife called me at work. She said the neighbors were in our backyard and had our kayaks out on the lake. They weren’t wearing life vests and hadn’t asked. She was uncomfortable approaching them as there were several adult men and they’d been drinking. I couldn’t leave work and when I got home they had left already. I texted them and told them they needed to ask first before using our equipment. They didn’t respond.
Then the coup de grâce. We came home from church to find a large group of people basically hosting a huge barbeque in our backyard. They were eating at our picnic table, which they had moved from our porch out into the water, cooking with our propane grill, blasting a boombox with vulgar lyrics, and had both our kayaks and our pedal boat out on the water.
I was astonished. I could not believe the nerve of these people. It was all I could do not to blow my top. My wife was so angry she went inside to keep from assaulting someone. I considered calling the cops, but cooler heads prevailed. I went looking for the patriarch of the family that were the usual culprits, but couldn’t find him.
I started asking questions of the adults. Why did they feel they could just use our personal property without asking? Who’s idea was all this? How did this happen? Everyone was quick to blame someone else. Soon enough I realized that although I’d seen them all at one time or another with a local resident, not one of these people actually lived in our neighborhood.
With the help of my other neighbor who had come out ready to throw the boombox in the lake, we rounded up the party goers and herded them back across the street to the cul-de-sac. A few of the women protested loudly, but my neighbor’s threats to have the cops come and sort it out shut them up.
I later told this neighbor that if something like that happened again I would make sure they couldn’t cut through our yard to get to the lake.
We are also now in the habit of locking up our BBQ, kayaks, and boat in our shed. I put a chain on the picnic table to the patio roof column.
They still cut through the yard, and I have let the kids take the kayaks out because I’m a big softie. But if there’s ever a request of that day I’m raising hell.
What is the best result you ever had from doing something out of spite?
After my freshman year of college, my parents pulled the “my house, my rules” for the last time. Finally I said, okay, then I’m leaving. My best friends picked me up and I brought the essentials and my bank book that had $2,000 in it. No cell phone or car.
One of my siblings called me and I told her I was car shopping. She said “why bother? You’ll never make it on your own so why waste the money?” I found a car for $700 and my friend taught me how to drive a stick so I could get it. I used the rest of my money to get an apartment and fix the car. I started working any temp job (factories, retail, etc) to make ends meet and to save money for school.
Skip ahead to when I was trying to return to college and needed my parents signature to get a student loan. I had to get them to sign to prove we were estranged. Yes I know, It doesn’t make sense. I finally said, if you don’t sign, then I have to go in front of a panel. I’ll describe the years of abuse and I’ll bring the pictures I took as evidence. My dad promptly signed it, to protect his prominent reputation, and crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at me. He said “you’ll never amount to anything and you’ll never make it on your own.” he dented the top of my car with his fists as I was leaving for the very last time, and I told him if I ever saw him again I’d call the police (he had stalking tendencies and every time I moved, he would find my new apartment, drive the hour to sit outside of it and stare at my house. No call or attempt to talk to me. He would just lurk, even in the middle of the night. The police said it is common with abusive estranged parents and they would do their best to make me feel safe.
I worked factories third shift during undergrad to make ends meet and went through college with no phone, internet, or computer. I lived at the computer lab basically and the custodians would wake me up from naps so I could manage small amounts of sleep. I graduated from an accounting program that was ranked very high in the US, after accepting an invitation to an honors fraternity that is invitation only. I get good life long discounts on my car insurance, too, from that frat 🙂
A lot of my motivation in the beginning was spite. To not have to ask them for help, and to prove my sister wrong. I went through a lot of hardship that I probably wouldn’t have endured, otherwise. But as time went on, and I didn’t see any of the family for longer and longer, the anger and hurt started melting and I started living life for myself. I got some therapy too to get past some of the trauma and I can now manage the residual anxiety/depression without medication.
Any comments that provide advice or defense on behalf of my family will be deleted. This all happened between 10 to 15 years ago and I have moved on with my life without them.
“We are on a path to World War III right now—nothing is explained, nothing is told to us, and we have no choices.
The CIA comes in, conducts the briefings, and off we go to military escalation.
The public is profoundly unhappy, and the students are getting beaten up; faculty are getting arrested because you’re not supposed to speak about this.
Then there’s this concoction that this is about anti-Semitism—give me a break.
I’m a Jewish professor at Columbia University.
This is not about anti-Semitism; this is about a slaughter that is taking place in Gaza right now, and the American people don’t like it.
They don’t like our complicity in it, and they are protesting it—that’s what this is about.
But we don’t behave in any reasonable way right now, not even to discuss these things honestly, to know the facts, or to have hearings where our executive is called to account by Congress.
This was one of the fundamental roles that Congress was supposed to play.
It’s laughable to think that this is how anything works right now—it doesn’t. I know it doesn’t.
There is no accountability whatsoever.
There are closed-door briefings, and then, if you approach a congressman or senator, as I often do, they say, ‘Well, Jeff, I’m just not supposed to talk about such matters. I’m sure you understand.’
In the meantime, we have our NATO allies talking about moving troops to Ukraine, and Russia entering tactical nuclear drills right now.
This is crazy.
This is what you read about on the path to World War I, when a few people decided the fate of the world.
We had made a claim that because we are a republic, it couldn’t happen here, but starting in 1947, it has been happening here repeatedly.
That’s the year of the National Security Act; that’s the year when we went secret, and now we cannot hold our government accountable because everything is confidential.”
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Excerpt from remarks by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, American economist and academic, in an interview with Judge Napolitano, May 6, 2024.
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Linda’s Prime Rib
This is SO tasty. The leftovers make wonderful roast beef sandwiches also.
prime rib2
Ingredients
Garlic powder
Seasoning salt
Mrs. Dash Seasoning
Lemon pepper
Fresh rosemary (optional)
Prime rib roast
Instructions
Heat oven to 500 degrees F.
Rub seasonings into the prime rib. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, if desired. For medium rare, cook 5 minutes per pound. For medium, cook 7 minutes per pound.
Turn oven off and do not open oven door for whatever time remains of 2 hours (total cooking time).
One time my eldest son approached me & was like: “Dad I have something to tell you.” So i said sure. He was looking very nervous in the face so I was starting to get worried. Then, the next thing he said literally rocked my world. Alright so, I’ve been knowing that he has been having a girlfriend for quite a while now. So, i know that they probably have been doing nefarious acts while they were alone. Anyways, he proceeded to tell me that his girlfriend was pregnant. I immediately(in my head) went Bonkerzzz. There is no way he was serious. But, i knew i couldn’t flip out, I had to stay calm. I had to support him. So, after a bit of pacing, I mustered the courage to ask him how it happened. He told me that they just did it. So, i was just going to go with it & help my son out however I could. Because that’s what a father does. I was actually a bit happy. A grandchild! My very first grandchild!
But, as I was just going to pick up my phone & call his mother who was at work, I heard him laughing. So, I thought something was wrong. but, then he pointed at me and said. “You’re so gullible dad. She’s not pregnant & I got you!” I immediately felt stupid. But, after 30 secs I joined him & we were both laughing. I told him “You got me son. Now go take out the trash.”
(I continued laughing while he stopped)
Gravity is a Lie, Light Speed is Slow, Nothing is Real, the Universe is Electric
What is something that has happened very recently that disgusts you?
The 9-year-old boy at the center of a viral video, dubbed “Cornerstore Caroline,” said he’s struggling to move forward ever since a woman falsely accused him of sexual assault
on camera, pushing him into a national conversation about racial profiling and excessive 911 calls made against African-Americans.
This is Jeremiah Harvey next to his mother.
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He is a 9-year old little boy from New York City. He has a little sister, and a hard-working mother who loves him.
He was recently accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Brooklyn corner store.
Let me explain. Jeremiah and his family went to Flatbush, a local food supermarket in Brooklyn, not far from his home. They were walking through the cramped pathway of the store when Jeremiah’s bag grazed the back of a white woman standing next to him.
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This woman, now dubbed “Cornerstore Caroline”, then went on to accuse Jeremiah of sexually assaulting her, and called the cops.
A little boy. She accused a 9 year old boy of groping her.
And when she called the police, she stated, “That’s right, the son, grabbed my a—. Yes, I just was sexually assaulted by a child.”
That sounds ridiculous, and if I’d been on the receiving end of that call I would have laughed my head off. How in God’s name could you ever want to make that kind of call to the police? Why would anyone want to call the cops on an innocent child? Yes, it is possible for sexual assault to be committed by a child but why would you go as far as calling the cops on a little boy?
A few days later, surveillance footage was released and it was revealed that the woman was not groped by him, but his backpack merely grazed her.
After watching that video on the news and hearing what happened, I felt disgusted. One, because a woman was misusing the right that many women fought for. The fact that any person, man or woman, can come out now and say they were sexually assaulted, is a right that did not always exist.
And two, because such a human being exists in the world. To me, that seemed to have been caused by racial prejudice. If a white boy had done the same, I highly doubt she would have called the police. She might have gotten angry, but it would not have gone as far as calling the police on a 9 year old white boy.
After finding out the truth, the woman then went on to issue an apology, saying, “Young man, I don’t know your name, but I’m sorry.”
YOU DON’T KNOW HIS NAME BUT YOU ARE “SORRY”???? What a half-hearted attempt at validating your actions! At least bother to look up what his name is before giving him an apology.
His mother had to have a talk with him about sexual assault, at age 9. I’m utterly disgusted with the incidents that have been happening lately.
There were a few other racist events highlighted in the news that I saw, this being the most recent. Coupon Carl, Permit Patty, and BBQ Becky. In all of these incidents, a white individual has called the cops on a black individual performing an innocent, everyday act.
How is this the world we live in today, where the way we are treated is determined by the color of our skin, and not the content of our character?
Please, people. Let’s aim to spread kindness. We can do so much better.
Who is seemingly the “nicest” person who shocked the world by committing a horrible crime?
Actually I have 2 stories from my time at Wal-Mart. First is the story of “Bob”. Bob worked in electronics, everybody loved Bob, he was friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to go that extra bit to help a customer. Bob worked there just shy of 3 years and lived in the area for 27. We got word one day that Bob was arrested by Federal Marshals. Someone who had shopped there recognized him.
In the early 1970s, Bob and an accomplice had robbed a bank, and Bob used a woman as a human shield. Bob was sentenced to 7 years. He was 6 months away from being done with his sentence, and was on a light guard work crew, when he walked off and disappeared. When they raided him, he had loads of weapons and a lot of illegal hard drugs. Bye Bob, you might be out by now, IDK.
Second was “Winnie”. Winnie was a sweet lady, again everybody loved her, kind, helpful, spent her lunches crocheting and reading her bible. Winnie and her daughter and a family friend went to the east coast to visit family. 6 months after her visit, Marshals raid her house and arrest her AND her 18yo daughter AND the 18yo family friend FOR ARMED ROBBERY AND MURDER. They had run a profile on a case on Unsolved mysteries, where a woman was murdered, and her ATM Card used, and the picture on the ATM camera was of Winnie and her daughter using the card.
The gossip mill went into overload, there was one person defending her, ME. I knew her and her Daughter was a friend of my daughter, So I stuck up for her. WELL, all 3 were extradited across the country to a shithole of a US City. I won’t say which City (Coughthewirecough). So the FATHER of their family friend flies back east, lawyer in tow. He confronts the police, who being the ineffectual dickheads they are refuse to talk to him as his Daughter is 18.
SO He wields the Lawyer and points out, that even though she is 18, she still lives at home, goes to HIGH SCHOOL, and is supported by him and her mother, therefore in the eyes of the law, even though 18, IS STILL LEGALLY A MINOR AND THEREFORE THEY HAVE TO COOPERATE WITH HIM. BAM, POW, Up your’s you hacks.
So he gets their “Evidence, IE the ATM Camera footage. He talks to Winnie. Makes a trip to the bank, again Wielding his trusty lawyer like a scalpel to force the bank to cooperate. He then goes back to the Police and shoves this up their asses sideways –
Winnie, her Daughter and the friend had gotten off their plane at X-O’clock, at the time of the murder they were still in the air.
They had immediately caught a cab to the bank, withdrew money using THEIR CARDs, as THE ATM CAMERA FOOTAGE AND ATM TIME STAMP WERE OUT OF SYNC BY 17 MINUTES. The footage from the appropriate time showed 2 individuals using the victims card, and were felons known to the police.
He did this by doing about an hour’s actual investigation, nothing the fat, lazy, life wrecking swine that call themselves detectives in Shithole City did. The DA was NOT Pleased. Here’s the real insult. He gets his daughter and they leave, flying back home. Winnie and her daughter are kicked out onto the streets of Shithole City, without any kind of apology.
When she asked them what they were supposed to do as they had Nothing and nowhere to go, they literally said “That’s your problem, now leave before we arrest you for loitering” Those words wound up costing them a lot. Unsolved mysteries as well, as they also refused to apologize stating that “Verifying the facts ws the police departments job, not theirs.
So Winnie got a HUNGRY Lawyer and went to town. She got enough To buy her and her Daughter each a house, and her Daughter a good education at a good school of nursing. Winnie returned to work as she liked interacting with people but she let Management know she didn’t NEED the job, and they could just keep off her back. She also Has a signed letter of Apology from the Shithole City Chief of Police. She framed it.
NATO and Russia are Prepping For TOTAL War, Putin orders Nuke Test
Russia warns…
Russia warned Britain on Monday that if British weapons were used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory then Moscow could hit back at British military installations and equipment both inside Ukraine and elsewhere.
Russia said British Ambassador Nigel Casey was summoned to the foreign ministry for a formal protest after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said last week that Ukraine had the right to use British weapons to strike Russia.
Britain denied that Casey had been summoned, saying that he had met Russian officials “for a diplomatic meeting” in which he “reiterated the UK’s support for Ukraine in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression”.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the Cameron remarks recognised that Britain was now de facto a part of the conflict and contradicted an earlier assurance that long-range weapons given to Ukraine would not be used against Russia.
“Casey was warned that in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with British weapons, any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and abroad” could be targeted, the Russian foreign ministry said.
The ministry said it considered Cameron’s remarks a serious escalation.
What were the most absurd beliefs you had as a child?
Oh, I had a couple of ridiculous ones.
First, I grew up in a very affluent area, but didn’t realize it because I’d always lived in one. Until I was school aged, I believed that everyone had a diving pool in their yard. I believes that the pools at public parks were just for swim and dive team.
And for a time, I believed that I was adopted. This is ridiculous, because my brothers and I all look very much alike, except the one brunette. But I was the only girl. So my brothers told me that Momma and Da took me from another family because they could only produce boys.
This belief was furthered by my oddball birth certificate. I’ve not seen another like it, but there must be tons, because it was the stamped official certificate issued by the state of New Jersey in the 70s. However, it’s ridiculously incomplete in the information it gives. It just says my name, girl, my birthdate, and the name of the hospital. No mention of parents at all. They showed me their Florida birth certificates, which did list parents. This really cemented my belief in their joke.
I also believed that all dogs were boys and all cats were girls.
One more… I believed that I’d be allowed to play quarterback when we all went to Pop Warner, because I was as a better quarterback than any boy I knew (still am). But of course, in the early 80s, this was not the case. I felt truly betrayed when I was given a cheerleader outfit.
Kids do believe some silly stuff huh?
Why do educated Chinese support CCP despite not having the freedom to criticize Chinese politicians?
For some reason, Quora answers about China are all very emotionally charged in both direction. People from China are either very pro-CCP and list every single one of their (usually) developmental achievements and what the west fails in. The Westerners usually paint the CCP as the epitome of all evil.
I would like to offer a moderate perspective on it. Throughout my life, I have had the good fortune to meet multiple educated Chinese nationals who studied abroad. My impression from talking to them is that most Chinese do not care that much about politics. They are more interested in basic issues like education, making enough money to feed their kids/live and advancing in their careers.
From my understanding, civil unrest happens primarily due to economic factors as much as ideological issues like human rights or freedom of speech. In the economic realm, the CCP has delivered. As for the aspect about societal freedom. Though most civilians experience censorship and media bias, a large part of their lives are actually very free from an absolute standpoint. They can own property, go abroad, own businesses and even hold some political opinion. Though they lack the ability to vote their top leadership, but most people don’t care. (I suspect from voter turnout that most American citizens don’t care either)
My friend once told me, China is just a regular developed country (at least in Shanghai etc) with its own host of problems and strengths. The CCP isn’t some demon, neither is it a savior. It is a government like many others. If one party rule was the singular thing people used to judge people, many European monarchies would have experienced revolutions long ago. Historically, many societies were ruled by monarchs, so it is not a definite dealbreaker.
One more thing to note is that, the type of issues Chinese nationals have with the government are different than that of Westerners. Westerners do not inherently care about the development of China, although some might. (If the CCP collapses, who would replace them?) A Chinese national (like all others) wants the best for their country. The typical Westerner does not actively think about proper developmental policies that boosts China, they only think about China as a foreign country whether it affects their own country.
For example, a Chinese national might disagree that the Wolf Warrior diplomacy good. But they might think that their government should be more militant or utilize more soft power to influence minds. A typical Westerner would not want China to project any power or influence at all, instead Western media would for example, want China to help aid Western interests more. (Like standing against Russia)
The late Henry Kissinger, whom I admire said that we need to listen to our adversaries and understand them. We don’t have to agree, but we should listen to a variety of perspectives. When Nixon was in power, they turned the Chinese from an adversary to a neutral or even neutral positive state against the Soviets. This is despite China and Soviets being both “communist countries”. The reason they achieved that, was because they recognized that despite the shared ideology, there were many territorial conflicts between China and Russia on the border. They then offered trade and prosperity to entice China to become unaligned with the Soviets.
Two things impede the Anglophone world from understanding the Chinese in my opinion. The language barrier (most don’t speak Mandarin), and modern American political discourse seems to be very tribal, and don’t promote listening and dialogue with the other side, whether with Republicans, Democrats or the Chinese.
Chinese Lady Confirms PASSPORT BROS Can Find Their Wife In This Part Of CHINA
What does it feel like when a grenade explodes next to you in a combat situation?
I once stood about five meters (fifteen feet) away from a grenade when it went off. We had planted some booby traps in the vicinity of an enemy position and one of the grenades that we had used to build these traps had been activated.
It was night and I just heard a clicking sound when the ring was pulled out of the grenade.
There was no time to jump for cover. Anyway, it was pitch dark and I was in a forest: I would just have smashed my head against the next tree by trying.
I shouted “attention!” to my buddies, covered my ears with my hands and turned my back towards the grenade. Then I felt the blast, and a few seconds later, there was something wet and warm in my right boot. It was blood.
There were enemy forces around and so we had no time to stop and take a look at my leg. Fortunately, I could still walk and we made it out of the forest without any problems.
As soon as the sun went up, a friend of mine took a small pocket knife and pulled the pellets from the grenade out of my leg.
I was very lucky that I wasn’t exposed to the full blast of the grenade, otherwise I would have had much more serious injuries.
When you are in an open terrain, you are wearing your body protection, and the grenade isn’t too close to you (less than ten feet), you should be able to survive.
However, when you find yourself in an enclosed space, like a house or a trench, hand grenades can be deadly. I remember an incident where we threw a hand grenade through a window of a house during the war in Kosovo.
After the detonation, we entered the building to clean it up and came to the room where the grenade had exploded. Although there was no enemy in the room (there was one in the next room, though), the room was a complete mess:
The furniture was badly damaged, there was a big hole in the wooden floor, and the explosion had caused a small fire in the room. I was surprised: All this mess from a single grenade! I was sure that if there would have been any persons in that room, they would have been seriously wounded or even dead.
What is the smallest thing a person ever did for you that impacted your life?
About 18 years ago someone came to my rescue when bullies showed up on my front lawn.
Fast backward to junior high where I wasn’t exactly a popular girl. I had recently switched to a new school and I still hadn’t found my crowd.
A group of adolescent boys, convinced they were cool like the Fonz, decided to pick on me for fun. They barked at me and called me dog-face. It wasn’t long before I found myself hiding in the bathroom during lunchtime. I made the geeks in Sixteen Candles look good.
One afternoon I headed home from school on foot like I usually did. While turning onto my street I looked back and saw I had company. The bully ringleader and two of his jackals were bicycling toward me! I remember taking off running in Forest Gump glory and bursting through the front door with hot tears in my eyes.
Standing in front of me was my older sister Alyssa. We were teenage sisters at the time and we fought quite a bit. Unlike me she didn’t have a problem finding friends and being the center of attention. And so I waited for her to pounce on the opportunity to ridicule me for being such a wimp.
Instead, upon realizing what was happening, red anger flooded across her face. Quicker than I could say jambalaya she swung the front door back open and stomped down the driveway toward my not-so-gentleman callers.
There, in front of our home on Hickory Dr., my own Joan of Arc warded off the beasts. Facing the head bully, she bent down to the lawn, ripped out a fistful of grass, and threw it into his face. “Stop messing with my sister!” she screamed out with indisputable authority. The intruders were cornered as Alyssa launched an impromptu mouthful of artillery that reduced them to speechless, little weenies. I remember watching in awe as they pedaled off on what seemed like tricycles.
After that day I got to eat my lunch at a table instead of talking to toilets that don’t talk back. With time I found friends. Really good ones.
Eventually I did get bullied again by a different pipsqueak, yet this time I stood up for myself. My sister’s defending me inspired me to defend myself.
I’ve learned that sometimes we aren’t strong enough to come to our own rescue. When we lend our strength to others, even if it’s just for a moment, the effects can travel across a lifetime. Gracias, hermana.
You’re built to appreciate female beauty. Once you’re married, you’re supposed to turn on the filter limiting it to your wife. But the filter was not part of your design.
Your public bathrooms are horrifying. I’ve walked into one by accident years ago and have been scarred for life.
You have to monetize your life. Creative type? Become famous. A hero? Run for political office. Don’t care about money? Doesn’t matter, still have to make a lot of money. You are a man.
The way all the pants are designed. Not to gently support and cradle your genitals, but to harshly cut them in half. Also topped off with a zipper in case if you also want to experience unimaginable pain from zipping up something you weren’t supposed to.
To mate, you’re supposed to be good at reading women’s smoke signals. But all women’s magazines tell them to play it cool and not send any signals. Now what are you supposed to do?
Women get a lot more pampering – we get massaged, our feet are washed, gently scrubbed, oiled, and toes decorated with pretty colors. Your feet look like hooves and you have to pay your toddler $3 to put some lotion on them.
If a woman wears a low cut red dress, you will have difficulty concentrating, negotiating a deal, or forming your thoughts. Conversely, men don’t have similar easy hacks.
5 BIZARRE Experiences of People Being in a Parallel Universe
We live in a world where there are infinite possibilities. They come to us in our day-to-day decision making. However, we only get to live in one set of such possibilities. You either took the job or you didn’t. You either said yes or no. You either held on or let go. But a part of us may wonder: could there be an alternate reality where a different version of ourselves took a different path in life? Here are 5 Bizarre Experiences of People Being in a Parallel Universe.
My flight attendant friend said “pay attention if the captain says Easy Victory”, but didn’t say why. Is it better not to know?
First of all your friend should NEVER have told you that without explanation. Shame on them.
Actually, the words are ,”Easy Victor” it stands for “evacuate”.
However, you as a passenger will never hear the pilot just blurt it out! And passengers will already know there is a problem long before a pilot says this. DO NOT spend your time flying listening for those words. Trust me, in 20 years, the only time I heard “easy victor” was every year in recurrent training when we practice our evacuation drills. This fact should put you at ease to know that in the very very rare event there is an emergency, you will finally get to see what a flight attendants job really is about. The reason we spend weeks in training and 2 days every year! We save your lives! Honestly we do! And as a passenger in an emergency, you only have to do FOUR things!
listen to the flight attendants, and do exactly what they tell you.
listen to the flight attendants, and leave everything behind. You want to waste time opening the bin to grab a bag of CLOTHES??? Your life and the lives of everyone else are worth more than anything in your bags.
listen to the flight attendants, tell you when to go OR use common sense and get out!
listen to the flight attendants, and find your exits as soon as you get on the plane. All your exits! Know how and where to get your butt outta there! And dont get complacent. There are lots of aircraft types out there with doors that open differently, even if you fly the 737 a lot, did you know there are at minimum now 7 different versions of that plane flying around, ?? 4 types of 747, 2 types of 777 and 767 and 757. Etc. many different airlines who configure their planes differently????
(sorry, Im just used to using “he” for the pilot)
when the flight attendants tell everyone how to brace, do it. They will tell you when to brace and when to evacuate. Sometimes the crew and passengers are ready for an evacuation…. If the plane lands fine and evacuation might not be necessary. The pilot will make an announcement and say, “do not evacuate”. But if its necessary to evacuate some airlines have trained pilots to just say over the PA, “Easy Victor”. Then you will hear the flight attendants go into evacuation mode. Or the pilots may just say “evacuate”! Or, he may give special instructions, like,”evacuate aircraft right only”, or he may say”Forward doors only”, or “no overwing exit”. Sometimes they have info the cabin crew doesnt. Like if the plane lands hard and a fire starts under the right wing. The tower may see this and notify the pilots of the fire under the right wing before the plane has stopped. The pilot would then pass that on by saying “evacuate aircraft left only”
so you see, dont just listen for “Easy Victor” to be said out of the blue. But do always listen to the flight attendants. I hope this helps and puts you at ease. I know this is more than you asked for, but I have insomnia and am on a roll!!!!
Be kind, be safe, and make it a happy day!
Kevin out
Ukraine SitRep: Eating The Seed Corn – Intervention Threats And Responses
Dima of the Military Summary Channel and others have mentioned that the Ukrainian army has deployed its police and military cadets to the front line.
This is like farmer who, during a winter famine, eats his seed corn for the next year. It will only prolong the crisis and guarantee that there will be even more hunger during the following winter.
Where will the next generation of Ukrainian army officers come from when the cadets are all dead?
Over the last days the Democratic Minority Leader in the House Hakeem Jeffries suggested that U.S. troops would have to intervene in Ukraine:
In an interview with CBS News, Jeffries expressed concerns that despite billions of dollars in military aid from the United States, if Ukraine cannot secure victory over Russia, America may be compelled to intervene directly in the conflict.
The British Foreign Minister David Cameron has invited Ukraine to use British delivered weapons against Russian territory:
David Cameron said Ukraine “absolutely has the right” to conduct attacks inside Russia with British weapons as he made his second visit to Kyiv since becoming foreign secretary.Lord Cameron said it was up to Kyiv to decide how to use the ammunition supplied by Britain.
“In terms of what the Ukrainians do, in our view, it is their decision about how to use these weapons, they are defending their country, they were illegally invaded by Vladimir Putin and they must take those steps,” he said.
France has allegedly deployed parts of its Foreign Legion to Ukraine. The report follows musings by the French president Macron about putting French troops onto the ground in Ukraine.
All this was a bit too much for Russia. It invited the British ambassador to its Foreign Ministry to get an earful of serious talk:
Russia’s foreign ministry said the UK’s ambassador to Moscow had been “summoned” to make him “reflect on the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps by London”.
Russia also announced a spontaneous drill of the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons:
Russia has threatened to strike British military facilities and said it will hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons in response to UK weapons being used by Ukraine to strike its territory.
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It is the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
The exercises will be held by the southern group of Russian forces which is also involved in the special military operation in Ukraine.
This should for now shut up the loud voices who dream of defeating Russia in Ukraine.
There is zero hope that this could be achieved. The Ukrainian army has had 600-700,000 soldiers, maybe even more. It has been defeated. How many soldiers could France deploy into Ukraine? 5,000-10,000? And all NATO together? 100,000?
No western force is currently configured and equipped to defeat a near peer competitor force. Twenty-five years of ‘war of terror’ have left those armies in a very sorry state. At least during the first year of an expanded war their troops would have no chance to survive. The Russian forces, by now a well oiled machine with plenty of excellent weapons, would defeat them within one or two weeks. What then?
Let me emphasise once again: if anyone intends to intervene from the outside and create a strategic threat to Russia that is unacceptable to us, they should know that our retaliatory strikes will be lightning-fast. We have the tools we need for this, the likes of which no one else can claim at this point. We will not just brag; we will use them if necessary. And I want everyone to know this; we have made all the decisions on this matter.
“Hungarians are a worldly-wise people, so we can see through the games of others, and we know that war not only brings losses.
Of course it does bring terrible, appalling losses, with the tide of war sweeping away human lives and entire national economies.
But there are always those who gain from it.
I look at the decision of the US Congress, a month or two ago I listened to the US president, and he made it very clear that the US economy benefits from arms aid to Ukraine.
First the US secretary of state said this, and then the US president.
Now they’ve made these decisions about 60 billion dollars and more in military aid; and if you look at its internal structure, you can see that it’s actually a huge military order for US industry.
There are these NGOs, Soros and his people.
There are always these financial speculators, people fishing in troubled waters, who – as they say in Budapest – are looking at the war to see what they can get out of it, and are trying to get everything they can out of it.
It’s all very well to say that they’re few in number; the fact is that they exist, and they’re strong.
So behind the tendency for war there are very serious forces: business, political and economic forces.
But the public – the majority of the public at least – are on the side of peace.
This lends the current situation its tension, with the number of people throughout Europe who feel the danger and don’t want war growing continuously, while every day European leaders take ever more steps towards war – although I’m not saying that they’re marching.”
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Excerpt from remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in an interview on the Kossuth Radio Programme ‘Good Morning Hungary’, May 3, 2024.
Russia’s final warning to Macron and Cameron
As far French Legion troops. They did arrive to Slaviansk. They were hit by Russians and had casualties. One group had a close combat encounter with Russians in the region Ocheriteno and 5 French and 2 German soldiers got killed after a day of clashes. After that they ran away like chickens, basically French Legions are not for this war. People have to understand that Ukrainians are losing up to 1500 men per day and no NATO can replace that. Having said that, this war is going to end with NATO Ukrainian defeat, a bad defeat. Out of Hundred or so Legions who arrived just in less than a week they lost 30% of soldiers, and at this point they are out of Ukraine. I think France understood the level of war being conducted by Russians.
My mother ordered a case of matches with the logo of my sister’s wedding on it. She did this as a favor to help my sister pay for her wedding.
Something like this design of matches
Unfortunately, she accidentally ordered 10,000 cases. Thinking, obviously, that they were 10,000 matches.
And, don’t you know it, she could not part with this massive ancient fire hazard. So it sat in her basement year after year, decades after decade.
About thirty years later… when matchbooks went out of style, and smoking became the unacceptable vice in the USA, she died and was buried. Rest in peace mom.
But then, about a month later, my brother and I carted all those cases out of the basement. We stacked them high in a field and set them ablaze.
Good bye to the relics of the past.
It was long overdue.
Sometimes we tend to cling to things because we paid a lot for them, forgetting that their value was zero and was not worth any benefit to keep them around for.
Burn the matches that serve no purpose.
Today…
Veterans to Biden: US Law Says No Weapons to Nations with A-Bombs if They’ve Not Signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. That Means Israel
by Dissident Voice Communications / May 3rd, 2024
In a letter 18 April to President Biden and top members of his administration, Veterans For Peace cited existing federal law that gives the President “…no discretion whatsoever to allow any military assistance of any form to be delivered to Israel,” based on that country’s “serial violations of the Symington-Glenn Amendments, codified at 22 U.S.C. § 2799aa.”
The letter cites a lengthy list of credible reports that Israel has possessed nuclear weapons for decades. Because Israel has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), the Symington-Glenn Amendments to the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, which allow no presidential discretion, goes into effect, including:
termination of assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act, except for humanitarian assistance or food or other agricultural commodities;
termination of defense sales and licensing of Munitions List exports;
termination of foreign military financing;
denial of U.S. government credit, credit guarantees, or other financial assistance (except for medical and humanitarian assistance and agricultural exports from the United States);
U.S. government opposition to any loan or financial or technical assistance from international financial institutions (IFIs);
prohibition of any loan or credit from U.S. banks to the foreign government (except for the purchase of food or other agricultural commodities); and
prohibition under the Export Administration Act of exports to that state of specific goods and technology licensed by the Commerce Department (except for food and other agricultural commodities).
The letter states, “The President may not waive the cutoff of the above aid and exports under the Glenn Amendment where there has been a nuclear weapons detonation, or the offending state has received a nuclear explosive device. Congress would have to enact new legislation authorizing the President to waive some or all of these sanctions.”
VFP National Director, Mike Ferner, said, “Israel’s possession of The Bomb and the U.S.’ refusal to take appropriate action is yet another example of how the Madmen Arsonists – the Raytheons, Boeings, General Dynamics – actually govern our country and determine policy. The law is quite simple – Does Israel have an unregulated nuclear weapons arsenal? Yes, it does. Is Israel a signatory to the NPT? No, it isn’t. So, the question to Biden is, ‘will you obey the law or the Madmen?’”
Ferner added, “This election year our members will ask their Congressional representatives, ‘Will you hold hearings to enforce existing law, or let the Madmen Arsonists continue to run our country?’”
Highlights of the letter:
Senator John Glenn was prompted to seek a change in the law because of a reported theft of 100 kg of highly enriched uranium from an NRC vendor in 1968, later traced to the Dimona reactor complex in Israel. (pg. 3)
Repeated CIA assessments and remarks of Colin Powell in 2016 that the U.S. knew Israel had at least 200 warheads at that time. (pgs. 4-9)
Israel prosecuted and jailed Mordecai Vanunu for his courageous whistleblowing disclosure in the 1980’s that Israel has The Bomb. (pg. 7)
Benjamin Netanyahu was identified by the FBI as being directly involved in an Israeli smuggling operation in the 1980’s that successfully stole 800 krytrons, a prized device used for triggers in nuclear weapons. (pg. 7)
The Symington-Glenn amendment has been implemented by previous administrations. (pg. 4)
What the President must do (pg. 10)
Contrary to other instances where the Biden administration is allowed to ignore aid limitations, this one may be litigable in court. (pg. 10)
Veterans For Peace members across the U.S. are telling their members of Congress to vote NO on any more weapons for Israel and hold hearings to hold the Biden administration accountable They have participated in numerous protests and acts of civil disobedience to highlight Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine.
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“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”–Antonio Gramsci
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Bailey’s Lasagna
baileys lasagna
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Equipment
Lasagna pan
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage
1 (67 ounce) jar Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce
12 lasagna noodles
14 ounces ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
Salt and black pepper
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese or other cheese of choice
1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Brown ground beef and Italian sausage together until cooked through, then drain well. Combine with the spaghetti sauce. Set aside.
Cook lasagna noodles until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.
For the filling, combine ricotta cheese and eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spread a thin layer of the spaghetti sauce over the bottom of a lasagna pan.
Lay lasagna noodles lengthwise in the casserole dish.
Spoon and spread spaghetti sauce over the noodles.
Spoon and spread filling over the spaghetti sauce.
Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8 twice.
Sprinkle shredded mozzarella or cheese of choice over the top.
Bake, covered and sealed with foil (DO NOT LET THE FOIL TOUCH THE CHEESE), for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.
Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer to brown the cheese.
Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Top each serving with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Serve with garlic bread.
Refrigerate any leftovers.
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Has your child ever done something that made you utterly ashamed of them?
When my daughter was twelve, we were called into the school for an emergency meeting with the principal. I was absolutely mortified as I watched the video of my daughter chasing down a younger and smaller boy on the playground, knocking him to the ground, sitting on him, and placing handcuffs on him. It had not been a game: the boy had been the target of systematic bullying by some of the kids the whole year, and my daughter had decided to join in. Small as my daughter was, she was still bigger and stronger than the boy, and the sheer determination in her and desperation in him was sickening: it was like watching a predator chase down a bunny rabbit.
The only thing that saved us from a lawsuit from the boy’s parents was that hubby and I sincerely apologized immediately and made absolutely no excuses for her actions. I believe they were expecting us to try to play the event down, or blame their son, or make some lame excuse to try to get her out of trouble, but there was simply no denying the video evidence of the assault. To this day my gut still knots up over it. That was not how we raised her to be, and thankfully that was the only time (that we know of) she acted so cruelly.
EDIT: Answers to a few common questions I’ve received.
I’ve had a lot of people asking me about the handcuffs. I’m into cosplay, and I’m constantly picking up odd things here and there. The weekend prior to this event I had found a pair of handcuffs at a thrift shop. They weren’t real peace officer type, but they were metal. She’d been playing around with them and I didn’t realize she’d taken them to school with her that day.
This happened over seven years ago. She’s almost twenty now.
The day she was suspended from school she had to go and apologize to the boy directly. While she was at home on suspension, she had to keep up with her schoolwork, she was restricted to the house (no going out with friends), was restricted from all electronics short of what she needed to do her homework (with monitored internet only for homework), and she had to help me install a hardwood floor in two rooms of our home. This was in addition to writing the apology letter.
Yes, the parents could have taken us to civil court for the emotional distress done to their son. As the parents of a minor, we would be held financially responsible for any damages. More importantly, they could have pressed charges and given my daughter a criminal record (albeit a juvenile record) for assault and possibly unlawful detention (I’m not certain of the exact terminology in the state we were living at the time). No, I do not believe that it would have been an overreaction on the other parents’ part and we were lucky that they chose to do none of those.
While there was certainly peer pressure involved, it does not relieve my daughter of responsibility. She has before and since proven resistant to peer pressure… for the most part. She’s not perfect and we don’t expect her to be, we just expect her to be accountable for her choices.
Well… look what we found here!
Interesting.
If the USA and China cut all trade between each other, who will suffer the most?
Without question, the USA will suffer more.
You see, China controls all the supply chains, all the manufacturing, all the logistics. The USA is heavily reliant on Chinese-manufacturing.
The USA is also heavily reliant on natural resources from China such as rare earths and mineral processing.
China’s economy will continue to chug along as it exports to Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the rest of Asia.
Without cheap imports, inflation in the USA will go through the roof.
What was your most horrible wedding experience as a guest?
Many years ago my wife and I went to a wedding of a relative. The church wedding was simple and fine.
The reception was at a hall and I don’t remember if there was a band or DJ. Drinks were fine. They asked everyone to sit at their tables and the announcer would call table numbers.
The buffet was served by a row of staff, so you didn’t just dig in. The main course was pre sliced Turkey. As we sat and waited for our number to be called, we watched as smiling people walked past with plates piled high with food. We were getting hungry!
Finally they call our table and the serving trays were empty! The servers were trying to scrape mashed potatoes in a failed effort to give the remaining guests on line a scoop full. And a spoonful of vegetables. The Turkey was long gone.
To add to the disappointment the bus people are clearing tables of plates still laden with food! Lots of slices of Turkey, two big scoops of potatoes all floating in gravy!
It was pretty clear that the servers had bad judgment and loaded up plates with what was no doubt double servings and simply ran out of food before the final tables were served.
We did stay until the end and ate wedding cake. We stopped At McDonalds on our way back to the hotel.
I later learned that the parents who paid for the reception were mortified and got a big chunk of cash back from the venue.
What is the saddest thing you have ever had to terminate an employee for?
After speaking at a conference for Young Achievers a teen boy applied at my company. He sent his resume directly to me and followed up with numerous phone calls. I told him I wasn’t hiring at that time so he got his father to call and ask me to give him a chance. I was impressed with his refusal to take no for an answer, something I admire in people, so I brought him in for an interview. Normally there was a tiered interviewing process but I was going on maternity leave in two weeks so I interviewed him myself. I was impressed with everything about this boy. I explained to him that he’d have to learn fast because I would be leaving and he would have very little supervision. He was hired.
This is the part hurts-
We were in a busy season and no one was available to properly train him. At the end of the two weeks I had to fire him. Under different circumstances he would have been a model employee. I told him that I was letting him go because we didn’t have the time to train him but if he applied anywhere else, I would give him a glowing recommendation. A few weeks later I got a call from a company asking for a reference for this boy. I highly recommend him. They then asked me why I let him go if he was so great. I explained everything to them, assured them that this was in no way his fault and that I’d gladly hire him back should he ever want to return. They ended up hiring him. Years later I still find this difficult to write because of the disappointment in his face that day. I’m sure wherever he is he became successful.
This is life in Montenegro: The Country Where You Can Walk WITHOUT CLOTHES on the Beaches
Click Baity. Sure. But the content does not equate to the splash image.
The cool thing about this video is that this place looks really cool to visit.
It really does.
What will happen next if Russian and US troops come face to face in Niger?
A powder keg just blew up in Niger’s capital Niamey as Russian troops swarmed into Airbase 101, setting up a tense face-off with the United States. Niamey’s airport is now a freakin’ barracks for both American and Russian forces after Niger’s military junta booted out US troops. Nice move, right? Sure, Russians have their own hangars and aren’t bunking with US troops, but there’s a lot of angst about what access they might have to US military gear.
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Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin claims Russian boots don’t have a free pass to American equipment, but how long before something goes boom? The US thought they had Niger’s back fighting against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, but after the coup last July, they’re getting kicked to the curb, just like Chad, Mali, and Burkina Faso did with US and French troops. Guess they’re not feeling the love anymore.
So, who’s filling the void? You guessed it, China and Russia – the new BFFs for these military-ruled African nations. Without that colonial baggage, they’re smooth-talking their way in as anti-West sentiment ramps up. So, brace yourselves, folks – this scramble for Africa is on! As resource-rich Africa becomes the shiny prize, the rise of a new global order looms with the US, Russia, and China in a three-way tug-of-war. Things are about to get wild; everyone is on edge and on the lookout.
Women Are RAGING Because 63% Of Men Have Gone Their Own Way
Massive relationship collapse in the West as society crumbles.
How does it feel to be secretly rich?
There is a farm house outside of town that I have been driving by my entire life.
It is memorable because it is simple.
A simple home with a simple garage.
One day a friend of mine says he wants to show me something really cool at the simple old farm house.
I chuckle, but it’s the summer, school’s out and so have nothing better to do.
He takes me out to the simple farmhouse and we go in to its garage.
The amiable old farmer who owns the house is standing there.
He introduces himself but all I see is a vault door that stands as tall as the garage itself that is nearly half as wide.
And inside that bank-like vault door:
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A gun collection with every gun imaginable, and sometimes two.
It looked like something out of Bass Pro Shops.
It was like the image above, but the room was even more grand if you can believe that.
This old farmer’s gun collection was worth more money than most people from our small town will amass in their entire life time.
He could see the shock on my face.
And he was just standing and smiling like he had seen this reaction a thousand times.
I knew in that moment what it feels like to be secretly rich:
You always get to have the last laugh.
Can you fly through military boot camp easily if you train for 6-7 hours every day before you go to boot camp?
If “every day” can mean “since the age of 5”…?
A good friend of mine was raised in a *Mennonite community.
He told the story about one of his younger brothers who at the age of 15 made the decision he wanted to join the Marines when he turned 18.
Every day for 3 years he started conditioning with an 80 lb. ruck sack he created.
He carried it on him at all times unless he had a chore where he couldn’t.
He ran everywhere he went in addition to a plethora of other homemade training routines he created to help prepare himself.
Mind you, all of this was done in addition to his daily manual labor performed from sun up to sun down and a life time of adhering to “orders” and a strict discipline he had to follow as a Mennonite.
When his brother turned 18 he went and signed up for the Marines just like he said.
And he completed Boot Camp just like he trained to do.
But here’s the real kicker:
When my friend talked to his brother about his experience in Boot Camp and what it was like…
His brother replied back to him with a straight face:
”I was disappointed.
I thought it was going to be harder.”
So, yes, there is a point where some can begin training and “easily” go through boot camp.
But unless you were raised in a modern day agricultural equivalent of the Spartan’s agōgē
?
Probably not.
*The order he was a part of was a no-modern technology Mennonite community e.g. My friend once attached wooden boards to the top of a rotating horse-drawn saw mill column to create a makeshift ceiling fan during the hot summer heat; he was told to take it down because it was too modern.
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Our Daily Comix
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To Die for Beef Roast
This is one of the best roasts you will ever taste. Carrots, potatoes and celery can also be added, if desired.
to die for crockpot roast
Ingredients
1 beef roast (any kind)
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup warm water
Instructions
Place roast in slow cooker.
Mix contents of all 3 envelopes and sprinkle over roast.
Pour water into the bottom of the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
What was the most disturbing thing that your seatmate did during a flight?
One day I received a phone call from the FBI. It was legit the FBI who wanted to talk to ME!
Previously I had been on a flight from Tokyo to DC. I had my usual aisle seat and I had my kitty with me. A woman sat in the middle seat and a man at the window.
After the flight took off I fell asleep, per my usual. At some point I woke up. The woman noticed I was awake and asked to get up to use the bathroom. She never came back but another guy took her seat. My new seatmate seems to have moved to economy from business as he received business class meals. He disappeared for landing.
As we were landing my cat got out of his carrier. I was easily able to unbuckle grab him, and put him back in his carrier. Upon landing 2 or 3 airport police came on board to my row. I thought they were for me and my escaped cat. Totally illogical thought I now know, but reasonable at the moment. Nope they wanted window guy.
The FBI wanted to know what I saw on the flight between window guy and middle gal before she left. When she left for the bathroom, she spoke to the flight attendants and said he was touching her inappropriately.
The most disturbing thing to happen on a flight was the true or false accusation of SA mid flight.
When have you cheaply or inexpensively fixed an item someone thought unrepairable?
Some years ago our washing machine stopped working, about 2 weeks after its 2-year warranty expired. It was a mid-range model, and with 2 toddlers in the house, we really needed a clothes washer. We managed to get an engineer (specialist in washing machines) out the next day. I already knew the timer clock was working OK, as were the inlet valves; yet when it tried to rotate the drum, absolutely nothing happened. After about 45 minutes, with the engineer running all sorts of diagnostics on the control circuit board and checking all the wiring, he sighed and told us that there was nothing to be done; the motor was burnt out and a replacement, plus the cost of fitting, made the fix uneconomical; instead, recommending buying a replacement machine.
He left, but with all the covers off the machine and with his assurance that the control board was fine, I decided to have a look myself. As a kid I’d played around a lot with model trains, and knew that their motors would sometimes fail if the brushes, or the springs holding the brushes, were out of adjustment. This machine’s motor had more armature windings than I was used to, but the familiar two brushes, in spring-loaded brass housings. The housings had a single wire plugged onto them, and they were held in place by spring clips. I popped one out and found that while the carbon brush itself still had plenty of use left in it, the spring pushing it against the commutator was short and the brush wasn’t making contact. I slid the brush out, put in a small packing piece, replaced the spring and brush and clipped it back in place.
Immediate success, worked like new. Cost? £0.00 The machine ran for another 5 years, when it failed with similar symptoms. This time there really was no life left in the brushes, but a spares shop about a 5 minute walk from home sold me a brand new pair for 14p. It ran for yet another 5 years before the controller circuit board finally blew up.
Spend time with your parents and treat them well. They will not be around one day.
Mind your own business.
Don’t lie, cheat or be dishonest. It spoils your name in the long run.
When the phone signal is down to the last bar, don’t answer the phone as the radiation will be 1000 times higher.
Don’t cheat if you are in an unhappy relationship. Just leave.
Use tea sachets to remove odour from gym bags.
Never give up on your dreams no matter what. Try to accomplish your goals and dreams in the long run.
Never take your medicine with cold water.
Be empathic. An act of kindness wouldn’t ruin you.
Graduate before 30.
Don’t waste your time with meaningless relationships or temporary people.
When people treat you like they don’t care, believe them.
Participate in family gatherings, college reunions and get together with friends.
Adopt a pet. I did. My six months old pup is my ultimate stress buster now.
Never ‘ever’ abandon your old friends by replacing them with your new buddies.
Have two servings of vegetables and fruits daily.
Learn to love your flaws and imperfections along with your perks.
Start your day with a glass of lukewarm water on an empty stomach.
Be thankful for something daily, at least once.
Stay away from toxic people. They only bring out the negativity in you and ruin your life further.
Compartmentalize your ideas and thoughts. Write them down on a journal.
Don’t be shy. Go out and be a social butterfly. Talk to random people.
Add some slices of lemon in plain water to zest up your taste buds.
Don’t let someone get comfortable with disrespecting you. Set boundaries.
Crushed mint leaves or Indian basil are great herbs to remove bad mouth odour.
If you don’t have enough time, spend lesser time on social networks.
Never speak bad or low about yourself. Make it a point to not put yourself down even as a harmless joke.
If you don’t like your job, quit it and do something else. Don’t just put up with it and force yourself to do it.
Don’t waste your energy on bad feelings, negative thoughts or useless people.
Travel often. Getting lost will help you to discover your identity.
Be careful about personal things you share to people. The friend today could be your enemy tomorrow.
Never stay in an unrequited love for a long time. Let it go and move forward.
Say exactly what you feel/think. Be direct about it even if it might displease others.
Forgive people and their actions. Never give it to him. Let karma finish up the job for you.
Be mindful about your expenditures but not a miser. Budget spending is a start.
Have a glass of buttermilk or warm milk before bedtime.
If you don’t master you own time, there will be possibilities of you being unconscious slaves of those who have mastered theirs.
Trust your instincts. Intuitions doesn’t lie.
Be cautious about lending/borrowing a huge sum of money to your friends/relatives. It may break the tie. Just saying.
Never enter the lift before others have got out of them. Don’t be a jerk. Wait and let them get out before you barge in.
Have few cups of green tea in the evenings after lunch and throughout your day to aid digestion.
You could forgive, let go and give them another chance…or you could chuck them aside and give yourself a better chance.
Cut down on your caffeine intake. Replace your coffee cravings with something healthier.
What is the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you at a bar?
Many years ago a friend and I stopped by a pub on our way home from a rock concert. It was Triumph. This was the early ’80s and wearing a bandana around your neck was kind of normal. Anyway we go in sit down, and didn’t even get a chance to order a beer. This group of guys just started in on me, for some reason. It was a country music bar, and I guess I was a long hair. It gets so bad that I finally stood up and said to the main culprit,what the fuck IS your problem? Remember we’re talking we’re in there 5 minutes. At that point him and his buddies grab me by the seat of my pants and the bandana around my neck and threw me out the front door head first with my head opening the door. Stunned outside I wanted to go back in and just clean house. Fortunately my friend who they threw out as well but not as roughly calm me down and made me realize that they would have probably just thrown me out again. This has been decades ago and I still have no idea what the real reason was. I know that a woman to fight over was not the issue.Overflowing 🍺 beer and testosterone I suppose. The whole incident reminded me of that Ron White story where he says he was thrown out of a bar and he doesn’t know how many there were, but he guesses it was all of them. That may have been true with me.
Putin and China Put Out Devastating Warning to the US | Col. Jacques Baud
May 2024. China has stopped “playin'”.
What is the most unprofessional interaction you’ve had with a recruiter?
This was during my placement time…
I was having an interview for TCS. The panel called my name, I went in. It was a panel of 3 ladies. I was carrying a file containing my resume, marksheets, certificates.
R1- what are your hobbies ?
Me – I like sketching, playing guitar, riding my bike and collecting pens( all looking at me). If you wish, I have some sketches attached at the end of the file.
All looking through my sketches.
R2 – so, if we recruit you would you still continue sketching in your busy schedule.
Me – yes Mam I will still continue sketching, if you’re passionate about something you will manage some time for it no matter how busy you are.
R2- good.
R3- so, you say you like to collect pens. What kind of pen do you collect ?
Me – I am a pen enthusiast. I like to collect premium pens, PARKER, SHEAFFER, CROSS, WATERMAN, LAMY etc. Ball , roller ball, fountain.
R1 – that’s interesting. So, how many pen do you have ?
Me – I have around 50–60 normal range pens(Parker , Pierre Cardin) and 15–20 premium range pens (above 1k INR). And I will continue to collect while I’m here.
R2 – what will you do with so many pens when you’re gone ?
Me – (don’t know what to say , still came up with the most stupid answer ) some of those are limited editions and some are discontinued which are not available in the market at present and I know they will have a great value someday, I’ll leave them as a legacy for my children/grandchildren.
R3 – you’ll need to have a great number of children. Good luck with that. ( don’t know with what logic she came up with that )
All burst into laughter. I join in with them and start to chuckle.
R2 – okay , I’m gonna write your feedback with my sheaffer pen
Me – sorry Mam, but that’s not a sheaffer, that’s a Parker.
(Edit 3: I guess she focused on this statement to check my presence of mind and whether or not I really knew about what I said i.e. to check if I was lying about my hobby or not).
R1- you may leave now.
Me – thank you.
Next week the result for day 1 sharing was out.
Verdict : got an offer letter from TCS.
P.s these are around 5-6 year old images, didn’t have for the latest collection.
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Why So Many Countries Are Abandoning the Dollar
It’s damn obvious.
What is the weirdest thing your dog ever brought home?
Not my dog, but my next door neighbors’ dog. Duke was a large mixed breed about 65–70 pounds, a super friendly boy who spent every day making the rounds in our neighborhood collecting treats, love, attention and objects he found in the yards or garages of those he visited. I was used to getting calls from Sharon with a list of items Duke had brought home—sometimes things I hadn’t even missed yet! About 10 years ago, my son, dil and 2 grands were staying with me and it snowed Christmas night, a rare event where I live. There was about 3–4″ inches of lovely white covering my grass the next morning so the kids had to play in it before they left to go home. My grandson came in and said he had lost his phone in the snow. We all spent at least 30 minutes looking for it and even Duke came over to see what was going on. My family left and about 30 minutes later, I received a phone call from Sharon asking if anyone was missing an iPhone. I walked next door and collected my grandson’s pristine phone-no scratches, no dents and it turned on. My son and grandson were both really happy with that news! Duke is still remembered in the neighborhood as being such a “good boy.”
What is the most shameless thing you have ever seen a teacher do?
When I was in 6th grade, I had a math teacher that I hated so much I’d have panic attacks on the days I had her class. Here’s a short list of what she’d do to me, keeping in mind she was told multiple times I had debilitating social anxiety and ADHD:
Humiliated me when I asked for help by telling me as loud as she could “you can’t do this problem? This is the easiest one in the set, how do you not understand it?!”
Called my mom in the middle of class after I handed in a test that she said I didn’t work long enough on in front of the other students, telling her I was an embarrassment
Had her TA search for me while I was waiting for my dad to pick me up since I had to stay after school on certain days of the week due to my parents working late. When she found me, she yelled at me, brought me back to the math room, where, in front of (mostly older, and way more popular) students, the math teacher called my dad and yelled about how he should be making go to the after school math tutoring so I could “at least pretend to care about the material”
Thank God, THANK GOD my parents were supportive of me and told her off each time. After the final call to my dad about forcing me to get the tutoring, my dad rushed to get me and ripped her a new one about how tired my parents were of her treatment of me. But ever since then, I’ve been afraid of almost every teacher and would just be silent during my classes
Best Macaroni and Cheese
This is the tastiest, easiest and fastest macaroni and cheese you will ever eat. DO not skimp on the Colby cheese. Use as much as you can afford.
macaroni cheese2
Ingredients
Macaroni (as much as needed)
Colby cheese (lots)
Instructions
While the macaroni is cooking in salted water, dice the Colby cheese up rather small.
As soon as the macaroni is cooked; drain it well. Keep it, covered, in the same pot in which it was cooked.
Add the diced Colby cheese and stir it in. Cover immediately and let it sit for about five minutes so that the cheese melts.
Attribution
Recipe is from the kitchen of Kathryn Irene Jolly.
Recipe is from the family recipe collection of Linda Ann Jolly, Arizona.
African Nations Repatriate Their Gold and Foreign Reserves From the USA.
Not being well reported. Not at all in the Western “news” media.
What is a time when you’ve seen a co-worker get fired who totally deserved it?
One of the RNs in our dept had worked there for 5 plus years, was around 60 years old and very nurturing and maternal so she was well liked. Her employment predated mine and I became her immediate supervisor. After several years of working together , mostly amicably she started to undermine me, making snarky comments and decisions that didn’t include discussions with others in the dept or weren’t hers to make or sometimes even mine to make. She was resistant when I discussed this with her. I really liked and admired her and it was getting more and more challenging. My supervisor wasn’t any help. We RNs became concerned that a medication error may be made if this nurse did the med pass so we made sure that someone else did that. We double checked behind her with the order transcriptions. We found small errors and brought them to her attention. She stated that everyone makes mistakes and that she was no different. One day I found that she had written an order on the wrong chart and filed the med in that pt’s med drawer. I saw it right before the tech was going to give the med to the wrong pt. What was even worse was that the pt wasn’t on ANY meds for a condition that was in any way similar to what that med was for – that should have made her question it. So, a performance improvement plan was implemented, discussed and put in place with approval of HR and my supervisor. The nurse ignored it, did nothing and cheerfully stated there was no problem. We decided that termination was in order. She was aghast and said, “Well, I will talk to the CEO and he will not stand for this!” Termination took place, she demanded a ride to the unemployment office and HR agreed – WHAT? It was so hard, but necessary to protect pts. Anyway, I ran into her about a year later and she said she had a medical condition that was contributing to her “brain fog” and that she’d been treated. She apologized for the instances of petty behavior. We all hoped she was doing well.
Almost 450 extremists from various nationalities arrive to Idlib to fight against Russian troops, after leaving Syria and passing through Turkey.
Close to 450 extremist Arab and foreign nationals have arrived in Ukraine from Idlib to fight against Russia’s forces, less than only three days after they left Syria, passing through Turkey.
Relatives of extremists that have arrived in Ukraine told Sputnik that senior fighters from terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (the rebranded version of Jabhat Al-Nusra, i.e Al-Qaeda) have held a number of meetings with senior leaders in the Turkistan Islamic Party group and Ansar Al-Tawhid and Hurras al-Din groups, and agreed on allowing a number of all their fighters to enter Ukraine through Turkish soil.
The sources added that most of these foreign fighters are veterans of the Syrian war, had been causing issues in Idlib, and were given this opportunity to fight against Russia as a compromise by which they would receive a new start and with an acceptable income.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham also gave these fighters assurances that their families would be allowed to join them later.
Around 300 of these fighters are Syrian nationals that are originally from the Idlib and Aleppo countrysides, while the 150 others are Belgian, French, Chinese, Moroccan, Tunisian, Chechen and British nationals.
As for the financial compensation, the sources said the fighters that hail from Syria will receive around $1200-$1500, but had no knowledge what the foreign nationals were going to be paid.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has previously stated that 16,000 foreign mercenaries will fight for the country.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had warned Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a meeting last Friday of the growing number of foreign mercenaries operating in Ukraine, including those coming from Albania and Croatia and namely militants and Jihadists coming from Kosovo in order to put their experience from military operations in Syria to use.
What was a loophole that you found and exploited the hell out of?
I don’t consider it a “loophole,” but rather a bit of a tech glitch.
When I was in college in the late 1980s (Dartmouth), it was towards the end of the life of pulse dialling technology. In the “old days,” telephones used to look like some variant of this:
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When you made a call, the dial was turned for each number, and it sent out a series of electronic pulses that matched the number (for example, my grandfather had a telephone whose number was WI-1–8214 (941–8214).
In the 1970s, touch-tone dialling became the standard (I am not sure that a rotary phone would even work anymore).
Telephones swapped out the rotary for push buttons, but the switching equipment had to, for a time, accommodate both. So telephones for a while had buttons, but a switch on the base that permitted tone and pulse dialling.
At Dartmouth, where I was a student, all of the telephone lines in the dormitories were controlled by Dartmouth. In order to make long-distance telephone calls, you had to subscribe to a service called “DarTalk.” Again, not sure if this is still the case.
Anyways, what we discovered in the dorms was that, if one started the telephone on pulse, entered the 8 (for an external line), a one, the area code, and the three code prefix, then switched the phone from pulse to tone and entered the final four digits in tone mode, the switching equipment that the college used could not detect that the call was going out. Hence, the calls were free.
We could thus make long distance calls without paying.
US prepares for war against Russia and China. In Self-Defense of course.
When I left prison, it was the experience of a lifetime. After “dressing out”, waiting in the hallway until the day ended and a spare guard can drive us to the bus station, and getting on the shuttle to the bus, it was sunset in the hot Arkansas dusk.
There, I was given a card for $100 to help me get to where I needed to go and to start my life anew.
And got on the Greyhound bus and left to my last known family location; where my sister rented out a room for me to live in for two weeks. That is in itself another story, but for this part of the narrative, I will discuss the bus ride out of Arkansas. It was something like 14 hours.
Mostly empty, as the bus picked up other felons that did their time.
I chatted with a guy who just finished 15 years. And met some women from a woman’s prison who were heading in our direction. They suggested that we tag along with them, hang out. Spend the night and “party” with them. Good looking chicks… if a bit feral. We are all sex starved, and I’m sure those gals would be jumping our bones and pumping us dry in no time.
But I declined.
I had a plan.
I had a stopwatch and I had to get settled, get my passport, get a plane ticket and LEAVE and never… NEVER return.
So I stayed on the bus while the group got off somewhere in Tennessee.
Sometimes I wonder was I smart… or was I stupid and blind to opportunities that come my way? I don’t know. I still wonder about it all.
Still, I could have spent the night… then left in the morning…
Missed opportunities, or problem avoidance strategy. You decide.
Today…
How is the perception, treatment, categorisation etc. of plus sized models in China different from the West?
I don’t know anything about the perception of plus-sized models in “the West”, but I have a cousin in Hangzhou who works for an online clothing brand as a plus-sized model and she sometimes share bits and pieces about her job with me.
Despite what some may think, it’s not easy to join the ranks of plus-sized models.
All the job requirements for non-plus-sized models also apply to plus-sized models.
For example, my cousin tells me the standard requirements for girls to be plus-sized models for online fashion catalogue work is that they are at least 165 cm or above, that they have “curvy” silhouette, and that they have all the basics: great skin, great hair, beautiful facial features, etc.
Naturally, being plus-sized models, they can be heavier than the typical non-plus-sized models.
Many of my cousin’s plus-sized model friends are heavier than I am, as they tend to be around the 60 to 70 kg weight range. The taller girls (175 cm >) can easily be above 70 kgs.
But she mentions that how that weight is distributed across the body is also an important consideration (hence, the “curvy” silhouette mentioned above)
There’s a growing demand for online plus-sized fashion shopping and from what my cousin has shared with me, there’s massive potential, and the current situation is nowhere close to even approaching that potential.
Career-wise, an average non-celebrity, not-famous plus-sized model, in general, can earn around 10,000 to 15,000 yuan per month (1380 to 2071 USD) a month. That’s pretty good.
She also tells me that she gets a lot of positive and supportive comments whenever she posts about her life, job, and fashion choices on 小红书 (a Chinese app that’s a mix between IG and Pinterest)
She enjoys her job, is very good at what she does, is compensated well, and most importantly, she’s happy with her decision to go into plus-sized modeling.
Couldn’t be happier for her! ^^
Picture below is that of a Chinese plus-sized model modeling clothes for a Chinese online clothing store:
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Why does NO anti-China nation want to decouple or at least try to decouple from China? How could you want to have nuclear war with China/overthrow the CPC/Xi Jinping and subjugate China and STILL want China’s business? It makes no sense!
NOBODY wants a nuclear war with China.
Decoupling from China would be too painful for Western economies. Inflation would go through the roof and governments would fall.
But you’re right. Even a conventional war with China makes no sense. But who said Western governments possess common sense?
What is something that someone told you that made you immediately realize that the crazy story they were telling you was actually true?
Many years ago, I was a supervisor on a Government-funded youth employment scheme, trying to get unemployed young people into work.
One day, one of the lads managed to get a cut to the top of his head. Only a small flesh wound but, being a scalp wound, there was blood everywhere – his hair was soaked, it was in his eyes, dripping from his nose, etc.
As we were working at a site close to the hospital, we drove him there ourselves, rather than wait for an ambulance. As it was clearly a head wound, he was rushed straight through for assessment.
A few minutes later, a nurse came out, looking quite worried. Whilst they were asking him routine questions, he had apparently deteriorated. In particular, when they asked his date of birth, he had said “Don’t know!” and when they followed up with “Well, when is your birthday?” he had replied “Don’t have one!”. Clearly the wound was worse than we had thought and there was some neurological damage; either temporary or permanent. At the nurse’s request, we asked our HR unit to fax across his basic details, so that the hospital could contact his family.
The records duly arrived. We looked to see what his date of birth was – and we all fell about laughing, nurse included. The records clearly stated that he had been unable to provide a date of birth.
It turned out that the whole family were illiterate and no-one had bothered to register his birth until he was about 3 or 4 years old – by which time they couldn’t remember what time of year he had been born!
A quick wash to remove the blood, three stitches and a couple of painkiller tablets later, he was discharged and we drove him home.
Göbekli Tepe and the Prophecy of Pillar 43 | Apocalypse and the Vulture Stone
Göbekli Tepe and the Vulture Stone Prophecy We are the descendants of an ancient civilization; one which mastered technology, mapped the cosmos, and understood our relationship with the natural world. Our ancestors traveled the world and built enormous structures. They scaled their creations into cities. They shared a common governance and similar religious beliefs. Our ancestors lived, as we do today, as a global society. Around 14,500 years ago, this global superpower started to collapse. First came uncontrollable change, and then a cataclysm. In less than a week, everything and almost everyone was gone. Those left behind built monuments. Monuments not as tributes to Gods or homage to kings. The monuments are a warning to future generations: to us. That warning is simple: danger is coming. Our civilization has ended before. And it will end again. This is one story Big Archaeology and world governments don’t want you to know. Once you hear it, you’ll never trust them again. Because the danger that’s coming? There’s nothing they can do to stop it.
What are the best stories to prove that everything happens for a reason?
I had resigned my previous company without having any job offer in hand!
I was continuously feeling stressed out from past few weeks. Suddenly in my project, the pressure got increased and my manager was not ready to hire any extra resource. Not even a single day was there when I felt relaxed. If you push yourself everyday too much, it will start impacting your health. Same happened with me. I started being sleep deprived and my weight started dropping. Despite that, I tried my best to pull it off but later I realised that I should stop now.
It was not easy for me to quit without any job offer in hand but I decided to leave. I put down my papers and informed my manager. My family was unaware of this because I didn’t wanted them to freak out. It was a chaotic moment for me but I motivated myself to find a new job. I started applying rigorously, gave interviews, faced rejections. Many nights I used to overthink but I knew that I didn’t want to back out.
After 1 month of resignation, I got one offer letter. My confidence boosted up and I kept on trying for better opportunities. At last, I got a decent offer and above that I got great work environment.
In life, sometimes, we take very quick and tough decisions but those decisions carve our path towards new phases. Maybe, that day you would feel that what you did was stupidity but later you will realise that it happened for a reason.
Everything happens for a reason!
In court, what was the most devastating cross-examination of a witness that you ever saw?
This is a bit long for one of my answers. And, it has nothing to do with being an agent or a lawyer myself.
My ex and I wanted to foster a child and take him with us when we moved out of state. He was an inner city African American child, about eight years old. He was not on the growth chart, he could not read or write. He had ADD.
But, my ex had fallen for him.
He came to school with clothes picked out of pile of adult clothes. Made his way to school riding public transportation, and no one asked him to pay. He came to school because it was safe, and provided him two meals a day.
He lived with his grandmother and five to seven others in about a 900 square foot house. Many of the residents were minors and the grandmother received all the benefits for them.
It was an expensive proposition to foster this child. I paid for our attorneys who told us no one had ever been allowed to obtain foster rights and immediately move out of state. Especially a white couple attempting to take a black child. I paid for the guardian ad litem. And, I paid for the grandmother’s attorney.
We were in the second day of the hearing before the family court judge. The grandmother was on the stand. She had held up well during cross examination.
But, then then I noticed the judge slide his glasses down to the end of his nose and peer over them and say,”I have just a couple of very simple questions. Nothing to worry about.”
I had been a little bored until this point, but I knew this maneuver. I had been around courthouses and in interviews for many years by this time. And, my senses told me things were about to get interesting.
The judge then proceeded to ask about the moneys she received to help support the children in her care. The judge asked what she did with the money. The judge asked if she liked to gamble.
In the state we were in, there were gambling casinos. And, she admitted to attending gambling casinos.
The judge began to ask her about her gambling habits, and whether she won or lost. And, the big lies began.
The grandmother claimed she won as much as she lost.
And, the judge bore down. And, I am thinking… I am paying for three attorneys and no one figured out she had a gambling addiction.
And, the judge rakes her, and gets her to admit she loses a little more than she makes. And, it went down hill from there, allowing my attorneys to pull her gambling records which were kept by every casino. And, those records showed a pattern of gambling and loss that were incredible.
The grandmother would lose all the monthly benefits for her grandchildren within a couple of days. And, we all missed it, but for a family court judge who was wiser than a room full of attorneys.
Hands down, the best cross examination I ever saw. Judge… you can drop the mic.
China Military’s Biggest Upgrade In Cyber Security Warfare & Space
In modern era of warfare, control of information is a game changer. Keep that in mind and breaking away from traditional structures, the one of the worlds highest military has established new independent units dedicated to information, space, and cyber operations, marking the most extensive shakeup in nearly a decade. One thing is now certain, the Chinese military is ready for anything adversaries might throw at it and win conflicts with relative ease! Today’s episode will uncover the recent shakeup of Chinese military which has added new units determined to succeed in modern warfare.
You find a new job, so you give your employer two weeks’ notice. Your boss then gets angry that you are quitting and tells you not to come back in anymore. How should you respond to your boss?
My wife is literally going through this right now. She was the only person in her office that did what she did and had been the best employee that employer had ever seen. Literally in 10 years she had taken 1 sick day. Over the course of that decade she never got a single raise and zero retirement. Another opportunity came along and she took it. Knowing her job would be very difficult to fill she gave her employer a 6 week notice. The employer was so irrational about it that she fired her and said she would not be paying out the 3 weeks of vacation time my wife had on the books. Well where we live, the state law does not allow that unless there is a signed policy stating as much, which there has not been. So here we are, on vacation enjoying a 2 week span of time before my wife starts her new job. She was able to move up her start date with her new employer, though she did not have to. Her old employer is now responsible to pay her unemployment for these 2 weeks as well as her 3 weeks of vacation. She would have been very wise to just take the 6 weeks my wife offered, but we won in the end so whatever
“The United States, the UK, Germany, and France—these are some of the most oppressive and repressive governments in the world if you remove all of the self-praise and the propaganda that they spew about themselves and about freedom and civil rights and so on.
They are a Western axis against freedom, and if you don’t know that—I mean, if you live there and you don’t know that—then you just haven’t tested it.
The only way that you can live in any of those countries—and increasingly in the US—and not know that they are despotic tyrannies, is if you have been so numbed and so brainwashed that you hold no opinion in your head that wasn’t put there by the state, that wasn’t injected into your lifeless brain by the mainstream media.
So, you never had anything to protest about.
You never questioned your government.
You never challenged the official narratives about anything.
That’s the only way that you can’t know what I’m talking about.
And that makes you even more repressed, more oppressed, and more tyrannized than the people who are getting beaten and who are getting detained for objecting to their government’s brutality.
You’re even more of a victim.
You’re even more abused than those protesters who are getting clubbed upside the head and getting choked and getting abused by the security forces because your government, your rulers, your ruling class has never let you live a day in your life without telling you what to think and sabotaging your ability to think for yourself.
You’re the most abused in your society.
What they did to you is worse than beating; it’s worse than detention; it’s worse than imprisonment.
At least those protesters who are getting beaten and arrested by the police—at least their minds are free, at least they have their own thoughts in their heads.
But you—your leaders have made you a zombie that thinks that the right thing, the moral thing, is whatever power chooses to do; your government has put you into a moral coma.
You’re morally comatose.
They put you under an induced coma so that you can’t see them sponsoring the wanton murder of 34,000 people, some 24,000 innocent women and children.
You can’t see that there’s anything wrong with that.
You feel nothing, or even worse, you think it’s the right thing, you think it’s the moral thing, you think that what your government is doing is good by sanctioning indiscriminate slaughter; you think that’s fine.
Why?
They’ve robbed you of your very humanity, and that’s the only reason that you can believe that you live in a free society.
That’s the only reason that you can believe that you live in a society with civil rights and liberty and free speech and all of those other wonderful things that you never had and never will have.
The only freedom that you have in those countries is the freedom to agree with power.
You’re free to submit to the powers that be.”
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Excerpt from remarks by American geopolitical analyst Shahid Bolsen in a video where he speaks about the ongoing protests against the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on university campuses, both in the U.S. and around the world, April 27, 2024.
Does memory depend on intelligence?
“One day, Einstein was traveling by train from Princeton, when a train conductor passed through the corridor, stamping the tickets of all the passengers. When he arrived in front of Einstein, the scientist searched for the ticket in his vest pocket, but didn’t find it; it wasn’t even there in the pants pockets; so he looked in the briefcase, but he couldn’t find it.
The driver said, “Doctor Einstein, I know who you are. I’m sure you bought the ticket. Don’t worry. Einstein nodded in thanks.
And the driver continued to stamp the tickets in the aisle. Just as he was about to move on to the next car, he turned to see the large body looking under his seat for the ticket.
The driver turned around and said, “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are.” This is not a problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.
Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I also know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going. That’s why I’m looking for my ticket.”
BLINKEN TRIP TO CHINA: U.S. dominance is over!
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken went home with his tail between his legs after an official three-day visit to China in which he tried his very best to convince the world of a litany of nonsensical crap that neither he nor anyone else with a brain believes, including spouting the “over-capacity” myth that Yellen tried to start on her last visit, and trying to tell Beijing that Washington has some kind of right to decide who China can and cannot trade with. This desperation and hypocrisy blatantly on show from U.S. leaders visiting China is a sign of one thing: the hegemony of the U.S.-led West is falling, and it’s a joy to watch! Today we’ll talk about it.
1.The only letter that doesn’t appear on the periodic table is J.
2.One habit of intelligent humans is being easily annoyed by people around them, but saying nothing in order to avoid a meaningless argument.
3.2006, a Coca-Cola employee offered to sell Coca-Cola secrets to Pepsi. Pepsi responded by notifying Coca-Cola.
4.The famous line in Titanic from Leonardo DiCaprio, “I’m king of the world!” was improvised
5.If you cut down a cactus in Arizona, you’ll be penalized up to 25 years in jail. It is similar to cutting down a protected tree species.
6. In 1923, a jockey suffered a fatal heart attack but his horse finished and won the race, making him the first and only jockey to win a race after death.
7.Iceland does not have a railway system.
8.The spiked dog collar was invented by the Ancient Greeks to protect their dogs from wolf attacks.
9.German Chocolate Cake is named after an American baker by the name of Samuel German.
10.The voice actor of SpongeBob and the voice actor of Karen, Plankton’s computer wife, have been married since 1995.
11.The largest Japanese population outside of Japan stands at 1.6 million people who live in Brazil.
12.IKEA is an acronym which stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, which is the founder’s name, farm where he grew up, and hometown.
13.Violin bows are commonly made from horse hair.
14.The youngest Pope in history was Pope Benedict IX who was 11 years old at the time of election. He is also the only person to have been the Pope more than once.
15.In Svalbard, a remote Norwegian island, it is illegal to die.
16.People who post their fitness routine to Facebook are more likely to have psychological problems.
17.Standing around burns calories. On average, a 150 pound person burns 114 calories per hour while standing and doing nothing.
18.There is a punctuation mark used to signify irony or sarcasm that looks like a backwards question mark ⸮
19.Saint Lucia is the only country in the world named after a woman.
20.There is a town in Nebraska called Monowi with a population of one. The only resident is a woman who is the Mayor, Bartender and Librarian.
When was a time you said silently to your boss “I told you so”?
We have a F350 work truck that is notorious for giving hints it is about to break on us. Main thing is how often it regens the DPF. Told my team lead(boss) one day that we had about a month before it shits itself again at best. 3 weeks later, while driving to pick up equipment/supplies, sure enough it starts blowing blueish smoke out the tail pipe. Turbo was leaking oil. Day or two prior, it was non-stop “regen in progress “ message on the dash, prior to that it was daily regens at highway speeds. He had to stop what he was doing and drive another truck 2 hours to come swap it out, then get broke truck towed 4 hrs away to the stealership to have it sit there for 3 months getting fixed.
Another time, there was an older dump truck that started making a weird noise from the engine bay. From the sound of it, I suggested that either a pulley or tensioner was about to go. He shrugged it off and said it was a worn belt. Few days later, the tensioner shit itself and left him stranded.
Same truck started loosing hold back power on the “exhaust “ (actually found out it’s a transmission brake) brake. Reported to him, he dismissed me. Days later it either threw a valve if I remember right, or dropped/washed a cylinder and ran like dog shit.
Another one of our dumps blew a small pilot hydro line that runs the hydro pump to give pressure as it is constantly turning with the engine. Helped replace the blown line and noticed that 6 other lines are worn to or thru the metal casing. Told him, he said just keep running it. Ended up blowing hoses in the middle of working, for weeks on end. Would drain the hydro tank and such so not only did we have to replace the line during inclement weather, but dump up to 30 gallons of new hydro oil in to the tank.
Once I promoted to be equal to him, I took my side of the fleet and ran thru it with a fine tooth comb. Spent several thousand dollars fixing issues to prevent as much breakdowns as possible. The worst breakdown I had this winter was a wiper motor crapped out on me near the end of the day, but I had noticed it having issues prior and had a new assembly waiting to be installed sitting in the truck due to the nature of our job of being out for days on end w/o being able to fix minor things until a day where the truck could be down. Was down for maybe 30 mins while I swapped it out.
Leaking non hazmat fluid tanks, worn thru outer casing on electrical wires exposed to the elements, leaking valves, leaking fittings, leaking non hazmat fluid hoses, missing filters for services, low replacement fluid levels for services, the list goes on and on.
What is the pettiest thing you’ve seen a cheap person do at a restaurant?
Years ago the ex hubby took over an Italian restaurant…that is another story altogether. He slowly built the clientele up from nothing to a steady flow of clients, and we always loved a large booking. One night a table was booked for about 10–14 people, I forget exactly but it was a family group. The guy who had booked the table made it his night’s work to find fault: little subtle digs aimed at the staff, calling the staff back constantly, a smudge on a glass, a missing fork, the waiter was made to feel an imbecile.
I made it a point to double-check each plate as it was placed at the table, but did not serve or have any interaction with him until the end of the evening. He was the lead bull at the table, lording it over every other person, and then the bill was handed to him.
He pored over the bill for an age, demanding that everyone tell him what they had, was anything missing from the meal, then he told the waiter that he had been overcharged and the waiter called me over. The client then proceeded to tell me that he had been swindled, that he had been overcharged. I looked at the bill, which was accurate, told the waiter to bring up every receipt, looked the client in the face and said, “I am the owner, I am happy to go through all the receipts with you and I will also ask everyone here to tell me what they ordered, but you ordered such a huge quantity of food and drinks that in all likelihood this bill I have in my hand is going to be under. If I find the staff to have undercharged you, I will be expecting you to pay the full amount, so are you sure you want me to do this?”…he was apoplectic.
I totted up the bill, and it was short to the tune of around £40 (this was 25 years ago). He paid up in a fury and left not a penny for the staff. The next day he phoned the restaurant and claimed that some of the party had food poisoning, that he demanded we refund him. I asked him who had the food poisoning and he mentioned three of the guests; I had the exact details of each plate the guests had had, and remembered that two guests had switched plates, I then told him that he was wrong, that he should go get his story straight, for these three guests did not eat the same food. I realized he had asked each guest what they had ordered, NOT what they had eaten, and it was obvious he had had no contact with these supposedly poisoned family members. I recommended he file a complaint with Health & Safety, and never heard a word back.
Some of my latest AI image generations
The theme is tropical.
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Have you, as a police officer, ever known a “dirty” cop? If so, what did you do about it?
Some fifteen years back…
I was buddying with someone temporarily for bike patrolling. There was something barren and sinister about him. It is hard to explain.
One evening, we stopped at a random point and initiated snap checking, while at it… my colleague stopped a kid who walked by us, holding a small bag of fries. He must be 11 years old.
My colleague started asking him questions.
What’s your name?
Where are you coming from?
And believe it or not…
What is it in your hand? Give it to me!
The scared kid handed the police officer that bag of fries. And he went to town, eating it in front of that kid. Not just that… he actually smirked as well while witnessing that child’s facial expression of fear and shock.
I was a few feet away, checking registration book of a motorcyclist but I had to postpone that and approach them. To multiply my misery and embarrassment, the road with crowded and full of traffic. I did not want to make a scene.
Without saying a word, I snatched that bag of fries and gave it back to the kid, apologized and politely asked him to leave. The kid left.
I stood there looking at my colleagues’s deadpan face like nothing has happened.
This is low, even for a scum like you who conveniently rot the idea of community policing. This is why the public does not hold us in good regards. This attitude is what they fear and abhor.
I never worked with him again, I also informed the duty officer of this incident later that night.
I remember that guys face clearly, I remember his name, I remember the repulsion his company caused me
So Quorans, you might wonder if this is the dirtiest I have ever seen as you see me narrating this account carefully and in detail.
No, God… No!
This is me telling you of a distasteful minor incident that occurred years ago, that has burnt into my memory for good. In my understanding, he was not a good cop. And I strongly disliked him.
That should give you some idea about my feelings for those who are worse or worst. Who go above and beyond breaking the rules, violating the code, abusing their powers and involved in corruption.
They do exist.
And there’s only so much I practically could do about them, way above my pay grade you see.
But I’m not sad or hopeless. I have spent eighteen years in police service and I see the systematical grind of the department that works restlessly and naturally and gets them here and there. I see them getting hooked and punished.
It’s okay, but it certainly could be better.
What’s something you realized about a family member once you got older?
Not until the deaths of both my parents did I understand the dynamic of their marriage.
My mother died of a stroke at age 66. It turned out that years earlier, she had survived a heart attack which probably occurred in her sleep because no one ever knew about it. When she died, I was dumbfounded that her sisters and friends were all angry at Dad, blaming him for having driven Mom into an early grave.
In the 22 years before he died, clues gradually fell into place. I remembered how Mom said his mother had made Dad the person he was. How, when my older brothers brought their families home to visit, Dad sulked and said Mom was going to work herself to death waiting on them hand and foot. How he said the same thing about his second wife and her children and grandchildren.
I remembered how Mom refused to have a renewal of vows ceremony for their 25th anniversary, saying she’d meant her vows to be for life the first time, so she didn’t see any point. I looked at the photo albums and saw Mom’s face change from her engagement, a giddy young woman in love, to an unsmiling older woman. When he said he’d retire at 62 instead of 65 and be home all the time, Mom seemed resigned, not happy.
Most telling, I remembered that when Dad was a boy, his mother sometimes punished him by locking him in a closet. What made this particularly terrifying: Grandma was deaf, so his crying, beating on the door and begging moved her not at all. He might well have believed that he could die in that closet.
All the facts in front of me the whole time finally made sense: when Dad married Mom, he expected her to be his mommy as much as his wife, because his own mother had been abusive, not loving. It was surely no coincidence that Mom was older by 18 months.
Mom died in November, he was engaged by Christmas, and remarried in April — to a widowed nurse 17 years younger, someone who’d outlive him and care for him like both mommy and wife. Dad remarried so quickly not because he didn’t love Mom, but because her death had left him as bereft as Theodore Roosevelt when his mother and his first wife died on the same day.
When he pouted about Mom’s delight in her visiting children and grandchildren, he was jealous. He thought she had a fixed amount of love and any she gave to someone else was less for him. At family gatherings she could be happily chatting with family members, but if he wanted her attention, she had to go with him or he’d sulk. He retired early so he could spend more time with her. He couldn’t very well demand that his second wife cut off all contact with her children and grandchildren, but he hadn’t forgotten how to pout.
Dad and Mom met before he went off to a monastery to spend three years. I never understood why, because if he was looking for mother love, he wasn’t going to find it in an all-male community. But neither did I understand why he ever dropped out, because he spent so much time in church and in prayer at home that even a priest told me he was overdoing it. (When a priest says there’s such a thing as too much religion….) I’m now convinced that he was trying to back God into a corner: “See how devout I am, God. You can’t take the person I love away from me.”
And Mom’s refusal to renew her wedding vows? What she really meant, I suspect, was “Don’t ask me if I’d marry you all over again, because you might not like my answer.”
Oh no! Is this fairytale preview of things to come where women aren’t accountable?
The original stories from the last century are really interesting. This one is worth your time.
Have you ever quit your job in the middle of the work day? Why?
Yes actually I have. I was working at a local call center about 11 or 12 years ago, and I knew that they had a strict attendance policy, and that they were not hesitant to put points on your attendance record if you were late or left early or called off. However I did not know to what extent they would uphold that policy, and how much people were exaggerating how strict they were about it until I had been there about six months or so. One morning we heard a big commotion coming from the other side of the dividing wall, from the other business contract that was next to us. Well, later in the day we found out that one of the older men on the other contract had had a heart attack and had to be taken to the hospital by an ambulance. So I did not really think anything of it other than feeling bad for the guy, but a couple days later I was out back on break and I heard his supervisor talking to another employee about how she had to put 1/2 of a point on his attendance because he had to leave before his shift was over. I walked over to her and asked if I heard her correctly because I was almost certain that I had actually misheard her. But to my surprise she told me that I did hear her correctly and that she did have to put a half of a point on that employee’s attendance record. Once I confirmed that I had actually heard her correctly I went up to the front of the building to the human resources department and asked the lady working in the office if what the manager had said was true. She told me that unfortunately the manager was correct and that according to the attendance policy of the employee would be pointed for leaving before his shift was over, even though it was due to a medical emergency. At that point I took my badge off of my belt loop, laid it on her desk and told her I quit. The job itself was not too bad, but after hearing that I could not bring myself to work for a company who just blatantly did not care about their employees like that.
Italian Prime Minister announced that Italy would no longer participate in the “Belt and Road Initiative”, and then tried to strengthen relations with China, claiming that “the relationship between China and Italy is close”. What does this indicate?
One the one hand Meloni is controlled by the EU and European Council which has become a tane colonial outpost of the United States so that any US order comes with the response “How high master?”
On the other hand – Italian Luxury brands depend on 13% to 25% of their revenue from China and Italy gets Low Cost products from China that it can sell to it’s people for 2.75–3.5 times the cost and help with value addition into the economy
Italian Businesses are worried about their Chinese markets
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They are worried more about Chinese Luxury Brands that could put the Italians out of business in China
So the Italian Government sends the message lets follow the same advantages that we had under the BRI but let’s just not call it that anymore
And as you can see
China gets tariff breaks until 2027 which means even if EU imposes tariffs on Chinese EVs, Italy having an agreement already can’t implement the same tariffs until after 30/6/2027
Italian Brands get the same tariff advantages in China until 30/6/2027
Both Nations have the same benefits in Shipping and with their Investments into each other
So Nothing has changed except the official relationship between China and Italy
Do you think it’s creepy that Leonardo DiCaprio is dating a girl so young that he is older than her mother?
It’s definitely bizarre.
He always seems to have a mob of young women around him.
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Someone on Reddit made a chart of every girlfriend he’s had, and he seems to have a rule of never dating older than 25:
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And he has a new girlfriend, who is now, you guessed it, 25:
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He is 49.
This is all fine and legal. But it is just odd that he limits himself to this very narrow demographic of women. And a peculiar coincidence that they never make it further than that. I suspect he is hanging out a lot at fashion shows, or some place all these models mingle at (they are almost all tall thin models).
I know that for me, I’m so different than I was at age 20. I don’t know what I’d talk to a 20-year-old about. But to each their own.
Why Bother Working For a Living …. Public Assistance Game
There is no more middle class. Every thing has been gentrified from housing , cars People not being able to find a decent paying job and the cost to live is getting way out of hand . Gen Z and Millennials No Long Want to work towards nothing. America is Broken and it’s not cool. Looks like everyones going to be on welfare
Have you ever been with someone who is so cheap it’s uncomfortable?
I used to have a friend who, despite being well-off, was incredibly cheap, to the point that it was not only embarrassing, it was often hurtful too.
She is very adept at worming out of paying for her share of things, mainly by making things SO awkward that you end up caving in and paying for her, simply because you just want the situation to be over!
Some examples:
On one occasion, when she was staying with me for a couple of days, she insisted that we go swimming, because she said she had to do exercise every day. I didn’t really mind, so off we went to the local swimming pool. After queuing for quite some time at the reception desk to pay, we eventually got to the front… but when the receptionist said “That’ll be £2.50, please”, my friend became really indignant, as the swimming pool she usually went to apparently only cost £2.00. She started arguing with the poor receptionist over the 50p difference, much to the annoyance of all the other people in the queue behind us, waiting to pay. So, I ended up paying for both of us — not a big deal at all, you might think, but this was just one example of how I always seemed to end up paying for her.
Later that same day, we went to the cinema to see a film. I paid the admission for both of us (I didn’t want a repeat of the incident at the swimming pool!) and then we wandered over to the sweets kiosk to look at the snacks. She decided she didn’t want anything; I bought myself a large bag of M&Ms. Once we’d taken our seats and the film had started, she announced that, actually, she WAS hungry after all, but didn’t want to miss any of the film by going back out to the sweets kiosk. No problem, I said, you can share my M&Ms if you like. This started out fine: like you do when you’re sharing sweets, I kept angling the bag towards her, to make sure she could dig in. However, after about 20 mins, she said that SHE wanted to hold the bag… Bit weird, I thought, but I duly gave the bag to her to hold.
As the film continued, every now and then I took some M&Ms out of the bag, as did she. But then she started leaning over every few minutes or so and whispering “Are you going to have any more?”. As you can imagine, this started to get pretty irritating, especially as I was trying to watch the film. This went on for a while, with me saying “Yes”, every time she asked. Eventually, I asked her why she kept asking and she told me that she wanted to “save them for later”!! What the heck?! I was quite surprised at this, but couldn’t really make a fuss in the middle of the film. I carried on helping myself to the sweets that I’D BOUGHT, but it was all really awkward and a bit stressful, and it kind of spoilt the film a bit.
It’s almost like she has a pathological need to not part with any money and to milk other people as much as possible.
I once went to stay with her, but after having been at her house for a few hours, she hadn’t offered me anything to drink. Not a problem, as we had been engrossed in chatting. But, when I asked if it was OK if I put the kettle on (I am one of those Brits who quickly wilts if I’m not kept topped up with tea!) she said that she didn’t have any tea. Or, in fact, anything at all to drink. OK, no problem, water is fine, I said.
For our evening meal that day, we went out to a restaurant, where (you guessed it) I ended up paying.
The next morning, we got up and sat chatting for a while. After a couple of hours, she hadn’t mentioned breakfast and I was getting pretty hungry. I asked if it would be OK if I made some toast or something, but she said that she didn’t have any food in. This was a bit surprising, as she’d invited me to stay for the weekend and it had been arranged for some time. In retrospect, I think she wanted to see me but didn’t want to have to spend any money on feeding me. I think it’s highly possible that she ate breakfast in her bedroom, in secret, before getting up and coming into the living room to chat with me. She loves food (as do I) and always used to complain at my house, if I didn’t keep her well fed; like me, she’s definitely not the sort of person to skip breakfast.
Anyway, as I was so hungry, I suggested we went out to a cafe for some breakfast — I was thinking of something cheap and cheerful. She took me to a really wonderful artisan eatery, where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Silly me, assumed that she’d be paying, given that I’d paid for everything else that weekend and given that she hadn’t provided breakfast at home. However — you can see where this is going — when it came to pay the bill, she started lamenting about how she “doesn’t normally like to spend money on breakfast”, so I ended up paying for it. She’d chosen a really expensive place, knowing that she was going to get me to pay for it!
Other examples include us going into McDonald’s to buy a drink each and her asking me to pay for hers, as she didn’t want to break in to her £10 note!
Each individual incident was no big deal on its own, but when it happens a lot, you realise that you’re being taken advantage of. She was basically taking advantage of my generosity and the fact that I hate any kind of awkwardness. She knows that I (and probably most people) don’t want to cause a fuss in public, so will just end up paying.
To put it into context, she is from a fairly wealthy family and had a well-paid job, so it’s not like I could blame her behaviour on deprivation (either current or historical). She’s just incredibly tight with her money. She hardly ever leaves a tip in restaurants and when she does, she leaves 2p.
Because of her behaviour with money, but also because I realised she just wasn’t really a very nice person in general, I eventually cut off contact with her. We’d known each other for about 30 years, but sometimes the longest friendships aren’t always the best ones.
EDIT
To the Quoran who went through my entire answer and suggested I change ALL my apostrophes to apostrophes that are slightly more curly: I’m afraid I only have one type of apostrophe on my keyboard. I don’t have a not-very-curly option and then also a curly option. Like most keyboards (I’m guessing?), I just have one apostrophe to choose from.
I’m sorry that it is not quite as curly as the one on your keyboard. However, hopefully my not-very-curly apostrophes haven’t affected the readability of my post too much?
I think you may have a LITTLE too much time on your hands 🙂 .
Do people abuse the welfare system in your country?
Do you know anybody who always eats a lot, but never shops, cooks or cleans up?
Or maybe somebody who disappears when it’s their turn to buy a round at the bar or coffee machine?
Did you ever see someone devastate the buffet, leave a dollar tip on the table and then empty the mints from the bowl at the cash register on the way out?
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Ever experience unflushed public toilets devoid of toilet paper? How about coworkers that only pretend to work?
And of course no party is complete without the eternally-empty-handed guest.
Let’s face it, freeloaders exist all over the globe. Their entitlement knows no bounds.
So yes, people abuse welfare in my country, and in both countries I lived in before this one.
I am disgusted by freeloaders. I think most people are. I think it likely even many of the freeloaders don’t like themselves much.
Despite all this, I support welfare and I do it for selfish and conservative reasons.
I am willing to pay the taxes needed to enjoy clean streets free of unfortunate, mentally ill and addicted people.
I see that when welfare is tied to education, sponges often turn into contributors who lighten my tax load.
And for the incorrigibly lazy, $ 9,000 (average cost per welfare recipient) is less than $ 35,000 (average cost per prisoner).
Living in Germany and France showed me that welfare programs really do reduce crime and homelessness and lower prison populations.
Welfare works well when driven by data and economic evidence not empathy or scorn. It needs carrots and sticks and not too many of either.
Men Are Checking Out of Relationships in Thousands & No One Can Stop Them
This is a very serious situation.
Until someone stops the free reign of Family Court, men will avoid marriage and women in general. Nowadays, only 6.5 men in a thousand get married due to the following scenario:
(1) man gets married,
(2) wife refuses to have sex,
(3) wife racks up huge credit card debt,
(4) wife stop contributing financially,
(5) wife stops cooking & cleaning,
(6) wife cheats on husband,
(7) wife files for divorce and takes the house, cars, savings, and kids, (8) wife falsely accuses husband of abuse and he no longer can see his kids,
(9) wife poisons kids against the father.
What man in his right mind will sign up for this?
During the years of 12 years old to 14, right before I started working, my parents would drive me to the local pool / golf complex and allow me to spend the entire day pleasuring about.
This was a private club, and my parents got a private membership on discount because me father was the president of the local Rotarians club.
My sisters and brother would enjoy hanging out all day at the pool. But for me, I would do 18 holes of golf and then call it a day. And that would leave me with about four hours to kill.
So, I would try to go to the pool, but my sister was relentless in making fun of me in public, so I just ended up avoiding the entire scene all together. Not worth the grief.
In fact, my Summers were mostly hot and dusty. And while I could swim, she made it so miserable for me that I wouldn’t go near the pool.
In hindsight, she was really fucked up about this. In those days we called this “sibling rivalry”, but now, as an adult, I see this as some kind of distortion of a mental illness, perhaps generated by a pre-birth world-line template made before she and I were born.
Anyways…
So during those four remaining hours, I would go though the woods of the country club and collect golf balls.
There were hundreds of those things. Many golfers would hit a ball and it would slice or hook into the woods, and I would eventually find it. And so, over the Summers, I would collect quite a stash of golf balls.
At that time, I would ear a world war II German army surplus Africa Corps pith helmet, and my father’s khaki shirt. Ha! I looked like something out of Tin Tin!
Tin Tin
I had a routine. I would traipse about the woods, getting the balls, then go up to the first tee-off and clean them. Then I would sit with my back leaning on the sign to the complex on the hot gravel parking lot. Oh, yeah, my mother would ask me “why are you here? Why don’t you go inside?” But since they just ignored my complaints about my sister, I just stopped answering her questions.
Why say anything?
Why bother?
And so, over the months and years, I would end up collecting this pile of golf balls. Eventually putting them into a large cardboard potato-chip box. I must have had a few hundred balls there. Maybe 400 to 500.
Years later, maybe a full decade, I am visiting my mother with my wife.
I start rummaging though my old gear, most of which was looted earlier by my siblings and came across the box. Inside were all these golf balls in pristine condition. And on a lark, I carried them outside to the street in front of my mother’s house. It was a long street, in a rural town with nearly zero traffic. It was on a slide grade, and for shits and giggles…
I let them roll down the road, one by one, aiming for the lone sewer at the bottom of the hill.
What? Four years of collecting for such an insane and useless pastime? But yeah. That is what happened.
What is the moral of this little story?
Got me. I don’t have one.
I could have sold those golf balls, but this was before ebay. And it was more of a hassle than anything else, so I got rid of them. Life moved on. The memories my my early teen years, as eclipsed by my younger “princess” sister, faded into the dim…
…and I moved on.
Sometimes you have to throw away your balls to achieve contentment.
Today…
Is China’s economy currently experiencing a slowdown, or is this information being exaggerated by the US media?
Not exactly
The Chinese stock market is among the most undervalued in the world and is stubbornly remaining there due to a lot of regulations against speculation
The US Treasury still pays 5.31% as Peak Bond Yields
The Chinese Real Estate prices are low which is good for the buyers but that means investors will be giving it a wide berth
This means a lot of HOT MONEY will not be coming in but going out
Hot money is money used to buy shares and bonds and real estate securities by foreign firms
Speculative money!
No matter even if the US says China is booming, this is going to happen
Likewise if China raises interest rates to 6% then Yields rise to a peak of 6.53% and suddenly Hot money will flood into China no matter even if the US says China is crashing tomorrow
Likewise China is getting a flood of Long term investments for their EV and New Technology investments
That won’t change no matter what the US says
China is still the world’s second largest consumer market plus the worlds largest manufacturer at peak profitability
That won’t change no matter what the US says
So China simply doesn’t care too much about what the US media says beyond rebuttals on their English Language Media (CGTN) or Global times or SCMP
Russia Missile Strike Kills “Dozens” of NATO Officers at Meeting in Odessa Ukraine
High-Ranking NATO military officers were killed last night by 2 Iskander missile strikes launched against the Warehouse they were meeting in.
The two massive explosions also took out newly-arrived American military hardware, destined for the Ukrainian Army.
The Novaya Pochta warehouse in Odessa is seen burning in the image above, after the missiles struck.
Casualties are considered “very high” given the number of Ambulances and nearby NATO helicopters apparently sent to evacuate the wounded — or dead.
Look for more news reports of NATO officers who “died suddenly” within the next few days.
Orange Cumin Chicken
The earthy flavor of cumin complements the orange in a seasoning paste that coats chicken. High-heat oven roasting creates a tender, juicy chicken that is crisp on the outside.
orange cumin chicken
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
3 pounds bone-in chicken parts
2 medium oranges
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon McCormick® Cumin Seed
2 teaspoons McCormick® Cumin, Ground
1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Black Pepper, Ground
Instructions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Rinse and pat dry chicken. Trim excess fat.
Grate peel from oranges (about 1 tablespoon).
Squeeze 1 tablespoon juice from orange into small bowl.
Add remaining ingredients; stir until mixture forms a paste.
Coat chicken pieces evenly with seasoning paste.
Arrange chicken, skin-side up, in large shallow baking pan sprayed with no stick cooking spray.
Thinly slice orange halves and place over chicken.
Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Nutrition
Per serving: Total Calories: 241 Sodium: 371mg Fat: 13g Carbohydrates: 5g Cholesterol: 82mg Protein: 26g Fiber: 1g
PEPE ESCOBAR ON RUSSIA AND IRAN’S MIDDLE EAST GAME CHANGER, NATO VS. MULTIPOLARITY
My GOD, this is FANTASTIC!
Journalist and geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar (https://t.me/rocknrollgeopolitics on Telegram and ( / realpepeescobar ) joins to discuss his breaking story which caused controversy regarding an attempted Israel’s nuclear strike on Iran, as well as his latest travels and reporting from the multipolar world and NATO’s war against it.
Why are so many Americans unmarried by the age of 35?
I believe my daughter, now almos 24, will be one ofthese women.
She occasionally has a drink, but is not a drinker.
She doesn’t smoke or do drugs.
She loves to cook for us, and is a good baker.
She has had a credit card since she was 16, but has her own as soon as she was eligible.
She is serious, goal oriented, and fun with an easy laugh, and her father’s good sense of humor.
She does play video games to relax after studying but more like that building your own world game where you build houses…
This is what she looks like. She is tall, slim, and has nice curves.
Her hair is currently past her shoulder now, and she has great fashion sense.
No tattoos, but several piercings in her ears.
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She has dated 2 men so far. Personally, we didn’t care for the first one, but it is her choice.
We are always respectful, and keep our opinions to ourselves.
One started doing mushrooms, had a psychotic break, ended up in a drug rehab to recover, dropped out of his first year of college, and may or may not be working. His parents were both deceased by the time he was 18. He had 1 million in inheritance. He spent money unwisely. He liked to play video games more than study or complete assignments. He had never been taught to drink responsibly.
Even during his short time in college he didn’t seem to be specifically goal oriented. He was on academic probation after the first semester, and had to retake most of his classes.
The second one seemed nice enough. He didn’t drive a car, and had no interest in getting a license. He also had never been taught to drink responsibly – but his drinking was to the point he would be totally out of it, and throwing up.
He was a Philosophy major and was on the Dean’s list. He had said he was going to pursue his Masters so he could get a teaching position. But before graduation he decided to change his mind. No masters, and no use of the 4-year-degree. Instead he wanted to become management at the restaurant he had been working for. They turned him down for the posted job, but the candidate they hired did not work out so he was given the floor manager position. Now he makes less money and puts in more time.
My daughter is finishing her first year of Law School. She has decided that she needs to spend her time wisely. No dating guys, lots of pro bono work, more studying, and time with friends, plus family time.
Yeah, it was only 2 guys. But a huge disappointment for her.
Most of the guys she meets do drugs a bit, like to drink, love to play video games, and have no financial sense.
To add to this, these guys have no social sense.
They are also only ready to have a girlfriend for fun,they couldn’t commit to anything because they simply are not even ready to live on their own, cook, work, pay bills, and save money.
They seem to have no goals.
As we know life moves by fast.
She doesn’t want to be her boyfriends mommy!
The pandemic didn’t help matters.
But too many people are not even ready for a serious relationship.
She may meet someone by chance. But she is already willing to be ready to be on her own.
She has worked from early on as a dog Walker, baby sitter, house sitter, and tutor of kids and students at school who needed help.. Sh also volunteers her time at the food bank. She has saved her money, and has her own Financial Advisor. She applies for scholarships, and grants and that has really helped her reduce her college costs. She lived at home to save money, she also she commutes to college from home.
She is a learner. She plays 2 instruments, can weld, program, do analytical research, she is already published, she sews, does woodworking, can solder, and is able to understands electronics.
She started being a researcher the summer after 12th grade at her college. She was paid nicely, and had that job every semester and summer until she graduated.
She speaks Spanish fluently, and has 2 undergraduate majors, 1 minor, and earned 3 certificates.
Just this week we attended an event at her Law School where she was awarded an honor for her 70 hours of pro bono work. She was 1 of 22 out of a class of 200 first year Law students to be given this award.
I hope she continues to have good friends, as she does now. Having fun is important to her.
But unless she runs face first into the a guy that has her values – she may be one of those women who just has great friends in life.
She wants to travel for vacations when she is done with Law School.
She loves the culture, food, and architecture in Europe.
Her best friend is very much like her. That girl has a boyfriend, and he is really great so we have hope there are guys out there. She has lots of time still.
Update: Although this may seem like bragging, it is her accomplishments – not mine.
I am thankful for the way she turned out – but she has made her choices in life.
Even the best parents can have a child that cannot find their way in life.
But thank you to those who offered me kind words regarding our parenting.
We all know that parenting is a road we travel without much in the way of directions.
These Frat Bros Are Saving America
A photo recently went viral on Twitter showing frat boys holding up the American flag while angry protesters tried to tear it down. What these young men did is incredible, especially in our current society that doesn’t value the American flag. Let’s discuss it.
What’s the poorest judgment you’ve ever witnessed from someone else?
I think it was when I was working in elderly care. I was part of the management team, the assistant manager, in charge of the care staff and the care staff rotas. I was responsible for ensuring all the shifts were covered. The registered home manage was a woman named Dot, who had some really skewed outlooks on life. She always wanted to be a social worker, but failed the exam. We as a team were trying to recruit. On this occasion, a certain guy had applied for a job as a care assistant. He was currently working in a different home. We got his references back. He was an alcoholic. His reference said that when he was at work, he was a fantastic carer, really hard working and caring and pretty sensible. But that was when he was sober. He had a habit of going on a bender, then being off sick for weeks at a time. Dot wanted to give him a chance. She wanted to work with him and prove that he could beat the disease. Fine. But not in an old people’s home with lots of vulnerable people, and a place where you counted on everyone to turn up when they should, (old people’s homes are notoriously badly paid and hard work, and as a result, people frequently go off sick, and you’re frequently short of staff).
But Dot pulled rank and Steve was taken on, and his references were spot on. He was very likable, a really good worker, and had sound judgement and common sense. When he was sober and when he was there. On one occasion when we were short of staff, and Dot had to work out on the floor, (which she detested doing), I had a row with her. When she complained, I told her she was the one who took Steve on despite his references and despite the rest of the teams objections. So it was her own fault.
NATO’s Glaring Weakness On-Display in Moscow; Tanks and Armor Captured in Ukraine
An Exhibit of smashed and wrecked Armored Vehicles from NATO, is now on display in Moscow, Russia, showing the real life weakness of NATO, and our high-priced, high-tech, weaponry.
The Exhibit in Moscow opened today, and the crowds to see the weak West were large. On display, a whole range of captured NATO and Ukraine military equipment:
Moscow Captured Armor Exhibit 4
Moscow Captured Armor Exhibit 3
Moscow Captured Armor Exhibit 2
The mocking of NATO is so thorough, they even placed a sign at the entrance saying “”ATTENTION: Employees of US, UK, Germany, France and Poland embassies get queue-free access (1st priority) to visit NATO vehicles trophies”
Moscoww Exhibition Invitation To West
The dramatic exhibit of the shear weakness of Ukraine, and more importantly, of the US and NATO is unprecedented in our modern era. NEVER BEFORE has the US or NATO been so thoroughly whipped on a battlefield.
Russians are so patriotic, and supportive of what their nation MUST do in Ukraine, so as to protect themselves from NATO expansion, they sing songs on their SUBWAYS about what they believe is the coming war:
Oh, and did you notice their Subway? No one smoking meth, or snorting coke. No one crapping or peeing in the train cars as is so often seen here in America.
The culture of Russia is rock solid, willfully focused on Almighty God, and strong to the core. NO sickening LGBTQ+ over there; at least not in public. No “pronouns” being treated as if they matter over there. No feral animals having fist fights in Walmart. No looting or burning of stores. No taking down of historical statues. Clean, safe streets. Healthy, strong people. The West – none of those things.
We just think we’re tough. We just talk tough.
If this goes wild-weasel, given our present generations, we’ll get clobbered. We’re infested with mental (and physical) weaklings. We in the West have been hollowed-out and destroyed, from within.
Want proof? Here’s a video of Moscow’s military display. THIS is what __they__ can accomplish. What have __we__ done?
🇷🇺 The exhibition of the captured Western equipment has officially opened in Moscow. pic.twitter.com/FcenylGtq9
Why is China’s rise so hard for the US to counter?
For one thing, the Chinese are very clever and adaptable and resilient. The Americans have grown fat, lazy and stupid.
For another, the Chinese number over a billion, more than 4X the size of the US population.
For another, the Chinese are well-educated. In fact, China produces 4X more STEM graduates than the USA does. This is why China can kick America’s ass technologically.
For another, the Chinese are led by a very strong, stable, capable, intelligent government. The Americans are led by clowns.
For another, the Chinese do not waste valuable resources on fighting wars around the globe. They dedicate their resources to economic and technological development.
Russia deploys Nukes in Nicaragua if NATO deploys in Poland. Nicaragua’s Envoy in Moscow meet Lavrov
Poland will be gone with a first strike…
Is China a utopia? Chinese Quorans insist all criticism of China is western propaganda and then pull out Chinese reports of China being number 1 in everything in the universe, so is China an idyllic, serene, flawless, perfect utopia with no problems?
From my perspective, having been engrossed in China’s captivating push-and-pull between ancestral roots and state-of-the-art developments, I’ve witnessed a nation that works diligently to create an impressive narrative. China’s story is one of relentless rise, a tenacious pursuit of progress that never ceases to inspire.
However, through my observation, one understanding shines brighter than others: the concept of perfection—exemplified by utopia—is a relative construct. And the notion that China, or any country for that matter, can embody the picture-perfect embodiment of this construct is less a sign of achieving flawless harmony, and more of narrowing our understanding of societal development.
Yes, China has made profound strides in economic and technological innovation, shaping global dynamics in the process. But this doesn’t take away from the reality that like every other nation, China also portrays a myriad of issues that require continued attention and improvement. Recognizing these issues does not equate to slandering or ‘anti-China’ sentiment. Rather, it’s a testament to the objectivity that each one of us should aspire to uphold in our understanding of the world.
Being so deeply immersed in studying China and its intricacies, I’ve learned to strike the balance between applauding the commendable and voicing the critical. Rather than subscribing to the extremes of a black-and-white narrative, we ought to embrace a more nuanced understanding that depicts the world in its full palette of colors.
In truth, every nation, China included, is not a one-sided utopia or dystopia—it’s a mix of both, an evolving entity with every rising sun. This understanding, I believe, allows for a more enriching and insightful global dialogue, where we not only acknowledge the advancements made but also the shared human struggles, thereby paving the way to collective betterment. We ought to remember, the true essence of a utopia is not stagnation in perfection, but relentless movement towards growth and betterment.
Do you agree with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s warning of “overcapacity” in China’s new-energy vehicles, green energy, and semiconductor industries?
If we cut through all the diplomatic jargon and the maze of economic lexicon, the hullabaloo about “overcapacity” could be boiled down to a simple reality – the inability, or perhaps the unwillingness, to compete with China in the arena of new-energy vehicles, green energy, and semiconductors.
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“Overcapacity”, more accurately, is a carefully chosen euphemism, artfully spun to mask an uncomfortable truth. The effective translation? Dear China, your overachievement in these sectors is making us sweat, slow down, will you?
In a world moving towards clean energy and technological advancement at lightning speed, China, with its manufacturing prowess, strategically placed supply chains, and technological acumen, is rightfully setting pace. Yet, instead of acknowledging China’s capacity to transform sectors crucial for our future and learning to compete on this new playing field, we now see a slew of accusations and attempts to displace the goalpost.
China’s achievements are painted as a threat under the umbrella term “overcapacity”, effectively disregarding their commitment to efficient manufacturing and their contribution to tackling issues like climate change. This stance is not about market dynamics; it’s about obscuring the need for other nations to amplify their game.
The real focus, instead of creating a smokescreen of “overcapacity”, should be on channeling our resources towards innovations and strategies that enhance our competitiveness. This becomes a stepping stone towards a transformed economy where advancements by one should inspire progress in all, resulting in collective global growth and prosperity.
Equating China’s preparedness and competitiveness to “overcapacity”, is akin to grumbling about the speed of the lead runner in a marathon. Instead, it’s time to lace up and catch up. Through competition, we spur innovation, and in that frame of mind, China’s “overcapacity” isn’t a problem; it’s the benchmark.
Odessa, May 2. China crosses Biden red line. Saudi-US nuclear deal. EU warns Georgia
Odessa, May 2. China crosses Biden red line. Saudi-US nuclear deal. EU warns Georgia. Topic 1317.
Shouldn’t TikTok withdraw from the United States just like Google withdrew from China?
Should TikTok pack its bags and leave the United States, following Google’s footsteps in China? The answer to this query is more complex than a simple yes or no, stirring the cauldron of geopolitical, corporate, and ideological clash.
You might think, ‘Well, Google did it, so TikTok should too, right?’. But that would be oversimplifying the intricacies of the global digital landscape. Google’s exit from the Chinese market was propelled by the formidable ambiguity of state regulations and its inability to conform to China’s internet governance model. In contrast, TikTok’s troubles stem not from an unabiding nature towards regulations but from being caught in a proxy war of power and influence between two superpowers.
Moreover, TikTok represents more than just a social media app – it’s a frontiersman of technology that has successfully engaged millions of Americans with its unique user experience. The panoramic reach of the platform extends across young creators, independent artists, small businesses, and ordinary folks looking for a daily dose of laughs and phenomenons.
Turning off the TikTok tap doesn’t just dry out a stream of viral dances – it’s much more profound than that. It diminishes avenues for expression, creativity, and connection for a significant part of the American digital community.
To sum it up, the comparison of TikTok’s situation in America to Google’s in China only goes so far. Each company was thrown into different whirlwinds at different points in the digital era’s evolution, requiring distinct responses. Pulling the curtains down on TikTok’s U.S. operations is a dramatic act with far-reaching consequences that ripple beyond the business world, reaching each user deeply. And that’s something which requires serious consideration.
Is China winning the battle of economy and technology over the U.S.?
Nopes
US is losing the battle of economy and technology to China
I can illustrate this with three points
I. Forcing China to Innovate
In 2014 , China imported every chip made with 28 nm process or lower and 70% of the Chips made with the 45 nm process
The Chips were made in Taiwan and Korea, designed by the US and made by Dutch machines
China was utterly dependent on these nations for the chips and these nations were dependent on China for the consumer goods made using these Chips
In 2018, Dumbo Trump began to restrict the flow of Chips to Huawei and began the entities blacklist
He began the tariffs due to which to lower their costs, China began to start their own supply Chain
Fast forward to 2024
China makes 54% of its own 28 nm process chips (from 0% in 2014) and makes the entire indigenous equipment to make the 28 nm process commercially
China makes 69% of its own 45 nm process chips at a mere 32% cost
It’s ready to make fully indigenous 14 nm Chips and just made a 7 nm Chip with DUV technology that performs very well
Thus thanks to US stupidity – China managed to go from full importer of 14 nm, 28 nm Chips and 70% 45 nm Chips in 2014 to net exporter of 45 nm Chips and above plus develop fully Indigenous machinery for 14 nm Chips and make 7 nm Chips indigenously in a mere decade
Without US Push, Chinese Entities would simply have not been inclined to invest in Chipmaking as the Imports would have been higher yield at more efficient costs in the early years
II. Decoupling
In 2018, China used the USD for 94.6% of its Trade and settled in USD with 132 out of 143 BRI Nations
China used SWIFT for 99.3% of its transactions in USD
US had leverage control on China and China was utterly dependent on the Western financial system
Then US began to talk of decoupling and derisking and freeze others funds and steal Afghan money
Fast forward
China uses USD to settle only 57.5% of its trade using Local Swaps to settle 26% of its trade and the RMB and Ruble to settle 16% of its Trade
China uses CIPS and other systems now with Iran and Russia and Cuba and Venezuela
Thus again China is no longer entirely dependent on the Western System
III. Anti China Rhetoric
Mainlander Residents made up 27.7% of all Researchers in the USA in 2018. The Highest among foreign researchers
60% of all researchers in Critical Technology research were Chinese, bulk of them from the Mainland
They did a lot of path breaking innovation
Anti-Asian Atmosphere Chills Chinese Scientists Working in the U.S.
As universities such as Harvard and NYU put researchers under scrutiny, some schools seek to avoid a “loyalty oath.”
Then you had gutter scum like De Santis and Cotton who began Anti China Rhetoric
So Chinese brains decided to stay back home and not go to the US while Chinese Scientists and Researchers decided to go back home to China than be insulted and treated with suspicion in US
So in each case China adapted but it was US who started it all
When you have Idiots chosen by a corrupted form of democracy – they are no match for the High range meritocracy of China
An unidentified aircraft was spotted near Eglin Air Force Base, in the western Florida Panhandle Wednesday evening.
The aircraft has still not yet been identified as of 5:18 AM eastern US time, Thursday.
Unidentified aircraft over Eglin AFB 1
Unidentified aircraft over Eglin AFB 2 large
It doesn’t match any aircraft platform known to the United States.
Reuben Chicken
Reuben Chicken 9
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts (boneless)
1 (16 ounce) can sauerkraut, drained
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 cup Thousand Island dressing
Instructions
Place chicken in a greased 8-inch square pan.
Cover with sauerkraut.
Place cheese slices evenly on top.
Pour salad dressing evenly over cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours.
Reuben Chicken 8
Why is the United States afraid of China?
The United States is afraid of China, I should say, they are afraid of China’s rise.
The reasons are simple:
(1) China’s glorious history compels every nation to believe that it will rise again.
The Three Emperors and the Five Emperors to the present day, no matter how history is interpreted, China’s dynasties have time and again pushed China to the pinnacle of the history of human civilization, and these are unadulterated. Even arrogancy as the United States, had to go to choose to believe that can create such a civilization of the country must be back to the top. The search for a way out of civilization seems to be a historical destiny, and China, no matter when it is, is on the way to fulfilling that destiny. Today, it seems that China’s historical development is constantly proving one thing, namely, that the path we are taking is not to be the first in the world, not to compete for world hegemony, but to create a better quality civilization. This is exclusive to our historical self-confidence, because the history of Chinese civilization belongs to the future.
(2) China has all the qualifications to become a powerful country
Solid regime: Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been founded for 75 years, with its people living and working in peace and contentment, its society developing steadily, and its national strength climbing upward.
Sufficient land area: With a large land area and a wide range of terrain in the east, west, south, north and south, a strong country has both offensive and defensive territories, which are essential for China’s long-lasting peace and stability.
Abundant resources: China spans five temperature zones in the north and south, and is rich in land and sea resources. In peacetime, there are enough survival materials to satisfy the people’s life and national development, and in wartime, there are enough production materials to satisfy logistic supply and equipment manufacturing, so as to ensure that it will not be constrained by others.
Developed economy: Although China is still a developing country, its economy is the second largest in the world, with unlimited economic potential, and it is constantly reforming itself to meet the actual needs in the process of economic development, and i think, a developed economy is not about the ranking of figures but about future expectations.
Complete industrial system: Manufacturing is the foundation of a country, and China has the most complete industrial system in the world. Excellent production capacity creates wealth in times of peace and strengthens national defense in times of war. A complete industrial system allows China to produce everything imaginable in this era, although not all of which are the best, but China has the courage to never fear any monopoly or oppression, so that chinese can defend ourselves against all enemies again and again.
Modernized army: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constantly modernizing its equipment, but whether a country’s army is modernized depends not only on its equipment, but also on its beliefs：the PLA is the people’s army, it belongs to no one but the people and the country. The PLA is the people’s army, it belongs to no one but the people and the country. When an army engages in a meaningless war for the sake of domestic plutocrats and politicians, it will not be able to win for a long time, even if it is equipped with the most powerful equipment (yes, I’m talking about the US). A modernized army is used to defend the sovereignty and independence of the country, protect people’s freedom and safety of life and property, not to invade other countries, not to mention that it should not become a money-making machine and security for interest groups. That is why China’s army is modernized more deeply and has more combat power.
Rising innovation capacity: China never stops exploring and innovating in the fields of aerospace research and development, military science and technology research and development, Internet development, and cutting-edge science and technology. With the popularization of education and the improvement of talent pool, China will never use brute force if it can create the future with knowledge.
China has the Irreplaceable political status: World War II allies, the five permanent members of the United Nations, the historical powers of Asia, and the member countries of major world organizations, China’s political status has been consolidated and strengthened as a result of the fact that in the 75 years since its founding, China has defeated all incoming enemies, thus shocking the world to this day. Nowadays, no one can ignore it: China is bringing the world’s political, economic and cultural center back to Asia.
However, we have overlooked one point: China is such a peace-loving country (this is already the consensus of the international community), so why is the United States still so afraid of China and its rise?
Perhaps they are just afraid of being overtaken by China and of having their hegemony threatened.
What the United States needs to be clear about is that China will never become as despicable as the United States.
I often comment about my experiences in world line slides.
I talk about how things were different, and how they seemed strange. I talked about how sometimes my body would be different.
Like I would have a scar or a tattoo, or some other minor change. Like socks changing into black and white checkered race flag designs instead of my normal business socks and so on and so forth.
Once, I will tell you, that I had a heightened sense of smell. I could smell the most amazing things, but my consciousness could not process all of it. Which means that to me, everything in that world-line adventure smelled like an animal zoo to me.
It was, I’ll tell you the truth, quite an interesting experience.
Good for me that the trip on that line was short lived.
Ah. Ignorance is bliss.
Today…
Blinken to China to fuss about support for Russia
With ties somewhat stabliized, the visiting envoy wants China to stop sending dual-use goods – and to leash Iran
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Beijing soon to raise concerns about China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its purchase of Iranian oil products.
Blinken’s China trip was announced after Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran ended a three-day visit in Beijing on Tuesday.
Last week, US officials briefed reporters on materials China was providing to Russia, including drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools, Reuters reported.
Blinken is also set to discuss with Chinese officials the situation in the Middle East.
On April 11, Blinken requested to have a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to talk about the Iran-Israel conflict. Wang said China strongly condemned Israel’s attack on the Iranian Embassy in Syria, which happened on April 1.
On April 12, US President Joe Biden said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later.” He underscored Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. On April 13-14, Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones against Israel, which successfully intercepted most of them.
No full-blown Mideast war yet
Both Washington and Beijing called for de-escalation and a full-blown war has not yet broken out in the region.
(Indeed, if a report for which veteran American investigative reporter Seymour Hersh cites unnamed sources is correct, the attack was something of a charade, negotiated in advance, in which Iran was permitted a massive show of anger while inflicting very limited damage.)
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives on Monday passed bipartisan legislation called the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act by a 383-11 vote.
Jointly proposed by Democrat Josh Gottheimer and Republican Mike Lawler, the bill is aimed at making it more difficult for China to purchase Iranian petroleum and related products. It needs approval from the Senate before it can go to Biden for his signature.
“After Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, and as its regime of terror deepens ties to China, we are reminded that they cannot be trusted,” said Gottheimer.
”We must hold Iran and its backers accountable, especially China, the number one purchaser of Iranian petroleum,” said Lawler.
The duo said the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act, along with the SHIP Act passed last November, will kneecap Iran’s ability to export murder and instability across the Middle East region.
Also on Monday, Wang had a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Wang said China believed that Iran is fully cognizant of the situation and will avoid causing further turbulence while defending its sovereignty and dignity. He added that China will steadily advance practical cooperation in various fields with Iran to make greater progress in China-Iran relations.
A pundit responds
“The passage of the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act by the US House is a bargaining chip that is aimed at forcing China to compromise on Iranian issues,” You Feng, a visiting lecturer at Peking University and a military commentator, says in an article published on Wednesday. “It seems that if we do not fulfill the United States’ demand of exerting influence over Iran, the act will soon take effect.”
“But obviously,” she adds, “even if Blinken will raise the matter during his upcoming visit to Beijing, China is unlikely to give up its cooperation with Russia and Iran. The reason is simple. Our cooperation with Russia and Iran is normal trade. The United States’ unreasonable demand directly hurts our interests, and this is unacceptable.”
She says China will definitely fight back if the US imposes sanctions. She says Blinken should consider Beijing’s opinions, before departing for China, instead of presenting a bunch of unreasonable demands.
Overcapacity
Last June, Blinken visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping after US-China relations had been impacted by the Chinese spy balloon incident, the US chip export ban and Taiwan issues in early 2023.
Since then, more US and Chinese officials have held meetings. A face-to-face meeting between Xi and US President Joe Biden in San Francisco last November also helped stabilize Sino-US relations. But the US sanctioned more Chinese firms that shipped products to Russia. It unveiled new chip export rules against China last October.
Now Washington is urging the European Union to take actions to avoid being hurt by China’s industrial overcapacity, especially in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.
During a meeting with Chinese Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz raised the issue of China’s overcapacity and said that Germany wants open and fair markets.
Xi asked the German side to look at the matter objectively. He said a surge in China’s clean-technology exports can help the world tackle inflation and achieve its green goals.
“The notion that China’s overcapacity harms the global market is a complete fallacy,” Li Jian, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a regular media briefing on Wednesday. “Those who spread that narrative to justify protectionism have nothing to gain from it and will only destabilize and disrupt industrial and supply chains, hinder the world’s green transition and curb the growth of emerging sectors.”
An article published by China National Radio’s flagship radio channel called The Voice of China said that the accusation of “overcapacity” is another form of the West’s “decoupling” with China. It said US politicians want to use this campaign to gain benefit in this year’s presidential election.
Li Daokui, director of the Center for China in the World Economy (CCWE) at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management, was quoted as saying in the article that all countries would subsidize their new industries during the development stage.
He said the US cannot accuse China of subsidizing its new energy sector while it is openly subsidizing its chip industry.
“A ‘super-cycle’ exists in EVs and renewable energy equipment as excess supply in certain parts of their supply chain is coupled with yet-to-materialized demand,” Chim Lee, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, says in a research note on Monday. “These sectors are highly politicized globally. Lower prices can be perceived as the result of government support, but they are also key to accelerating the green transition.”
They are freaking out
When did you realize small things matter?
One day while leaving the office at 8.30pm. The security guard looked at me with the phone in his hand in a confused state. Curious I was, I went near him and from there, the conversation started.
Me :What happened? Why are you looking so confused?
He : Sir I tried to withdraw money from our office ATM but the transaction was failed due to timed out. Then I got the message from the bank that my money was deducted from my account!
Me: Don’t worry they will refund the money within one or two days.
He : Sir, but I didn’t get any message about the refund. How will I get? Also the bank is far away from here so I cannot go immediately.
Me : Don’t worry bhiaya I too faced similar kind of problem but I got refunded within 3 days. So don’t worry.
He : Okay sir. Thank you
Then after few days I saw him running towards me and he said “Sir thank you so much, I got my money refunded”
Me : Oh great! Why are you saying thanks to me?
He : You only said about this refund. Otherwise I would have taken leave to visit bank next day. You saved my one day salary.
Me : Oh! its OK bhaiya. Happy that you got the money back.
Which I thought to be a small piece of information, after seeing his smiling face, only then I realized how big it was.
SO YES these kind of small things matters a lot to me and gives satisfaction!!
Power
What are some examples of great marketing?
WeChat, which is owned by Tencent, was launched in 2011, and its programming team gradually added new features to attract new users to switch from QQ Mobile (also owned by Tencent) to WeChat.
However, compared to Alibaba’s offerings, it was weak because it still did not have a wallet and payment function.
The Guangzhou-based 10-person team led by Alan Zhang 张小龙 worked on a programming solution to this hole in WeChat’s functionality, while the business team worked with the Chinese government to enable digital functionality by plugging into their bank accounts.
The product marketing team needed to do something big in order to really put WeChat Wallet on the map. They decided to launch around Chinese New Year 2014 so that they could leverage a traditional Chinese custom, and turn it digital. During Chinese New Year, the Chinese traditionally hand out red envelopes stuffed with cash (in new bills) to children.
The strategy was brilliantly simple: WeChat Wallet would hand out digital red envelopes. In order for the campaign to succeed, WeChat Wallet would have to connect with a minimum of two bank accounts: one person to send the money, and the other person to receive the money. Usually, the number was much higher than two because adults would have to give New Year’s money to more than one child or teenager.
The product marketing team focused on seeding a significant number of early adopters so that they could get others to connect their bank accounts so that they could receive money. In order to simplify the money amount selection process, buttons were marked in the amounts of 8, 10, 88, and 100 yuan; most of the time, people just selected a default amount to transfer.
The marketing campaign immediately went viral and was a tremendous success, and within two months, more than 100 million bank accounts were connected to WeChat Wallet. At the same time, merchants and small businesses applied for QR codes so that they could accept payment online and offline by just providing a QR code to scan.
Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, who is a strong competitor with Tencent, complimented the success of this launch, and in internal meetings, referred to it as a “digital Pearl Harbor attack” on Alibaba because it was caught completely by surprise. Coming from Tencent’s main competitor in the China market, it was a true compliment.
Within two years, Chinese society went largely cashless. Now, in China, most of the people who pay in cash are travelers from outside China. Everyone else uses either Tencent’s or Alipay’s digital wallet which they carry in their mobile phones.
The social repercussions have been huge: e-commerce and delivery services have taken off in China, and the volume and velocity of transaction is much larger than in the US.
I feel your pain fellas…
New PLA unit underscores intelligentized warfare shift
PLA-ISF aims to better integrate emerging AI, quantum and other technologies into multi-domain operational concept against the US and its allies
China has just unveiled its People’s Liberation Army-Information Support Force (PLA-ISF), a rebranding of its previous PLA-Strategic Support Force (PLA-SSF) to reflect new responsibilities and capabilities and guide the military’s technology-driven integrated combat concept, Chinese state media reports said.
In contrast to traditional PLA services such as the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force, the PLA’s strategic arms, such as the Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force and Joint Logistics Support, focus on more specialized areas critical to modern warfare.
PLA-SSF, founded in 2015, was initially tasked with developing and implementing most of the PLA’s space-based capabilities and counter-space operations. Stressing the PLA-ISF’s broader responsibilities, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that the renamed PLA-ISF will be crucial in advancing the PLA’s modernization and effectiveness in modern warfare.
Xi also stated that the PLA-ISF would be integrated into the PLA’s joint operations system, feature unique Chinese characteristics and accelerate the development of integrated combat capabilities more effectively.
China may have rebranded its PLA-SSF into the PLA-ISF in line with its evolving strategic thought and changing operational strategy.
In December 2022, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) noted that the PLA-SSF was created to centralize the PLA’s information support units. Before the creation of the PLA-SSF, each PLA service branch had its own information support units, potentially resulting in disjointed support efforts that hampered rather than helped operations.As part of the 2015 reforms establishing the PLA-SSF, China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) took over the roles of the PLA general staff and general political departments while those departments’ responsibilities for cyberwarfare, space, electronic warfare and psychological operations were transferred to the PLA-SSF.The SCMP report mentions that before the PLA-SSF’s rebranding into the PLA-ISF, it had two principal departments – the Space Systems Department, which runs intelligence and communication satellites, and the Network Systems Department, which is tasked with cyber operations, electronic warfare and signals intelligence (SIGINT).The rebranded PLA-ISF may reflect an evolution in Chinese strategic thought from “winning informationized wars” to “intelligentized warfare,” which in turn implies a broader mission set for the PLA-SSF, necessitating a name change to reflect increased responsibilities and capabilities.China’s 2015 Military Strategy describes the foundation of “winning informationized wars,” noting the application of information technology in all military operations.
It says that “preparations for military struggle” (PMS) are under the context of winning “informationized local wars,” emphasizing that information is not just vital but will play a dominant role in winning future conflicts.
Building on the premise of China’s 2015 Military Strategy, the 2019 China’s National Defense in the New Era white paper notes that technologies such as AI, quantum information, big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) mark an evolution from “informationized” to “intelligentized” warfare.
Koichiro Takagi mentions in an April 2022 War on the Rocks article that the main idea of China’s “intelligentized warfare” concept is to use AI to directly influence the will of top policymakers, military commanders and citizens.
Takagi says that “intelligence dominance” will become a new area of struggle in intelligentized warfare, emphasizing that China envisions using AI for military purposes differently than the US and its allies.
From a political standpoint, Yatsuzuka notes that the Xi administration’s implementation of intelligentized warfare signifies a shift toward a centralized decision-making process in the PLA.
This process, he says, aims to uphold the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) control over the PLA and secure its alignment with the party’s goals and ideology.
He also mentions that the need for centralized control is emphasized by integrating military reforms with broader party policies, such as the Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) strategy.
Further, Yatsuzuka says that the PLA’s emphasis on political education and control through political commissars is becoming increasingly crucial as warfare becomes more technologically advanced and specialized.
From a military standpoint, Yatsuzuka says that to move toward intelligentized warfare, the PLA must establish integrated information systems to effectively manage the diverse aspects of modern warfare, including land, air, sea, space, cyber, cognitive and electromagnetic domains.
He mentions that effective utilization of AI and real-time data processing is crucial for future operations as it requires a robust data flow and analysis framework across various platforms and military units.
Yatsuzuka stresses the importance of a consolidated strategic directive incorporating inputs from multiple military and civilian sources to enable a united and adaptable response driven by centralized military leadership.
The rebranding of China’s PLA-SSF into PLA-ISF may also reflect the need to integrate information warfare and emerging technologies and capabilities into a multi-domain operational concept.
In October 2023, Asia Times reported on China’s Multi-Domain Precision Warfare (MDPW) concept, which utilizes AI and big data advances to identify weaknesses in the US operational system and launch precision strikes. It also tests and improves AI-driven capacities to align with China’s military doctrine.
China’s intelligent warfare strategy is expected to involve a combination of human and machine command and control systems. Humans will have limited control over autonomous weapons and the focus will be on expanding warfare to areas where humans cannot operate, such as the cognitive domain.
In practice, MDPW may seek to dismantle and destroy CJADC2’s kill chain by targeting critical information nodes such as aircraft and satellites through physical attack, targeting information networks by jamming, electronic warfare and cyberattack. It may also seek to disrupt decision-making within and between the US and its allies.
MDPW may capitalize on the fixed and centralized approach of US kill chains, which lack diversity in sharing information among different components, making them vulnerable and arguably unsuitable for a large-scale conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.
Survive
What is the sweetest revenge you’ve ever taken?
This is actually pretty cool.
So I worked with this person. She stole 80$. I was a server. There was nothing I could do and I wasn’t getting my money back and I knew it.
Months later I had found a new job. I get a call from my old place of employment. “Yes I need a cab to so and so”. I recognized the voice. I was the cab driver.
I knew it was her.
I go anyway. When I arrive there she is smiling. I said 80$ to get in this cab babe. And I just looked at her and smiled back.
”You can’t do that. I know the company. I’m calling you in. I know the owner”. I laugh and I’m like yeah I know him too. He’s the guy that hired me. But if you want in this particular cab, there’s an 80$ deposit.
Ha I’m like go right ahead but if you don’t wanna walk home in the rain there’s an 80$ up front fee.
Now this whole time I have the window cracked. And literally nothing else is unlocked.
She was so mad.
I smiled ear to ear and says hey remember fucking me out of 80 dollars? She said fuck you you’re a cabbie now and you have a duty to customer service. I said well just slip a hundo through the window.
She was absolutely livid. You can’t do this. This is an assault. I NEED A RIDE HOME…. NOW. I was like yep I need my money back honey!
But what could she do? I drove away smiling. Karma, sometimes, is a mother!
Russia Issues Economic Ultimatum, China Drops Stimulus Bombshell To Counter G7 Threats
What are some examples of companies that outsourced or offshored to lower costs and it backfired?
On the morning of May 21, 2014, an Indian system admin working at HCL logged on to one of the servers of Norwegian petroleum company Statoil.
By accident, he had logged on to a production server that was giving him some warning messages. Not completely understanding the messages, he decided to reboot the server. Despite additional warnings that a reboot was inadvisable, he went along with it.
On the other side of the globe, at the Mongstad facility, the largest oil refinery in Norway, a tanker was being loaded with 50 million liters of gasoline. Enough to fill up the fuel tanks of about a million cars.
Suddenly, the operation came to a halt. Gasoline started pouring violently into the ocean. Boatloads of it.
The night shift crew monitoring the facility looked on in horror as millions of dollars worth of liquid was disappearing by the minute.
The situation could quickly turn into an environmental disaster that would wreak havoc on the local sea life.
Fortunately, the crew at the facility reacted quickly and was able to avert a major disaster by overriding the operation manually.
A few years earlier, Statoil had outsourced all maintenance of server infrastructure to India. The incident at Mongstad, as dramatic as it was, wasn’t a one-off occurence.
Several times, Statoil’s various facilities had to be evacuated because of compromised IT security and server shutdowns. The company executives now feared they could face incidents that would lead to loss of life.
It turned out that about 100 consultants in India had admin access to all of Statoil’s production servers. Yes, all of them. None of the consultants had been background-checked.
Statoil (now Equinor) is the company that forms the backbone of the Norwegian economy, one of the strongest economies in the world. The amount of damage these guys could do to the Norwegian economy and society as a whole if they wanted to was cataclysmic.
In 2017, Statoil was in the midst of a global oil crisis, with plummeting oil prices. Yet, despite the red numbers in the balance sheets and strong focus on cost-savings, the company decided to homesource IT infrastructure to Norway again, even if this came at a massive cost.
It wasn’t so much that the Indian consultants lacked the technical knowledge to manage the servers. The main problem was that they didn’t have the domain knowledge to understand what the servers were actually doing. They often didn’t appreciate the gravity of the situation. Communicating this across the globe through timezones and language barriers proved difficult.
The entire outsourcing experiment ended up being a massive failure, even though it was supposed to save the company billions of dollars on paper.
Men at work
When the US threatens China with so many sanctions, why doesn’t China retaliate?
It’s because the Sanctions are toothless
For instance we all heard of the ban on Xinjiang Cotton by many brands across the world
Xinjiang cotton: Western clothes brands vanish as backlash grows
Companies including H&M and Nike are targeted for showing concern over Uighur forced labour claims.
Yet it was puzzling to see that Cotton Exports from China from Xinjiang rose by 10.7% in 2023 from 2021 after being down by 4.6% in 2022
Then I saw the fine print
Imports and Sales of Xinjiang Cotton produced through Forced Labor in contravention of Human Rights after 30 June 2021 may attract Sanctions
This means any order signed until 29/6/2021 is legal and free from any sanction
And most big importers, they don’t place orders for Cotton every 2–3 months or even 6 months
They place orders for 5–10 years at a time
So most orders signed between Xinjiang Cotton producers and US Importers and European Importers that were signed before 30/6/2021 are still active and unaffected by any sanctions
These orders will likely continue to run until minimum 2026 and maximum 2031
So the Xinjiang Cotton orders will cease only from 2031
That’s a long time away
By then Biden, Trump won’t be in power and maybe the next President can repeal the order
Either way 2031 is a long way off
So despite all the noise, in reality the Sanctions won’t bite until 2031 or earliest 2026
Likewise the US have demanded that NVDIA not sell their A100 Chips to China without permission and license
So NVDIA simply modified their A100 and H100 designs, reduced density by 1/16th and sold the new GPUs as H800
China placed orders from 1 February 2023 for the next 3 years
Sanctions cannot affect existing orders per WTO regulations and Free Trade Law.
Thus China has a continuous stock of deliveries of the H800 GPU until 2026 minimum
So Sanctions won’t affect any commercial product for minimum 2–5 years because of existing contracts
Only Military Sanctions will work because delivery does take 5–10 years and most orders aren’t fully commercial so the WTO argument can’t be used
Hits them hard with reality
Have you ever been treated so poorly at work that you left without notice and never returned? What were the circumstances that caused you to leave, and did anyone say anything after you left?
I worked in a call center for a highly respected financial institution, and was treated more poorly than when I worked for Subway when I was in college.
First of all, my team were required to arrive for work 15 minutes early in order to get signed in to our computers and phone systems, but were not allowed to clock in until our shift actually started.
That was the least of my issues, however. My manager was a horribly arrogant woman who only liked around five people on her 20 person team. If you weren’t one of her favorites, you were treated like something yucky she stepped in that morning.
While her favorites were allowed to put a call on hold and go to her desk to ask a question, I would be reprimanded for leaving a call on hold while seeking an answer, then reprimanded for not knowing the answer.
I got in trouble for constantly eating at my desk, which was untrue. Toward the end of my shift I might grab a snack from the vending machine, but I ate any substantial meals during lunch or designated breaks. I had coworkers who always had full meals at their desks, which they would be eating while they were on the phone with clients. I’m seriously talking bacon, eggs, pancakes, and hashbrowns……
The final straw was when I was reprimanded for not handling a call professionally. A client called in and was immediately verbally abusive. I did my best to calm him down and attempt to address his issues, but the abusive behavior progressed throughout the call. At around the five minute mark, he started telling me that I should call him “Daddy” and that he knew that I was a bad girl, among other inappropriate things. I handled the call as well as I could, but I wasn’t incredibly friendly by the end of the call.
When I got to work the next day my Manager called me into her office. It turns out that the client had called to complain about me because I had been “very rude” to him during our call. She told me that she had reviewed the call with three other Managers and could not excuse my behavior during the call. She would have to write me up.
I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. This was not a phone sex number, it was a freaking brokerage house. I asked her how I should have handled the call. Should I have called the client “Daddy?” Should I have agreed that I’d been bad and asked him to spank me? She simply said that I could have handled the call more professionally, although she didn’t offer me any coaching toward *how* I should have handled the call.
I grabbed an empty box, packed up my cubicle, and walked out. Apparently she was fired about a week later. The team that I was on was the third team that she had been moved to since she had been promoted to Manager. She had been moved due to complaints regarding harrassment and favoritism, and upper management finally realized that she actually was a terrible Manager and not worth their trouble anymore.
The dangers
Chinese firms to assemble EVs in Europe, duck tariffs
Chery plans to purchase an old Nissan plant in Barcelona and turn it into its first manufacturing site in Europe
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers are pushing forward their plans to building production capacity in Europe in order to evade potential tariffs that would be imposed by the European Union.
Chery Automobile President Yin Tongyue said Sunday that his company will soon purchase an old plant of Nissan’s in Barcelona, Spain, and turn it into its first manufacturing site in Europe. He said the reopening of the facility, which stopped running in 2021, can create 1,600 jobs.
He said Chery is discussing partnerships with two European brands, with one of the deals to be closed soon. Chinese media said Chery is having a discussion with Stellantis, the Italian auto conglomerate that owns Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot.
Spain’s Industry Ministry said an agreement for Chery to start production in the country will be formalized in the coming days.
Chery is still talking with the Italian government about building a factory there but there has been any update yet.
In the first quarter of this year, the number of the company’s exported cars rose 40.9% year-on-year to 253,418 units. The company is now focusing on markets in South America, the Middle East and Russia and will explore those in Spain, Italy Poland and the United Kingdom later this year.
Other key Chinese EV makers also have their manufacturing plans in Europe. Last December, the Shenzhen-based BYD said it will build a passenger car factory in Szeged, Hungary. It said the facility will be the first of its kind built by a Chinese automotive company in Europe and will have an advanced car production line.
Great Wall Motor said last year that it was mulling whether to locate its first European plant in Germany, Hungary or the Czech Republic.
SAIC Motor Corp said it was considering setting up a plant in the United Kingdom although the country has already left the European Union.
Meanwhile, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), a Beijing-based industry group, said the 13-month investigation launched by the European Union last September against Chinese EV makers is not transparent and is in violation of global trading rules.
In a hearing with the European Commission in Brussels on April 11, CCCME Vice President Shi Yonghong, said he was concerned that the findings of the EU probe of Chinese EV imports would be distorted and unobjective.
Shi said the European Commission had departed from its principle of selecting for study the top Chinese EV makers, such as BYD, Geely and SAIC, and seemed to have purposely focused on three Chinese-owned producers to reach predetermined findings of subsidization.
He said the biased sample selection has tainted the entire investigatory process. He added that the probe was a perfect example of the EU’s double standards as it avoided taking any action against the US$400 billion of subsidies granted by the US government and also billions of euros of subsidies granted by the EU to the EV and battery sectors.
A spokesperson of the European Commission said the investigation and its findings would fully respect EU and international obligations. He said the EC will make sure this anti-subsidy investigation is thorough, fair and fact-based.
Impact of tariffs
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who finished her six-day China trip on April 9, told CNN on Sunday that the US will not take “anything off the table” in response to China’s manufacturing capacity, including the possibility of additional tariffs to stop the influx of cheap Chinese goods into the US market.
“We’re concerned about the possibility of surges in Chinese exports to our markets in areas where they have a great deal of overcapacity,” She said.
She said she has told Chinese officials that China’s overcapacity problem is a concern not only to the US, but also to other countries and regions, such as Europe and Japan, and even to emerging markets including India, Mexico and Brazil.
As the Trump administration imposed an extra 25% tariff on Chinese goods on top of the usual 2.5% tariff in 2019, Chinese EV and battery firms found it very difficult to develop their US markets.
They then turned to build factories in Mexico, which signed a free trade agreement with the US and Canada in 2018, trying to evade the extra 25% tariff. But Republican candidate Donald Trump said last month that he will impose a 100% tariff on Chinese cars that are made in Mexico if he wins the presidential election in November.
Now Chinese automakers are accelerating their plans to localize their production capacity in Europe, in case the EU imposes extra tariffs on EVs made in China later this year.
About one in five EVs sold in Europe last year were made in China, according to Transport & Environment (T&E), a Brussels-based non-profit organization. The figure is expected to grow to about 25% in 2024.
More than half of Chinese imports into Europe are still western brands, such as Tesla, Dacia and BMW, T&E says – but Chinese brands, including SAIC’s MG, Geely’s Polestar and BYD, could reach 11% of the European EV market in 2024 and 20% in 2027, up from about 7.5% last year.
“Tariffs will force carmakers to localize EV production in Europe, and that’s a good thing because we want these jobs and skills,” said Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility supply chains at T&E. “But tariffs won’t shield legacy carmakers for long.”
She said a higher tariff should be accompanied by a regulatory push to increase local production of EVs, including electrification targets for company car fleets by 2039, on top of the agreed 100% clean car goal in 2035.
No dumping
After European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced a probe into unfair Chinese competition in the EV sector on September 13 last year, German Economic Minister Robert Habeck welcomed the decision.
But then German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, on September 28, that he was not convinced about the need to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs. He said that, since Germany wants to sell its cars in all places in the world, it should also open its market to foreign firms.
On a visit to China on Monday, he told Chinese students in Shanghai that Germany wants open and fair auto markets. He said Chinese cars will still be in Germany and Europe at some point if there is fair competition with no dumping, overproduction or infringement of copyrights.
According to the MarkLines Data Center, German automakers sold 462,720 vehicles in China last year, up 3.8% from 2022. They accounted for about 17.8% of the Chinese markets.
Chinese brands sold 1.46 million vehicles domestically with a 56.2% market share. Japanese brands sold 382,900 vehicles in China with a 14.7% market share.
Stroganoff Soup
beef stroganoff soup 102 1
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 ½poundsstew meat
6cupsbeef broth – (I used low sodium)
4tablespoonsworcestershire sauce
½teaspoonItalian seasoning blend
1 ½teaspoonsonion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste – (I use about 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper)
½cup sour cream
8ouncesmushrooms – sliced, (about 1 cup sliced mushrooms)
8ouncesshort noodles – cooked, (egg noodles, rotini, and cellentani work great)
⅓cupcold water
¼cupcorn starch
beef stroganoff soup 101 2
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
In your instant pot, combine stew meat, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Place lid on the instant pot, make sure the vent nozzle is in the non-venting position, press “pressure cook” and set timer to 1 hour.
Move venting nozzle to the vent position and allow to vent until the button drops down. Remove lid, and switch Instant Pot to “soup” mode. Stir together sour cream and 1 cup of broth from the Instant Pot until smooth. Stir mixture back into the pot along with the mushrooms. Whisk together cold water and corn starch in a bowl.
Once soup is boiling, whisk corn starch mixture into the Instant Pot until soup thickens. Stir in noodles. Taste, add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Garnish with cracked black pepper, fresh thyme or parsley, and grated parmesan cheese and serve.
Slow Cooker Instructions
In your slow cooker, combine stew meat, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on high 3 hours, or low 6 hours.
Stir together sour cream and 1 cup of broth from the slow cooker until smooth. Stir mixture back into the pot along with the mushrooms. Whisk together cold water and corn starch in a bowl, then stir into the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 1 hour longer. Taste, add salt and pepper to taste if needed. Add cooked noodles. Garnish with cracked black pepper, fresh thyme or parsley, and grated parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes
Flavor tip: Add a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes.
beef stroganoff soup 105
“While we’ve been gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we’ve been getting some really chilly weather in the past couple of weeks and soup has become a regular on the menu. I made a batch of this Beef Stroganoff Soup last week and I’ve been craving it ever since the last bowl vanished.
I even took some over to my Dad who lives pretty close to us, not really sure how he would respond to a soup version of an old classic my Mother has been fixing for years… He completely loved it!
I’d dropped off a couple of other dishes along with the soup and he said he sampled them all and was – and I quote – “particularly enamored with the stroganoff soup!” Because my dad is awesome and talks like that in real life.”
collage
Should I make this in the Instant Pot or a Slow Cooker?
I’ve included instructions for making this easy Beef Stroganoff Soup in either the Instant Pot or the Slow Cooker. Both methods work great, it really just depends on your personal preference and whether you have an Instant Pot or not.
Side note: If you haven’t made the leap to getting and Instant Pot yet (*and this is not sponsored in any way!!!*) you have got to get one. You may not know this but the Instant Pot has a setting for slow cooking so it really is an all-in-one. BAM. Let whoever drew your name for Christmas know, this is what you need.
What cut of beef should I use?
My favorite meat to use for this Beef Stroganoff Soup is stew meat, because it gets so juicy and fall-apart tender in the Instant Pot on the pressure cooker setting (only takes an hour!) or after slow cooking in the crockpot all day. It’s also really budget friendly and makes this meal super affordable. Win win!
What type of noodles should I use?
Any short noodle works great! Egg noodles are really common with traditional stroganoff and taste great in this soup, my favorite though are twirly noodles as I like to call them, or Callentani. You could also use penne, ronini, or macaroni elbows!
Can I cook the noodles in the Instant Pot/Slow Cooker?
Technically, yes, you can cook them right in the Instant Pot/Slow Cooker. Personally, I prefer to cook my noodles separately for two reasons. 1) You need to add extra liquid to the recipe to account for the liquid that is absorbed by the noodles while cooking. My issue with this is that the excess dilutes the soup and makes it less flavorful. 2) It gets tricky with short noodles like these to know exactly how much cooking time they need, while making sure they don’t overcook. The whole point of a crockpot recipe in my opinion is to not have to keep a close eye on it the whole time, and to say hey this can cook for 6ish or 7ish hours. If you’ve got noodles in there though, that extra half hour or whatnot can turn your noodles to mush.
beef stroganoff soup 104
Chinese warn of Taiwan crisis from US military aid
‘Crossing red lines – just like racing cars on a cliff’s edge, where a crash is almost inevitable’
Beijing has expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition after the United States House of Representatives passed a bill that will grant military aid to Taiwan and countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
The US House on April 20 passed four bills in a US$95 billion package to boost the defense ability of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. About $60.84 billion of funding will be earmarked for Ukraine to counter Russia while $26.38 bill be used to support Israel to defend itself against Iran and its proxies.
One of the bills consists of $8.12 billion for Taiwan and Indo-Pacific countries to “counter communist China and ensure strong deterrence in the region.”
The aid includes:
a $3.3 billion funding to develop submarine infrastructure, including investments in dry dock construction;
$2 billion in a foreign military financing program for Taiwan and other key allies and security partners in the Indo-Pacific confronting Chinese aggression; and
$1.9 billion to replenish defense articles and defense services provided to Taiwan and regional partners.
The remaining $920 million will be spent on strengthening US military capabilities in the region, enhancing the production and development of artillery and critical munitions and providing additional flexibility for Foreign Military Financing loans and loan guarantees.
Already, on February 8, the US Senate had passed its own $95 billion package to support Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and reports are that the Senate will now accept the House version and the package will soon be submitted to US President Joe Biden for approval, whereupon it will become law.
“The US insists on passing and signing a bill containing negative content related to Taiwan, seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs and seriously violating the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques,” Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said Monday. “We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this.”
Chen also said the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party in Taiwan, is trying to rely on the US and use force to seek independence but such an attempt is doomed to failure.
“By providing military aid to Taiwan, the US is trying to stir up a crisis and confrontation in the Taiwan Strait and related region,” Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times in an interview. “The US will then use the chaos and conflicts it creates to make countries in East Asia and Western Pacific regions lean to its side and form an alliance.”
Li said such a move will lead to division in the Asia Pacific region, undermine the important foundation for the stability of Sino-US relations and seriously damage the existing order and security environment for shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
US commitment
The Taipei government and local media were cheered by the newly-approved US military aid. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the US Congress for approving it.
Taiwanese Premier Chen Chien-jen said Monday that a peaceful and stable Taiwan Strait is important to peace and prosperity in the world.
He said Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries, including the US and all countries in the free democratic camp, to safeguard peace and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region and make the Taiwan Strait area more stable.
The approval of the military aid for Taiwan reaffirmed Washington’s “rock-solid” commitment to helping the island defend itself, especially when this year marks the 45th anniversary of the passage of the US-Taiwan Relations Act, said Anny Hsiao, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), a Washington-based organization of Taiwanese Americans.
She said the US should give up its “strategic ambiguity” on the China-Taiwan matter and adopt “strategic clarity.”
For several decades, Washington has remained ambiguous about whether it will provide military support to Taiwan if the island is attacked by mainland China. Last year, Biden said on several occasions that the US will support Taiwan if a war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait.
‘Salami tactics’
Xie Feng, Chinese Ambassador to the US, delivered a speech on April 20 at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024.
He warned the US of the consequences of interfering with China’s internal affairs and damaging China’s interests on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet) and the South China Sea.
”Applying salami tactics and crossing red lines on issues bearing on others’ core interests is just like racing cars on a cliff’s edge, where a crash is almost inevitable,” he said.
“The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive issue in China-US relations. The so-called ‘Taiwan independence’ is a dead end, and the one-China principle is a red line not to be crossed,” he said.
He added that it’s natural for the US and China to have differences but it’s also important for both sides to properly manage their differences and respect each other’s core interests and major concerns.
Meanwhile, US State Secretary Antony Blinken is set to visit Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, invited by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
A senior US State Department official told the media that Blinken during his China trip will convey Washington’s deep concerns” over China’s aid for Russia’s defense industrial base.
It is expected that Blinken’s topics to be discussed with his Chinese counterparts will be Taiwan issues, Chinese industrial overcapacity and the Middle East conflicts.
The Plague
Did you ever see karma hit someone who deserved it so befittingly that it was eerie?
Ah yes, I love telling this story.
A little after the pandemic when stores were able to take people in again, I was working at an essential store. Well, one thing about me when it comes to work, I learn to do everything, so I can do everything. Well one day , heavy traffic in store and I’m on my toes. I’m all over the place. We are getting slammed with people and their stimulus checks lol one of the managers kept telling me to go on lunch but everytime I tried someone needed help, so there I would go . It got to a point where they were about to write me up, As I was helping two families, I had to apologize and excuse myself. Well as I’m walking out about to go to my car , my coworker stops me and says hey this guy needs help. The manager is staring at me, so I say “I’m sorry I can’t , have you tried to radio it in?”
The guy then says “what do you mean you can’t? Is it really that much work?”
I chuckled and said “no sir but I’m on the verge of getting a wri-”
Guy- “then stop wasting time and help me, all your doing is pushing a cart. I haven’t seen you work at all”
Me- “I really can’t , I’m about to get a write up if I don’t go to lunch”
Guy- “you just don’t want to work , lazy m********ker”
Me-”have a good day “ *walked out*
He walked out behind me and he still kept shouting profanity and a racial slur . I turned back around and at that moment all his stuff started falling off the flatbed(he had his flat stacked too high) and onto the gravel outside, his other cart rolling down the steep parking lot ended up getting swiped by an 18 wheeler.
It’s like the stars and planets aligned perfectly on that Sunday afternoon
Decisive: Upon $61 Billion in new U.S. Aid to Ukraine, Russia Declares It Must Now Also Take Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts
As a direct result of the United States approving $61 Billion in new military aid to Ukraine, Russia has announced they are now required to take two additional states of Ukraine – Sumy and Kharkiv — to assure Russian national security.
The aid package from the United States includes long-range ATACMS missiles, which can be used to strike targets inside traditional Russia, so Russia needs a safety zone to protect itself from such launches.
The map below shows the two additional Oblasts (states) that Russia must now take from Ukraine to assure its security:
Sumy Kharkiv oblasts
In response to the new Aid sent to Ukraine and the attacks by mercenaries on Belgorod, the Russian Army will now expand the objectives of the Special Military Operation (SMO).
The new regions, Kharkov and Sumy will be the main focus of the new Group N (north).
Russia Army Group N North
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
This conflict is escalating. U.S. meddling, and the massive amount of new US financial aid for military gear, is causing it to get worse.
Zelensky could have at least bargained to cede the Donbass for Ukraine’s neutrality but I guess more regions will now be incorporated into the Russian Federation.
What has someone done to you that you won’t be able to forgive?
When my wife walked out on me, it wasn’t the fact that she abandoned everything and everyone related to “us” that hit me the most (and obliterated “us” in the act), but what she had done in the months prior to her parting with me.
The things she never told me. The things she always vehemently denied.
She broke up with me over the phone, separated by 500 miles of land and water which would become 500 light years soon. (It’s funny how far people can end up from each other once they have been so close — as if they become repelling magnets once pulled apart.)
And only over the phone was she able to admit that she had cheated all along, and slept with him for the first time on her birthday, while I was attending a conference. To make matters worse, before sleeping with him, they had met in the very pub where the former “we” had spend our first date.
(Anyways.)
If there was anything left of “us” whatsoever, her sudden urge of getting as much money as possible from me totally destroyed it. It left me wondering who she really was — and who she had become.
Even when it turned out she was dying from late stage breast cancer more than ten years later, there was something inside me that could and would not forgive her. Even when I saw her in the flesh, with half of her already in the shadows and the rest of her trying to grab on, realizing that all was lost.
Even when I saw her empty eyes, broken and desperate, I just couldn’t.
Because for me, she had died a long time ago.
The former she, that is.
That offends me
How did other homeless people treat you while being homeless?
I was homeless for about 2 years in the 2010s. it was a very shitty experience for me. i was depressed most of the time and struggling not to just end it all. it was very hard to get a job without a stable address and I got stuck doing dead end temp jobs for very little money. didn’t really have to worry about food because so many church groups came by the shelter to feed us. Plus no matter how nicely you dressed and behaved, it seemed that everyone could tell that you were homeless. and never forget the discrimination towards you by the majority of society.
In fact, It’s miserable. The boredom is ruthless. Once you’ve found something to eat, your work for the day is done. It’s the most lonely feeling you’ll ever experience. Night comes, you see people out with their friends, then you’ll see them go home, and you’re just looking for somewhere dark and safe to sleep. The only way I can describe it is being completely outside the human experience. Your old friends will stop being around you, and your new friends aren’t friends at all. You’ll become acutely aware of every little thing you used to take for granted.
I knew people who claimed to have “good” homeless experiences, but most of them were homeless by choice…why, I’ll never understand. It’s uncomfortable and oppressively lonely.
Why do people break rules in India while they follow all the rules of the country as soon as they land there?
In India, the probability of following rule is inversely proportional to the status of the person in the society.
The higher you are in the social hierarchy, the lesser rules you usually follow.
If you see a vehicle coming on the wrong side, it most likely belongs to a top civil servant or politician.
You will rarely find the police officials wearing helmet or seat belt.
If you visit to a tourist place and you find a vehicle parked in the ‘No Parking’ Zone, it all likelihood, it must belong to a government officer.
It is a common belief in the government officers and politicians is that they are above law because the officials who are expected to enforce the law are below them.
How can a lower official dare to take action against the higher officials?
And if you even know someone in power, you can use your influence to break the law with immunity.
There is a famous saying in India, “Sainya bhaye kotval, to dar kahe ka?” (When the husband is a police officer, why should you fear?)
When the political leader and government officials who make the law and whose duty is to enforce the law themselves don’t follow the law, it is natural that the rest of citizens too follow their example.
This truth is beautifully stated in Bhagawat Gita, “Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps, and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues”.
Unlike India, the elite in developed countries don’t get extra-constitutional privileges and protection.
Here is a picture of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, traveling in train with common people like a common person.
[1] You can never imagine such humility from any PM, CM, Minister or even an ordinary politician in India.
Top political leaders and civil servants here are like demi-gods in India who are beyond the purview of the laws applicable for the ordinary mortals of the land.
When Indians visit other countries, they know that they don’t have any such immunity from law and they are bound to suffer fine, penalty or arrest if they break the law.
Hence, they become quite law abiding in foreign land.
Only if the people who are in power in India learn to follow the rules, the rest of the Indians can be expected to follow the rules.
It is sure that this is not going to happen any time soon in India.
Russia Moves NUCLEAR Iskanders to Finland Border large
In response to Finland joining NATO, Russia has moved hypersonic, “Iskander” Tactical Nuclear Missiles to Karelia, Russia.
The Iskander missile has about a 500km range and can travel at about 7500km per hour.
From their location in Karelia, Russia, these new nuclear-tipped missiles can reach most of populated Finland within just a very few short minutes.
The deployment of these missiles is CONFIRMED. The fact they are already nuclear-tipped is also CONFIRMED.
The map below shows a 500km radius from Karelia, Russia. Note is covers almost all of Finland – at least all the major population centers, and a good portion of Estonia as well:
Iskander Range Karelia Russia
Super Chill
French Onion Chicken
french onion chicken 104
Sometimes a recipe needs refinement to get to the point of putting it in my recipe book, a little altering and adjustment here and there. Sometimes I test out a recipe and it comes out exactly as I’d hoped. No tweaks needed, no surprising flavors or textures, just spot-on recipe perfection.
And then there are times when I make a dish and with just one bite I am completely wowed and all of my expectations are exceeded. This is one of those times! I fully expected this French onion chicken would be delicious. I didn’t think for a minute I’d be fixing this for dinner three times in one week and reheating leftovers for lunch on the in-between days because it was that good.
Sometimes a home-run recipe just sneaks up on you like that.
french onion chicken 103
Honest to goodness, this French onion chicken thing we’ve got going on here is straight-up life changing goodness. All those classic flavors of French onion soup, in a one pan skillet meal the whole family will beg you to fix again and again. And the recipe is so straight forward and simple you won’t mind one bit.
You start out by sauteing thinly sliced yellow onions in a bit of butter and beef broth til browned and very tender, just like you would with classic French onion soup. Then you move those onions over to a separate dish to keep warm while you brown the chicken in the same pan.
french onion chicken 101
Move the onions back to the pan and add flour and beef broth to make the most delicious caramelized onion gravy EVERRRRR and then top your chicken with three kinds of Italian cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes and viola! The sauciest, tastiest 30-ish minute chicken dish you’ve ever made.
This is Fall comfort food at its finest. And I just want to point out that I even though this dish is inspired by soup, it is not a soup, unlike the past four recipes I’ve posted which are all actual real live soup. #soupbsessed #sorrynotsorry #longlivesoupseason
french onion chicken 102
Ingredients
2medium yellow onions – thinly sliced into rings
3 tablespoonsbutter
1cup+ 3 tablespoons beef broth – divided
4boneless skinless chicken breasts – pounded to even thickness
fresh thyme or parsley and cracked black pepper for topping – (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to bake at 400 degrees OR broil on low. In a large oven-safe skillet (see note) over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onions and 3 tablespoons beef broth and saute onions for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally so the onions don’t burn, for about 15 minutes longer until browned and very tender. Use tongs or a fork to transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm.
While onions are cooking, prepare the chicken by drizzling with oil, then seasoning with salt and pepper (to taste) and Italian herbs. Once onions have finished cooking and are removed from the pan, cook chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side (don’t clean out the pan between the onions and chicken) until browned on both sides. (Chicken may not be fully cooked through yet, that is okay).
Transfer chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm and return the onions to the pan. Sprinkle flour over the onions and stir for 1 minute over medium-high heat. Add beef broth and continue to cook, stirring throughout, until mixture comes to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return chicken to pan and spoon some of the sauce over each piece of chicken.
Top chicken with one slice of provolone each, then one slice of swiss, then 1/4 of the parmesan cheese. Transfer skillet to your preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through completely and cheeses are melted.
Spoon some of the onions and gravy over the top of the chicken, garnish with thyme or parsley and cracked black pepper, and serve.
Notes
If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, any other oven-safe skillet will do OR you can transfer everything to a casserole dish or baking pan for the baking portion of the recipe.
Found in a tree
When did you realize that your childhood was not normal?
not sure of my exact age maybe 11 or 12? I went to a friends house and her mom made us cookies and took us to our soccer practice and stayed the whole time, she was so involved throughout the day , selfless, and loving. I thought how lucky my friend was to have a mom who cared so much. Then I went to another friends house and noticed the same love and interaction with her mom. It baffled me. My mom was always too busy, too self involved, and too irritable to have any relationship with me that was remotely close.
First part of my life, I chalked it up to her job but she retired early at 54 and even though less than 15 minutes away she rarely see me or her grandkids. She says she’s just SO busy.
As a mom myself now, I realize how messed up my childhood was. Us Kids fending for themselves, basically running feral, emotionally starving for attention, a dad who tried (& loved us dearly, that I was certain of) but he didn’t quite have the time (worked full-time) or tools. I had a mom that I rarely saw (though I was thankful bc when our paths crossed the interaction was not good).
growing up, We walked on eggshells. Don’t upset mom. We weren’t allowed to share food with friends but that was embarrassing and rude so I gave my portions to my friends & didn’t eat to help save food so my mom wouldn’t get mad. I did so many things “so mom won’t get mad.” She was physically abusive which I thought was normal as well. It was always about her; her desires and wishes. The rest of us had no say—-even my dad. she moved us all over the country. 3 different high schools. Leaving behind friends. I thought it was all normal.
I vowed to be present & loving to my kids. I vowed to be a mom who did the little things, who listened, who took the time, who apologized if needed, who didn’t scream, yell, hit, spank, slap; who met more than their basic needs and who genuinely cares about them and is interested in them.
Destruction of the family
What happened at a wedding that made you feel horrible for the groom?
My husband, son and I recently attended a friend’s wedding. The bride looked beautiful, the venue was well-chosen and the little details were perfect. Everyone was having a wonderful time.
And then the speeches started.
It was a well-known fact that the groom had hounded the bride for over a year to go on their first date, and that topic featured in every speech to a greater or lesser degree. The parents of the groom had a couple embarrassing stories to tell about his childhood, but they brought it back to how happy they were for him and how he deserved such a perfect wife. The brother and sister of the bride had a few ribs about her, too, but again, they finished on a loving, positive note.
The same cannot be said for the sister of the groom.
She was already a little…toasted by the time she hit the podium, so there were portions of her speech that were a little difficult to catch. But the jist was clear: her brother was an oaf and no amount of lipstick would improve the beauty of that pig.
From humiliating stories to hurtful jabs, she just kept barreling through her obviously not proofread speech, and everyone in the room was staring at their plates in embarrassment. I kept waiting for her to sigh and start on the positives, but the sigh never came. She finished her speech with a final zinger and stepped down to a very light smattering of grateful applause.
Our table was silent. My husband, who is not my brother’s biggest fan by any means, turned to me and said, “promise me you won’t do that to Dylan”.
What are some of the most mind-blowing celebrity facts?
George Clooney called 14 of his closest friends and said “Hey, mark Sept 27th, 2013, on your calendar. Everyone’s going to come to my house for dinner.”
The 14 friends belonged to varying economic backgrounds. One of them was married to Cindy Crawford while another was riding his bicycle on his way to work at a bar in Texas airport.
When ‘The Boys’ (the group’s name) arrived at Clooney’s house, they found 14 designer suitcases placed on the table.
main qimg dd1d35b0f86308b28c5e93d3b29c1877 lq
And then- Clooney said:
Listen, I want you guys to know how much you’ve meant to me and how much you mean in my life. I came to L.A; I slept on your couch. I’m so fortunate in my life to have all of you, and I couldn’t be where I am today without all of you. So, it was really important to me that while we’re still all here together, that I give back. So I want you all to open your suitcases.
There was $1 million inside every suitcase, arranged in $20 notes.
I know we’ve all been through some hard times, some of you are still going through it. You don’t have to worry about your kids; you don’t have to worry about, you know, school, you don’t have to worry about paying your mortgage.
(Clooney also paid their taxes so they could pocket the entire $1 million. That’s an additional $3.5 million altogether.)
One of his friends, Rande Gerber (married to Crawford) refused to accept the gift, so Clooney made a condition – either they all accept the gift, or nobody gets it.
Gerber (who donated his share to charity) said “This is who George is. That was September 27th, 2013. Now, September 27th, 2014, he marries Amal. That’s good karma right there.”
Clooney is a legend.
In other news- “George Clooney is a piece of shit”, said his 15th closest friend.
I was playing slots with my mother in New Jersey. I was at an end machine and putting quarters one after the other in one machine.
I was there for about twenty minutes when my mother asked me to sit closer to her.
So I got up.
And another woman took my seat. (She had been off the side watching me, and as soon as I got up, she ran to my seat and sat down.)
She put one quarter in.
And she won 3 million dollars!
Jesus.
Life.
Is this a joke or what?
What the fuck was I thinking when I planned this pre-birth world-line template?
Ugh!
Today…
Have you ever met someone really privileged who shocked you?
When I was in college, I had a part-time job in my domitory’s cafeteria. The richest person I ever knew was one of my fellow student employees. His father was the chairman of the board at a major multinational corporation, and his mother was a major stockholder in a US communications giant. They owned a Lear jet and a chalet in Switzerland. When they came to visit my friend in the dorm, he needed other students to help sign in the entourage of 2 assistants, 2 bodyguards, and a driver (dorm residents were allowed to sign in only 2 guests at a time).
About halfway through the first year I knew him, I found out that when he’d arrived on campus, he’d had no clue how to run a washing machine. His roommate had had to teach him. He told me “I knew we had them at home; I’d just never seen them.”
He also told me about how many times in his tween and teen years he’d spent Christmas with only the household staff for company because his parents had been invited to some fancy party or other in Europe or Asia, and he hadn’t wanted to go.
My friend owned his own tuxedo, and had a credit card that drew from his trust fund’s interest. So he bought his clothes and shoes at Neiman Marcus, and took friends out to lunch in swanky restaurants where they served us alcohol without batting an eye even though we were all clearly under the drinking age.
So, you’re probably wondering why this guy was working a part-time job in a campus cafeteria. Well, that was his father’s idea. Dad, you see, had worked his way through college and thought that having a job would be good for my friend’s character. So Dad refused to provide a cash allowance. And since this was the 80s, before you could use a credit card to buy fast food, my friend had to work if he wanted pocket money.
Bacon, Egg and Mushroom Burritos
Thick sliced apple wood-smoked turkey bacon, shiitake mushrooms and spinach enhance this yummy egg wrap. Perfect for breakfast or lunch on-the-go.
4 ounces fresh shiitake or button mushrooms, stemmed, sliced
4 ounces (4 cups) fresh baby arugula or spinach
12 eggs, beaten
6 (7 to 9 inch) flour or whole wheat tortillas, warmed
Instructions
Cook bacon in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp.
Remove bacon; pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings. Add mushrooms; saute over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add arugula; cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Pour eggs over mixture in skillet. As eggs begin to set, gently pull the eggs across the pan with an inverted turner, forming large soft curds. Continue cooking, pulling, lifting and folding eggs until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains. Do not stir constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon egg mixture into center of each tortilla, dividing evenly; top each with 1 bacon slice. Fold in sides of tortillas, then roll up burrito-style.
My GF Thought I’d Be Her ATM Forever Until I Finally Grew A Pair (And A Brain) & Blocked Her Forever
What gift did you give that made you speechless by the reaction you got from it?
A few years ago my husband found out he has a sister who his mom and dad had given up for adoption. We arranged a time for her to come down and meet the entire family (parents had both died at this time). There were 5 siblings and their families. Everyone gave gifts and gift cards but I wanted to do something different. I had been scrapbooking for several years so I got a bunch of family pictures together and put them into a very nice scrapbook with journaling to explain each picture’s story. She was so appreciative and overwhelmed and kept looking through that scrapbook. Whenever we see each other she talks about that scrapbook and says how much that means to her. She said, “It’s so nice to have pictures of people that look like me.” Growing up she didn’t look like her adoptive family at all. We are all so grateful she sought us out and we are as close with her as we are with our other family members.
What was life like under communism? Do you miss anything from that time?
I was turning 17 when the communism came to an end in Nicolae Ceaușescu’s Romania. An abrupt and violent end. Unexpected in how quickly everything happened, in a space of a few days. But somehow expected as well, as a wind of change was blowing over Central and Eastern Europe for at least a couple of years before already.
How was life? For me personally, as a teenager in a standard urban family with two kids and college-educated parents, the worst was, on a trivial level, that I couldn’t find in the music stores the music I wanted to have 🙂 Western pop-rock was scarcely available on the white market and music was one of my biggest joys and constant extracurricular preoccupations.
On a more serious level, what I was hating the most was the duplicity. Saying (or at least pretending to listen and approve) one thing at school and a totally different one at home. Watching or listening to the incredibly stupid and untrue TV and radio shows run by the public stations (the only available ones), hailing constantly the happiness of the people under the wise and paternal leadership of the Communist Party and its genius secretary general, then looking around at the grim reality surrounding us: grey streets and grey buildings under a grey sky. Grumpy people running around and trying to make the ends meet, with less and less at hand as we were growing as a nation “richer and richer”. A prouder and prouder “free and independent” nation composed of humbler and humbler people, more and more deprived of personal independence and freedom, of dignity.
This is me, a few months after the communism collapsed, on the roof of our brutalist block of communist-style flats, in the middle of a brutalist forest of similar blocks, some still under construction. I was skinny (I am still), but not necessarily because the Romanian communism had brought famine upon us, although towards the crepuscule of the regime it had come quite close to that.
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What are some psychology tricks for everyday life?
When you are in a group and notice that someone is making fun of you, look in their face and smile a little, they will feel scared
“Emotional contagion” is a phenomenon in which people working in groups “catch” each other’s emotions and feelings, akin to viral infection.
If you want someone to get nervous, look at their forehead
Beware the “Love Rat”! According to research, men who believe in love at first sight and bombard their potential partners with presents and attention are three times more likely to cheat on them, compared to those who take their time.
If you notice someone in every situation swearing at you and saying he’s joking, he hates you
According to recent studies, the people who fuss over small errors or strongly react to small problems are usually lonely and unloved.
Whisper something to smeone and 9/10 times they’ll whisper back
If you think someone is lying look them in their eyes and don’t say anything
Persistent irritability is caused by underlying physical or psychological disorders, such as depression or anxiety.
If you want someone to tell the truth, make them laugh before questioning.
Is someone watching you ow want to know whether they are watching you or not? yawn and they’ll yawn back
If you tell someone to stare into your eyes, it’s now harder for them to remember anything without looking away
If you’re trying to sleep, focus on not moving and count to 300
Around 65% to 80% of human conversations are gossip.
If someone interrupts u when you’re talking. just carry on speaking. They will feel stupid and you’ll feel powerful.
Gen Z Grad Faces The Brutal Reality of Job Search In 2024
What is the most condescending advice you received from someone who assumed you were poorer or less educated than them?
This has happened on two different occasions. In my home.
The first, I was looking to put in all new hardwood floors into my house. I’d done a ton of research, knew what I wanted; I just needed the materials and the contractor.
I am a single woman who owns a house. I’m on my second house that I bought and paid for myself, by the way. My father is long out of my life and the other family members who are men live so far away that I had to figure it out on my own.
So I had a bunch of quotes on the hardwood. One company insisted on sending someone to my house. He first asked if we needed to wait for my husband. “No, just me.” He said he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. I said he could wait outside for someone that looked like a husband.
He then asked if I had a basement. I told him “no”. He asked if I was sure.
I said take a look and be sure to let me know if he found one. Needless to say he didn’t find a basement or a job that night.
A few years later I needed a new furnace. This was a rush so I didn’t have as much research down. First, this one idiot told me my furnace was German and it had to be replaced because it would take 6 weeks to get parts for it (Googling the name on the furnace revealed it was from Texas… did Texas finally secede and become part of Germany?). Then they said they could give me a new furnace for $13-$18k. I said, “well, what does it cost.” $13k-$18k.
No, if I were writing a check tonight, what would I make the check out for? $13k -$18k.
Finally they said it would be like $200/month. I tried to explain that was based on a cost. He argued that when you lease a car that’s all it cost! I said no, the payments are based on what portion of the car you’re using based on a base price. He argued that no, I was an idiot.
Yes, I was the idiot who wrote a check for $8k for a new furnace. To someone else who told me the price…
What psychological tricks and hacks are useful to know?
1. Here’s how you can speak well-organized anytime anywhere.
There are 3 elements: the current status, estimation, and response.
Just presenting them in order makes you appear very organized and insightful.
For example:
“The car broke down now, judging from the current traffic on this road, it’s unlikely we’ll find anyone to tow our car, so let’s call for roadside assistance.”
2. When asking someone for a favor, start by giving them a compliment.
For example:
“I’m impressed with your work on the last project we did together, and I feel confident that I can trust you with this task as well.”
3. If you want to persuade someone, just say things that sound illogical at first but carry an vibe of mysteriousness.
This way, they will be drawn into these seemingly meaningless statements, feeling that your thought process operates on a higher level, and are more likely to agree with what you say next.
For example:
“If you can forget what you should have forgotten from the past, shouldn’t you understand the workings of the subconscious? How exactly should it operate?”
4. During an interview, present your personal desires as the company’s needs.
This significantly increases your chances of being hired.
For example:
Instead of saying you enjoy writing, express that the platform’s content captivates you, and you aspire to contribute as a valuable member of it.
5. If you find yourself easily getting into arguments with someone, try using another 3 elements: facts, feelings, and hopes.
For example, let’s say your partner kept you waiting in the cold for an hour.
Instead of saying:
“Do you enjoy making me wait? Can’t you check the time? Do you ever think about me?”
you can say:
“I waited for you for 58 minutes earlier, and this month alone, I’ve waited for you for over half an hour five times. Constantly waiting like this makes me feel like you might not be considering my time. I hope we can be more mindful of each other’s schedules.”
6. When praising others, it’s often more effective to compliment what they might not be consciously aware of.
For instance, if you praise Usain Bolt for his incredible speed, he might not feel it as much.
However, if you compliment him on something like, “Wow, I’ve noticed you have great handwriting,” he might feel genuinely pleased.
7. When expressing gratitude for a gift, forget about the price and emphasize your heartfelt appreciation.
For example:
“This bag must be expensive! ” (✘)
“I’ve always loved this bag. ” (✔)
8. If you’re on a first date with a girl and things are going really well. And you’re interested in planning another meet-up.
It’s crucial not to wait until the moment of departure. Instead, seize an good moment when you both are engaged in the vibe to propose the next date.
For example:
Person A: “These are so delicious!”
Person B: “These are nothing. I know a place with even better ones. How about next Saturday? I’ll take you there!”
9. For anything work-related that falls outside of your scope, the safe response is always a simple “I don’t know” added by a reason.
For example:
Person A: “Where’s Alex? Where did he go? He’s late again?”
Person B: “I don’t know, I was checking emails.”
Men are Letting Reality Happen to Women
What are some undeniable facts about life?
A woman jumps to death from the terrace of a 15 storied building.
Her husband tells the police she was depressed. Her in-laws cry because they were unable to understand the reason behind taking this drastic step.
Her parents though, alleged murder.
They say she had been complaining about domestic abuse and violence that she faced for about two years.
“She was tortured. They locked her up and didn’t give her food for days. She was beaten and pain was inflicted upon her. She would cry and tell us. Please arrest them.” The parents said.
A case is filed on the husband’s family and the matter drags to court.
The parents think that their daughter has got justice.
Makes me wonder, why are the girl’s parents also not taken into custody? They heard their daughter complain about the abuse for two whole years and they didn’t even think about taking any action? Why did they wait for her to kill herself to take these matters to the police? Why couldn’t they just take her home and stop the torture? Why come out crying only when she ended her life?
The police asked why were you silent when you knew what she was going through?
They say,
“We were waiting it would stop someday on its own. We have faith in our God. She would also not lose faith. We just hoped someday they will realise how badly they have treated her and mend their ways. But never in our dreams we thought she will take this step.”
Some undeniable facts about life you ask me?
You need to take charge and make things happen to make a difference in life. Not everything in life will happen on its own. You can’t put everything on the almighty to make it right for you.
What are some cases that literally make no sense?
Originally Answered: What are some cases that really make no sense?
Back in 2007, a sick, twisted monster named Robert A. Williams unleashed a nightmarish hell on an innocent Columbia Grad student when he broke into her apartment and unleashed an unspeakable onslaught of sadistic torture. For 19 agonizing hours, this vile excuse for a human being raped, sodomized, and brutalized the poor woman in ways that’d make even the toughest horror movie beg for mercy.
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He glued her mouth shut, slit her eyelids, force-fed her fistfuls of pills, and even set her on fire. It’s like a demented game of “how much suffering can one person endure?” Begging for death, the victim pleaded with her tormentor to end her life, but the monster cruelly refused, taunting her with the chilling words, “You’re not good enough for that.” Miraculously, she survived the ordeal, and Williams was slapped with a whopping 420-year prison sentence.
So, here’s the million-dollar question: why the hell are we wasting taxpayers’ hard-earned cash on keeping this animal locked up when the death penalty exists for a reason? Or better yet, why not give him a taste of his own medicine, Black Mirror-style? Strap him in and make him relive every excruciating moment as the victim, over and over. Now THAT’S justice!
Meanwhile in Hong Kong
What happened when you returned someone’s lost wallet? Did they give you anything for returning it, and did they thank you personally (not through email)?
We found a phone, in a puddle by a beach in Cornwall. We took it back to our holiday cottage and put it in a jar of rice, to try to dry it out. Unfortunately, our charger didn’t fit it, so we couldn’t check if it had recovered until our son in law joined us, a couple of days later, and his did. The phone came back to life, amazingly, so we went to Contacts, phoned the one that said Home and left a message. Shortly afterwards, a surprised young man rang back. He had lost it when surfing, several days before, and it had lain in a salt water puddle for at least two days before we found it. He said he would come and collect it, and we said be quick, then – we are leaving shortly. He arrived with six bottles of nice wine, and was very grateful. It seemed to be working fine – photos intact, and everything. Wish I could remember what make it was!
What is one city you would never return to? Why?
Banjul.
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I can confidently say there is virtually zero chance I’ll ever return to The Gambia’s capital city. This is not because of any bad experiences, but that it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever revisit this little African country.
For those who are not aware of where this country is located, I provide a map below.
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The country is surrounded by Senegal on Africa’s western coast and is more or less moulded around the River Gambie. No doubt, the county’s peculiar formation stems from British and French colonial policy.
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Banjul is a fascinating city with a beautiful coastline and close access to the humid river. I stayed near the vast sandy beaches which are genuinely beautiful, fringing the Atlantic and dotted by palm trees.
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It is a very African city. Its environment is orange and dusty with extreme heat on occasions. There are overflowing food markets, lots of colourful clothes and African style mosques.
My most remarkable memory was seeing a fully dressed and booted battalion of soldiers speed marching for training through the dusty streets. Sweat poured down them like torrential rain.
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I also remember seeing spiders hanging in hundreds of cobwebs covering many different houses and complexes. Travelling over incomplete roads, multitudes of spiders just dangled in the air. I’ve never seen so many large spiders in my life. Certainly disconcerting for any arachnophobes!
I played football with some of the locals and explored the famous alligator park of Banjul with monkeys lounging around in the tall trees.
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The Gambia is a beautiful country, but I can’t see any reason why I’d return to it or its capital.
How has China unlike USSR stayed united inspite of vast diversity?
Simply because the USSR was in fact a loose federation of a handful of republics, and China was in fact one country. It’s really that simple.
This is Shanghai government. SHANGHAI CHINA. Check out the resume of everyone in the top echelon – mayor, vice mayors, etc. The nine-member top management team. How many of them are Shanghai local? Exactly zero. None. Not a single one. They all came from some other places in China.
The Shanghai government is not run by people who want to be the king of Shanghai. It’s run by people who want to run China. Shanghai is one of their “personal five-year-plans” on the way to the top. They will stay for a maximum 2 terms ( 10 years), then they move away to their next posts, either up or down, depends on what they can delivery here. This is the same with all the other provinces and major cities, i.e., the mayor of Beijing is from Jilin province, the provincial governor of Guangdong is from Shandong province, the governor of Henan is from Ningxia, Shan’an Xi province … Basically, all public offices are financed by national tax collection, manned by a national bureaucracy with regular rotations, and defended by national armed forces, since the Han dynasty
in 200 BC – so there’s absolutely no incentive to pick a fight with other provinces. They are not your “enemies” but your future constituents. So there’s a great deal of incentive to make a good impression by reaching out and collaborate, build up a support network, so that they’ll vote you into the Politburo. That’s how you get to run the whole China.
On the other hand, the full name of USSR is “United Socialists Soviet Republics”. It was a federation of republics where each republic was run by local people who spoke a different languages, believed in different religions, and wanted to be the top dog of their own republic. In fact, the dissolution of USSR made each local ethnic elite the “king” of their own republic. Just check out their resumes. It didn’t hurt one’s political prospects to pick a fight with one’s neighbors. Instead, it may polish up one’s local “nationalist” credentials. The USSR was never set up as one country in the first place.
“The United States and NATO have never been shy about outright lying to justify their aggressive plans.
In the case of aggression against the FR Yugoslavia, carried out under the mocking banner of ‘humanitarian intervention,’ mainly civilian targets were hit: residential areas, hospitals, schools, bridges, passenger transport, and columns of refugees. Thousands of civilians were killed, including 89 children, whom the Western coalition cynically dubbed ‘collateral damage.’
Let me remind you that NATO aggression against the FR Yugoslavia began without UN sanction — it was not only a tragic milestone in the life of the Serbian people with thousands of ruined destinies and desecrated national dignity, but also a devastating blow to the system of international law and the foundations of security in Europe, established after World War II.
The US and NATO have finally come to believe in their own impunity and moral superiority — to the misfortune of those who strive to choose their own path, rather than becoming instruments for the realization of others’ interests.
On that day, the strategic balance of power collapsed, and a protracted crisis in interstate relations began, which continues to deepen.
The same thing is happening now in the Middle East.
The situation in the region is an example of the ‘controlled chaos’ theory, which underlies US policy.
However, this chaos has spiraled out of control and threatens a large-scale regional war.
The US cannot be unaware of this, but the desire to make super-profits from selling weapons in the region overrides all moral and ethical standards among Americans.
If we talk about the goals of the US in Ukraine, putting aside political motives to create a puppet state on the western borders of Russia, from which constant threats to our country would come, then everyone knows that there are large assets of American business in this country.
The most profitable ‘grain business’ is half owned by Washington.
The most fertile lands have already been purchased or taken for free by American companies.
They will squeeze everything out and leave the country to the mercy of fate.
In pursuit of elusive world dominance and military superiority, Washington and its allies are expanding the network of alliances directed against third countries and are actively pursuing a number of programs that undermine global stability and regional security.
These are the emerging alliances AUKUS (Australia, Great Britain, USA) and QUAD (USA, Australia, Japan, India) in the Asia-Pacific region, the goal of which is to militarize the region to contain China and Russia.
Recently, the magazine Politico wrote: ‘In every conflict it has been involved in, Washington has lost interest in supporting the countries involved once American businesses have squeezed everything they can out of the presence of US troops.’
The goal of the US is to wreak havoc in order to squeeze everything possible from a particular country from an economic and resource perspective.
And from a political point of view, it aims to prevent countries and regions from developing in stability and prosperity.”
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Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in an interview with Gleb Ivanov, April 12, 2024.
Full Metal Jacket | Group Reaction | Movie Review
What are the most epic failures in history?
“Guys, I just developed this bulletproof liquid. The Germans won’t be able to kill us now!”
These words were said by Kinjekitile Ngwale, a Tanzanian witchdoctor (and the hero of this story). But first, understand what was going on in Tanzania at that time.(It was called Tanganyika)
In the late 1800s, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Belgium and France storm into Africa, grabbing as much land as they can in the name of colonialism. The Germans in particular enter Tanganyika and claim it as their own.
See those two Africans holding the dead animal? Yeah, those are slaves.
See, Germans are efficient. Instead of bringing in labour from their country, which was a tedious affair, they forced indigenous tribes to work for them. They also imposed heavy taxation on them, because why not.
Naturally, those tribes were not happy.
So what do you do when some white guys take your livestock and steal your women?
Simple. You REBEL AGAINST THOSE ASSHATS!
That’s where our valiant revolutionary, Mr. Kinjekitile Ngwale, comes in. He told his fellow Africans that he was a prophet sent by the ancestors to get rid of the Germans. So he became the leader of the rebellion. Just like that.
One tiny problem though…the Germans had GUNS. Lots of guns. The Africans only had spears and arrows. If you’ve ever played rock paper scissors you know how it feels when you put paper and everyone puts scissors. That’s how the Africans felt.
So Mr. Kinjekitile Ngwale came up with an idea…
Using his extensive knowledge as a witchdoctor, he mixed water, castor oil, and millet seeds. He claimed the concoction, when applied on the body, would turn the German bullets into water, essentially rendering them bullet proof. The African tribes applied this liquid and charged straight to the nearest German base, confident of their leader’s magic.
As soon as the Germans saw the Africans approaching, they…well…read this excerpt:
Several thousand Maji warriors, led by a spirit medium, marched toward the Reich’s compound at Mahenge. As soon as the rebels were within firing range, soldiers, backed by two machine guns, laid down a lethal fire. Row upon row of Maji warriors marched toward the guns, but were cut down.Hundreds were killed or wounded before breaking off the engagement.
Kinjeketile was later captured and hanged by the Germans for ‘treason’. Despite his grand bullet proof mishap, he is still considered a hero for stirring nationalism among the Tanzanians.
The US has secretly offered a stunning array of concessions to Ansarallah to halt its naval operations in support of Gaza – to no avail.
APR 11, 2024
By Khalil Nasrallah
We favor a diplomatic solution. We know that there is no military solution.
– US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking
In a special briefing on 3 April – nearly six months after Yemen launched its far-reaching naval operations to debilitate Israel’s ability to conduct war on Gaza – US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking touted the importance of seeking diplomatic solutions in Yemen
instead of the military ones his government has been loudly advocating for months.
Lenderking’s stance contrasted sharply with Washington’s announcement in December of a multinational coalition against Yemen’s Ansarallah-led forces, aimed at safeguarding international shipping in the Red Sea and effectively protecting Israeli-linked trade from Yemen’s sweeping naval blockade.
But as tensions heighten and regional allies have hesitated
to join the US–UK coalition in fear of direct Yemeni retaliatory strikes, the US and its allies have quietly sought to entice Sanaa into negotiations through offers conveyed by Omani and other international mediators who maintain ties with Yemen’s de facto government in Sanaa.
Lenderking’s position may, in fact, reflect an astounding set of private US promises made via intermediaries to Ansarallah behind closed doors – pledges that essentially tick every box on the resistance movement’s wish list.
‘Stop your Gaza support, and we will give you everything’
Informed Yemeni sources reveal to The Cradle that the US offered Sanaa – in exchange for its neutrality in the ongoing Gaza war – “an acknowledgment of its legitimacy.”
This would involve severely reducing the role of the Saudi-backed Presidential Council led by Rashid al-Alimi and accelerating the signing of a roadmap with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to end the aggression against Yemen.
The sources further reveal that the Americans pledged to immediately release withheld Yemeni public sector salaries from the National Saudi Bank, lift the country’s siege entirely, reopen Sanaa Airport, ease restrictions on the port of Hodeidah, and facilitate a comprehensive prisoner exchange agreement with all involved parties.
In terms of reconstruction, the sources say:
[Washington] pledged to repair the damages, remove foreign forces from all occupied Yemeni lands and islands, and remove Ansarallah from the State Department’s ‘terrorism list’ – as soon as they stop their attacks in support of Gaza.
Despite these tempting offers, which have been the subject of negotiations between Sanaa and Riyadh for over two years, the Yemenis remained steadfast. Ansarallah leader Abdel Malik al-Houthi’s consistent position, as reiterated in his speeches, has been to continue operations as long as Israeli aggression against Gaza persists.
Ansarallah’s ‘military negotiation’
From the outset, marked by Israel’s declaration of a state of war following the 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood operation, Sanaa threw its weight behind the Palestinian resistance, launching comprehensive drone and ballistic missile attacks against the southern Israeli-occupied port city of Umm al-Rashrash, known as Eilat.
In response to the Yemeni salvos and interception attempts by US warships, Washington initiated a campaign of threats against Sanaa, which in turn demanded an immediate cessation of aggression against Gaza as a precondition for halting its military operations. Their exact words to the Americans were: “We are not within the circle of those you dictate to.”
Matters only intensified as Ansarallah began deploying previously unused naval strategies – not even utilized against Yemen’s aggressors, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in nine years of battles – with al-Houthi vowingto obstruct Israeli ships in the Red Sea.
This strategy was actualized days later on 19 November, when Yemeni naval commandos stormed an Israeli-linked vessel, the Galaxy Leader, and its crew, redirecting the ship to Yemeni shores.
This daring naval action prompted the US to pursue dual strategies: the first, involving intimidation and preparation for a naval coalition to support Israel, and the second, encouraging diplomatic engagements through Arab and international mediators to halt Sanaa’s impactful naval operations.
Sanaa’s leadership not only dismissed these overtures but expanded the naval blockade to include non-Israeli vessels en route to Israeli ports and extended their theater of operations as far as the Indian Ocean– to cut off Israel’s “alternative long route” shipments.
Yemen’s firm refusal to succumb to either enticement or intimidation led the US and the UK to initiate aggressive military operations against the war-torn Persian Gulf state three months ago, aiming to neutralize the Yemeni threat and halt maritime attacks in support of Gaza under the guise of protecting maritime navigation freedom.
As a countermeasure, Sanaa escalated its military response by expanding operations to target not only US and British ships but also introducing advanced weaponry into its arsenal.
This included the sinking of the British cargo ship Rubymar, attacking other vessels, and broadening the theater of operations to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean – a strategic move to ramp up pressure on those executing the brutal war on Gaza.
Yemen’s military checkmate
In light of the current situation, where the US has acknowledged the futility of its military strategy and is clamoring to devise a diplomatic solution, Sanaa has clearly demonstrated its relevance to any and all West Asian geopolitical calculations.
Its stunning achievements of the past six months include Sanaa’s ability to disrupt the Israeli economy by cutting off or lengthening trade routes for Israel’s essential imports. This can be seen most notably in Eilat, where the operational disruption of Israel’s southernmost port has led to significant job cuts by the port’s operating company and paralyzed shipping entirely.
Ansarallah has also thwarted retaliatory measures by the west’s most celebrated naval forces, made a mockery of their ramshackle “coalition,” and created complex challenges for US hegemonic ambitions in the Persian Gulf, both presently and in the long term.
Moreover, Yemen has showcased remarkable political and military maneuverability, demonstrating that a single resolved Arab state can provide the Palestinian resistance with a potent negotiating tool.
Importantly, through its military operations in the region’s waterways, Sanaa has solidified its position within the Axis of Resistance, transforming into one of the most effective forces in the Axis’ Unity of Fronts strategy. All, while drawing British and American naval assets into vulnerable – and unwinnable – positions and successfully hindering Israel’s shipping connections with the world.
A rising regional power
According to al-Houthi’s most recent count, Yemen’s numerous military operations have launched over 520 missiles and drones to target naval assets and areas in southern Israel. Ninety vessels have been targeted to date, with 34 operations conducted only between 4–5 March using 125 ballistic and winged missiles and drones.
In contrast, the US and UK have launched nearly 500 raids since their ill-conceived naval coalition began ops, resulting in the martyrdom of nearly forty Yemenis.
Six months into the war, Yemen continues to demonstrate its strategic capabilities on land, in regional waterways, and even in the world’s oceans. Yemeni officials hint at further military “surprises” still to come, which they may deploy depending on Israeli actions in Gaza and the broader region, as well as the actions of its US enabler, which Sanaa views as the most destructive and destabilizing force for West Asia’s security and stability.
Black Sabbath “Heaven and Hell” REACTION & ANALYSIS by Vocal Coach/Opera Singer
Girls often understand what a guy is implying, but they may feign innocence.
Women tend to develop feelings for those who maintain distance from them.
Many women enjoy engaging in what society deems “promiscuous” behavior, yet they recoil from being labeled as such.
When deeply in love, women may exhibit childish tendencies around their partners.
If a woman truly loves a man, she’ll likely inform him when other men attempt to flirt with her.
Cooking for someone often signifies care and affection from a woman.
A woman may choose to be intimate with a man based on his character and identity.
Beware of the woman whose father was the first to break her heart; she may have deep-seated trust issues.
Green Chile Ground Beef Burritos
Burritos with a ground beef filling are a favorite in our family.
green chile burrito
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles
3 cups water
4 cloves garlic, pressed
3 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour*
1 to 2 cups water*
1 can El Pato tomato sauce*
Instructions
Brown ground beef; add onion and garlic and toss until onion is soft.
Add green chiles.
Sprinkle flour over it to make a crumbly mix.
Add water and El Pato to desired thickness. Simmer.
Serve on warm tortillas, with any topping you like…sour cream, salsa, cheese, cilantro, jalapeños, etc.
Notes
* or use 1 can El Pato green enchilada sauce – or use homemade
My boyfriend broke up with me because I told him I wanted to wait. Is it my fault for denying his “needs”? He is 21 and I’m 19, we had been dating for a year and a half now.
You’ve been dating him for a year and a half at age 19, and told him that you still want to wait — that is your right. You get to decide who you want to have sex with, and when, and that includes the right to wait for as long as you want, or even to never have sex at all if that is your wish.
He, on the other hand, clearly wanted sex to be part of his relationship, and after waiting for you for a year and a half, he found he could no longer be happy in a sexless relationship, and what you are offering is not what he wants — so he did the rational thing and left you in order to search for a partner that has desires more in line with his.
Many of the other answers here place blame on him, and for example claim that if he truly loved you, he’d be willing to wait, or that clearly he was only interested in getting laid. Such allegations are unjust, it’s quite possible to genuinely love someone, but still to realize that you have to leave because the two of you aren’t compatible. And accusing someone of only wanting to get laid after staying in a sexless relationship with you for a year and a half is utterly unreasonable. (in addition to that, there is NOTHING wrong with wanting sex as part of a relationship and being unwilling to stay in sexless relationships.)
But other answers place blame on you and say for example that it’s “selfish” for a woman to refuse to sleep with her partner. This is nonsense. Sex should be mutual and pleasurable and wanted by everyone involved, and is not some kind of service that women should “provide” to men if you’re not into it. Your body is your own, and you should say yes to sex when you genuinely want to, and only then.
Neither of you are to blame. You want different things, so you’re not compatible with each other, and you’re likely both better off looking for a partner that shares your ideas about what a relationship should be like.
What are some things that psychologists know, but most people don’t?
You have a desperate need for mental engagement. You are starving but then you suddenly see the new trailer of Sherlock Holmes. Before you know it, hours have passed without any sensation of hunger.
Sleeping in a cold room can help you slim down. According to research conducted by commonwealth university, just one month of sleeping in a 66-degree room helped increase the subject’s fat-burning ability by 10%.
The researcher found that you can read faster with a single wide column, but still, people prefer shorter lines & multiple columns.
You Quit in 2 situations
When a challenge is tougher and you have beginner-level skills.
When you have advanced-level skills and the challenge is too easy.
All your habits of thinking & acting are stored in your subconscious mind. Even just thinking about doing something different from what you’re accustomed to, will make you feel tense and uneasy.
The research found that for each hour a person between the ages of 40 and 59 spends watching TV, their risk of developing Alzheimer’s increases by 1.3 %.
Listening to high-frequency music makes you feel relaxed, calm, and happy.
Fake smiles can hurt you. The researcher looked at the behaviour of bus drivers, & found that these people withdraw from their work by putting smiles for show & it has long term deleterious health effects.
Psychologists found that people struggling to make complex decisions did best when they were distracted and were not able to think consciously about the choice at all.
What you Gain from this space by becoming its member.
No more random motivational screenshots & one-liner answers, you will get facts that are backed up by the latest research papers.
Now you don’t need to waste your valuable time on understanding the difficult terms of a research paper.
No Bullshit, pure research-based information with real references which you can check by yourself.
China takes a hard line with Yellen
The fact that Lavrov met with Xi while Yellen was there speaks volumes !
“In light of the recent aggressive statements by the French political leaders, who openly announced plans to send troops to Ukraine, I should like to bring up the anniversary of a crushing defeat that Paris sustained in Vietnam, which marked the beginning of the collapse of the French colonial empire.
We believe that remembering those events should be a warning for all those in the Elysee Palace who have been literally haunted by Napoleon’s shadow these days.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, often referred to as the Vietnamese Stalingrad, claimed thousands of lives.
The brutal confrontation took place from March 13 to May 7, 1954 and marked a turning point in the eight-year war between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and France’s colonial forces.
In 1946-1954, France, supported by Washington, unleashed the Indochina War in a bid to maintain its influence in the region after World War II.
It should be specifically noted that the French colonial troops were a motley mix of foreign legionnaires, mercenaries of all stripes, including Nazi fugitives hiding from trial and hoping to start over with a clean slate with Paris’s help.
However, they dirtied it again, as the brutality of their methods had no limit.
Just like the Americans who came to the Vietnamese land later, what they did was close to scorched-earth tactics.
For 54 days, the Vietnamese revolutionary army demonstrated extraordinary military valour in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. They also appeared exceptionally skilled in the art of war.
In fact, it became so bad that the French soldiers hastily left their positions as soon as they heard that the Vietnamese were advancing.
The decisive phase of the battle, the general assault, began on May 1.
By that time, the garrison’s morale was close to rack bottom – the French were in panic.
The total death toll was over 2,000 killed on the French side. Nearly 12,000 French troops were captured – only a few managed to escape from Dien Bien Phu.
The most capable French troops in Vietnam – paratroopers and legionnaires – almost ceased to exist.
The surrender of the French garrison of Dien Bien Phu on May 7, 1954 finally broke the morale of the French command, extinguishing any faith or hope for a good ending of the war in Vietnam.
Before the start of active operations, the hawks in Paris boasted they would ‘defeat the crowd of Vietnamese peasants armed with flintlock rifles and bamboo sticks in just a couple of weeks.’
Along with a crushing military defeat, France suffered high reputational losses, as its international influence as a former member of the anti-Hitler coalition fell dramatically.
The very next day after the fall of Dien Bien Phu, ceasefire talks began in Geneva.
The war ended with a convincing victory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the withdrawal of French troops in July 1954.
Ten years later, in 1964, remembering that defeat, French President Charles de Gaulle warned US President Lyndon Johnson against a military operation in Vietnam, prophetically calling it a very risky venture.
But France then had an independent voice and the capacity to pursue an independent foreign policy.”
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Photo: Vietnamese President Hồ Chí Minh and members of the Party Central Committee (from left to right: Phạm Văn Đồng, Trường Chinh, and General Võ Nguyên Giáp) convened to decide the opening of the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring Offensive and the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign. The meeting took place in Phú Đình Commune, Định Hóa District, Thái Nguyên Province, in 1953.
Excerpt from remarks by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova during the briefing, April 10, 2024. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Is it possible for China to use its anti-ship ballistic missiles, such as the DF-21D, to attack US carriers at sea if needed?
The worst case for the US is that the US starts a war and all US ships within 2,000 miles of the China will be sunk.
Not only does China has the DF-21 which has a range of 1,200 miles. That is actually a medium range ASBM. It hit Mach 10 at terminal phase. China also has DF-26, which hits Mach 18 at terminal phase.
China is now onto their second generation hypersonic wave glider. These are even scarier than the ASBMs. As they come in at a hundred feet above the Ocean surface. At Mach 8 for the one type and Mach 12 for the second type.
The second generations has a range of almost 5,000 MILES. In other words, it can hit Hawaii and ships on the other side of Hawaii, towards the CA coast.
So yeah, the US should not be messing with China as the Chinese can sink all US ships in the Western Pacific if they want to.
Carne Asada Guacamole Cheese Burrito
carne asada guacamole cheese burrito
Cook: 1 hr 30 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Carne Asada
1 pound sirloin steaks
1/4 cup coconut sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 small jalapeño, seeds removed and finely minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Burrito
4 burrito size tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar, Monterey Jack or a blend)
Optional
Fresh cilantro leaves
Limes, cut into wedges
Instructions
Marinate the Carne Asada. In a shallow dish, combine the soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper. Place the steak in the marinade, turning to coat it evenly. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight, to allow the flavors to meld.
Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash the avocados with a fork until it reaches your desired consistency (chunky or smooth).
Add the diced red onion, chopped cilantro, minced jalapeño, lime juice, salt, and pepper to the mashed avocados. Mix everything together until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Heat grill or stovetop grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove the marinated steak from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
Grill the steak for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until it reaches 145 degrees F for medium rare or your desired level of doneness. Transfer the grilled steak to a cutting board and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it thinly against the grain.
Heat the tortillas in a dry skillet or over an open flame until they become warm and pliable. On each tortilla, place a generous amount of cheese. Add a few slices of the grilled Carne Asada on top of the guacamole. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Serve the Carne Asada Guacamole Cheese Tacos immediately with lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the tacos.
This recipe is an excellent source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin (NE), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Selenium, and Zinc. It is a good source of Potassium, Iron, and Choline.
What are the strangest things you’ll find in a desert?
Imagine being lost in the desert, desperate for water. Crawling through the sand. Praying to find something.
Your hike went wrong and now you can’t find anyone. You are sure you’ve gone miles in the wrong direction.
You lay in the sand. Waiting to die.
Then.
You hear a phone ring.
That’s right. A phone. There are phone booths in the middle of deserts – sometimes.
One such phone booth was situated in the Mojave Desert, 12 miles from the nearest type of pavement.
A man, Godfrey Daniels, read in a magazine, about this strange desert phone booth.
He then became obsessed with this phone booth. Who calls this phone booth? What is it for? How? What? Why? What does it all mean?
Who would answer a phone booth in the middle of nowhere?
He then began calling this phone booth every single day. Trying to find out who would answer.
Every day, he got up, he called the booth. Then, later in the day, he called again. This continued for months.
Eventually, he called and it was busy. This was a major breakthrough. It meant someone was using the phone!!!
He waited a few minutes. Then he called again. Still busy. Waited a few minutes – called again.
A woman picked up.
They talked for a bit. She was a local miner who occasionally used this phone booth. That’s all she knew.
He then made a website about this mysterious phone booth. And people from all over the country started calling it, wondering who would answer if they decided to call the desert.
(Source: The Mojave Phone Booth. Betsy Malloy.)
This phone booth took on this mystical status in American sub-culture for a brief time in the late 1990s, referred to as “The loneliest phonebooth on earth.” It became a minor spiritual destination.
LA Times reporter John Gigliorma made a journey out to the booth and met all sorts of people that arrived for any number of reasons, boredom, curiosity, spiritual journeys, adventure – as it would be like visiting mars, wanting proof it existed, wanting to see who would call them while they were there.
He even met a man, Rick Karr, who said he’d been commanded by God to go answer the phone. Karr spent 32 days camped out by the booth answering phone calls. (Source: Reaching Way Out. LA Times. Glionna, James)
Eventually, the chaos got to be out of hand and the park service requested the phone booth be removed as it was creating litter and a safety hazard as randoms from the internet had no business being in this extreme region (also home to Death Valley).
In turn, the phone company had it taken out.
But then –
Someone came and put a gravestone commemorating the Phone booth.
But the gravestone started to attract more trouble as people began arriving from all directions to pay tribute.
The park service eventually had the gravestone removed as well and that concluded the legacy of this magic phone booth.
RIP Mojave Phone Booth.
What sentence has someone said to you that is still stuck in your head?
Around 1988, our strict Muslim, much older next door neighbor signaled me to come into her home. I noticed that she had nervously glanced around before extending the invitation, and rushed me inside before closing the door.
During our brief visit, she talked of being a pediatrician in Iran before the Shah fell. She also mentioned she needed two items for the meal she was preparing, but she had to wait for her son to return to take her to a nearby grocery. It was a gorgeous California day, and failing to remember what I had learned about strict Islamic doctrine from two Iranian college friends, I offered to walk with her to the store. She recoiled in horror, so I changed my offer to drive her. Her response remained mortified, her countenance stiff, her eyes glaring at me.
Several uncomfortable moments passed; I decided I should leave and started to rise from my chair. She grabbed my arm, gripping it tightly and quietly said:
“You are proof there is hope for the rest of us.”
I consider her statement among the most profound ever said to me.
Western Woman DISRESPECTS Passport Bros, INSTANTLY Regrets It!
There used to be a yogurt franchise called TCBY yogurt. I loved to eat it, and during the 1980’s it ran neck to neck with ice cream. But somehow, all of the thousands of stores evaporated. Roughly right after my first series of world-line slide.
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Ah. I entered a world where the only TCBY yogurt that remains out of the entire franchise is in Arkansas. Ugh.
TCBY grew from a single store in Little Rock (Pulaski County) to a 3,000-outlet franchise. Selling flavored frozen yogurt, TCBY was known around the world. First known as the Capitol Tower, the tallest building in Arkansas was known as the TCBY Tower from 1991 to 2004 and bore those four letters on its upper floors.
According to ChatGPT…
TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt) is still in operation, although its presence has significantly diminished compared to its peak popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. TCBY was one of the first frozen yogurt chains in the United States and played a significant role in popularizing frozen yogurt as a healthier alternative to ice cream.
In recent years, TCBY has faced increased competition from other frozen yogurt chains as well as shifts in consumer preferences. However, the company has adapted by introducing new menu offerings, updating its store designs, and expanding its range of products to include options such as dairy-free and low-sugar frozen desserts.
While many TCBY locations have closed over time, the chain still has a presence in various parts of the United States and internationally.
Another is Rax.
Rax signage
There used to be a fast food chain in the United States called “Rax”. I loved it. They had this mushroom/swiss cheese burger, and this ham and cheese burger. All so delicious.
Rax meal 2
Then out of the blue it all disappeared.
According to chatGPT, the Rax Roast Beef fast-food chain was once a prominent presence in the United States, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s. Known for its roast beef sandwiches and salad bars, Rax was considered a competitor to other fast-food chains like Arby's and McDonald's.
However, Rax struggled financially and faced various challenges, including declining sales and increased competition from other fast-food chains. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1992, which led to the closure of many of its locations.
Despite efforts to rebrand and revitalize the chain, including changes to its menu and marketing strategies, Rax continued to face difficulties. Many of its remaining locations were sold off or closed over the years.
Today there are only a few Rax locations still in operation, primarily in the Midwestern United States.
Rax meal 1
Ah…
Rax and TCBY.
According to the point of view of my consciousness, the moment that I started performing world-line slides after my MAJestic training, these restaurants disappeared. Bummer.
But, you know, after I began my slides, new types of french fries suddenly appeared. So it is a mixed bag.
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Today…
What are the behaviors of a confident person?
Good posture: Standing or sitting up straight can convey confidence and poise.
Eye contact: Maintaining eye contact during conversation can show confidence and sincerity.
Clear, confident speech: Speaking clearly and confidently can convey conviction and self-assurance.
Assertive communication: Communicating your needs and desires in a clear and direct way can show confidence and self-assurance.
Decisiveness: Being able to make decisions quickly and confidently can show that you are in control.
Setting boundaries: Knowing your limits and being able to assert them can show self-respect and confidence.
Willingness to take risks: Being willing to take on challenges and try new things can show confidence and a sense of adventure.
Ability to handle criticism: Being able to receive and learn from criticism without getting defensive can show self-assurance and resilience.
Ability to admit mistakes: Being able to admit when you are wrong and take responsibility for your actions can show honesty and humility.
Genuine enthusiasm: Being genuinely excited about things can show confidence and a positive outlook.
Positive body language: Using nonverbal cues such as smiling and open body posture can convey confidence and openness.
Comfortable with silence: Being comfortable with pauses or silence during conversation can show confidence and self-assurance.
Ability to listen actively: Being able to fully listen to and understand others can show respect and confidence.
Ability to negotiate effectively: Being able to effectively negotiate and come to mutually beneficial agreements can show assertiveness and confidence.
Ability to ask for help: Knowing when to ask for help and being able to do so confidently can show strength and self-awareness.
Ability to handle pressure: Being able to stay calm and focused under pressure can show confidence and resilience.
Ability to set and achieve goals: Being able to set and work towards goals can show determination and confidence.
Ability to adapt to change: Being able to adapt to new situations and handle unexpected changes can show flexibility and confidence.
What was the absolute most disrespectful thing a customer ever said to you, and what did you do?
Well, there was this one time when I was working at a Home Depot in the Bay Area I was doing inventory with another girl and this girl had some teeth issues. I didn’t have a problem working with her because she is a very nice sweet person that just happened to have teeth missing. Anyways I heard this big woman say something about how can they let someone like her work with the customers. I looked over and my co-worker heard what she had said and she looked genuinely hurt by her comment. And it made her cry. I was so angry that I stopped what I was doing took off my ten-key machine and I stopped that fat bitch and I made her go apologise to my friend and I told her look at her now she may have teeth missing and she is working on getting that corrected. Now take your fat ass away from me because just the sight of your fat face is nauseating. And in the future just keep your fucking little comments to yourself.Till this day I still don’t know why I wasn’t fired over that.And just to let you know she never got a chance to fix her teeth. Because around 2009 she fell and hit her head on her water cooler and she ended up passing away in a coma.She was a good woman and she was a hard worker.I miss you, Emma…..
I understand
Chicken Fajita Casserole
Chicken Fajita Casserole
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 medium red, green and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into strips
In 12 inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and cook chicken with peppers, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until chicken is almost done and peppers are crisp-tender.
Stir in onion soup mix blended with water, flour, chili powder, cayenne and garlic powder. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is thickened.
To serve, turn into serving dish, then top with tortilla strips.
Garnish, if desired, with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and shredded Cheddar cheese.
What is something that most people don’t know?
A small child could swim through the veins of a blue whale.
A single teaspoon of a neutron star would weigh about 6 billion tons.
A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.
The surface area of a human lung is about 70 square meters, roughly the size of a tennis court.
A hummingbird’s heart beats 1,260 times per minute.
The lifespan of a single taste bud is about 10 days.
The shortest war in recorded history lasted only 38 minutes between Britain and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896.
The first product ever sold on the Internet was a bag of marijuana.
The shortest place name in the world is “A”, a hill in Wales, United Kingdom.
A study found that if your face suggests that you’re alert and slightly happy, people are more likely to perceive you as intelligent.
Annunaki | Gods from Planet Nibiru and the Makers of Man
The Chancellor of Bavaria and Chairman of the CSU said after a visit to China that if there is no dialogue with China, things will become dangerous. He thinks dialogue is better than monologue. Do you agree?
China may not need Bavaria, but Bavaria needs China. Bavaria needs China in two aspects:
1. Bavaria is home to many German military factories and they want to import Xinjiang cotton
Ukraine needs up to 350,000 rounds of artillery shells every month, and its consumption is not small.
I recently saw an AFP report in which the European Commissioner stated that France would find it difficult to continue manufacturing missiles and artillery shells due to a lack of gunpowder. The shortage of gunpowder was due to the lack of raw material nitrocellulose.
Nitrocellulose is extracted from cotton, but where does the cotton come from? EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said a long time ago that making gunpowder powder requires a “special cotton”, and this Cotton grown “mostly comes from China”!
According to 2020 data, 95% of the world’s natural cotton suitable for the production of smokeless nitrocellulose is produced in Xinjiang, China; another 4% is produced in Central Asian countries; and the remaining 1% is produced in the Nile Delta.
Cotton from Central Asian countries, which account for 4% of global production, is a designated purchaser exclusively for Russia. Therefore, including the United States and the entire Europe, only cotton produced in cotton fields along the Nile, which accounts for 1% of global production, can be used directly.
It is no exaggeration to say that with the current cotton production capacity in the world, without China’s participation, other countries would not even be able to fight a world war, because they really can’t even build missiles!
But why can’t they import cotton from China? This is because they shot themselves in the foot, they created all this themselves.
In order to demonize China and slander China, the United States and Europe engage in forced labor in Xinjiang and force Uyghurs to grow cotton.
Even European companies led by HM took the initiative to boycott Chinese cotton, and China also adopted counter-sanctions measures and stopped exporting cotton to the United States and Europe.
But they did not expect that the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, and the nitrocellulose used to make missiles and artillery shells must require long-staple cotton from Xinjiang, China.
As a result, they forgot that they had slandered Xinjiang, China, and wanted to import cotton from Xinjiang, China.
2. Bavaria is home to many automobile factories, and they want to cooperate with China to obtain technology for new energy vehicles
China surpassed Japan last year to become the world’s largest automobile exporter. Especially in the field of electric vehicles, China far surpasses any country in the world. In the first quarter of last year alone, the number of Chinese electric vehicles imported into Germany tripled compared with the same period.
Germany, the birthplace of automobiles, has admitted that it has lost to China in the field of electric vehicles. If they do not cooperate with China, they may fall further behind China.
100%
What is the sleaziest, dirtiest trick an auto insurance company tried to pull on you? Did they succeed?
I will never insure with the Good Hands People…
In 2006 my 21 year old daughter was driving to class when a realtor on the phone blew a stop sign and totaled both cars. Neither were injured. About a week after the accident the other party’s insurance called to see if they could collect a statement from my daughter. I said sure. About 20 minutes later my daughter phoned in tears saying the adjuster had accused her of speeding and not yielding to a car already in the intersection. I can only assume this was because she was in a 5 year old mustang – but she no tickets or wrecks up to then.
I asked her a little about the call and started getting mad, madder, furious… I held it in and asked if the adjuster asked about witnesses. The adjuster had and I told my daughter to call the witness who was behind her. She hopped off the phone and called the witness and asked what he saw and if she were speeding. He laughed and said, look, I was about to pass you because you were driving about 5 mph below the posted limit and I was in a hurry. I knew she had not hit the other car; rather the other car hit her in a door.
A couple hours the adjuster called and said they would pay 85% of the value of our car… because no one is 100% at fault. I asked how she determined my daughter was 15%. Her words were, it is a mustang and we know drivers rarely obey the speed limit. She wanted me to give verbal approval then or face a possible adjustment down. I told her that she was full of shit. That the witness following my daughter said she was driving 5 mph below the posted limit and that the other party was on the phone. I reference the police report noting a writing pad and phone on the floor board. I then asked, how he was not 100% at fault. She mumbled something and I said, please speak up. You are being recorded and your story is not so good for you right now. She told me that was unlawful. I ask asked if she was recording and she said mmm, yes. I told her she was in the same boat as I since she failed to disclose.
She said she could go as high as 93%. I said not good enough, I then asked what the 100% value was. It was also deflated to about 70% average book value. I told her I needed to speak to a supervisor, now. She said she couldn’t and I said you risk facing my attorney in court. This recording will be in his hands in about 5 minutes as he is my neighbor. She yielded to 100% and said that was max. I said, not good enough, I need no lower than the average book…please give me to your supervisor, I am tired of dealing with you. Finally, a supervisor who restarted the discussion at 85%. About a third of his way through the spiel I interrupted rather harshly and said, wait a minute, we are not gong through all this again. I reviewed my notes with him and told him I was about out of cell phone battery and I wanted no less than HIGH retail. He had 5 minutes to say yes or I am handing it over to my attorney. It sounded at first as though he had not been briefed but when he noticed I moved up to high retail he said I offered average before.
I ended up with a value between average and high retail. I reported them to the state insurance board and asked for a followup after they review. I never heard back. I feel for those who just say yes without standing their ground.
Desperate young guys
How do you get over the feeling of being a failure?
Realise that you may not be a failure in the eyes of someone else.
Here’s my story. I was 40, divorced, had left a life in New Zealand behind that had fallen apart in the most dramatic way possible, and was invited at my cousin’s house in Austria to a summer party.
As we ate barbecued things and drank local beer, dreams were swapped and future visions exchanged. My cousin is a sound engineer, struggling as a consultant, doing the odd gig in Vienna or Salzburg.
We talked about happiness.
And I heard myself saying, “maybe some day, when I am successful, I will know what happiness is.”
My cousin looked at me as if I was very, very drunk. And maybe, I was. And he said, “Chris; you are the dean of a French university, a Grande Ecole at that, in Shanghai. And you say ‘some day when you are successful’?”
That changed my world view.
I realised then and there that it depends very much on whom we ask whether we feel like failures, or not. All I had been able to see was how badly things had gone for me in New Zealand, and how the expat position in China really was only a gap filler till I would be able to find something to replace the life I had had in NZ. That that life in Shanghai was in itself pretty cool was somehow off my radar.
Perhaps you need to ask the right people? Try to understand what the average person’s existence on this planet is like. Success and failure are not quantitative values. They are dangerously subjective perceptions, and require some grounding in basic values.
So, stop comparing yourself to the wrong people. By comparing ourselves to stars or celebrities of some standing, we will always look bad.
Men Don’t Give a F*ck Anymore… Why the Rate of Single Men In the US Looking For Dates Has Declined
Which has been oversupplied in the world, the Chinese made value-for-money products or the US treasury bonds?
How can products be Oversupplied?
If there is an oversupply, there will be EXCESS INVENTORY of Unsold Products which will increase the storage and warehousing fee and ultimately lead to destruction of the excess supply
This is Demand and Supply Law 101
So China only manufactures products per Global Demand
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Now Yellens problem is simple
China is creating BETTER QUALITY PRODUCTS than the West at half the price
And the Quality gap is rising
There was a time just three years ago when German or Swiss products were better quality than Chinese made products and it was only the cost that was a decisive factor
Today Chinese Panels beat German or French Panels hollow in efficiency, weight, absorption angle and cost
So every Western Renewable Energy Producer is going OUT OF BUSINESS as China floods the world with Superior Panels and Superior Wind Turbines at 40% to 60% the price you pay for the same when made in Stuttgart or Grenoble or Milan or Cincinnati
Yellen would have no issue if these products were owned by Western Businesses but made in China which was the original plan
Now Chinese Businesses control these products and all that money is going to China and Chinas Economy
In the past – out of $ 100 of Exports – China got maybe $ 25
Now China gets $ 60–65
The Western World wants renewable energy
Yet they want to control the technology and the markets
China has beaten them to it
Even if they directly sanction China, the prices will force Chinese products to flow into every market beating every Sanction
Tariffs is the only solution?
Yet that would make renewable energy more expensive for the West and it’s people
They still can’t make Panels at higher price or attain Chinas rapid level of technology with its 1.4 Billion population and surging market
They are all saturated
One Solution
They can pour all the money into R&D into India
I mean huge money
Yet that would only create a new hindrance after 20 years and further weaken Western Hegemony because instead of a China, now you have TWO PROBLEMS – CHINA AND INDIA
So that Option is gone
So Yellen is living in a dream land of her own
She can’t stop Economics
The Economics is with China and US will be destroyed in this dangerous game
Even China tomorrow if it tries to rewrite economics will find it very difficult and painful
Today the Economics is with China and will be there for the next 2 Decades until 2050 at the latest
That is Chinas window
Homeless men
Blinken’s visa threats expose US hypocrisy
“A good example,” said Pope Francis, “brings about so much good, but hypocrisy brings about so much evil.”
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After the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) was enacted on March 19, the US and its allies reacted with predictable fury. As Hong Kong had finally discharged its national responsibilities, they realized it was no longer possible for them to use it as a base for destabilizing China. After 1997, they saw the city as the country’s Achilles’ heel, which explains why they encouraged the insurrection of 2019-20 and patronized selected proxies, including the now-defunct Civic Party.
Although those days are over, the US is incensed. It is determined to retaliate against the city whose future it had hoped to influence. Impervious to reason, it is bent on harming Hong Kong, even if it undermines its people’s livelihoods.
On March 30, the US State Department said that, apart from continuing to deny Hong Kong the special trading status it revoked in 2020, it also planned to impose visa restrictions on Hong Kong officials involved in enacting the SNSO. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said “multiple” officials would be targeted, as they were “responsible for the intensifying crackdown on rights and freedoms”. They needed to be held to account for the “intensifying repression” of “civil society, media and dissenting voices”.
However, Blinken’s professed concern for the media was hollow, and cannot be taken seriously. The US contempt for the press is now on public display in the UK, where it is mercilessly pursuing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through the English courts. His 17 “crimes” consist of allegedly disclosing classified information that embarrassed Washington, particularly in relation to war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, including its brutalization of prisoners. As his lawyers have explained, Assange is being victimized for engaging in the ordinary journalistic practices of obtaining and publishing information in the public interest, to which Blinken is oblivious.
Blinken’s hypocrisy, however, is deep-seated and was inherited from his predecessors. Although he claims to support the “global rules-based order”, this is a vacuous catchphrase beloved of Western hypocrites. Whereas he delights in slapping visa restrictions and other penalties on individuals from China and other places he sees as geopolitical rivals, evenhandedness forms no part of his repertoire.
Since the Gaza war started, the death toll has reached almost 33,000, mainly women and children. Another 75,000 have been injured, while many others are starving. Instead of sanctioning those responsible, including the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and the chief of the general staff, Herzi Halevi, and calling for them to be prosecuted for genocide and war crimes before the International Criminal Court, Blinken has facilitated their offenses. Although, despite being Netanyahu’s aider and abettor, he will never stand trial, Israel’s crimes, to which the US is party, are of biblical proportions, and will forever rank among the world’s greatest wartime atrocities.
On April 1, CNN reported that the US government is about to approve the sale of 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion. These can then be used to kill an awful lot of Palestinians, as also can its other weaponry. Earlier, on March 6, the Washington Post reported the US “quietly approved and delivered” over 100 separate military sales to Israel since the Gaza war began, amounting to “thousands of precision-guided munitions, small-diameter bombs, bunker busters, small arms and other lethal aid”.
Although this would have delighted the arms merchants, it did little to inspire faith in Blinken’s professed concerns for Gaza’s civilian population. Even the most subservient of US allies may be forgiven for wondering how Blinken can look himself in the mirror.
While Blinken has always had lots to say about “rights and freedoms” in Hong Kong, he is allowing Israel to get away with blue murder in Gaza. He has protected it at international forums and sought to rationalize its depredations. However, its excesses have become so horrific that even he, on March 25, felt unable to block the UN Security Council’s call for a temporary cease-fire for Ramadan.
Away from the war zone, Blinken’s duplicity is no less pronounced. When the UK introduced its National Security Act 2023 (NSA), he did not slap visa restrictions or other penalties on its principal architects, the then-home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the security minister, Tom Tugendhat. This was despite the NSA’s crackdown on the “rights and freedoms” Blinken claimed to be so concerned about in Hong Kong.
The “chilling effect” of the NSA’s espionage provisions was condemned in the British Parliament, not least for their impact on investigative journalism. It cracked down on civil liberties, giving the police extra powers of detention and curbing the pretrial rights of suspects, including access to lawyers. Although Blinken feigned fury when not-dissimilar measures were adopted in Hong Kong, he did not bat an eyelid when they occurred in the UK, which should surprise nobody.
His posturing over “rights and freedoms” has always been simply a convenient stick with which to beat people from places that reject US hegemony and refuse to dance to its tune.
Indeed, given his concern for “dissenting voices” in Hong Kong, it might have been expected Blinken would be up in arms over Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021. It was the brainchild of its first minister, Humza Yousaf, and came into force on April 1, 2024. It has been called a “snitch’s charter”, criminalizing words that might be construed as “stirring up hatred”. If a “reasonable person” (a vague term) considers something said by somebody else to be “insulting” an offense may arise, with a suspect facing up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Yousaf’s new law has been denounced by free thinkers and ordinary Scots, and people are wondering if, in future, they should keep their views to themselves to be on the safe side.
The Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, a straight talker from Edinburgh, fears she may be targeted by the Hate Crime Act. She has regularly argued that trans women are not women, and that men who self-identify as women do not thereby become women. She has also maintained that convicted rapists who declare themselves to be females should not be housed in women’s prisons, supposedly a safe place. Although most people applaud her views, she is concerned they will expose her to charges, and attempts have already been made to prosecute her under what she calls a “ludicrous law”.
Since the new crime of “stirring up hatred” was introduced on April 1, Police Scotland has received over 3,000 hate crime reports, many paradoxically relating to Yousaf himself. He had previously highlighted white people holding prominent public roles, but fortunately for him, the new law is not retroactive. The community services minister, Siobhian Brown, said the law was being used to make “fake and vexatious complaints”, and police time is being wasted as people seek to settle old scores and bring down those whose views they dislike.
The Conservative Party’s Scottish justice spokesman, Russell Findlay, has pointed out that “Yousaf’s dangerous Hate Crime Act is already being weaponized on an industrial scale by thin-skinned troublemakers,” and a petition has been launched for its repeal.
The UK education secretary, Gillian Keegan, called Yousaf’s Hate Crime Act “a terrible bit of legislation”. She said the police “should be much more focused on fighting crime than policing people’s thoughts”. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, agreed, saying, “We believe in free speech in this country.”
If Blinken agrees with Sunak, Keegan and Findlay that Yousaf’s new law is an affront to Western notions of free speech, he is, presumably, planning to impose visa restrictions upon him and demanding its repeal. However, nobody should hold their breath, and Yousaf will likely escape repercussions. In the all-too-familiar traditions of American diplomacy, Blinken has no interest in intervening when “rights and freedoms” are violated in countries the US does not want to antagonize.
Whatever Blinken has planned for them, Hong Kong’s officials have done their duty and can hold their heads high. They must have expected him to try to harm them and braced themselves accordingly. Although his double standards are there for all to see, they at least have clear consciences.
Random AI generated images
Default An ancient town in China rain fog looking at the lens 3(1)
Default Big and delish burger with meat chees onion and cucumb 0
Default Cat Adventures Document your cats outdoor adventures s 3
AlbedoBase XL Beautiful Elf posing with freckles and glasses 1(1)
Default high quality 8K Ultra HD angel knight army 2
Default An ultra detailed realistic digital art featuring Zen 3(1)
Default In the center of the image stands Misa Amane depicted 1(1)
Default Cat Adventures Document your cats outdoor adventures s 0
Default art nouveau style closeup of a gorgeous Spanish muse w 3
Default photorealistic 4K UHD Chef Gordon Ramsey cooking a dra 0
Default Create a stunning 8K ultrarealistic food photograph fe 0(1)
Default Create a stunning 8K ultrarealistic food photograph fe 0
Default Cinematic Realistic masterpiece best quality 12K Image 2
Default Cinematic Realistic masterpiece best quality 12K Image 1
Default Cinematic Realistic masterpiece best quality 12K Image 3
I’m so sorry
What was the last most shocking image you’ve ever seen?
WHEN FREEDOM IS LOST
This incident occurred at the Kombaru shrine in Karnataka, India.
The leopard was chasing the dog, the dog entered the bathroom through a window, the bathroom was locked from the outside.
The leopard came in after the dog and they both got trapped in the toilet; When the dog saw the leopard, it panicked and sat quietly in a corner.
He didn’t even dare to bark.
Although the leopard was hungry and chased the dog, it did not eat the dog.
He could have had dinner by jumping the dog, but the two animals were together in different corners for almost twelve hours. During these twelve hours, the leopard was also calm.
The forest department zeroed in on the leopard and captured it with a tranquilizer dart.
Now the question is, why didn’t the hungry leopard tear off the dog when it was easily possible?
Wildlife researchers answered this question: according to them, wild animals are very sensitive to their freedom.
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As soon as they realize that their freedom has been taken away from them, they may feel deep pain, so much so that they may forget their hunger.
Your natural motivation to feed your stomach begins to fade.
Freedom and happiness are connected. Freedom to think, act, and live the way we want.
The American Way isn’t Working out Too Well
Some fun AI generated pictures
Here’s some of my latest work…
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 3(17)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 1(14)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 3(13)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 1(11)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 3(10)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 1(8)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 3(6)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 1(3)
Default Imagine a Baroque label high attention to detail roman 2
Default Imagine a Baroque painting A very high attention to d 1
Default Imagine a Baroque painting A very high attention to d 3
Hanoi, Vietnam, call girl service
What is an instant mood lifter for you?
When I hear a good song playing suddenly in my neighborhood – It’s so awesome and got more power to make me cry and dance when it’s distant.
When someone genuinely listens to what I have to say – Isn’t it just great to speak your heart and someone is ready to see that vulnerable side of you?
When I receive the same level of importance I give to people – Ever heard someone say that “you” are a “priority” to them? If you have, dude you’re lucky (because I haven’t heard so).
When out of the blue, my mumma calls me “gudiya” – Mother’s love hits different. What would I even do without her?
When people trust me with their emotions – There’s a chance that I’ve been through that, so if they trust me, I can do everything to make sure they’re happy again.
When I get random messages from my close people – That specific notification sound just for the close ones>>
When I see potatoes – Weird? Nope, it isn’t. Potato and I go way back in history, a story for another time for sure!
When I know exactly what to do – I don’t have to explain this xD
When I’m sweating hard at the time of workout – It’s so satisfying when the exercises are giving result and on top of that, those beady drops of sweat make my day!
Some more of my AI generations
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh tangerines 2
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh grapefruit 2(1)
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh grapefruit 3
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh pomegranate 2
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh peaches wit 0
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh tomatoes on 2(1)
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh tomatoes an 0
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh tomatoes an 2
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh olives with 3
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh olives with 1(1)
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm fresh tomatoes wi 3(1)
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm prepared hamburge 1
Default Imagine a Baroque box label for farm prepared hamburge 2
If You’re An American Living Abroad Tell Me Why You Would Never Go Back? | Part 2
Police story
“So this happened in Montana. I’m on my way to go to my interview this morning when I get pulled over by a police officer.
I am native American and my friend that was with me is black. Just saying.
Both brake lights decided to go out this time.
As he walked to the car and I was pulling out my stuff, he quickly said,
“Don’t worry about pulling anything out. I just want you to know that your brake lights are out.”
So I’m immediately upset, because I just got them replaced like last month.
So I explained to him how Firestone wants to charge me $600 just to run a test on the wiring of the car.
He looked at me like 😨 and told me to pop the trunk.
He checked the lights in the trunk and tapped them, but they didn’t come on.
So he told me to pop the hood to check the relay box then asked me to get out to check the other one.
Then worked on the wiring under the dash.
He could’ve easily given me a ticket, but Officer Jenkins stepped out of the officer role, and into the mechanic role, and human role to make sure I was straight.
By the way, HE FIXED THEM. Not everyone is racist or a bad cop.”
“NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warns an’alliance of authoritarian powers’including Russia, Iran and China are working against the West?”Source: Daily Mail. Should this alliance concern Australia’s relations with China, inviting more US military bases?
Why is that such surprise?
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A. The West sanctions Iran unilaterally
The West unilaterally sanctions Iran. They steal Irans Oil randomly, pirating Iranian Ships or Ships containing Iranian Oil
They forbid shipment of even medicines into Iran causing the death of thousands of iranians
For a long time they even refused to allow imports of food materials into Iran especially Wheat
B. The West arms Taiwan, arms Japan and South Korea and literally builds thousands of bases around the South China Sea
US surrounds China with army bases yet a Chinese delegation to Cuba gets a massive national security lecture
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US openly says they want to Contain Chinas Rise and Growth
US arms Taiwan, a region they themselves acknowledge as being part of China
US sends soldiers to Taiwan, a Chinese region according to their own law
C. The West openly declare their aim to overthrow Putin and even assassinate him
Many a Senator and a Congressman at some time has claimed to want to overthrow or even kill Putin
They openly discuss Balkanization of Russia in their think tanks
They refused to give Russia security guarantees for almost a year before Ukraine when all they had to do was agree to Ukraines NATO membership being deferred by a decade
So how is it a surprise that these three nations decide to work together against the West?
What exactly does he expect?
That these three nations would come with a Chocolate Cake and openly allow themselves to be destroyed ?
Naah
Rule No 1 would be for the West to leave the world alone and stop interfering in every thing under the sun
Rule No 2 would be for the West to prepare a kill list of 100,000 people who are ruining them and the world. Including Stoltenberg himself.
Rule No 3 would be some nice army trucks at 3 AM outside the houses of these 100,000 people after which – they are never heard of again.
And the families too. Families always make nice deterrents.
Rule No 4 would be for a new Order in the West that adheres to their own principles of International Law rather than Rules Based Order
Once you do that the world would be a peaceful place
Stoltenberg would not be in that world but well… Nobodys gonna miss him too much
When did NPR become so left-wing?
When I was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative Republican, a career military man from a family of career warriors, I loved to listen to Paul Harvey and public radio. NPR didn’t seem “leftie” to me.
I was overseas my whole career, and got my news from the Stars and Stripes and Armed Forces Radio. I saw many ways to run a society while I lived in Japan, Philippines, Korea, and Germany over 16 years.
The first time I saw Rush Limbaugh, for the first five minutes, I thought he was a comedian doing a bit.
Upon finally returning to the States to retire, I was appalled at what America had become. The US I came back to was nearly a police state. The population was the sickest and most disabled of any country I had lived in. Homelessness and lack of education made the US seem like a Third World country. I was shocked.
NPR, however, was a familiar place to relax. They made sense. They considered points of view from both left and right. Importantly, the only “leftie” was a member of the Communist Party of the USA, and the only extreme right candidate was George Wallace, who didn’t stand a chance in the general election.
The difference between Dems and Repubs was no too great. Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan worked together all the time. (Reagan promised “small government” but grew the government by every metric. Every one.)
Today, however, millions of Americans have been left behind. They are worse educated than any modern nation; they are sicker and more disabled, and their babies die in the first year much more than in the rest of the advanced nations. (We did, in fact, become an oligarchy with democratic trappings. Details available upon request.)
Now those millions are angry. Their politicians sold out to the billionaires. The Republican leadership, much more than the Democrats, ignored their constituents needs and gave only tax cuts and excuses. The American people wanted LGBT people to have the same rights of marriage, social security, and hospital visitation as straight people. We got that. The American people wanted women to have more career opportunities, including in the military, on ships, and in combat units. We got that.
The American people voted for a black president. That broke the GOP back. Guns flew off the retail shelves, Militia membership soared. Ammunition was sold out for two years. The GOP refused to govern. All they did was vote to repeal the ACA 60 times, always with no chance of succeeding. Republicans directly interfered with foreign policy, personally telling Iran’s leaders to ignore the POTUS.
It seemed Hillary was certain to win. So certain, that few voted. Except the Republicans. They came out in force to vote for the guy who hated everyone they hated. Now their leader spews hatred and isolationism, the money-grubbing marketing
experts at certain media companies see the potential, so they amplify the suspicion and distrust. The result is a perfect storm of brainwashing. The handsome, 6′1″ blond billionaire can persuade most folks to invest their money in his dreams. Now he’s persuaded millions of Americans to invest their votes, their minds and their hearts in dedication to a professional con-man. Bernie Maddoff must be jealous.
THE ANSWER
NPR is right where they’ve always been, just a little left of center. But now the GOP has gone so far right—off the reservation—that they call centrists traitors and Marxists. God help us in our hour of need. Lord, is it time yet to take Trump home to meet his maker? Amen.
1900s Technology
Can anyone in China tell us why it is illegal for foreigners to visit Tibet? You must have a special permit to travel there. What are Xi and the CCP trying to hide? Is there a concentration camp there? Other explanation? Anyone who knows?
The question doesn’t make sense.
If it was illegal then it wouldn’t be possible to get a permit to visit. A permit means that it is legal for foreigners to visit Tibet. Similar to how you need a visa to visit China.
The autonomous regions of China are often slightly different to the mainland.
Hong Kong & Macao have fairly easy visas for most people BUT you do need separate visas for them.
Xinjiang doesn’t need a special permit now but it did in the past.
Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi have never had any special requirements as far as I know.
Anyway, I visited Tibet back in 2007. At that stage, it looked like the permits were going to be gone soon. The High Speed Train had just been connected and it was opening up.
Then the uprisings and separatist movement made a big push in 2008 when Beijing was hosting the Olympics. They were supported directly or indirectly by the US government and then Tibet was locked down and hard to get into Tibet for foreigners. Millions of Chinese tourists visit each year. Since then it has become easier and I know a number of people who have visited recently. You still need a permit but it is fairly easy to get one unless you are a reporter.
Last year in 2023 there were more than 24 million tourists to Tibet. Most were domestic but 30,455 were tourists from overseas.
You can visit but unless things have changed you need to spend 3 days in China. This information may be out of date since in the past it was advised that you should apply for the permit in China. Most tourists used to go to Chengdu to see the pandas and spend 3 days their waiting for the permit. A travel agent will do all of this for you and tell you what to do. It isn’t hard but it took time. Not sure if this is still the case. Things change quickly…
Strange coincidences
What’s the most confusing thing about being a man, today?
Navigating dating in a world where men are increasingly being told that women and men should be treated as equals; and yet where as a heterosexual man trying to find a partner, you’re still being systematically and mercilessly filtered out as a potential partner if you fail to perform classical masculinity well enough.
I grew up in, and live in Norway. One of the countries on earth that consistently score near the top of gender-equality rankings.
And yet my experiences in dating, especially as a young man, were very much about adhering to classical prejudiced gender-roles for men — or else remain single.
Examples?
I’ve been told (and agree!) that men should not be afraid to show or talk about emotions. But I’ve also been told in hundreds of ways that if a man shows any emotion that includes even a hint of vulnerability, then he’s instantly disqualified as a potential romantic interest.
I’ve been told that men and women should face the same expectations and similar opportunities. But as a young man, no woman ever asked me out on a first date. No woman ever explicitly revealed a crush on me unless I’d done the same thing first. No woman ever kissed me unless I initiated that first. No woman ever bought me a drink, flowers, chocolate, a valentines day card or any other stereotypically romantic gift unless I’d done that first. No woman ever asked me to dance, unless I’d done that first.[*]
Every time I read answers here on Quora about men who struggle with finding dates, I see the same recommendations. Usually from liberal, feminist people (both men and women) well-reflected about gender. Be confident. Be assertive. Initiate. Approach. Show Competence. Be unaffected by rejection, or if you’re affected, hide it! I’m not sure if they fail to notice it, or if they notice but don’t care — but these things look pretty much like: “Be classically masculine and adhere to gender-norms for men!” to me.
My dating-life took a sharp turn upwards when I finally learnt how to wear a mask and play a classically masculine role well enough to pass muster as a potential romantic partner.
I had several long and good relationships after I figured this part out, and though I’m happily married these days, I’m still confident I could fairly easily find a new fulfilling relationship if I should ever again find myself single and lonely.
But to find that relationship, I’d have to initially play a role. One that isn’t me, or that at least is just a tiny fraction of me. I’d have to play up those parts of me that adhere the closest to prejudiced norms for what a “real man” should be, and at least for a while downplay or hide those parts of me that don’t fit the mold, such as for example my vulnerable or emotional parts.
The most confusing thing for me as a young man, was how women around me were constantly telling me that there’s nothing they want more than gender-equality. And yet at the same time, if I want to “pass” as a man worthy of romantic love or sexual desire, then I have to jump right back into strongly gendered norms for what a “real man” should be.
[*]: I’m aware that many of these things do happen now and then to many men, and happen often to some men. Ironically though, that tends to be men with high social status and/or high social dominance. This single factor was without a doubt the most important factor for which young men were seen as attractive among my peers. And of course high status and high social dominance are ALSO things that prejudiced gender-roles for men judge us for.
War against China
Have you ever witnessed an objection at a wedding?
Oh, Boy! That happened to me.
Let me give you a bit of context:
My then girlfriend and I had been dating for about 5 years when we finally decided to marry.
On the day of the wedding, we were at my parents’ house with some close family and our closest friends.
Everything was going as expected and the law officer driving the ceremony was reading the document we were about to sign in order to be pronounced “husband and wife”.
It went something like:
“Mr. Blah blah blah… of profession Systems’ Engineer, born at xxxxx and Miss blah blah blah of profession xxxxx from xxx” plus some legal stuff that no one was really paying attention, or so I thought.
Then, the lady asks the infamous question:
“Does anyone have any objection?”
And for everyone’s surprise, a “Yes, I have one” was clearly heard.
In that instant, the time and everything else just froze. You would have been able to cut the air of the room with a knife. Everyone was shocked, silently looking for the source of those words. The only things moving in the room were our guests’ eyes.
Finally, we found it!
It turned out that the objection came from no less than the bride herself, and then she added in her most natural tone:
“He is not a Systems Engineer. His speciality is Computer Engineer”
First a general sense of relief and then everyone just burst out laughing.
We have been married for more than 15 years and the document still says “Systems Engineer”
Did I tell you that my wife is a lawyer?
6 LIES America Told Me About Europe | Americans React
Are Europeans shocked when they first come to the United States?
Have been many times now, and love it, but on my first visit …
Hubby was working and so I went to a Walmart. Really exciting for me as we didn’t have anything like that back in the UK. ( This was back in the early 90s)
I bought a trolley full of stuff, went through the cashier, paid and was quite happily on my way out of the door when beeps’ went off.
Before I knew it I was surrounded by about 4 or 5 what I can only describe as security people. They were really aggressive and I was terrified. What had I done wrong?
Anyway I was accused of stealing and literally frogmarched away. My whole trolley was gone through against my receipt.
Took a while. Everything tallied and it was discovered that whilst I had paid for it a security tag had not been deactivated from a wallet I had purchased. Cashier error.
They then let me go. A couple of hours later. No apologies. I was so shaken up by this treatment.
In the uk at the time of this incident if ‘beeps’ had gone off when leaving a store, sure you would have been stopped, yes checked, but nobody would have laid hands on you and treated you like a criminal. Once it was seen a mistake had been made on their part an apology would be given.
So I guess that certainly on my first visit my shock was that in the USA it is guilty until proven innocent, whereas in UK it is innocent until proven guilty.
Also that an apology is not necessary if they’ve got it wrong.
And please don’t get me started on the tipping culture. In the Uk we pay a minimum wage and tipping is seen as a sign of good service.
My first meal in the USA service was lousy, won’t go into details, but I was astonished to find that despite that I was expected to leave a tip at around 10–15% of the bill and was berated when I didn’t. At that time I had no idea that servers were not paid a decent wage and relied on tips, but to me it felt like a mandatory charge so that if you didn’t pay it you were in effect stealing.
I have been to the USA many times since and now appreciate the difference in our cultures. So I will pay the mandatory ‘tip’ but if I have got service above and beyond will do 30–40%. Still don’t like it though.
Please don’t think I am berating the USA. I have loads of friends here, just saying that as a naive Brit many years ago it was not the best of experiences.
What are the important lessons you learnt in life?
your sleep is key to your health and energy. Sleep well, and everything in life already looks easier. Darkness, silence, and inner peace are the key ingredients.
what you eat and drink is another key to your health and energy. The fewer of the things you consume have brand names, and the less has been done to them, the better you will eventually be.
the people you are surrounded by contribute greatly to who you are, and not just while you are with them. When you’re honest, you’ll find that very little of you is actually you.
the big challenge in life is to be authentic. It’s the hardest thing to do of them all to be truly yourself, and it may well be the meaning of life to try it. We only ever live during those moments where we are being ourselves, and they are few.
to live in freedom, you need to make utilitarian choices. This is a mechanical universe, full of things that are parasitic. Find the things that serve you with the least demands on you, and your life is more free.
Dating Pool Dropouts: How Feminism RUINED Dating
This chick is really freaking out.
Why are Europeans not as fat as Americans are when Europeans eat white bread and pasta and butter all the time?
I’m American, living in France for many years. I eat butter, cream, cheese, bread, pasta…. things I never used to eat in the US, and yet never have to worry about my weight.
Many things come into play-
No snacks. We eat meals, usually at the same times each day. My body seems to like living on a schedule this way. I don’t get hungry in between meals. My stomach knows when it is time to eat, and when it isn’t.
Portions. Portions are smaller. I’m about to visit home again, and know we’ll be going to restaurants and such, and I’ll have these giant heaping plates placed before me, which make me sick to think about. It actually kills my appetite to see this.
Different courses. Instead of eating everything at the same time, we have courses, so only one thing is in front of us at a time. If you are only eating tomatoes, you are going to eat less than if you are mixing in bites of other things in between. Eating a salad or a soup before the main dish, you’re already going to eat less of the main course, because you are less hungry.
Walking. We spend a lot of time walking. I walk to most everything – the grocery store, the post office, the hairdresser, the recycling center….. Whatever chores I have to do outside the home, I can usually walk, and a twenty-minute walk to get somewhere is normal. I do remember a time, when I hadn’t been here long, that every time someone said, “let’s just walk there”, I’d groan and complain “Why can’t we just drive??” I’ve come to love walking around the city. I had to remember the joy of that as a kid, when I’d just love taking my time and observing life around me along the way, instead of having my focus on the destination.
Less stress. This may or may not apply in a general way, but I find they have a different way of looking at life, in which work success is just not considered so essential, so people worry less. A lot of paid vacation, job security, easy healthcare, results in feeling less anxious, and maybe contributes to less cortisol production and emotional eating.
The failure of democracy
Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole
Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
10 (6 to 8 inch diameter) flour or corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey
1 1/3 cups salsa verde or green sauce
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Chihuahua or mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Heat oil in skillet until hot. Cook tortilla strips in oil for 30 to 60 seconds or until light golden brown; drain.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 quart casserole.
Layer half of the tortilla strips in casserole; top with chicken, half of the salsa verde (about 2/3 cup) and 1 cup of the cheese.
Press layers gently down into casserole.
Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, sauce and cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.
What are some things a woman should know about men?
1. Like you girls have periods, that cause pain and mood swings etc. Similarly, we men have nocturnal emission that causes mood swings and back pain. Not all men go through that, but many. And it’s not a comparison between the issues.
2. We actually hate giving surprises, if somebody is doing… he’s pressured or doing the same just to impress and make you happy.
3. We actually don’t like you to be influenced by influencers in terms of dress up, eating, and showing up on Social media to people. We want you to be you… The Authentic you.
4. We hate the question “How much do you love me” and in fact we don’t have answers.
5. We love Motorcycle and Car, and we want you to respect the same. And the reason is they actually need love and care, or else they can trouble anytime. Don’t complain if your man is investing a bit more money on that.
6. Please don’t take us shopping if you’re not getting it done within an hour.
7. If you’re allowed to have male friends, please don’t question our Female Friends.
8. We don’t run for sex. Though it’s a natural need, but please don’t judge without reading the whole book. Also, don’t trust the buttery words of a Man without knowing him.
9. It feels extremely difficult for us to walk behind an unknown girl, even if we are moving in the same direction. We wait or overtake most of the time. If you’re afraid then we too.
There are many things not coming up in my head right now, and yes men should equally know about women. But no one in the world till now has succeeded understanding a Woman.. haha.
Why Women Don’t Support Husbands in Difficult Times.
Grandpa
The IRS decides to audit Grandpa, and summons him to the IRS office. The IRS auditor was not surprised when Grandpa showed up with his attorney.
The auditor said, “Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I’m not sure the IRS finds that believable.”
“I’m a great gambler, and I can prove it,” says Grandpa. “How about a demonstration?”
The auditor thinks for a moment and says, “OK. Go ahead.”
Grandpa says, “I’ll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye.”
The auditor thinks a moment and says, “It’s a bet.”
Grandpa removes his glass eye and bites it. The auditor’s jaw drops.
Grandpa says, “Now, I’ll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye.”
The auditor can tell Grandpa isn’t blind, so he takes the bet.
Grandpa removes his dentures and sinks them into his remaining eye. The astonished auditor now grasps that he has gambled and lost three grand, with Grandpa’s attorney as a witness. His unease begins to mount.
“Want to go double or nothing?” Grandpa asks. “I’ll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.”
The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there’s no way this old guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again. Grandpa stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can’t make the stream reach the wastebasket on the other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the auditor’s desk.
The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win. But Grandpa’s attorney moans and puts his head in his hands.
“Are you OK?” the auditor asks.
“Not really,” says the attorney. “This morning, when Grandpa told me he’d been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand dollars that he could come in here and pee all over your desk and that you’d be happy about it.”
Don’t mess with old people!
If you feel your former bosses would give you a bad reference, should you contact them before putting them for your next job?
I had three interviews that went very well, in my opinion, yet I received no job offer, and I suspected it was because my boss was subverting my effort to leave the company. During my fourth interview, with the Department of Correction, I mentioned my suspicion to the person interviewing me and she said that she’d make a note of it. I was offered the job a couple of days later, contingent upon passing a drug screen, and while I was at the agency for the drug screen the HR manager asked me to step into her office.
She called my boss and said she was calling for a reference on me, and boss gave what would be described as a tepid recommendation: I did “adequate” work and was “as reliable as anyone else” but she would have hired someone younger if she was filling my position now. After she ended the call the HR manager said she understood why I had trouble finding another job, and then she asked when I wanted to start work with the agency. I told her I’d be there bright and early the following Monday.
My boss said she wanted someone younger for my job so I decided to accomodate her. I didn’t bother to say anything about the phone call, or that I was leaving. But I did send a delayed email letting her know how I felt about her and so she’d know that I wouldn’t be coming back. The last time I saw her was when I picked up my last paycheck; she threw a stapler at me.
Sounds Of The Department Store 1979
OMG!
Just put this on and listen to it on a early Saturday Morning.
I grew up in the 1960’s. This was the start of the acceleration of the “woman’s movement”. This later on went nuts and merged with other generational forces and combined has created a very hostile environment for men. I know, I had a “three stage rocket” thrown at me in Arkansas.
Accuse the man of molestation, then tell the police that the man is violent.
While the man is in jail, the bank accounts are frozen, and every stone is uncovered “looking” for evidence.
Then a divorce, favorable to the woman is initiated, and the husband, in jail / prison is unable to fight back.
Three-stage Rocket.
One friend had this happen to them. Then another. Then another. And, another.
Common place.
Now, men are saying… GOOD BYE.
The West has shot itself in the foot.
And the blood is hemorrhaging. Triage is needed, but people are dragging their feet. The blood is everywhere. It is smeared all over.
The damage is TOO FAR GONE.
Die. Let the West die.
We see what is going on, but it’s still to early to see the pain, and the hurt when the the women finally realize that they are FUCKED. Starting now.
In twenty years… LORD…
It’s gonna be nasty in the West. Nasty.
Once you wipe out two generations of stable society, what you have left is “Mad Max”. Gonna be a nightmare.
Today…
American HELLSCAPE
I am a Dutch national and have lived in Ethiopia, Netherlands, France and Germany. In 1984 I went to the US on a student exchange visa. I landed in New York on June 4, 1984 and took a taxi to the Holiday inn in downtown Manhattan – I think it was on 52nd or 54th street. Can’t remember that. what I do remember is that the taxi fare was $90 (which I thought was a lot) and I had been told you tip at least 10% on taxi rides, so I have the guy $100, which was almost a full week’s of wages for me at the time. I walked into the hotel and the doorman asked me where I came from. I told him “the airport” and then, on a whim, I asked him how much a taxi ride should cost. He told me “$35–$40.” Welcome to America, where most everything is a scam of some sort.
I have now been here almost 40 years and it has gotten soooooo much worse. This country is truly devolving into a hellscape. Government is basically non-functional. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to murder tens of thousands of people a year with their opioids without ANY ramification. Food companies can poison you with the shit they put in their food because we, as individuals, cannot prove a substance to be unhealthy or dangerous and these companies do not have to prove that a substance is safe before they can use it in whatever they’re cooking up.
I own my own business and America has been good to me, but my wife and my health insurance? Yeah, the first $55,000 we earned in a year went to cover health insurance and deductible. No mandatory vacation, no mandatory sick pay, you can get fired at the drop of a hat, for no reason whatsoever, which has happened to me four times until I said “fuck this, I am going to do my own thing.” No national holidays that employers MUST pay you for – ZERO! No paid time off for new parents with a newborn at home – ZERO! Homeless people all over the place, seemingly BILLIONS of churches that do fuck all nothing for ANYBODY, it is really surreal once I began seeing all of this.
School shootings? who the fuck thinks this is a good thing? Yet America’s conservative highest court of the land claims we should not and cannot rein in the insane amount of guns in this society. It is now wonder cops shoot people willy-nilly because they are terrified ALL the time. Normal people would immediately recognize that a society with more guns does not make a society safer, quite to the contrary, it makes it MUCH more dangerous. They actually have laws here, making it illegal for the government to spend money on research about gun violence. Imagine that. 50,000+ deaths from guns EVERY year and the government doesn’t think we should figure this out.
The Supreme Court of this country is co completely FUCKED UP that it actually decided that “corporations” were “people,” so they could contribute to political campaigns unlimited sums of money without disclosing they have donated to whatever organization. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen a corporation in prison. It is completely INSANE here.
At first I genuinely was blown away by America. Now I look at it in horror and with pity for the American people, half of whom are too stupid to recognize they are being fleeced. America’s version of capitalism is abhorrent and Europe is headed in the same direction. DON’T LET IT DESTROY YOUR SOCIAL SERVICES. The uber wealthy in Europe are beginning to see how America did it and they noticed that if you set the common man up against the immigrant, you can fuck them over really easily. That is EXACTLY what is happening in Europe today. You better be careful.
Sadly I am stuck here. My daughter and her soon-to-be husband want to stay and my wife and I don’t want to move far away from her, so here we are. Fortunately our life is very good because we have invested well and have our own business. Life for most is nearly impossibly difficult here. Hopefully, one day my daughter will say, “pops, lets get the fuck out of here.” I’d be gone in three nano-seconds. That is how bad I feel this country has gotten.
Are Europeans shocked when they first come to the United States?
I am a Dutch national and have lived in Ethiopia, Netherlands, France and Germany. In 1984 I went to the US on a student exchange visa. I landed in New York on June 4, 1984 and took a taxi to the Holiday inn in downtown Manhattan – I think it was on 52nd or 54th street. Can’t remember that. what I do remember is that the taxi fare was $90 (which I thought was a lot) and I had been told you tip at least 10% on taxi rides, so I have the guy $100, which was almost a full week’s of wages for me at the time. I walked into the hotel and the doorman asked me where I came from. I told him “the airport” and then, on a whim, I asked him how much a taxi ride should cost. He told me “$35–$40.” Welcome to America, where most everything is a scam of some sort.
I have now been here almost 40 years and it has gotten soooooo much worse. This country is truly devolving into a hellscape. Government is basically non-functional. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to murder tens of thousands of people a year with their opioids without ANY ramification. Food companies can poison you with the shit they put in their food because we, as individuals, cannot prove a substance to be unhealthy or dangerous and these companies do not have to prove that a substance is safe before they can use it in whatever they’re cooking up.
I own my own business and America has been good to me, but my wife and my health insurance? Yeah, the first $55,000 we earned in a year went to cover health insurance and deductible. No mandatory vacation, no mandatory sick pay, you can get fired at the drop of a hat, for no reason whatsoever, which has happened to me four times until I said “fuck this, I am going to do my own thing.” No national holidays that employers MUST pay you for – ZERO! No paid time off for new parents with a newborn at home – ZERO! Homeless people all over the place, seemingly BILLIONS of churches that do fuck all nothing for ANYBODY, it is really surreal once I began seeing all of this.
School shootings? who the fuck thinks this is a good thing? Yet America’s conservative highest court of the land claims we should not and cannot rein in the insane amount of guns in this society. It is now wonder cops shoot people willy-nilly because they are terrified ALL the time. Normal people would immediately recognize that a society with more guns does not make a society safer, quite to the contrary, it makes it MUCH more dangerous. They actually have laws here, making it illegal for the government to spend money on research about gun violence. Imagine that. 50,000+ deaths from guns EVERY year and the government doesn’t think we should figure this out.
The Supreme Court of this country is co completely FUCKED UP that it actually decided that “corporations” were “people,” so they could contribute to political campaigns unlimited sums of money without disclosing they have donated to whatever organization. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen a corporation in prison. It is completely INSANE here.
At first I genuinely was blown away by America. Now I look at it in horror and with pity for the American people, half of whom are too stupid to recognize they are being fleeced. America’s version of capitalism is abhorrent and Europe is headed in the same direction. DON’T LET IT DESTROY YOUR SOCIAL SERVICES. The uber wealthy in Europe are beginning to see how America did it and they noticed that if you set the common man up against the immigrant, you can fuck them over really easily. That is EXACTLY what is happening in Europe today. You better be careful.
Sadly I am stuck here. My daughter and her soon-to-be husband want to stay and my wife and I don’t want to move far away from her, so here we are. Fortunately our life is very good because we have invested well and have our own business. Life for most is nearly impossibly difficult here. Hopefully, one day my daughter will say, “pops, lets get the fuck out of here.” I’d be gone in three nano-seconds. That is how bad I feel this country has gotten.
What is the biggest scam you’ve ever seen?
One morning a couple of months ago, one of my employees called me in tears. She said that she had an emergency and she and her husband must urgently leave the job and drive to LA. I asked them what happened. They explained that a month ago they received a call from someone saying they won a prize – a set of furniture and to provide the address and personal information where the prize can be sent, which they did. (They are young recent immigrants from Cuba and never dealt with this kind of thing before.)
Subsequently, she received another call and was told that the prize was shipped but now she owed a $1,000 in shipping and handling fees. She responded that she doesn’t need the prize and hung up. They then received an official looking letter from a law firm in LA saying that they are being sued to recover the prize money. And now – harassing phone calls saying they will be kicked out of the country for fraud and all of their hard-earned money will be seized by the IRS.
That morning the attorney from LA called and said that they must urgently come up with the money or appear for a deposition. They were hyperventilating and crying. Even after I explained to them that it’s a scam, they wouldn’t calm down for the longest time. I showed them that a generic office building is located at that address, not a law firm. That a lawyer with that name is not licensed in California or anywhere. And I called back the number they provided which was disconnected.
I don’t know if this is the biggest scam, but to prey on new immigrants who don’t know anything and are very vulnerable, is the lowest of the low. Same kind of people were calling my elderly mother with similar offers and messages. Makes my blood boil.
America – the Shabby
My Ukrainian relatives were. When they arrived in Albuquerque via San Diego, having escaped the war, they were shocked by how shabby everything is. This is a thing, I think, to which most Americans are oblivious, since so few of us ever leave the country. My family were expecting a wealthy, modern society— what certain elements of our culture portray as a “shining city on a hill”. They used to think I was just “talking Ukraine up” for their benefit on my many visits, and I’m not suggesting that Ukraine is without deficits, but I suspect if Americans had seen what that country looked like prior to the invasions, they would want to know what the hell happened to us.
My family are grateful to be here, grateful to have gotten their little daughter away from the Russians, and worry constantly about the relations they left behind, some in occupied territory, but they still marvel at bad roads, the general absence of public transportation, antiquated technology, stodgy banking, low quality food, poor healthcare, and a shockingly indolent education industry.
Their best friends— and some of mine— ended up in Toronto. Comparing notes, my family often wonder if they would not have been better off in Canada…
Can you give some examples of revenge being served cold and sweet?
When I was in highschool, I had a girlfriend tell me that I was immature. I pointed out that I worked 5 days a week, as well as getting good grades. That I was never late for work, and always did my homework. That I was never in trouble with the police.
She asked what that had to do with maturity? I tried to explain, but she wasn’t believing anything I was saying.
Fast forward 25 years, and I run into her family at a wedding, we are sitting at the same table during the reception. She is lecturing her 17 year old son about sneaking alcohol, they get into an argument, and she says, why can’t you grow up? He bragged about being the most mature kid in his class. She said, you can’t hold a part time job, you are just barely passing your classes, and the police brought you home because you were drinking, and you were given a warning about being suspended from school.
He asked what that had to do with maturity? I spit out my drink, and started laughing. The mom looked at me, and asked what was so funny. Obviously not remembering our conversation from 25 years ago, but I had never forgotten it. I finally felt validated after 25 years.
Culture Shock America
Haha yes….
When I visited Los Angeles in the 80s. When I get to the customs guy, he asks his questions. Now I didn’t know this but they sometimes have random questions
This one says, in a deadpan voice “ Do you have any plans to overthrow the United States government?”
Of course, I snort with laughter, which really pisses the guy off
His next question is asked in a louder, rude tone, “Are you here for business or pleasure?”
Somewhat bewildered and increasingly pissed off, I quip back, “Ask your sister”. That earned me a thorough baggage check and a twenty minute delay. So much for petty officialdom
I picked up a Hertz rental car from the counter at the airport
I noticed it didn’t have much fuel in, so as I am coming out of the airport, there’s a gas station
As I pull in, this Latino guy comes over and with a thick Mexican accent says “What you want, Senór”
I ask him to fill it up and he says “Twenty Dollars. You pay me first. The people they fill up and drive away and they do not pay!”
So I give him twenty dollars. He says “I put this in the till, Senór”, and off he goes into a little building
Ten minutes later I am still sat there, so I get out and I too go into the little building. It’s empty apart from a bored looking white guy behind a counter
“Hey”, I say, “Where’s the Mexican forecourt attendant?”
So, a few days later, I’m driving around when this small pick up truck passes me. Mounted on the back is a big board and on that board is written “FOLLOW ME”
And Americans are all like “Hey, look at that, Honey, let’s follow it and see where it’s going”
The truck drives around for a while until it gets a tail of about twenty cars. Then it goes to a big shopping mall and parks up
And the Americans are “Hey, Honey, while we’re here, let’s do some shopping!!”
I doubt such a trawling tactic would work in my country, but you never know
So, in the evening back at my hotel, I’m watching TV
First up is a quiz show, the contestants are sitting in seats with a metal plate. They answer questions on various topics to build prize money. Pretty regular fare, right? But here’s the kicker, if they get three questions wrong in a row, they host presses a button and “BZZZ”, the contestant gets an electric shock that literally makes them leap out of their seat!
I flick the channel. It’s a nature documentary about the Wild Turkey. Seems like when George Washington was President, the national bird of America wasn’t going to be the Eagle, but the Turkey. Something to do with Thanksgiving, although how that would have looked on The Oval Office carpet clutching arrows and laurel leaves bothers me more than I can say
However, the narrator is going on Wild Turkey this, Wild Turkey that. Then he says, “Now we’ll talk to someone who encounters the Wild Turkey every day. One of the backwoods hunters of America”
So it cuts to this old dude with a check shirt, peaked cap and a face like Elmer Fudd, sitting behind a log. He has a pump action shotgun
The narrator says “Sir, can you tell us your thoughts on the Wild Turkey” and holds out the microphone
In the deepest, slow, hillbilly accent, the guy says, “Well, the American Wild Turkey is a truly noble bird. It is full of grace and beauty”
Then he says, “There’s a gobbler now”, and in a loud voice calls “GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!!”
This Turkey head pops out from behind a bush, and, “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!”. The guys cuts loose with his gun and clouds of feathers fly up
And this is a nature documentary!
So, yes, America was an absolute culture shock to me. I did enjoy it though
Why Men Are Going Their Own Way (MGTOW Explained)
Take the time to watch.
There were only two things that shocked me when I came to the US.
the complete lack of maintenace for the infrastructure. I thought Americans loved to drive? So why not spend some money on maintenance. I’ve seen more potholes in 6 days in the Usa, than in my entire life in the Netherlands
the way police officers and other other uniformed people behaved. It already started on the airport at border security, all of the guys in uniform acted like they were the most important person in the world and we were just measly worms. Come on, I know you have a job to do, but why can’t you just try to be pollite? If Dutch police officers would behave like that, they would be considered unfit for the job.
Is it a dress code rule in county jail or federal prison to wear socks to bed?
You know, I can understand how one might get the impression that specific behaviors are mandated in jail or prison due to prisoners adhering so meticulously to certain practices.
But inmates have many self-imposed rules, and the sock thing is definitely one of these.
Nobody in their right mind wants to put bare foot to floor in lockup.
The only reasons I EVER removed my socks in county was —
…to put on a cleaner pair;
…to don shower shoes;
…to clip my toenails.
And that’s it.
Despite the CO’s wheeling in a janitorial cart once a day, and every con in the pod swabbing the day room floor, our individual cells (particularly the stainless steel toilet/sink combo), and the shower stall and additional open air communal head at the end of the second tier catwalk — despite all this — the surfaces in jail were never truly clean.
Jails and prisons are veritable petri dishes for tinea pedis, protozoa, cold/flu viruses and your everyday run-of-the-mill despair.
And in an environment where a relatively mundane illness can blossom into something life-threatening due to substandard healthcare, you do what you can to minimize contact.
And if that means wearing socks and marginalizing bunkies who refuse to get with the program, then so be it.
We called the few prisoners stupid enough to go barefoot in the pod “Jethros.”
And it wasn’t a term of endearment.
Nobody wanted a Jethro for a cellmate.
They usually ended up camping out on yoga mats under the corrugated steel stairway rather than getting a cellie.
So the sock thing, like the courtesy flush, was a rule of our very own.
And you broke it at your own peril.
America has gone INSANE!
I was working near Houston, Texas, from UK, when I took my wife to visit the town. We parked for a little while to study the city map when somone, we know not who, or why, let fly with an automatic rifle of some sort, so yes, that did shock us.
I was in Loisiana with a group of workmates when we were held up by a gang of young children, made strong by one of thier gang holding a small hand gun. One of my group was shot in the stomach, causing relatively minor injuries, but with a certain amount of trauma, so again, yes you can say we were shocked.
I was on holiday in Maine, near Bangor airport, when a stranger, from his demeanor I guess he was probably not of sound mind,walked past brandishing a large automtic pistol in his hand. By now I was more difficult to impress but my wife was certainly very impressed and quite shocked.
My son was mugged by a gang of five youths in Central Park, I think around 1990. It made your national news as my son is also a competent and very aggressive combatant. He layed into the gang, disaarmed them of their knives and holding two of them until the police got there. The rest of the gang got away with ten dollars. We were at home in England when we received a phone call from the New York police. They praised my lad but also asked us to tell my lad, that that is the way of things in this little backwater town of New York and it would be better if he had just handed over his cash to the thieves and let them escape.
You seem to have little idea just how insane you are all becoming.
Tell me, are Americans shocked when they first come the UK?
When you Accidentally Compromise every CPU on Earth
The Pizza Index.
A quick visit to the United States
The naive unworldly ignorance of most Americans and the poverty and squalor of weatherboard shotgun shacks and trailer parks living is shocking but it’s the absence of the freedoms from guns and gun crime that killed over 40,000 Americans last year and the absence of civilised universal health care that leaves 40,000,000 Americans with no health care that is really shocking.
Little things like never being able to pay the ticket price for goods and services, primitive banking and payment methods, being coerced into tipping underpaid serving and bar staff and not being able even to cross the road wherever it observed safe to do so is oppressive when used to the almost utopian freedoms Brits and most other Europeans enjoy.
How do Americans tolerate the fear that they or their children can be shot and killed at any moment and the terror of bankruptcy hangs over them if/when they or a family member becomes chronically ill? That is truly shocking!
If you’ve worked the same job in different countries, what was the country you’ve preferred doing that job in?
I have been a university lecturer in the following countries, and experienced it in the following ways:
Germany: A very pleasant experience. The students are mature and polite, and it felt like I was conversing with adults on an even, intellectual level. It’s nice to teach at university level in Germany. The colleagues also tend to be quite dignified and interesting. Hierarchies are steep. As a lecturer in Germany, you feel respected. Income is not very high though, after deductions. And one thing you will sometimes sense is a certain sense of depression. Students in Germany aren’t always happy people, and you will sometimes bump into some really dark and brooding characters.
England: A bit more demanding, also on your pedagogic abilities. British students appear much younger and less mature than German students. You will have plenty of discipline and disturbance issues, and motivation can be low. Still, there is respect for the lecturer, and I have always enjoyed my British colleagues. The research aspect is demanding. Much more so than in Germany, and one feels at times that the only way to earn one’s keep is by bringing in plenty of research funding. I often felt like a mixture of a high school teacher and a fund raiser while working in England. Pay is fairly good. I earned much better than in Germany, and generally felt that my work gave me more status.
New Zealand: Like in England, but with the exception that there was an unusual level of interpersonal friction. Students will openly challenge you and make life as hard as possible, and colleagues can dedicate themselves to strong and long lived animosities that will be carried out in eerily orchestrated mobbing scenarios. I have to say I have no interest whatsoever in working in New Zealand again. It nearly broke me. Pay is average. You will earn more as a courier driver or sales person. What is nice though is that you get a good amount of time off to enjoy New Zealand’s fantastic scenery.
France: Here, you really need to make sure you understand the institution’s philosophy first, and then sing from the same song sheet as everyone else. I found my work at French university highly inspiring, but also unbelievably demanding. The levels of discipline and integrity required are higher than elsewhere. I often say it, and will say it again: Living and working successfully in France requires a certain military spirit. Reporting orders, understanding hierarchies, and not getting into the mills of politics, are your daily life. Bottom line for me was, I learned more about my field teaching for a French university than I did studying in Germany, the US, and Canada. But watch out for the students. France is where they once beheaded their royals – that streak runs deep. Student complaints can occur with a vengeance. Pay was good. Better than in England.
China: Here, you have two choices. Either you go through your material in any way you please, or you make a pedagogic effort. In both cases, the students will be exquisitely polite and respectful, and assure you of their warmest feelings. Come examination time, the true picture emerges, and you will see just how successful your teaching methods were. Having said that, expectations in grades are very high, and the stigma of failing is enormous, so you will eventually relegate yourself to mark on the unrealistically high side, just to evade human drama. For me, teaching in China meant having to reinvent myself totally, because I wanted to make sure the high marks I pretty much had to give actually reflected reality. I have taught myself to teach properly only in China. Pay, by national standards, is on the higher side, but then, I was an expat.
India: If you are one of those idealists who dream about a career in teaching because you want to make a difference, and imagine your students will love you for your efforts, India is the place to be. My Indian students were my favourites. Nobody else is this eager to learn, displays more genuine interest and even enthusiasm, and connects more strongly on a personal basis than Indian students. Teaching in India really was absolutely brilliant, and I would do it again. Even though the management is often disgustingly top down, and will do whatever they like, such as ordering staff in for meetings on weekends, or the likes. It doesn’t matter. In India, you really experience genuine hunger for knowledge, and pleasure in making it accessible. I was on a lucrative expat contract.
Sweden: Very much like Germany. Swedish students are a mature, polite, and jolly bunch who see you as a human being and will do their best to keep things pleasant for everybody. The actual organisation though is much tighter than in Germany, while providing a fireworks of fun stuff on the side for staff and students alike. In Sweden, year schedules are ready and perfect for the entire academic year by August, and everything is timed and apportioned to the minute, with a great sense of timing and availability of resources. Colleagues are warm and lovely, and you will feel very comfortable with your workplace, which will be hugely more attractive and homely than in any of the other places. I can’t imagine a better place to be a university lecturer than Sweden if you simply want to enjoy life and do well. Pay is about the same as in France, which makes me a member of the somewhat more comfortable pay bracket in Sweden.
Coffee Liqueur Wings
Delicious
Coffee Liqueur Wings can be prepared a day ahead and can be reheated in the oven.
Ingredients
1 ounce butter
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 drops hot sauce
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup coffee liqueur
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
20 chicken wings
Instructions
In a 2 quart saucepan melt butter; sauté garlic and onion over medium heat for 3 minutes.
Add cumin and chili powder and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
Blend in coffee liqueur and cook to reduce liquid by one-half.
Stir in hot sauce, Worcestershire, barbecue sauce and salt. Simmer 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add honey. Set aside and allow to cool.
Prepare chicken wings by removing and discarding the tips. Divide the wings in half at the remaining joint.
Marinate the wings in the cooked sauce for 1 hour at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.
To cook, place the marinated wings on a broiler pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil 5 minutes, turn and brush with the remaining sauce and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
What these two simultaneous events indicate is that there is a growing disconnect between the military-industrial complex coupled with the ruling class on the one hand, and the wealthy elite on the other. The fact is that China has overwhelming support among US capitalists, who want nothing more than to be able to trade freely with China.
More specifically, this means that the sectors of the capitalist class who are not involved in arms-dealing are not interested in the escalation of tensions, nor war, with China. However, their interests are not being reflected in government. US foreign policy has become via the pull of the military-industrial complex, which drags the country’s resources into wars and conflicts around the world. It is a growing tumor of greed that is depriving society of the blood and oxygen it needs to sustain itself.
Only when the US ruling class accepts the fact that China is not going anywhere can it move forward as a country. Otherwise, the contradictions between reality and its unrealistic objectives will tear it apart.
It doesn’t take a communist to realize that all attempts at dismantling China will fail, and that by insisting on doing the impossible, more people are losing out than just the working class. If America wants even to preserve its prized capitalist system, to say nothing of socialism, it will have to accept these realities. The preservation of capitalism in America rests on win-win cooperation with China.
The above contradictions are a direct outcome of China’s four-dimensional chess strategy of using a relatively weak currency to create a trade surplus — causing Western capitalist nations to both rejoice at the untold amounts of profit they receive from an endless pool of cheap but reliable labor, and seethe at the fact that the investment they put into such labor is also going towards building a developed socialist country that will not bend toward their will.
All of this begs the question, why do the pro-China US capitalists not use their wealth and influence to form a party and run for office, defending their capital interests via preserving positive trade relations with China?
At this point in time, even the most exploitative form of capitalism would be a more rational social structure than what we have in the US, which is now a rogue state threatening global stability and quite literally all life on the planet. If there were even a bourgeoisie overthrow of the current regime, I would put my full support behind it, because at least it would eliminate some of the risks of direct military confrontation with unbeatable opponents and destruction of life on a scale rarely seen before.
Ironically, this might be the best chance we have at seeing a non-imperialist United States in this lifetime. And those of us who don’t want to see war with China should be the first to not only accept, but also encourage this reality in coming to fruition.
Boss Babe Horrors
How do sergeants/chiefs handle a soldier/marine/sailor/airman who has been accepted for officer candidate school but has not, as yet, left their unit?
I was in infantry AIT with an OCS guarantee at Ft DIX. I enlisted after receiving my draft notice only to get that OCS slot. I was ranked high up in my AIT class since I was trying hard to learn and physically prepare for OCS. Somebody in the command line made the decision to fill an open Drill Sergeant slot with me. They pinned E4 DI corporal stripes on me, gave me a smoky bear hat and gave me a heavy weapons platoon to train in Infantry AIT. Since I had run through regular infantry AIT doing heavy weapons gave me the opportunity to learn 81mm and 4.2 skills. I did get to go to OCS after one cycle as a drill corporal; I graduated near the top of my class so the time to learn the junior noncom skills definitely helped. After receiving my brass bars I was assigned =as a map reading instructor at Ft Benning. Four mounts later I was sent to Jungle training school in Panama. All this training set me up very well to command a recon unit in Vietnam in the 199 Light Infantry Brigade. I ended up serving 39 months instead of 24 which I would have if I had kept my head down as a draftee. I can’t say I would have chosen the Army as a recent college graduate in 1967 since the being drafted interrupted my professional career. I certainly learned leadership, personal confidence and other personal skills and I do feel that I earned my freedom as a citizen of the US of A. I earned two Bronze stars with V device, an ARCOM with V device and valor awards from the Vietnam units I served with. I certainly used my jungle training skills and my mortar, artillery and air support direction skills in jungle combat. i came out of Vietnam with a permanent hearing disability, minor shrapnel wounds and agent orange disability that the VA can treat but not cure.
After leaving the Army I was able to resume my professional career albeit with a different company from the one I was drafted out of. With an OCS guarantee in AIT, A simple decision made by some unknown commander to hold me back in AIT and make me a junior NCO drill corporal had a dramatic effect on my military career and later on my personal and professional life.
As a draftee right out of college I was angry at the draft but over the years I have come to the conclusion that some sort of two year compulsive service to our country should be required of all citizens.
The Wall #37 – When Women Regret Feminism | The Wall
What amuses you as a foreigner in India?
I’ve worked and lived in India for two years, and for me, India is one of the most amusing countries in the world, together with Japan, Great Britain, and Australia. There’s always something going on that makes me chuckle in these places.
In India, my list of amusements is this:
the way they speak; I don’t know why, but it immediately lifts my spirits to hear an Indian speak English. There is something very funny about it for me. Perhaps it’s because of the way they seemtospeakwithoutanybreakbetweenwords, roll the Rs, and choose quaint old-fashioned expressions while sounding somehow… cute. There is a trademark intonation that I have actually picked up myself while living there, and I fall back on it in some situations, which makes my wife laugh, because she used to work for a big, Indian company once, and it reminds her of the way the management spoke.
the way they decorate vehicles. I’m a car designer, from Germany, and they teach us to design vehicles to look serious, determined, premium… and then come the Indians and paint flower garlands and happy colours and religious symbols onto them. It’s like trying to design a fighter jet, and someone paints kittens and sun flowers on it. They just somehow aren’t with the program in that regard, which the hippie inside me secretly approves of.
their start-up spirit and professionalism with even the most modest of entrepreneurial endeavours. I’ve talked to guys selling street food in Bangalore from little carts, and from the terminology they were using, you might have thought they owned a supermarket chain with car washes.
music videos in Hindi where you get some gent singing in a landscape, and before you know it, there comes a whole army of brightly dressed ladies and whirls through the background in flowing dresses, performing perfectly synchronized movements. It’s just not something we see in the west, where music videos are mostly about some somber individual glowering at something unseen in mysterious surroundings.
the way they initiate conversations. It was an absolute classic for me to be sitting in the university canteen with a plate of chana masala and some roti, and here comes a student and sits next to me and asks brightly, “are you a foreigner, sir?” To which I was sometimes tempted to answer “no, silly, haven’t you seen how many blond, blue eyed Indians with Canadian/ German accents there are?” It was of course clear to them that I wasn’t a local, but they still managed to be diplomatic even with such a blunt question.
I came to India from my expat posting in China on a French contract, and it was a huge sigh of relief for me to come to India, even though I really enjoyed China. I felt somehow immediately at home in India, partly because everyone spoke English, and partly because of something else that I can’t quite place.
A Naadi reader told me in Bangalore once that I had been an Indian in a previous life, and I could absolutely see that. A friend of mine in Bangalore says she believes I’m a “closet Indian”.
I certainly had a great time in India in this life. I
He’s special
Chicken Wings in Coke
230202 Coca Cola Chicken Wings 1
Ingredients
4 pounds chicken wings
1 (10 ounce) can Coca-Cola
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
Place the chicken in a shallow casserole.
Sprinkle with the garlic and onion powder.
Combine the Coke with the sugar and soy sauce and pour over the chicken.
Slow bake the chicken at 325 degrees F for 3 to 4 hours until liquid has evaporated and becomes sticky.
Is it true that Ukraine is losing the war? How when they possess 90% of Ukraine?
Russia’s overall objectives were, are, and will remain securing the Donbass and Crimea.
When they initially invaded in the north, east, and south, the intent was to force Ukraine forces to draw back from the Donbass. This part of the initial invasion was a huge success, despite what the USuk’s CIA and MI6 propaganda told you (and misinformed you).
To invade, take and hold even half of Ukraine, Russia would have needed far more forces than the initial 70,000 that they used. They used armor and mechanized infantry to take aggressive positions in hopes that it would force Ukraine to sue for a quick peace and settlement.
Initially, even that part of the bold Russian actions seemed to be a huge success. Then Ukraine asked for negotiations, and the results were to demand Russia to move back its forces to show a willingness to negotiate and not just use the negotiations as a ruse. Russia complied somewhat, but this only led to Ukraine doing exactly what they accused Russia of doing—aggressively counter-attacking and sabotaging the peace negotiations.
At that point, relatively small expeditionary Russian forces were dangerously overextended, so they doubled down on their original plans. Pull back, consolidate, and secure the Donbass and Crimea.
In order to take cities like Kharkov and Kherson, Russian forces will have to destroy much of these cities—unless Ukraine forces flee from those cities. The Ukraine strategy has been to put much of its military right in the cities in order to protect the forces because, for the most part, Russian forces have refrained from bombing them. After all, if the cities are part of the objective, you really don’t want to kill their largely Russian populations or destroy the buildings. It’s Russia that will have to pay for the reconstruction of E. Ukraine.
It took Russia two years to build up the defense of the Donbass and Crimea regions to the point where they can then use them as bases for going on the offensive to take the rest of the Donbass. That point has been reached, and now Ukraine is losing badly. Basically, Russia is using a much smaller force to neutralize Ukraine’s much larger army in E Ukraine.
When a client can’t get it up :/
If you are trapped in the desert with only a car that is broken down, how could you survive?
Set one of your tires on fire. They produce an inky black smoke that will be visible for miles. Also, they burn for a really long time too.
main qimg 80ff931a86b4af7941400a7d7ef0576d lq
When a tire field catches fire it produces a smokestack that is visible for huge distances. And these tire fires are actually really difficult to put out too because they reignite themselves from within due to their composition.
I’d space out when you burn each tire though. The rescue search might not start until after you’ve been missing for a while.
Also — don’t leave your car — that is usually how people die. Too often, a rescue team gets to a car only to find it is empty.
Being lost in the desert is no bueno (not good). It reminds me of that one Far Side comic:
main qimg 99518d0a902216d964c08134642bc6f2 pjlq
Creepy
The USA is on a sled going down hill
Ohh yes, when we go for first time and ever after.
Of course, so called “USA” is not a uniform place. Its made up of thousands of counties, each with its own peculiarities and distinct characteristics.
What is shared by all is the hypocritical duality of prudishness and deep religiousness with improper sexual behavior and love and care for the needed.
You frown about pictures showing woman’s nipples or prohibit showing universal masterpieces of art because they show penises, but accept and make president of a guy who boasts on TV that he can and does grab ladies genitals just because he is rich and powerful.
You boast of your country been the “safest” in the world, yet you have to own and wear and use arms to defend your selves. And enjoy the highest rate of killings by firearms of all what you call the first world counties.
You say you believe in the teachings of Jesus, basically to care for thy neighbor when he is in need and to share bread and water with the hungry and thirsty, but you refuse the idea of universal health care to cover thy neighbor in need.
You say you believe in paying workers fair and decent salaries, but waiters need the tips because they are not covered by a basic salary nor any kind of health care or social net.
You believe that the almighty US dollar can buy everything and that quantity prevails over quality but you think you can teach other how to behave.
And yes, we are shocked by the very high rate of really obese people in a country that boasts the best meat, vegetables, bread and coffee in the world. Are they? All I know is that most of USA produce is banned in the EU for not meeting our health and sanitary standards.
I’m sure you are also shocked when you come to Europe.
The USA is fucked up
Many years ago I was staying at a budget hotel in Boston and I asked the clerk if there was a corner store nearby and she said that there was a shuttle service that would get me to a local mall in about fifteen minutes. When I got to my room I realised that I could see a mall I could walk to in a couple of minutes from my window. So I grabbed my backpack and started walking, got about half way there and a cop car appeared from no where, screeched to a halt and two incredibly aggressive cops hopped out demanding to know what I thought I was doing. They were 100% convinced that I was up to no good because they just didn’t believe that anyone would walk for five minutes instead of sitting on a bus for fifteen.
Edit for the grumpy folk: I wasn’t staying down town, couldn’t afford that. I was in an area that was mostly industrial with the sort of budget hotels workers stay in. No idea what you guys think of as “budget” but 25 years ago my whole stay cost less than one night down town, even with travel costs
What’s the hardest thing about being a guy?
I am answering this on behalf of my husband.
Incident –
My husband was working with a restaurant. He was in the kitchen section of the restaurant.
There was a woman in her mid thirties who worked there. She was like my husband’s Elder sister.
My husband then switched the job as the pay was low.
After he switched, the owner started calling him as he had no one to work. My husband had given him 2 months notice.
Then one day he accused my husband as a pervert. And he told him that the woman who works there complained about my husband touching his private parts while at work.
My husband couldn’t speak and came to me, hugged and started crying hysterically.
He never cries.
I asked him and he told me everything.
I understood what happened. My husband had a bacterial infection on that area when he was younger.
He gets itching when there is high temperature. When he used to work there, due to stove he got that itching and his hand went there.
It’s a medical condition. He was helpless.
I straight away called that lady to clarify.
She told me that she didn’t complain, but the owner modified the truth to abuse my husband put allegation.
That night she called my husband and apologised.
The hardest part of being a guy is even if he doesn’t mean anything vulgar in actions, he can’t clarify with a female.
Thanks
Riya
PS – please share the answer because I don’t think anyone should suffer from this type of judgemental attitude.
Fathers are fucked
To those of you who have been incarcerated, who was the strangest inmate you ever encountered, and what eventually became of him or her?
There was this guy who we will call Bob. ( Not his real Name). He always looked at people with a cold stare. He rarely talked and never smiled . One day i went to chow because the meal wasn’t that bad. He sat down opposite of me . Others that were going to sit with me sat at the next table . Bob stared at me as he ate. Never took his eyes off me , never looked at his plate or looked around . Just stared at me . This is the way he did everyone but it was my first encounter that close to him My workout partner said “Hey Harve . come over with us. “ I wanted to but I also felt if I moved he would think he intimidated me. And to be honest I was nervous. So I just stared back.
A couple years later I saw him in the dog program and he was outside with a dog. He was smiling and laughing as he talked to the dog. I walked up and asked if I could pet the dog and he said with a big smile “Sure” I told him that it was the first time I ever saw him smile and asked what made him so happy. He basically told me the dog made him happy and that being in the dog program gave him purpose. I already knew the dog program was a good program but this definitely confirmed it
Creepy and cringe
Have you ever walked out of a movie theater early over a feature movie that you simply could not continue to sit through? If so, what was the movie?
THIS abomination:
https://youtu.be/Nk3ZN3dSeDk
It was a gruelingly hot summer day. Mercury was spurting from the top of thermometers, the heat was rising in great waves from the streets, eggs were frying on the sidewalks, and car radiators were spewing great clouds of hissing steam into the air.
Going to an air conditioned movie theater seemed a good idea, to me, a lad of 15, wandering aimlessly on the streets of my miasmic little town, trapped -like a rat- in the maze of my fetid adolescence. ANYTHING would be better than this ungodly, brutal, unceasing heat.
So I paid my 50 cents and entered the dark and cool cavern of the theatre. I didn’t care what the movie was; anything -anything at all- would be better than the cloying, penetrating heat.
Twenty minutes later, I was on the street, again. Anything -anything, I say- would be better than that insipid, brain dead, gratuitous appeal to my adolescent fantasies: Beach Blanket Bingo. God, help me.
And there, across the street, was a dog, panting heavily and licking itself in that special way that only dogs can do. A stranger approached the theatre entrance, and paused to ask me if the movie was any good.
“No,” I said, “Don’t waste your money. That dog over there is better entertainment.”
I pointed at the mutt. “Sure wish I could do that…”
“That dog’d bite you,” the man replied, and disappeared into the movie.
I turned to take the long walk home, in the searing heat.
The United States is INSANE
I was working near Houston, Texas, from UK, when I took my wife to visit the town. We parked for a little while to study the city map when somone, we know not who, or why, let fly with an automatic rifle of some sort, so yes, that did shock us.
I was in Loisiana with a group of workmates when we were held up by a gang of young children, made strong by one of thier gang holding a small hand gun. One of my group was shot in the stomach, causing relatively minor injuries, but with a certain amount of trauma, so again, yes you can say we were shocked.
I was on holiday in Maine, near Bangor airport, when a stranger, from his demeanor I guess he was probably not of sound mind,walked past brandishing a large automtic pistol in his hand. By now I was more difficult to impress but my wife was certainly very impressed and quite shocked.
My son was mugged by a gang of five youths in Central Park, I think around 1990. It made your national news as my son is also a competent and very aggressive combatant. He layed into the gang, disaarmed them of their knives and holding two of them until the police got there. The rest of the gang got away with ten dollars. We were at home in England when we received a phone call from the New York police. They praised my lad but also asked us to tell my lad, that that is the way of things in this little backwater town of New York and it would be better if he had just handed over his cash to the thieves and let them escape.
You seem to have little idea just how insane you are all becoming.
Tell me, are Americans shocked when they first come the UK?
Delusional ONLYFANS WOMAN THINK Men Want Wife Her Up
No wonder no guys want them…
Welcome to America!
Shocked doesn’t quite cover it. Appalled is closer.
The ‘welcome’ at the airport quite takes my breath away. It seems to be assumed that everyone is a terrorist and should be treated like one. The wait was also very long, it isn’t like that in Europe. We should start treating Americans in the same way so they understand how unacceptable it is.
All taxi rides I’ve had remind me of Grand Theft Auto. It seems to be necessary either to be accelerating or braking hard and changing lanes harshly.
The tipping culture is mad, why can’t you just pay the staff a salary and show real prices? Make tips mean something so that they really do reward someone for exceptional service.
prices in shops are strange. The price on the shelf isn’t what you pay because it doesn’t include taxes. That needs to be sorted out!
People seem to be judged by how rich they are, richer people receive better service. Probably due to the tipping culture. Everyone should be treated the same regardless of money, culture and sex.
I have been a few times but won’t return willingly.
i could go on, but I’ve said enough.
Creole Chicken Wings with Peach Mustard Sauce
shutterstock 50480857
Yield: 4 entree or 8 appetizer servings
Ingredients
Wings
3 pounds chicken wings
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup lemon juice
Peach Mustard Sauce
1/2 cup peach jam
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons pimento, diced
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Instructions
Wings
Cut tips off wings; reserve for stock.
In small bowl, stir together garlic, mustard, paprika, thyme, sugar, cayenne, salt and black pepper; blend in lemon juice to make paste.
Using pastry brush, brush paste over wings.
Arrange wings, meaty side down, on lightly greased foil-lined baking sheets. Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Bake at 475 degrees F for 15 minutes; turn wings over and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown, crisp and no longer pink inside.
Peach Mustard Sauce
In saucepan, melt jam over low heat; stir in mustard, pimiento and vinegar. Serve separately for dipping.
Welcome to the USA more…
I’ve been on holiday in the states a few times. «shocked» is perhaps not the word I’d use, but a few things was a very new experience for me:
Airport customs immigration: standing hours in line just to show my passport and answering a random questions like «what’s the purpose of your visit» or «where are you staying». I’ve traveled all over the world and never had to wait so long at customs as I’ve done in the US.
Prices in stores not including taxes. This was quite strange for me. I’d pick out a 2 dollar item and take it to be register, only for them to ask me for 2.5 dollars. This seems absolutely absurd to anyone who’s grown up in Europe. In stores here, the price on the shelf is the price you pay. You have to pay the taxes anyway, so there’s no reason whatsoever to exclude them from the price on the shelf
TV commercial breaks: When watching american shows I’ve always wondered why they so often show the logo and fade to black. Untill I visited the states, that is. They have a commercial break every 7 minutes. It’s absolutely outrageous. In the states it takes 1 hour of TV to show a 30 minute show. For someone who’s used to 22-min shows taking 30 mins and 45 min shows taking 1 hour, this is truly jarring.
Tipping: In restaurants in the US there’s a general expectation to tip generously. This is also quite a foreign to a Norwegian. We only tip if it the service, food and restaurant were all truly above and beyond exceptional, or if you’re a rich guy feeling generous. If for some strange reason we’re paying cash we might tip a little bit to ease the rounding-up, but virtually every single transaction in norway happens by credit- or debitcard, so this isn’t common. Restaurants pay their employees a living wage, and tipping is meant as something extra for something extra great, not just paying someone for doing their job.
USA stories
Well, my first trip (of many) to the US was to LA. Our travel company had us booked into a hotel near to LAX. After checking in, we were escorted across the parking lot to our room by a security guard carrying a rifle. That was a shock!
Other shocking things for me:
1. Lack of exercise and outrageous unhealthy food portions. No wonder the US is the most obese country in the developed world with an obesity rate in excess of 42%.
2. People in Southern California that don’t speak English.
3. The levels of poverty in many of the cities.
4. Your banking system is about 30 years behind the rest of the developed world. (Thankfully, your phone system has caught up more recently).
5. Poor maintenance of infrastructure – ie Roads and Bridges.
6. The News is mostly focussed on local matters – leaving many US citizens with a lack of understanding of global issues.
7. A total misbelief by many US citizens that the rest of the world is somehow behind and in awe of the US.
Edit: It seems that some people here cannot accept reality. In particular, it seems that my experience of being escorted across the parking lot of a hotel near LAX (back in the early 1980’s) can’t possibly have happened! Well, I am very sorry to advise that it really did! If you would like to fund a lie deter test, I will happily oblige on the basis of whoever is wrong, pays the other party $1M.
My original source of the obesity rate was via a yahoo page stating it was 70%, but others have pointed out that according to the WHO, it’s 42%, so I’ve updated it. The main point, still stands.
Women Hitting The Wall #37 – When Women Regret Feminism | The Wall
This is stunning, and so sad.
America simply is in the gutter
Not a European, but an Australian.
I have visited the USA three times, 1998, 2018 and 2022.
In 1998 it seemed fairly bright and shiny, but you didn’t need to get far off the main roads for it to become dirty and ominous. This was LA. The food serving sizes were ridiculously large, and of average quality; we booked a reasonably fancy restaurant once, and I think we paid for food quality, but not much else. The tipping culture is positively feudal. And we couldn’t understand why our credit cards disappeared somewhere at restaurants before coming back with the old carbon form. The people were uniformly cheerful and friendly, that was their default, apart from anyone in a uniform, whose default was stern and unforgiving.
Fast forward 20 years. In Australia, when you pay at a restaurant, if you’re not paying cash they bring the electronic payment machine out to your table and you can tap or insert your card and, if you’ve set up your card to require a PIN, you enter it. In LA again in 2018, payment customs haven’t changed, though it’s clear that there’s an electronic machine back there because they don’t bring out the old carbon slip when they return your card, it’s been printed by a machine. But honestly, if someone took your card out of your sight in Australia, you would strongly suspect they were secretly swiping it for some form of fraud. In other respects, the place was dirtier and in higher disrepair; the decrepitude was on main street. The people were as friendly, but not as automatically forthcoming. And the people in uniforms were nastier as their default.
We had a pretty nice time, then, and again in 2022, but the USA is a place where you really need to be on guard, and heaven forbid you have an encounter with law enforcement, because they take the “enforcement” part into the physical realm far faster than police in Australia or Europe would. The USA, at first hand, is not the land of milk and honey that its citizens would have you believe it is. I’m sure it’s possible to live a happy and peaceful life there, clearly millions do. But the concessions to personal freedom and safety required to do so, and the adoption of so many delusions (of superiority in every field of endeavour) necessary to live that life, are not worth it.
And THAT is the most shocking thing to us about visiting the USA: that those smiling, friendly people are happy living in an increasingly backward, crumbling country because they have been told, since birth, that everywhere else is worse (but it’s phrased as “this place is the best”). And that simply isn’t true.
What did you notice during an interview that made you not want the job?
Filled out an application to work at an airport gift shop. Went to the airport for an interview and got to the point for a drug screen, no problem. Got through that part and received the call that I was hired. I was to show up on Monday morning in khaki pants, a white polo shirt, and comfy shoes. I arrived on time and had to fill out all of the paperwork for taxes, etc. Then I got the uniform ‘receipt” that I was to sign that I had been given two uniform shirts and that I would provide the proper khaki slacks or skirt. AND if I quit or was let go within 90 days, my final paycheck would be deducted $125 for the uniform shirts. What?? No way I was signing that paper work. First of all, I had NOT be given anything and wasn’t going to find out later they didn’t have my size or I should wear my own shirt until more came in – whatever. Nothing had been said prior to this about the uniform policy. I placed my clip board on the chair and went to the restroom to figure this out and calm down a bit. Finally, went back to the office and told them I was sick (pretty much was at how they treat their employees) and had to go home. On my way, received a call from another place I had applied and had an interview the next day with a company who was upfront and did not try to screw new employees.
What surprised you about the USA?
Shocked doesn’t quite cover it. Appalled is closer. The ‘welcome’ at the airport quite takes my breath away. It seems to be assumed that everyone is a terrorist and should be treated like one. The wait was also very long, it isn’t like that in Europe. We should start treating Americans in the same way so they understand how unacceptable it is.
All taxi rides I’ve had remind me of Grand Theft Auto. It seems to be necessary either to be accelerating or braking hard and changing lanes harshly.
The tipping culture is mad, why can’t you just pay the staff a salary and show real prices? Make tips mean something so that they really do reward someone for exceptional service.
prices in shops are strange. The price on the shelf isn’t what you pay because it doesn’t include taxes. That needs to be sorted out!
People seem to be judged by how rich they are, richer people receive better service. Probably due to the tipping culture. Everyone should be treated the same regardless of money, culture and sex.
I have been a few times but won’t return willingly.
i could go on, but I’ve said enough.
Thanks for all of the upvotes ! You have probably noticed that I have turned off comments because not everyone was playing nicely.
UK citizen discusses the United States
I’ll confess that I’ve only visited the USA a single time, back in 1993. We went to New York for our honeymoon.
Generally, I found New York to be quite grimy and also very fast paced. The only thing that truly surprised me was the television service.
In the UK, believe it or not (for any fellow Brits) we show seven minutes of commercials per hour on our commercial channels. (The BBC does not show commercials other than trailers for upcoming shows on its own network.)
We didn’t plan to watch much television, but on the night we arrived after our flight, we were quite tired and wanted to sit down quietly and relax for a bit.
I believe the show we saw was Family Feud (which we know as Family Fortunes in the UK). I may be exaggerating, but this is how it seemed:
…
Theme music, introduction of host.
Commercial break.
Introduction of each family.
Commercial break.
First question. Winner chooses whether to play or pass.
Commercial break.
Rest of winner’s family answer the question.
Commercial break.
Opposing family try to complete the board.
Commercial break.
Second question. Winner chooses whether to play or pass.
Commercial break.
Winner’s family answer the question.
Commercial break.
Opposing family attempt to complete the board.
Commercial break.
Third, fourth, and fifth question as above. Winning family announced.
Commercial break.
Head-to-head player one answers the final questions.
Commercial break.
Head-to-head player two answers the same questions.
Commercial break.
Player two’s answers checked, revealing whether the family have passed the number of points to win the big prize of a car, sponsored by NYC Motors. Keys to the car given to family.
Commercial break.
Host thanks you for watching, credits roll.
Commercial break.
…
If I tell you that the original version of Family Fortunes in the UK which ran from 1980 to 2002 was a half hour show – with a single commercial break, you’ll understand why the USA version seemed overly heavy with commercials. You stretched a half hour show to what seemed like two hours. (In fairness, in 2006 when Family Fortunes was revived in the UK, we managed to string it out to a full hour per show.)
For reference, when 24 starring Keifer Sutherland was broadcast in the UK on our non-commercial channel BBC2, it ran for 40–41 minutes per episode. That kinda ruined the “each episode covers an hour” premise of the show.
These days, I never watch commercial TV live.
I record everything and then fast forward through the breaks. Television advertising used to be rather an art form in the UK – prizes were awarded for the year’s best campaign. These days, with so many channels available, advertisers spend little money on creating their ads and they’re not worth watching. Life is too short for commercial breaks.
Men are no longer seeking relationships of any kind & people are in DENIAL!
Major changed to the Western society is in process. Japan was the “canary in the coal mine”, and Holy Fuck! Listen and watch this video.
Great video
So many average guys are MGTOW, and don’t even know what the term means.
When I was between the ages of 12 and 14 or maybe 15 … right before I started working, I was on the “golf team” at school. We would get to leave school early, and drive out to the local Golf Club and play for free.
Then, various parents would pick us up and take us home afterwards.
Boys being boys, and kids being kids, had “clicks” and groups of friends. And when we would “tee off” one group would play after the other, and the groups were four kids.
But we had nine kids in the club.
What the coach should have done was…
3 + 3 + 3
3 groups. Everyone played in a group.
But No. The “coach” left us alone and went to the clubhouse to grab a beer and play some poker with “his” friends.
So we self organized.
Yeah. And you can guess what happened.
Two “clicks” of friends. One outsider.
3 groups.
4 + 4 + 1
Dumb fuck golf coach.
…
Guess who usually had to play alone?
Yup. I was the last kid, and I was the one playing alone.
I trailed behind the two other groups. Alone. Waiting until they finished playing before I could tee off. Which was something like ten to fifteen minutes.
Nine holes.
Nine times.
And often, I would finish the last round and walk to the parking lot to find my dad waiting for me with a car-load of the other kids waiting for me. Yupur. They were all in the car.
And all he could say was… “What took YOU so long?”
Which, of course, the other kids asked as well.
“Yeah, XXXXX, what too YOU so long?” And they would giggle.
I never said anything.
…
Dumb fuck. The other two groups played before me. I had to wait until they were all done before I could tee off.
The first group would be in the car, then the second group would pile in.
Meanwhile, I’m the last guy out, getting ready to tee off.
Fucking shits.
…
Fuck the “golf coach”.
Fuck my classmates.
Fuck my dad.
And FUCK ME for taking it. 14 years old. I should have known better.
…
So this is how I spent my entire time on the Golf Team. Mostly, but not always, playing alone.
Sometimes, I would get to play with one or two boys.
But mostly, I trailed behind. Spending the afternoon playing ALONE.
…
My stupid-as-a-rock father didn’t notice that I spent the afternoon shunned, and playing alone.
And, don’t you know it, he was giving the kids a ride and allowing them to make fun of me. A double whammy insult.
…
So one day, I was feeling bad. I was lonely. And I was again the last guy. Playing alone.
And the entire time I just fumed about the entire piss-poor situation.
I fumed, and fumed and fumed.
And, somewhere around the sixth hole, I said “fuck this!”.
…
So that day, I skipped the eighth and ninth holes, cut through the wood line, and went directly to the parking lot. My dad was there as always.
He looked up and said” Wow, you are early today.”.
I didn’t say anything.
I just threw my clubs in the car, and told my father to go. To leave. To just get going. He’s looking at me like..
Then he asked…”what about the other kids”.
I yelled; “Drive! Go! Go! Go! Don’t get those kids. Leave now!”
He looked at me like the dumb-fuck he was. The face of incomprehension.
And then he fired up the car.
And I was surprised that he actually drove off.
We left the gravel parking lot, in a wide turn.
The first group of kids were just then reaching the parking lot.
He did it slowly, looking at me; fully expecting me to ask him to stop. But I must have had a real pissed off expression on my face. So he kept on driving.
And these other kids were looking at us, like “why are you leaving without us.?”
…
So he, of course, asked.
“What is going on?”
…
On the way home I told him why.
The kids never played with me.
I always played alone.
…
They were using me to get a ride, and that was all.
That they did not like me, and I was sick and tired of being shunned. If they didn’t want to play golf with me, then they won’t get a ride with me either.
…
Dad had nothing to say.
So we drove in silence.
He then, after about ten minutes of silence, asked me sheepishly if I still wanted to be “on the team”, and I said “no”.
…
Fuck them all. And that is my story for today.
Sometimes we HAVE to tell the rest of the world to FUCK OFF.
Shortly after that, I quit the team, and started to work in the coal mines.
And that was another adventure. Today…
Have you ever seen someone park in a handicap spot who wasn’t disabled and get ticketed by the cops?
I was the cop. I was an officer at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I kept seeing a young lady parking a car in a handicapped spot and scurrying inside before I could reach her. I ran the plate and found the vehicle was registered to her father. I ran the placard hanging on the rearview mirror. It was also registered to him as well. NC law states the placard is registered to an individual, not the car, and only the registered user can use it when in the vehicle. One day, I finally caught her getting out of the car. I stopped her and explained she would have to move the vehicle, and of course, I got the usual, “Do you know who owns the car?” I responded and told her what the citation would say word for word. She still refused to move the vehicle. I requested her driver’s license and registration. When she refused, I put her in cuffs and placed her in the back of my car. I told her she would be charged with resisting, obstructing, and delaying an officer and the parking violation, and I was towing her car. It finally hit her: I was a police officer and didn’t care who her father was. She immediately agreed to move the vehicle and surrender the placard. I wanted this from the get-go, so I seized the placard and cited her for the parking violation.
I had a sinking feeling this wouldn’t be the end, so I wrote a report and placed the placard into evidence. I sent a copy of the report to the NCDMV in Fayetteville, NC, then called the inspector there and told him he may or may not hear about this later. Not thirty minutes after hanging up with the DMV inspector, I got a call from communications to return to the station. I walk in, and who do I see but my Asst. Chief and the young lady. She has this grin and wears it up to the assistant—Chief’s office. The Chief went through the everyday complaint speech, and I elected to have the young lady tell her story first. She attempted to say I was disrespectful, yelled and threatened her, and stole property belonging to the state. After all her whining and moaning, I walked over to the Asst. Chief’s computer pulled up the report and the video attachment of the traffic stop (I always recorded my stops even before it was mandatory). I said nothing but let the report and video tell the story. She left near tears, swearing, “We” hadn’t heard the last of this. I remember turning to the Asst. Chief and saying something like, “I don’t doubt it.”
The next day, a young lady in a wheelchair entered the lobby and requested to speak to the Chief. The Chief was busy, so my Asst. Chief took the visit. The young lady wanted to thank the officer who made a non-handicapped girl move from the handicapped parking spot to her dorm.
I did hear from the father a couple of days later. He called from the Fayetteville DMV office, stating he was filing a report for a stolen handicapped placard. The inspector got the case and connected him with me. I explained the situation and what happened. I offered to send him a copy of the report and the traffic stop video. After all was said and done, he decided he didn’t want to file a report with DMV and ended up apologizing for his daughter’s behavior. I explained he wasn’t responsible for his daughter’s poor decisions, and hopefully, she learned a lesson.
What is the funniest joke you’ve been told that you still think about to this day?
So, this completely drunk guy walks into a bar, sits down at the end and orders a beer. He’s obnoxious but not bad enough to get booted out. After a while he notices a dart board at the other end of the bar and asks the bartender “hey, barkeep what will you give me if I can hit a bullseye with one dart from over here? “
“You can’t.”
“Ya, but what if I do?”
“Don’t worry, I have a special prize.”
And the drunk grabs a dart, chucks it in the general direction of the dart board and to everyone’s amazement nails a bullseye.
“Well, what’s my prize?” the guy asks.
Well, the bartender has nothing and is calmly scrambling around, trying to think of something to give the guy, when he remembers a turtle he’s got in a brown bag that he was going to give to his nephew for his birthday after work.
So, he grabs the bag and plops it down in front of the drunk…who doesn’t even look in it. He just picks it up, says “Hey, thanks Boss” and walks out.
A couple weeks later, the drunk shows up again, sits on the same barstool and chats people up while putting down a couple more beers. After a while he once again asks “Hey, bartender… what’ll you give me if I throw a bullseye with one dart on that board over there?”
Knowing there’s no way in hell the drunk is going to repeat his last lucky shot the bartender says, ” I gotcha covered”
The drunk picks up a dart and once again with reckless abandon throws it in the general direction the dart board. And nails another bullseye.
Before the bartender can say anything the drunk guy says “And no food this time. That burger you gave me last time was the worst I’ve ever had.”
Proof of Reincarnation
What did the teacher in your high school get fired for?
This occurred in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto. Didn’t get fired, but worse! My high school science teacher was an okay guy, everyone liked him and he did some interesting things in his classroom.
One time he performed open heart surgery on a live chicken to demonstrate biology. The chicken died from the ether.
I graduated from high school and about two years later I see my science teacher on the front page of the Toronto Sun. This guy was a total fraud! He was arrested for impersonating a doctor and was operating his own medical clinic in Brampton based on fraudulent documents. Even his teaching degree was a fake – he wasn’t even a licensed teacher.
And the most impressive con? He was also impersonating a golf pro! He was a good golfer and he used to show us pictures of him with pro golfers like Jack Nicholas (this was late 70’s). He was found guilty, did some time, and was deported back to the US.
My theory is that he was a failed medical student but great forger and knew enough to fake his way as a biology teacher and doctor. Same for the golf, pretty good, but not quite good enough!
Us Literally Freaking Out As Brics Takes A Huge Step To Dethrone The Dollar.
Japan in 2024 has lost the ability to even buy orange juice and has started making "orange-mandarin mixed juice" with tears in its eyes.
Women have gone abroad to prostitute themselves so much that they have been refused entry into the United States, and even started going to South Korea, which was much poorer not so long ago, to work as prostitutes.
The former trading and exporting powerhouse has been sitting cross-legged for a long time now, with a trade deficit of trillions of yen and nothing to export, and in the tourism industry it is desperately bowing down not only to Westerners but also to people in Southeast Asia, India, and even countries whose names we do not know. Earn foreign currency.
Even though Japan is a country with extremely low wages, we subsidize hundreds of billions of yen to foreign companies to build factories in the country, yet young people still go abroad to work.
The top ranks of universities have all been uprooted by foreign capital, and graduates from prestigious schools such as Tokyo University, Kyoto University, and former Imperial Waseda University are pursuing empty careers in consulting rather than manufacturing, with no hope of earning foreign currency.
The top ranks of society are fleeing to the United States one after another, and those who escape never return.
In urban areas, Japanese people pay monthly rent for apartments to Chinese owners, and while Japanese people complain that they can't buy real estate because it's too expensive, Chinese people buy apartments with cash because they're cheap.
The prices of imported building materials have skyrocketed, making it difficult to even buy a house, but it's okay! The president's house is grateful for its good cost performance, and the company's profits are at an all-time high.The sales of a small-scale real estate agency that has been selling on the street in front of the station, appealing to people in their early 30s, and raising the slogan, ``Let's go, 1 trillion,'' has finally increased. Over 1 trillion.
Even though the US dollar price of the iPhone has not increased, there is a lot of fuss in Japan saying, ``It's gotten more expensive again!'' Foreign companies are in control of almost all mobile communication methods, including smartphones and LINE.
IOWN is amazing because they are desperately trying to hide the fact that they have not achieved Industry 4.0 or even the third industrial revolution by chanting a fluffy and mysterious fantasy and delusion called Society 5.0, and neither the government nor the private sector has any IT technology to sell anymore. They are desperately trying to promote something that they don't really understand and are trying to show off that they are doing a good job.
In the past, the country used to have empty discussions such as, ``If we don't have enough labor, we should bring in immigrants,'' or ``It's better not to bring in immigrants.'' The wages are higher in the department,'' so they have no choice but to deceive the Vietnamese and create a system of slavery to secure labor.
The medical infrastructure that was said to be one of the best in the world has been eaten up by the elderly, and as a result of exploiting the working generation and finally reaching the limit of what they can pay, Japan has forced its drug prices down, and now Japan is saying, ``I won't sell it to Japan at such a low price.'' There are countless drugs made overseas that cannot be used.
Young people who could be saved by a new drug cannot be helped, and even today, old people happily gather at the hospital to receive compresses, administer drugs that delay dementia by 20-30% at a cost of 3 million yen per person, and patients in their 80s are in bed. There is an old man in his 90s who is bedridden and trying to prolong his life, and his single son in his 60s who is earning his pension sometimes comes to visit him.
All of this is borne by the young working generation, who have no money and the marriage rate has hit a record low, while at the same time the number of births has hit a postwar low.
The currency that people around the world once coveted, the yen, is no longer known as the "emergency yen" and is being sold off on a daily basis.
Now, as one of the currencies of emerging countries in the Far East, it is experiencing wild price fluctuations, and although it has managed to hold on by selling off foreign currency hoarded during its past glory days, it is unclear how long it will last.
The country and its people have postponed structural reforms, neglected technological development, and simply postponed everything, mistakenly believing that monetary and fiscal policies would somehow solve the problem.
Forgetting the bloody efforts of the wise men of the past and the history of drastic changes caused by civilization and enlightenment, the old men of companies and organizations that were only steeped in old interests, which flourished in the Showa era, are wielding power and introducing new technologies and ways of thinking. Even if they were crushed, the people in question would be dead by then and have escaped.
The young people who were forced to carry a time bomb in the bellies of boiled frogs realized that one day, when foreign currency runs out, they will not be able to buy everything, including beef, flour, soybeans, oil, gas, and uranium, resulting in a devastated society. Even though I'm vaguely anticipating the future, I just turn my eyes away from the reality and drink tangerine juice today while the daddy girl is being asked about the color of her pants by an uncle.
US approach to decouple from China is backfiring
On May 3, the US Treasury announced relaxed conditions for tax incentives when consumers purchase electric vehicles (EVs). Previously, EVs using Chinese-produced minerals were set to lose tax incentives starting in 2025. The new adjustment extends this deadline to 2027 for certain minerals like graphite.
According to an analysis by Nikkei News, the US government’s decision to relax these conditions stems from the difficulty of producing EV batteries without using Chinese-produced graphite. Graphite is a core material in lithium battery anodes, and currently China accounts for 70 percent of its supply worldwide, with a high dependency on Chinese processing and refining capabilities.
As the US grapples with the complexities of its containment and decoupling from Chinese manufacturing, it’s increasingly feeling the “pain.” Over the past three years, the US government has implemented strict export controls to weaken China’s high-tech capability.
However, this approach has started negatively impacting the US itself, creating a complex double-edged effect.
A report released last month by the New York Federal Reserve Bank (Geopolitical Risk and Decoupling: Evidence from US Export Controls) analyzed this issue. According to the research by Matteo Crosignani and others, US export controls led to widespread decoupling between American suppliers and Chinese companies. Affected American suppliers are more likely to terminate existing relationships with Chinese clients and less likely to form new ones.
With the decoupling, numerous American suppliers impacted are unable to form new supply chain connections with clients in the US or allied nations within three years of the export controls being enforced.
The imposition of export controls has resulted in substantial losses for affected American suppliers, leading to heightened negative loan default risks, with an average market value decline of $857 million per impacted supplier, summing up to $130 billion collectively across all suppliers.
These suppliers are also encountering reductions in revenue, profitability and workforce. Bank loans to these suppliers have notably dwindled, signaling wider financial limitations.
From the perspective of Chinese companies, the report reveals their resilience. Targeted Chinese enterprises have increased their reliance on domestic and non-US suppliers to cope with US export controls. They have established new relationships with alternative suppliers within China and strengthened cooperation with existing non-US suppliers to mitigate the impact of the controls. Moreover, US export controls may unintentionally promote domestic innovation in China as businesses are forced to reduce their dependence on American technology.
Washington has implemented decoupling strategies with China, not without anticipating losses on the American side. The approach involves sacrificing short-term economic interests to prompt supply chain shifts and hinder China’s rapid advancement in vital high-tech areas, thereby maintaining America’s continuous advantage in global technology competition. However, the trouble now is that decoupling not only causes more losses for the US but also rebuilding supply chains is not an easy task, and some may be impossible.
This is because Chinese manufacturing has achieved large-scale, diversified and multi-tiered system development, with many sectors being irreplaceable, and the aggressive expansion of Chinese manufacturing in the global market is unstoppable, especially in sectors like EVs, renewable energy, shipbuilding, high-speed rail and steel, where it already has the upper hand.
As Chinese enterprises gradually reduce their dependence on American technology and enhance their own innovation capabilities, the influence of US enterprises in the global market may further weaken. The position of Chinese manufacturing in the global supply chain is becoming more solid. Extensive decoupling of US businesses from China could potentially cause irreversible damage to the global industry and supply chains, as well as their own. Washington has already had to start assessing the consequences brought about by this.
Chinese enterprises are also seeking breakthroughs by establishing new supply chains and innovation paths. The friction and conflict between US and Chinese manufacturing will unfold on a broader scale.
The US will not change its policy of containing China in the short term. It will continue to expand the scope of its controls and sanctions, while coordinating with other third parties to curb Chinese enterprises’ access to international markets and find new ways of international cooperation.
This strategic game will have complex impacts on the economies of both sides, including adjustments to their own economic structures and profound effects on global political, economic and security fields. Change has already begun.
“America Is Getting WIPED OUT” — This Is What’s Coming… | Robert Kiyosaki 2024
Biden’s Foreign Policy Has the US in Deep Trouble
There are two problems in the United States these days and they are closely related.
The first problem is that the Biden Administration is in deep trouble on the foreign policy front and the trouble is almost certainly going to get worse. The Ukraine war is going badly for both Ukraine and the West, but U.S. leaders show no signs of wanting to negotiate a settlement and, instead, seem committed to making this a forever conflict. Gaza is another horror show. It simply has no solution since Israel has no intention of allowing the Palestinians to have a sovereign state of their own. To make matters worse, the United States is complicit in Israel’s murderous policies in Gaza. This conflict is now causing huge trouble on campuses around the country, which is making America’s poisonous politics even worse. Moreover, there are real dangers in East Asia, where there is an ever-present possibility that China and the United States could get into a shooting match. And there are further armed conflicts taking place in Africa and other regions of the world. Something is badly wrong with U.S. foreign policy.
The second problem is that there is significant agreement inside the American foreign policy establishment on most foreign policy issues, and those consensus views are reflected in the discourse in the mainstream media. It is very difficult for the many individuals who challenge the establishment’s prevailing wisdoms to make their case in elite media outlets. This disturbing situation explains in good part why America’s political leaders will not change course and adopt smarter policies.
What we need in the United States is an open discourse about the ongoing wars as well as potential wars. Why? Because unfettered debate maximizes the chance of coming up with smart strategies for either ending wars or preventing them. The key to success in this regard is to have well-informed individuals with different perspectives engaging with each other in the marketplace of ideas. We need free-wheeling debates that include unpopular views.
Sadly, there is little chance of reforming the mainstream media anytime soon. But thankfully, alternative media outlets have proliferated in recent years, making it possible for critics of U.S. foreign policy to make their voices heard.
Antiwar.com is one of our most important alternative platforms on the planet. It is an ideal place to find first-rate analysis that challenges today’s foreign policy orthodoxies. I visit Antiwar.com every day and am invariably rewarded for doing so. Surely, many of you who are reading this appeal also benefit in all sorts of ways from reading pieces published on this vital platform.
All this means that we readers have a responsibility to help maintain a flourishing Antiwar.com. In that spirit, I urge you to join me in making a generous contribution so that we can collectively increase the chances that the United States will begin acting in much smarter ways on the world stage.
John Mearsheimer is the Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and one of the leading foreign policy scholars in America.
What did someone do or say at the bank that made you say, “You gotta be kidding me!”?
We sold our house and we had to fill out paperwork saying how we wanted the money paid out across the loans we had with that bank.
We stated
home loan in full.
credit card to be paid out.
whatever money left over paid towards personal loan
What the bank chose to do
home loan in full
personal loan paid out I rang and asked what was going on as that’s not what we asked to happen. I was told ‘we assumed you filled the forms out incorrectly and that you would prefer the loans to be paid out’.
Told them no I wanted the home loan gone and then the credit card as it had the higher interest to which they responded with ‘oh well we’re sorry but it’s to late now as personal loans won’t do anything about it’.
The lady was very surprised when I didn’t take that as a final decision and told them exactly what I thought of their ‘we assumed’.
The only reason the bank decided that was what was happening is because the credit card had a higher rate of interest with no free interest period and if they didn’t pay it off we would of course keep using it and that would benefit them more.
The banks decision when I wouldn’t back down
my credit card was to be charged at the personal loan rate for the next 6 months(time left on personal loan). This rate was of course only for the amount that should have been paid out. Anything purchased after that on it would be at full rates.
our decision we took the interest rate cut told them that would be fine and then destroyed both credit cards so they couldn’t be used at all. In the end we cut expenses as much as possible and paid it off in 4 months.
As I told them ‘What’s the point of having people fill out paperwork if you’re not gonna pay attention to it’.
The final result was that when we built our new home we checked out loan deals at lots of banks but never even enquired with our original bank they had stuffed us around on a number of other occasions and we had had enough but that’s another story.
HOLLYWOOD is DEAD and GOLLUM MOVIE PROVES IT
Bacon-Wrapped Turkey with Chipotle and Orange
Want to knock their socks off? Make this bacon-wrapped turkey with a zesty chipotle-orange rub.
bacon wrapped turkey chipotle orange
Prep: 30 min | Total: 4 hr 30 min | Yield: 24 servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 (13 pound) fresh or thawed frozen turkey
1 orange, cut into wedges
5 bay leaves
1 (16 ounce) package Oscar Mayer Bacon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Blend first 4 ingredients in blender until smooth.
Remove and discard neck and giblets from turkey cavities. Free legs from tucked position. (Do not cut band of skin.) Place oranges and bay leaves in chest cavity. Use rubber spatula or your fingers to loosen skin over breast, starting at body cavity opening by legs. Rub half the chipotle mixture onto meat under skin on breast, legs and thighs. If necessary, use wooden toothpicks to secure skin at opening. Return legs to tucked position and tie securely with string; turn wings back to hold neck skin in place. Rub remaining chipotle mixture evenly onto turkey skin.
Place turkey, breast side up, on flat rack in roasting pan. Top with bacon*. Tent turkey with foil.
Bake for 4 hours or until turkey is done (165 degrees F), uncovering after 3 hours. Remove turkey from pan; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, pour pan drippings into medium saucepan. Discard excess fat. Mix cornstarch and water until blended; gradually stir into drippings. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.
Carve turkey. Serve with gravy.
Notes
How to make a lattice design (weave bacon): Place 5 bacon slices in single layer on sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Weave 5 of the remaining bacon slices through bacon slices on parchment to resemble lattice pattern. Hold 2 opposite corners of parchment, then quickly invert parchment onto turkey; remove parchment. Arrange remaining bacon slices over turkey’s legs, thighs and wings.
Food Facts: A 12 to 14 pound frozen turkey needs 3 to 3 1/2 days of thawing time in the refrigerator. The cooking time will range between 3 to 3 3/4 hours until the turkey is done (165 degrees F).
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 270 Total fat 12g Saturated fat 3.5g Cholesterol 135mg Sodium 450mg Carbohydrate 3g Dietary fiber 0g Sugars 2g Protein 35g
Vitamin A 2% DV Vitamin C 0% DV Calcium 0% DV Iron 8% DV
Interesting
What are some examples of assassination attempts gone wrong?
İlkay Sivaslı was a 41 years old teacher who had been feeling suicidal after breaking up with her married lover.
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She hired a hitman, Tanju Doğan, to kill her because she can’t bring herself to commit suicide. Things took an interesting turn when the hitman fell in love with her instead.
So for a month, she had to pursue him to finish off what he’s paid to do while he took his time to talk her out of it. One time he tried to strangle her but couldn’t do it when she started turning red.
But she texted him the next day asking him to come over as she had purchased a gun for him to kill her. He tried one last time for her to change her mind but eventually did it by putting a pillow over her face and pulling the trigger twice.
Miraculously she didn’t die immediately so Tanju called the emergency line for her and fled her house. Initially, police thought it was a murder case until they obtained the record for their texts and realised that the teacher had paid him to assist in her killing.
Welp, that’s the story of a woman who pays someone a lot of money to be killed but ended up being persuaded not to instead by the hitman himself. Unfortunately, she died while paramedics were trying to save her when they got to her house.
This is in China. First day at school.
What is the most disrespectful thing someone has done while you were shopping?
It was Black Friday at about six in the morning.
In the aisle was a display for two sets of toys. One was a Noah’s Ark with all the animals and Noah and his family. The other was Old MacDonald’s Farm.
My son had the Old MacDonald one. He’d gotten it a couple months earlier for his birthday. He wanted the Noah one. The display only had a couple of Noahs, but plenty of Old MacDonalds.
I was standing right by a Noah and waiting for the store employee to cut the banding. Once he did, it was game on.
I grabbed the Noah one. A woman lunged OVER THE TOP of the display and grabbed the same one I did, yelling, “I need this! You can have one of the MacDonald ones!”
She refused to let go. So I did the only thing I could do…I planted my feet and yanked her across. She had no choice, let go or take a faceplant into the floor. She was pissed.
She followed me around cussing me out. I ignored her. But when I went to get a game off the shelf, she lunged at my cart to grab the Noah toy. I slammed my hand down on hers as she grabbed my cart. This got her pinched fingers.
I cut across a line of people waiting to get DVD players to get to the other side. People parted to let me through. When she followed behind me I yelled and pointed to her, “Hey, she’s trying to cut in line!”
They converged on her like lions on a gazelle.
Her screams were most satisfying.
Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I remember that day, and those screams.
Suddenly I’m not in a bad mood anymore.
Pepe Escobar
Pepe Escobar writes about the major takeaways of his recent tour to Brazil.
I have just been immersed in an extraordinary experience: a mini-tour of conferences in Brazil encompassing four key cities – Sao Paulo, Rio, Salvador, Belo Horizonte. Full houses, sharp questions, fabulously warm people, divine gastronomy – a deep dive into the 8th largest economy in the world and major BRICS+ node.
As much as I was trying to impress the finer points of the long and winding road to multipolarity and the multiple instances of frontal clash between NATOstan and the Global Majority, I was learning non-stop from an array of generous Brazilians about the current inner contradictions of a society of astonishing complexity.
It’s as if I was immersed in a psychedelic journey conducted by Os Mutantes, the iconic trio of the late 1960s Tropicalia movement: from the business front in Sao Paulo – with its world-class restaurants and frantic deal-making – to the blinding beauty of Rio; from Salvador – the capital of Brazilian Africa – to Belo Horizonte, the capital of the third-wealthiest state in the Federation, Minas Gerais, a powerhouse of iron ore, uranium and niobium exports.
Chancay-Shanghai
I learned about how China chose the state of Bahia as arguably its key node in Brazil, where Chinese investment is everywhere – even if Brazil is not yet a formal member of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
In Rio, I was presented with an astonishing work on Stoics Zeno and Cleanthes by essayist Ciro Moroni – delving among other issues into the equivalences between Stoic theogony/theology and the Hindu Vedanta – the tradition of culture, religion and sacred rituals in India up to the Buddha era.
And in a sort of psychedelic synchronicity, I felt like Zeno in the Agora as we debated the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine at a lovely round pavillion – a mini-Agora – in fabled Liberty Square in Belo Horizonte, across the street from a fabulous exhibition of Treasures of Peruvian Art.
Much to my astonishment, a Peruvian, Carlos Ledesma, flew in from Lima especially for my conference and the exhibition; and then he told me about the Chancay port being built south of Lima, owned 70% by COSCO and the rest by private Peruvian capital; that will be a sister port of Shanghai.
Chancay-Shanghai: APEC in action across the Pacific. Next November, there will be three nearly simultaneous key events in South America: the G20 in Rio, the APEC summit in Lima, and the inauguration of Chancay.
Chancay will be boosted by no less than five rail corridors that may eventually be built – certainly with Chinese investment – from the agribusiness Valhalla in the Brazilian Center-West all the way to Peru.
Yes, China is all over the place in its largest trade partner in Latin America – much to the despair of a Hegemon sending lowly functionary Little Blinken to Beijing to hear the letter of the new law by Xi Jinping himself: it’s cooperation or confrontation, a “downward spiral”. Your downward spiral.
A river from Tibet to Xinjiang
At the Belo Horizonte conference, I shared the stage with remarkable Sebastien Kiwonghi Bizaru from Congo, who supervises PhD programs at the Candido Mendes University as well as being a Professor of International Law, after an extraordinary academic journey.
He is also the author of a ground-breaking book examining the highly debatable role of the UNSC in the conflicts of the Great Lakes – focusing on Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With top researcher Natacha Rena, we pored over a map of China retracing her travels east to west last year all the way to the Xinjiang border – as she filled me in on the astonishing Honggqi River – or Red Flag River – Project, first proposed in 2017: no less than an attempt to divert water from Tibet to the dry lands and deserts of Xinjiang by building an enormous, over 6,000 km-long artificial river, including the branch canals.
The projected river will be slightly less longer than the Yangtze, diverting 60 billion cubic meters of water a year, more than the annual flow of the Yellow River. Predictably, ecologists in China are attacking the project, which may have already had an official go-ahead and is proceeding discreetly.
And then, as I was on the road between Rio and Minas Gerais, the BRICS 10 Ministers of Economy and heads of Central Banks met in Sao Paulo: and all of them hailed the drive towards “independent” payment settlement mechanisms. Russia is the 2024 president of this crucial group.
Russian Vice-Minister of Finance, Ivan Chebeskov, went straight to the point: “Most countries agree that payment in national currencies is what the BRICS need.” The Russian Ministry of Finance privileges the creation of a common digital platform congregating the BRICS Central Banks’ digital currencies and their national systems of transmitting financial messages.
Crucially, at this BRICS 10 meeting, most members stressed they are in favor of totally bypassing the U.S. dollar for trading.
Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov was even bolder: he said that Russia is proposing to BRICS the creation of an independent and “de-politicized” global system of payments.
Siluanov hinted that the system may be based on blockchain – considering its low cost and minimal control exercised by the Hegemon.
BRICS map the new world in Sao Paulo
A day before the meeting in Sao Paulo, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow supported the development of these BRICS strategies, noting that “if we manage to develop independent financial mechanisms, that will seriously question the globalization mechanism currently led by the West.”
As over 100 nations are currently researching or embryonically implementing a digital currency in their Central Banks, a big breakthrough is imminent in Russia – a process I have been following in detail since last year.
In the end, it’s all about Sovereignty. That was the crux of the most serious debates I had this past week in Brazil, with academic players and on several podcasts related to the conferences. It’s the overarching theme hanging over the Lula government, as the President seems to cast the figure of a lonely fighter cornered by a vicious circle of 5th columnists and comprador elites.
In Belo Horizonte I was presented with yet another astonishing book by a former, brilliant government official, the late Celso Brant. After a sharp analysis of the modern history of Brazil and its interactions with imperialism, he reminds the reader of what stellar Mexican writer and poet Octavio Paz said in the 1980s about Brazil and China: “These will be the two great protagonists of the 21th century.”
When Paz rendered his verdict, every indicator favored Brazil, which since 1870 held the largest GDP growth in the world. Brazil exported more than China, and from 1952 to 1987 was growing at annual rate of 7.4%. Continuing the trend, Brazil would be the 4th largest economy in the world by now (it’s between 8th and 9th, side by side with Italy, and could be the 5th, were not for direct destabilization by the Empire starting in the 2010s, culminating with the Car Wash operation).
That’s exactly what Brant shows: how the Hegemon intervened to crash Brazilian development – and that started way before Car Wash. Kissinger was already saying in the 1970s that “the United States will not allow the birth of a new Japan under the Equator line.”
Hardcore neoliberalism was the privileged tool. While China under Little Helmsman Deng Xiaoping and then Jiang Zemin went Full Sovereign, Brazil was mired in neocolonial dependency. Lula tried – and is now trying it again, against all odds and surrounded on all sides, with Brazil branded as a “swing state” by U.S. Think Tankland and potential victim of new rounds of imperial Hybrid War.
Lula – and some solid academic elites away from power – know full well that as a neo-colony, Brazil will never fulfill its potential of being, side by side with China, as prophesized by Paz, the great protagonist of the 21st century.
That was the major takeaway of my psychedelic tour of Tropicalia: Sovereignty. Viktor Orban – accused by simpletons of being a member of a fuzz “Neofascist International” – nailed it with a simole formulation: “The inglorious period of Western civilization will be brought to an end this year, by replacing the world built on progressive-liberal hegemony with a Sovereigntist one.”
BIDEN TARIFF AGAINST CHINA EV’s and GREEN ENERGY – us auto companies can’t compete…
Daily Comics
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Ukrainian Losses And The Role An Austrian Archduke Has Had In Them
A recent piece in the New York Times connects us to a name which played a serious role in the last century of Ukrainian ‘nationalism’.
The history of the western Ukrainian region is, like in some other European areas, a quite convoluted drama that still plays out today.
The first reports of war fatigue in the ‘nationalist’ western Ukraine are coming in. Natalia Yermak, a Ukrainian cartoon producer turned New York Times journalist, reports from the Galician area near Lviv:
It was sunset when Maj. Kyrylo Vyshyvany of the Ukrainian army stepped into the yard of his childhood home in Duliby, a village in western Ukraine, just after his younger brother, also a soldier, had been buried. Their mother was still crying in the living room.“I can already see that she’ll be coming to visit him every day,” he said that day. He was right, but he would not be by her side. A few days after the funeral, in March 2022, he was killed in a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian military base and buried next to his brother, Vasyl.
The Vyshyvany brothers were the first deaths from Duliby and the surrounding community after Russia began its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Since then, 44 more Ukrainian soldiers from the area have been killed — more than four times the local death toll from the previous eight years of fighting Russian-backed separatists in the east.
For Duliby and its surrounding enclave of Khodoriv — total population around 24,000 people — waiting for the next solemn death notification and the funeral that follows has become a bitter routine. But even as the town meets and buries the fallen with modest ceremony, some neighbors are quietly weighing the price they are willing to pay for a war with no end in sight.
Divisions have started to form between residents agnostic about the war — often those whose family members have dodged the draft or fled the country — and those who have loved ones on the front line or who fully support the war effort.
The name Vyshyvany looked quite familiar to me. I’ll come back to it.
The reporter depicts Galicia, the hotbed of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) fascists, as ‘nationalist’:
In the earliest days of the war, before the news of the first combat deaths arrived, people in communities across Ukraine flocked to draft offices. Among them was Khodoriv, whose families have a long history of fighting for Ukraine’s independence and being executed or sent into exile during violent Soviet repressions of its nationalist movement in the last century.
Even in the region with deeply seated Ukrainian nationalism lots of people have skipped the draft by paying bribes or other means:
Petro Panat, the leader of the territorial defense unit, an ad hoc military unit formed in the early days of the war to protect local communities, said 10 out of 30 men from the unit had since obtained documents to legally exempt them from fighting. The exemptions are granted for reasons like health problems or relatives in need of care.
…
In the Khodoriv area, relatives of soldiers who are fighting or who have died at the front said that in the last two years they have begun to resent men in the community who are said to have bought their way out of service while their own sons and fathers are fighting — a feeling that may be shared by many across the country as the Ukrainian government wrestles with how to mobilize up to 500,000 more troops.
After the war is lost, with whatever other outcome, there will be a deep acrimony between families who’s members have fought and died in it and those families who had the means and foresight to bail their members out:
There is no legal way to pay for an exemption from military service in Ukraine, but there have been widespread reports of corruption in draft offices, with bribes ranging from $1,000 early in the war — “a buyout from death” — to as much as the $10,000 per head price that was revealed in a Kyiv draft center.
In future the distance between the ‘nationalists’ and pragmatist draft dodgers will get even bigger than it has been before the war. I wonder how much that could contribute to further internal strife or even a civil war in western Ukraine.
Now back to the Vyshyvany family name which was the first mentioned in the above piece. I had stumbled over it a while ago.
If one searches for that name it brings up the Wikipedia page of the Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria who was born in 1895. Wilhelm’s rather complicate history and Ukrainian fascist-‘nationalism’ are deeply interwoven:
Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria, later Wilhelm Franz von Habsburg-Lothringen (10 February 1895–18 August 1948), also known as Vasyl Vyshyvanyi (Ukrainian: Василь Вишиваний), was an Austrian archduke, a colonel of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, a poet, and a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
…
Wilhelm was raised in his parental estate located in the Austrian city of Saybusch, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. His father was a patriot of Poland [..]. Accommodating the 19th-century rise of nationalism, he decided that his branch of the Habsburg family would adopt a Polish identity and would combine a loyalty to their Habsburg family with a loyalty to Poland. Accordingly, he had his children learn Polish from an early age and tried to instill in them a sense of Polish patriotism.
…
Wilhelm, the youngest child, rebelled, and came to identify with the Poles’ rivals, the Ukrainians. … [H]e developed a fascination with Ukrainian culture that he kept for the rest of his life.
The family eventual accepted his Ukrainian tendencies and groomed Wilhelm to become a ruler of Galicia, then part of Austria-Hungary and today of western Ukraine.
During the first world war Wilhelm became a Ukrainian ‘nationalist’:
The most acceptable course to solve the “Ukrainian issue”, for Wilhelm, was the creation of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Ukraine with federalist principles, within the Habsburg monarchy. That duchy, beside the Eastern Galicia and Bukovina provinces, could include as well Ukrainian lands that at that time belonged to the Russian Empire and which had to be reconquered.
Supported by the German-Empire and Austria-Hungary William fought as commander of Ukrainian draftees against the Bolsheviks.
When the world war ended William was hospitalized. Ukraine, the name translates to ‘border land’, again experienced the fate that comes with such an estate:
As he lay in the hospital, World War I ended, Austria-Hungary fell apart, and the Habsburgs lost their throne. In Eastern Galicia the West Ukrainian National Republic was proclaimed, while the Ukrainians of Bukovina tried, unsuccessfully, to unite their land with the new Ukrainian republic. The Bukovina was occupied by hostile Romanian forces, causing Wilhelm to flee to Lviv to avoid arrest. As Lviv was occupied now by Polish forces, Wilhelm again was forced to leave, moving to the Carpathian region where he was hiding in local monasteries for almost half a year. Meanwhile, while Germany was withdrawing its troops from Ukraine, the regime of Skoropadskyi in Ukraine was overthrown by republican forces of “Directorate”, led by Volodymyr Vynnychenko and Symon Petliura, and interest in seeing Wilhelm as sovereign of Ukraine faded.
During that era other nation’s rivalries affected the region – as they had done before for many centuries and as they still do today.
Between the world wars Wilhelm was mostly in Vienna but continued his Ukrainian ‘nationalist’ activities:
In circles of Ukrainian political emigrants, a hope was burning that the loss was not yet final and the Soviet regime could still be overthrown. In Vienna, Wilhelm became involved with pro Ukrainian monarchists who saw in him an opportunity, but nothing came out of it.
…
In Paris Vyshavanyi renewed his communications with Ukrainians when members of the newly formed Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) found him. He twice met with head of OUN Yevhen Konovalets. Through Wilhelm, nationalists tried to find new sources of financing.
Wilhelm supported the German Nazis who, with the avid support of the Ukrainian OUN militia, killed many Poles and Jews after invading the Soviet Ukraine. When the Nazis turned against the OUN Wilhelm stayed with the Ukrainian ‘nationalists’:
Soon however, Wilhelm realized that the Hitlerites would not allow for creation of independent Ukraine even as a puppet state similar to Slovakia. After he and his brother Karl Albrecht were arrested and interrogated by Gestapo, Wilhelm changed his political views and soon joined the local anti-Nazi resistance in Vienna.
When the second world war came to an end Wilhelm was engaged by the British(?) and French secret services to instigate a Ukrainian nationalist terror campaign against the Soviet forces in Ukraine:
At some point Maas introduced Wilhelm to his colleague Jack Brier who in his turn in 1946 introduced Wilhelm to French military officer Jean Pélissier. The latter had been tasked by the French authorities to revive contacts with Ukrainian nationalists who continued to fight the Soviet regime. Confrontation between yesterday’s allies, the collective West and the Soviet Union, was becoming more obvious and eventually had grown into what now is known as the Cold War. The French representatives promised help with delivering by planes political agitation on the Soviet territory as well as Ukrainian militants who would join the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). At first the French representatives requested to meet personally with Stepan Bandera, but since it was too complicated, agreed to meet someone from his closer associates.
The ‘western’ allies, especially the U.S. between 1948 and 1952, spent a lot of effort and money to instigate an insurgency in Galicia against the Soviet forces.
Wilhelm was eventually caught by the Soviets. In 1948 he died in of tuberculosis a prison hospital
One wonders what else but the name connects the Vyshyvany family in the recent NYT piece with the Austrian aristocrat turned Ukrainian ‘nationalist’.
In the early 1950s, after the Soviets had launched a serious counter insurgency campaign, the post WWII fascist OUN insurgency in Ukraine eventually petered out.
In 2014 the U.S. revived it.
Posted by b on May 9, 2024 at 15:00 UTC | Permalink
Why has everyone in the United Kingdom turned against Meghan Markle despite initially liking her?
We like to give folk a fair chance to settle in. We also root for the underdog. It’s a British thing.
The second of Diana’s sons is a bit of a wild card, but that’s okay. Will is in 1st place and he’s the sensible one so it’s not a big issue if H wants to be a bit of a jack-the-lad. It might even be expected from the spare to the heir.
Anyway, he got together with Meghan and a lot of us thought ‘okay, a bit of diversity. Probably about time. American too. That didn’t work out so well for Edward with Wallis Simpson, but that was all a long time ago. Besides, H isn’t king, so we’re not likely to have a constitutional crisis. Let’s give the girl a chance’.
Fitting in to any new family has its challenges, but a Royal family, that’s going to be extra tough with all the press scrutiny. We wished her well.
Then the seams started to come apart. It was obvious that Meghan had certain ideas about what it meant to be in a Royal family, and when things didn’t quite go the way she expected she threw her Teddy bear out of the cot.
We can forgive a lot in the UK, but stabbing the Firm in the back is a no-no. Airing the dirty laundry through the press is very bad form.
Meghan took a great opportunity and squandered it rather than taking her time to adapt. She made her own bed.
What are some deep things 80 year old man told before his death?
Don’t celebrate too soon, wait until it’s a sure thing.
Don’t give things to people who won’t value them.
Starting is simple, but keeping going is tough.
Showing off starts when being smart ends.
Even someone foolish can have a talent.
Even when time feels never-ending, life is still short.
Everyone likes different things. Let’s respect each other’s preferences.
Fear is only as strong as we let it be in our minds.
SUMMARY: US lost dominance nearly decade ago on all fronts, now, its prepping a world war against China to regain it before the gap gets wider
Dominance? This was over 7 years ago.
Dominance? America lost the first spot to China on all fronts.
ECONOMIC: China is the world No. 1 Economy for 5 years and over 10 years if you add the black economy.
POLITICAL: U.S policy was based on creating Win-lose, China’ relies on Win-Win.
Invasions and destruction VS. Investments and development.
All U.S close allies rushed to China to build partnerships, after realizing that the US can’t be trusted for a blink.
These partnerships are China’s Political leverage in the future. A way smarter approach than bullying and intimidation.
China is respected, the US is (was tb precise) feared.
The atrocities and impunity of the several consecutive US administrations made the US hated but feared worldwide, which made China loved and respected when it emerged.
China is a 70 century old wise grandad compared to the US,a bustard 4 centuries baby with a diaper, wisdom and experience is a key on the policies front.
(Note: bustard is not an insult here,but a description of a nation born on a raped land from another, and that explains alot, since It was born with brute force and relied on it to present)
TECHNOLOGY: One of the Chinese giants, HUAWEI is times bigger than the entire of Silicon Valley companies. Search Huawei city and see the wonders. HUAWEI is the world’s no 1 mobile phones manufacturer, the forbidden APPLE is the 3rd next to Samsung. But that’s just the tip.
HUAWEI is the world’s leading telecom company, owns the 5G with over 1000+ patents and now the 6G.
The panic of NSA and the 5 eyes( US,CA, UK,AU,NZ) over the 5G says it all. The FIORC or the 5 eyes WERE tapping and controlling all Internet and telecommunications until the 5G. Now, HUAWEI or China runs the show.
But the desperation of US was really interesting, starting with an idiotic campaigns on the hazards of the 5G, as if the 4G was the last safe thing and supposedly we shouldn’t advance anymore?
That was followed by an even more idiotic move from NSA, which announced they will start their own 5G, they will reinvent the wheel, so by the time, they are ready, there will be 6 or even 7G.Ofc the intention was a message of the US capabilities to the world, which was perceived as a silly joke.
Now, the entire West is paying loyalties on the 5G patents to HUAWEI.
Tables are turned, yesterday’s payee is today’s payer. More importantly, intelligence is in the Chinese hands
And another desperate but seriously idiotic move was by Trump, by calling Tredau of Canada, to arrest HUAWEI daughter( also HUAWEI CFO) from Canada to the USA in an attempt to blackmail HUAWEI on the 5G. Obviously blackmailing was Trump’s Art of the deal.
These desperate moves signals the panic of the US and its typical way of thinking. Just American muscles no brains.
Since Technology and communication is a key and crucial factor in today’s smart weapons, it adds leverage to the military front.
MILITARY This is tricky, because practically wars aren’t 1vs 1, but alliance vs alliance.
1 vs 1, China has an equivalent of each US weapon,but China has weapons, the US never saw before on the military parade of the Chinese party 70 year anniversary. Its available on CCTV UT channel.
The US realises that the gap with China is growing wider every day. So, its Now or Never.
Knowing that China and Russia have joint defense agreement, then they will face both together.
The US used Ukraine to provoke Russia and Taiwan to provoke China. These pawns are presented to the public under the pretenses of democracy and free world, as always. Its not Ukraine vs Russia, its the US and the Nato against Russia and China for now.
Inflation rises in the countries of conflict, pretty normal, but in the present quarter, it’s the entire world.
This is not a regional conflict, its a global one, its a brink of a world war.
The US weapon stockpiles have been depleted to critical levels, making the US incapable of self defense with its current levels. Manufacturing backlogs are full. The US won’t risk that unless its at war, not for any of the pawns. These stockpiles are enough to go against the entire world.
It’s pretty clear that the 4 centuries diapered baby, is a cry baby, and can’t learn or accept the fact, that life and existence is a cycle, everything is a cycle.
Europe had its 2 centuries of dominance, then the US had its 2, now its China, its Asia time.
The West had 4 centuries collectively, now its the East time
So, the US crybaby isn’t mature enough to grasp that concept, and seek a confrontation while at parity, hoping to stay dominant.
Nothing strange, Muscles no brains is the American way of thinking.
The brat doesn’t realise its not a confrontation vs Russia and China, its against a cycle, its against nature
Man has never won against nature
So again, DOMINANCE was 10 years ago, and heading to DOOM, unless one of those immigrants isn’t thinking the American way.
God saves us all from the immigrants way of thinking
Which countries have the most brutal and horrific history?
This answer isn’t really about saying what one single country has done the worst, but I do want to share below on the cruelty of humankind that many people don’t know about.
Graphic content below but I want to make this known because so many people around the world have heard of Hitler, Nazis, concentration camps but they have not heard of the Asian holocaust that took place around the same period. In western schools, history classes do not teach people about this part of the world.
This is regarding what the Japanese did during their occupation of Korea and the war crimes they committed to the surrounding Asian countries, including some Pacific Islands they invaded: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, East Timor, New Guinea, Indonesia, Guam, Nauru, Wake Island, Attu and Kiska Islands, and Kiribati.
They even had some prisoners of war from the west such as America, any forces against them at the time etc.
Hundreds of thousands of women from my country in Korea were forcefully abducted (called comfort women) during the Japanese occupation in WWII. They endured torture beyond imagination if they did not sexually submit to these vile men and were forced to have sex with 60–100 men every single day. Their innards rotted because of the STD’s and they were destroyed, unable to have children even after they were rescued. They have still not been compensated for the war crimes that they endured and majority have died.
Pregnant mothers were cut open and rape victims were sodomized with bamboo sticks and bayonets until they died in agony.
On top of this they literally tore the unborn from women’s wombs and speared them alive with bayonets in front of them. They’d crush the infant’s skull against concrete floors. They would actually do this for fun.
They tied sons and daughters up and tore them apart, spearing them and forced their own parents to watch.
They raped and pillaged women of all ages, even toddlers to old women in the most vile, disgusting way imaginable. They would often disembowel them while in the process, leaving them to die in agony.
They conducted unspeakable evil torture and experiments on LIVE prisoners from these countries even children and infants in UNIT 731. Torture methods such as vivisecting pregnant women without any anesthesia, centrifuging and killing people in pressurized chambers, and slowly burning and freezing people alive. They artificially created what is similar to the ‘bubonic plague’ to see the effects on the prisoners. They were forced into X-rays until they perished and hung people by their thumbs or tongues etc. These torture tactics were deliberately planned to see death happen SLOWLY, not fast as the scientists wanted to observe the resilience of the human body.
Bodies of slayed, raped, mutilated women in China.
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Carcasses of babies and children piled up
Despite this, Japan still presently denies what has happened and even believes that it is a rumour. The young people as shown in this video are absolutely clueless on the whole tragedy, or are so far removed in cognitive dissonance and lack of care it is astounding. There is even a middle aged woman in the video who even says “Well I’m not sure if it’s a rumour or not…” which is an absolute lunacy and an embarrassment of the failure of the country in not properly educating their citizens of what truly happened. One young girl even says “Well, I wonder when they will ever get over it…” How are people supposed to get over it when there are still thousands of victims still alive who didn’t receive any form of compensation for what they have been through??!
Their government still warps their history books and deliberately tries to hide the evidence of what truly happened. There are active groups within Japan who refuse to accept what happened and truly believe that it is just a ‘rumour’ to make Japan look bad.
Below is a real life account by a South Korean comfort woman on the horrors she went through. It is heartbreaking to watch but quite educational. She sadly passed away early January of this year, fighting until her last breath but still never receiving any compensation or apology from the Japanese. They don’t even recognize that she went through this or who she is.
What Japan did wasn’t just an invasion or occupation, it was a literal carnage, hell on earth genocide. They didn’t have to go this far as majority of the Koreans and the people they invaded were helpless farmers, uneducated servants, and innocent people who were not trained in war at all. They did this because they did not see these people as human, and their goal wasn’t simply to occupy, but to desecrate the spirit from within. They knew when you destroy someone’s spirit from inside out, the enemy will bend the knee and yield to the point where they do not have the soul to fight back. On top of this, it was just pure, raw sadistic savagery because all of these helpless people surrendered and begged for mercy yet they were still tortured for absolutely no reason.
Presently Japan is one of the most wealthiest and prosperous Asian countries in the world yet they cannot even fully take responsibility for their own committed atrocities. It shows the savage barbarism that still resides in some of these people and makes one question just how this is even acceptable. Instead they choose to warp their own history books, flat out deny it existed and have refused to offer sincere, acceptable compensation/apology for the people who are still alive. They are waiting until every last victim is dead so they no longer have to worry about it. They are not truly ashamed of this past, they just see it as an eyesore they want to bury. Keep in mind Japan has very strong political parties that strives to ensure this shameful past does not reach the masses to retain their false honour. Still to this day, they praise their war criminals in shrines.
From the invasion of China in 1937 to the end of World War II, the Japanese military regime murdered near 3,000,000 to over 10,000,000 people, most probably almost 6,000,000 Chinese, Indonesians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war. This is more than the estimated Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
designed to discredit the nation,” wrote Mindy Kotler, director of Asia Policy Point, in 2014.
“Mr. Abe’s administration DENIES that imperial Japan ran a system of human trafficking and coerced prostitution, implying that comfort women were simply camp-following prostitutes,” Kotler continued. “The official narrative in Japan is fast becoming detached from reality, as it seeks to cast the Japanese people — rather than the comfort women of the Asia-Pacific theater — as the victims of this story.”
Edit: Since I’m getting quite a lot of people who clearly don’t seem to understand and may not have read or researched in depth in this matter. They are saying that ‘Japan does not need to offer apology or compensation for what people of their past did etc’
It’s more complicated than that. Please read the links again. Even if they can’t take full responsibility for their past, they SHOULD take responsibility for the future by not warping textbooks and giving power to political parties who enforces the dangerous fallacy of denying any of this ever happened or triviliazing everything that has happened. They should make sure to teach the correct history not just for educational purposes but to ensure their citizens fully know and accept their own history and in hopes that it never happens again. This is also to help not silence the voices of the people who did suffer in the past and to not spit into their graves and ruin their legacy by spreading false lies.
Also the comfort women and people who were forcefully taken into labour camps as prisoners, many are still alive who didn’t actually get any compensation or even sheer RECOGNITION. They suffered their entire lives without anyone hearing what they have to say with nothing from Japan. This isn’t just about wanting Japan to go up to a stadium and saying ‘I am sorry’ and stepping down. Words are meaningless and worthless when not backed up by actions.
They are hypocrites by warping textbooks and also praising their own war criminals. Imagine what the world would say if Germany praises Nazis and gave strong political power that has the power to make Germans never even hearing of the Nazis or even contemplate if it was just a rumour or not. Think about how insane that would be.
So why do they need to apologise? Because unlike Germany what they are doing is absolutely deplorable and morally bankrupt by continuing to CONTRIBUTE to the legacy of the abomination Japan was in the past. You don’t see Germany do the same about the Nazis and for good reason. It means Japan hasn’t learned and is not truly remorseful. By Japan I am talking of the FACES of Japan which are the politicians who represent that country. The rest of the Japanese experience their trickle down effect so while it’s not saying it’s their fault, they end up indirectly contributing to supporting these vile politicians. So yes the people who represent JAPAN who hold the power of influence does need to sincerely apologise and stop contributing to what they are presently doing.
As I am getting tired of having to repeat the same information again and again, any comments that say things along the lines of ‘Japan does not need to apologise’ or those questioning or defending the existence of any of these crimes, their war criminals will be either ignored, deleted or blocked. It is extremely disrespectful to the victims and deplorable. The links are already here clear as day for reading and one can also do the research themselves. Also for anyone who brings up another atrocity and pitting them against each other, STOP. This post isn’t about pitting one atrocity against another, it is disgusting to even keep doing that and seriously lacks any insight into the original point of my post.
Otherwise thank you for reading and have a nice day.
TLDR: Japan did some truly horrific shit that many people including the present day Japanese citizens are unaware of. What they did is abysmal carnage from the Antichrist itself.
Also, piece of shit apologies that require uttering words and throwing money at victims isn’t a true apology when they are still in 2019 warping textbooks and none of their youths know anything about their crimes.
Why do you think Germany forces every citizen to learn about their nazi history and Japan doesn’t ? It is to deliberately ignore and not acknowledge their past due to their pride and selfishness. I’d equate this to even pathological narcissism and psychopathy due to how far they have gone in managing stomping this knowledge out of their own present day citizens.
Edit 2: As I am still getting very disrespectful, deranged comments on here pitting atrocities against each other, saying that I am spreading lies and others spewing ignorant hatred against Koreans, here’s my final message.
Instead of blaming others, look at what Japanese Nationals do. Stop diverting the attention away by blaming the mistakes of other countries yet not acknowledging the corruption of the Japanese government
Japanese people often fail to understand why neighbouring countries harbour a grudge over events that happened in the 1930s and 40s. The reason, in many cases, is that they barely learned any 20th Century history. I myself only got a full picture when I left Japan and went to school in Australia
The Germans in contrast have personally done everything possible to make people aware of their Nazi past. Japan doesn’t scratch the surface of what it means to have true honour while Germans go to great lengths to do humanitarian work and to allow their citizens to understand the FULL facts. This is what true compensation and remorse actually is, not the dogshit excuse of what Japan does by also denying people, correct history. End of.
What is something you heard your child say or saw them do that made you think “Yep, that’s my kid.”?
Daughter was 4, old enough to be dropped at a birthday party for sometime without husband or I to be with her.
At this one party, I dropped her and told her I would be back in an hour and that if she wants to come home, she just needs to tell the birthday boy’s mother to call me.
She assured me she was okay and headed off inside.
I was skeptical as this was the first time but she appeared okay to me.
I went back after an hour and a half to see the main door was open. I took out my slippers and peeked in. A bunch of kids were fighting and screaming. A few girls were crying put loud for their mother terrified with scene going on in front of them.
I looked around for my daughter and didn’t see her.
I panicked.
The host was in the middle of the whole drama trying to call a truce but in vain. Two mothers joined me just then and took control over the situation.
I looked around for my daughter and still couldn’t find her. I went over to the host lady and asked her about it.
She laughed and pointed at a teeny tiny corner of the dining table.
Perched up on the chair sat my daughter with a plate in her hand, munching away the food. Oblivious to the surrounding.
The whole area looked like a war zone. ‘Hurt’ people were complaining to their mother. The birthday boy was crying because his party was spoiled plus someone broke his favourite toy. Some girls were crying because they were afraid and wanted to their parents to take them away.
And here was my daughter not caring a damn to the drama that unfolded around her.
“Hey!” I said as I walked up to her.
“Mumma, the fried rice is really good and also these cheese balls. You want?” She said beaming.
“There was a fight here. You know what happened?”
“No. I am eating.” She said as she dug into her cheese ball with a fork.
When it comes to food she doesn’t care even if the world is ending.
Yep, that’s my kid.
Women has it so easy…
During a light-hearted exchange, a man guessed this 39-year-old woman’s age to be 43, which apparently pissed her off. She followed him to the bathroom and glassed him in the face, twice.
He received a 10cm cut that narrowly missed his eye, as well as an injury to his thumb while he was trying to shield his face. He needed stitches for his injuries.
Judge Elizabeth Nicholls spared her prison. The judge said that she could see this woman was a ‘hard working woman’, ‘loving mother’ and ‘no risk to the public’. Yeah right.
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In September 9 last year Joanne Dodd was out with her sister at a Manchester pub. In a banter with a guy he was asked to guess their age, at which he guessed Joanne to be four years older than she was. This made her fly into a rage and threaten to hurt him. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and away from the hostile situation, but she followed him and attacked him with her glass.
In court her lawyer said she was drunk. Said she was suffering from low self-esteem. Yeah aren’t we all. We just don’t cut up people’s faces when we’re drunk.
Joanne pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. She was facing up to three years in jail under the sentencing guidelines.
But she was spared jail. The judge said, “one person’s banter may be insulting to others, but that did not justify what you then went on to do.” Fair enough, but come on.
She almost rendered someone blind over a joke, gave them multiple lacerations in the face that needed stitches.
Joanne was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months and was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work. Plus also ordered to pay £800 in compensation to her victim.
Proof of Reincarnation
Have you ever called in sick but you were convinced or threatened by your superiors to come to work? Did it end well for you?
When I worked for the legal department of the Department of Children and Families, about year three or so I begin to experience profound depression, bad enough that I needed to seek medical assistance. I felt pretty miserable that my life had deteriorated to a point where I would need psychotropic medication just to function, but the doctors assured me that it was a very good thing that I was seeking help from them instead of trying to self medicate and we tried to work on a plan. The problem was, I hadn’t taken any psychotropic meds for years at that point, and I wasn’t sure what would be effective. At this point, there are so many medications on the market that sometimes it’s literally a game of “well, let’s try this and see how it goes.”
The first medication I took, Prozac, made me paranoid, even at half-dose, and gave me full-blown panic attacks. I called the doctors’ office to explain my symptoms, and they continued to tweak, but suggested that I give the meds a chance to work. The meds ended up knocking me out constantly. I literally would not have been safe to drive a car, let alone work with legal files.
The managing attorney of the office threatened my employment when I came back to work, stating that me being out of work for five days put too much stress on everyone else in the office for coverage. Mind you, this is the same person who would make small talk with me about when I was going on vacation and asked me why I hadn’t dropped everything to go across the country with my husband on one of his spur-of-the-minute trips California or Italy or something. So it’s totally cool if I ask for time off to go on a drinking trip, but actually trying to manage my mental health so that I can continue to do the job of a junior attorney for a receptionist pay is borderline terminable?
This is the same supervisor who took nine months off for her own maternity leave, but was demanding that an underling come back to work four weeks after giving birth because “the office needed her.” Completely unempathetic human being. Before she became the managing attorney, the turnover in the office was practically zero; afterwards, it stood close to 90% every two years.
Law enforcement, when did you get an unbelievable tip that was actually real?
I was working the front desk at the police station when a woman came in and said she had some information. She told me her boyfriend (I had the impression he was or was about to be an ex-boyfriend) had two sticks of dynamite hidden under her house. She wasn’t sure why he had this. I recorded her information, thanked her, and sent her on her way.
The usual procedure would have been to notify our bomb squad. My department participated in a regional EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) team that was staffed by representatives of the local police, sheriff, and fire departments. Our PD’s representative was an academy classmate. He was (and is) also an asshole. I avoided talking to him for any reason. One of my close friends, however, was the EOD tech for the fire department. I called him at home and passed along the information.
About six hours later, my friend came in to the PD to update me. He had gone to the address in question for recon, found a suspicious package under the house (maybe some search and seizure issues here, but Not My Problem), and called the rest of the team. They recovered the two sticks of crystallized (read: highly unstable) explosive, which they placed into a bomb-proof cask to transport to a remote location to be “rendered safe” (read: blown up). He thanked me for a most productive day.
What is the stupidest crime you have ever seen anybody charged with?
I was in court over a ticket, it was dismissed so I’m not a lawbreaker.
Anyway, this little old lady was called up. She’d been given a ticket for speeding in an area at the end of my street, a busy business highway street that goes through the main part of a town.
The lady told the judge she wasn’t speeding, she was actually going under the speed limit. The judge called the officer up, he said he clocked her going 44 in a 40. The officer said I clocked her in front of… some local business, XXXX, and she was doing 44mph. I drive that area every day, multiple times. The speed limit there is 45. She really wasn’t speeding. The judge started to chew the lady out, stating she was getting too old to drive and needed to surrender her license and sell her car.
I muttered something to the effect that she hadn’t done anything wrong and was driving fine, and the judge heard me. I was thinking “oh crap! now he’s not going to listen to me when it’s my turn!!” but I said I live on SSSS street and drive the road in question, every day. The speed limit in front of XXXX business is 45, the speed limit if 40 up the YYYY business and the 45 mph speed limit sign in on the easement in front of their business. The speed limit where he’s talking about is 45mph.
The judge had to get another officer on the phone to go and check where the speed limit changed. The lady went to sit down and wait. I was nearly last so when they got the call back he dismissed her ticket. I bet the officer got in trouble for giving false tickets.
Girls as illustrated in the 1960s
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When and where did your parents die? What do you remember about it?
Dad was supposed to be on Hospice but they didn’t start it because someone was on vacation. He was home swearing he wouldn’t ever go to the hospital. Mom was trying to take care of him but he fell off the couch twice one day and sat on his oxygen tube. She called 911 to pick him up once then the neighbors the next time. Saturday I was with her all day to help with him. Sunday morning he asked if I was coming so she had him call me. Then he asked if my brother was coming and she offered to call him but he said he would know he wanted him. She called him anyhow. So my brother, SIL and I were visiting when dad announced he was ready to go to the hospital. The doctor said he couldn’t because they couldn’t help him. Mom was crying, she couldn’t lift him and thought if it got to be too much she could have him go to the hospital. The doctor came to the house and said he had total system shutdown and his kidneys had stopped working. She said he could go to the hospital to get morphine but if he did, he couldn’t come home again, he would go to the nursing home if he didn’t die first. On Tuesday he went to the nursing home, an hour or so later mom was home taking a nap when they called and said to come back. He had died already.
Mom ended up living with my brother and went to the hospital for pain. They claimed she had pancreatic cancer but wouldn’t treat it unless she got a biopsy. She said she didn’t want a biopsy and would rather have hospice, so they sent her home. Everyone came to visit her dozens of grand and great grandkids, she had a great time visiting everyone like a big party. One day she said this was the first time she thought about dying. She only lived 20 days and died peacefully at home.
Is the problem with US diplomacy with China that it goes against Chinese values?
Not to be rude, but I burst out laughing reading this question in the notification.
The Chinese do not conduct diplomacy on grounds of values.
As in we’re attacking/punishing/threatening/sanctioning you for not being Chinese enough.
Only the West, and primarily the United States does that. Western NGOs are an economy unto themselves.
Israel does it to its own citizens/residents, because their quarrel with the Palestinians boils down to a disagreement over whose God is in charge.
China doesn’t print “In God We Trust” on the Renminbi.
In fact, China as a state does not identify with any religion, unlike modern India, and most of the West. All monarchies that remain today identify with a religion, and that includes Japan.
Evangelism has never been a part of Chinese culture, which doesn’t travel well, unless there is critical mass.
China’s diplomatic principle is simple. Recognize One China and respect Chinese sovereignty, and China is your friend.
America’s problem with China is singular—it wants to remain top dog, at all cost.
I say good luck.
中国人不吃这套
Pepe Escobar
May 8, 2024
The NATOstan lackeys will remain dazed and confused. So what; lackeys lack strategic depth, they just wallow in the shallow waters of irrelevancy.
Startling mirror images swirl around two major developments this week directly inbuilt in the Grand Narrative that shapes my latest book, Eurasia v. NATOstan, recently published in the U.S.: Xi Jinping’s visit to Paris and the inauguration of Vladimir Putin’s new term in Moscow.
Inevitably, this is a contrasting tale of Sovereigns – the comprehensive Russia-China strategic partnership – and lackeys: the NATOstan/EU vassals.
Xi, the quintessential hermetic guest, is quite sharp at reading a table – and we’re not talking about Gallic gastronomic finesse. The minute he sat at the Paris table he got the Big Picture. This was not a tete-a-tete with Le Petit Roi, Emmanuel Macron. This was a threesome because Toxic Medusa Ursula von der Leyen, more appropriately defined as Pustula von der Lugen, had inserted herself in the plot.
Nothing was lost in translation for Xi: this was graphic illustration that Le Petit Roi, the leader of a third-rate former Western colonial power, enjoys zero “strategic autonomy”. The decisions that matter come from the Kafkaesque Eurocracy of the European Commission (EC), led by his Nanny, the Medusa, and directly relayed by the Hegemon.
Le Petit Roi spent the whole of Xi’s Gallic time babbling like an infant on Putin’s “destabilizations” and trying to “engage China, which objectively enjoys sufficient levers to change Moscow’s calculus in its war in Ukraine”.
Obviously no pubescent adviser at the Elysee Palace – and there’s quite a crowd – dared to break the news to Le Petit Roi about the strength, depth and reach of the Russia-China strategic partnership.
So it was up to his Nanny to volunteer out loud the fine print on the “Monsieur Xi comes to France” adventure.
Faithfully parroting Treasure Secretary Janet Yellen in her recent, disastrous Beijing incursion, the Nanny directly threatened the superpowered hermetic guest: you are exceeding in “over-capacity”, you are over-producing; and if you don’t stop it, we will sanction you to death.
So much for European “strategic autonomy”. Moreover, it’s idle to dwell on what can only be described as suicidal stupidity.
Steadfastly defending a debacle
Now let’s switch to what really matters: the chain of events leading to Putin’s lavish fifth inauguration at the Kremlin.
We start with the chief of GRU (main intelligence department) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Admiral Igor Kostyukov.
Kostyukov, on the record, actually re-confirmed that right on the eve of the Special Military Operation (SMO), in February 2022, the West was ready to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Donbass, just as before the Great Patriotic War (Victory Day, incidentally, is celebrated this Thursday not only in Russia but also across the post-Soviet space).
Then the ambassadors of Britain and France were called at the Russian Foreign Ministry. They spent roughly half an hour each, separately, and left without addressing the media. There were no leaks about the reasons for both visits.
Yet that was more than obvious. The Foreign Ministry handed the Brits a serious note in response to David “of Arabia” Cameron’s babbling about using British long-range missiles to attack the territory of the Russian Federation. And to the French, another serious note on Le Petit Roi’s babbling about sending French troops to Ukraine.
Immediately after this compounded NATO babbling, the Russian Federation started drills on the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
So what started as a NATO verbal escalation was counterpunched not only with stern messages but also an extra, clear, stern warning: Moscow will regard any F-16 entering Ukraine as a potential carrier of nuclear weapons – regardless of its specific design. F-16s in Ukraine will be treated as a clear and present danger.
And there’s more: Moscow will respond with symmetric measures if Washington deploys any ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles (INF) in Ukraine – or elsewhere. There will be a counterpunch.
All that happened within the framework of astonishing Ukrainian losses in the battlefield over the past two months or so. The only parallels are with the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and the first Gulf War. Kiev, between dead, wounded and missing, may be losing as many as 10,000 soldiers a week: the equivalent of three divisions, 9 brigades or 30 battalions.
No compulsory mobilization, whatever its reach, can counter such debacle. And the much-advertised Russian offensive has not even started yet.
There’s no way the current U.S. administration led by a cadaver in the White House, in an electoral year, is going to send troops to a war that from the beginning was scripted to be fought to the last Ukrainian. And there’s no way NATO will officially send troops to this proxy war, because they will be minced into steak tartare in a matter of hours.
Any serious military analyst knows NATO has less than zero capability to transfer significant forces and assets to Ukraine – no matter the current, grandiloquent Steadfast Defender “exercises” coupled with Macron’s mini-Napoleon rhetoric.
So it’s Ouroboros all over again, the snake biting its own sorry tail: there was never a Plan B to the proxy war. And at the current configuration in the battlefield, plus possible outcomes, we’re back to what everyone from Putin to Nebenzya at the UN have been saying: it’s over only when we say it’s over. The only thing to negotiate is the modality of surrendering.
And of course there will be no sniffin’ sweaty sweatshirt cabal in place in Kiev: Zelensky is already a “Wanted” entity in Russia, and in a few days, from a legal standpoint, his government will be totally illegitimate.
Russia aligns with the world majority
Moscow has to be fully aware that serious threats remain: what NATOstan wants is to test the strategic capability of hitting Russian military, manufacturing or energy installations deep within the Russian Federation. This could be easily interpreted as a last shot of bourbon at the counter before the 404 saloon goes down in flames.
After all, Moscow’s response will have to be devastating, as already communicated by Medvedev Unplugged: “None of them will be able to hide either on Capitol Hill, or in the Elysee Palace, or on Downing Street 10. A world catastrophe will happen.”
Putin, at the inauguration, was cool, calm and collected, unfazed by all the hysterical incandescence across the NATOstan sphere.
These are his main takeaways:
Russia and only Russia will determine its own fate.
Russia will pass through this difficult, milestone period with dignity and become even stronger, it must be self-sufficient and competitive.
The key priority for Russia is safeguarding the people, preserving its age-old values and traditions.
Russia is ready to strengthen good relations with all countries, and with the world majority.
Russia will continue to work with its partners on the formation of a multipolar world order.
Russia does not reject dialog with the West, it is ready for dialog on security and strategic stability, but only on an equal footing.
All that is supremely rational. The problem is the other side is supremely irrational.
Still, a new Russian government will be in place in a matter of days. The new Prime Minister will be appointed by the President after the Duma approves the candidacy.
The new head of the Cabinet must propose to the President and the Duma candidates for deputy prime ministers and ministers – except for the heads of the security bloc and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The heads of the Ministry of Defense, FSB, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Emergency Situations and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be appointed by the President after consultations with the Federation Council.
All ministerial candidacies will be submitted and considered before May 15.
And all that will happen before the key meeting: Putin and Xi face to face in Beijing on May 17. Everything will be in play – and on the table. Then a new era starts – outlining the path towards the BRICS+ summit next October in Kazan, and the subsequent multipolar moves.
The NATOstan lackeys will remain dazed, confused – and hysterical. So what; lackeys lack strategic depth, they just wallow in the shallow waters of irrelevancy.
Amazing Tour Inside a Chinese Attack Submarine
Is this the end of the United States as a global superpower?
All empires fall. It’s an historical fact.
The American Empire is falling. The US Dollar is America’s main pillar of power and the world is massively de-dollarizing.
Within the next 20 years, the US Dollar will no longer be the world’s primary reserve currency. It will be replaced by something else.
When that happens, the Empire will collapse. It will no longer be able to afford its military.
America is also rotting from within. It is plagued by domestic problems such as homelessness, gun violence, poor health care, poor education, crumbling infrastructure, opioid addiction, systemic racism (“I can’t breathe”), mass incarceration, growing poverty, etc.
The US political system is in turmoil. Deep political division. Deep corruption by the corporate capitalist elite. January 6, 2021 is just the beginning.
As we report, the disintegration of the old order is visible everywhere. Sanctions are used four times as much as they were during the 1990s; America has recently imposed “secondary” penalties on entities that support Russia’s armies. A subsidy war is under way, as countries seek to copy China’s and America’s vast state backing for green manufacturing. Although the dollar remains dominant and emerging economies are more resilient, global capital flows are starting to fragment, as our special report explains.The institutions that safeguarded the old system are either already defunct or fast losing credibility. The World Trade Organisation turns 30 next year, but will have spent more than five years in stasis, owing to American neglect. The IMF is gripped by an identity crisis, caught between a green agenda and ensuring financial stability. The un security council is paralysed. And, as we report, supranational courts like the International Court of Justice are increasingly weaponised by warring parties. Last month American politicians including Mitch McConnell, the leader of Republicans in the Senate, threatened the International Criminal Court with sanctions if it issues arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel, which also stands accused of genocide by South Africa at the International Court of Justice.
It is the U.S., the country which arguably benefited the most from the liberal international order, which is actively destroying it.
Others, if they did not attract random U.S. rage and war against them, also saw some benefits from it. Those small to medium countries will most likely lose out should the current regime collapse.
That would not be unprecedented:
Unfortunately, history shows that deeper, more chaotic collapses are possible—and can strike suddenly once the decline sets in. The first world war killed off a golden age of globalisation that many at the time assumed would last for ever. In the early 1930s, following the onset of the Depression and the Smoot-Hawley tariffs, America’s imports collapsed by 40% in just two years. In August 1971 Richard Nixon unexpectedly suspended the convertibility of dollars into gold; only 19 months later, the Bretton Woods system of fixed-exchange rates fell apart.
Similar ruptures, like the examples above again caused by the U.S., may happen soon.
Interestingly the Economist does not name a solution or way to avoid it. It sees a collapse coming, blames -more or less- the U.S. for causing it, but does not point to way out of it.
That is an uncharacteristically pessimistic view for writers who otherwise like to paint a positive picture for those with big money.
Posted by b on May 10, 2024 at 14:04 UTC | Permalink
Shopping in Stores in 1971: Retro Video of the Early 70s in America
Picadillo-Stuffed Turkey with
Orange-Tamarind Sauce
Add Latin flavor to your holiday turkey with the addition of picadillo ingredients to the Stove Top Stuffing.
picadillo stuffed turkey
Prep: 30 min | Total: 4 hr 45 min | Yield: 24 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) package Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup Planters Slivered Almonds, toasted
5 large navel oranges, divided
1 (15 pound) frozen turkey, thawed
1 (14 ounce) package frozen tamarind pulp, thawed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.
Add onions and garlic; cook and stir for 3 minutes.
Add pork; cook 5 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
Stir in tomato sauce; cook 2 minutes.
Add stuffing mix, raisins, nuts and the juice of 2 oranges (about 1/2 cup); mix well. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat. Cool for 15 minutes before stuffing the turkey.
Remove and discard neck and giblets from turkey cavities. Rinse turkey; drain well. Free legs from tucked position, but do not cut band of skin. Place turkey, breast-side up, in roasting pan.
Spoon stuffing into neck and body cavities, being careful to not pack stuffing into turkey too tightly. Return legs to tucked position; turn wings back to hold neck skin in place.
Cut 1 orange into 8 slices; arrange over turkey. Cover breast loosely with foil to prevent over-browning.
Bake for 3 hours, basting occasionally with pan juices.
Meanwhile, combine tamarind pulp, sugar and juice from remaining 2 oranges in saucepan.
Remove foil; bake turkey 45 minutes to 1 hour or until done (165 degrees F), brushing with 1/4 cup of the tamarind mixture for the last 15 minutes.
Remove turkey from oven; let stand 15 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile, stir cornstarch into remaining tamarind mixture until completely dissolved. Bring to boil; cook and stir 1 minute or until thickened.
Remove from heat; stir in butter. Serve warm with turkey.
Notes
Serve with smart sides, such as a crisp mixed green salad and your favorite hot steamed vegetable.
A 12 to 14 pound frozen turkey needs 3 to 3 1/2 days of thawing time in the refrigerator. The cooking time will range between 3 to 3 3/4 hours until the turkey is done (165 degrees F).
Do not stuff turkey until ready to roast.
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 460
Total fat 20g Saturated fat 6g Cholesterol 130mg Sodium 260mg Carbohydrate 26g Dietary fiber 2g Sugars 17g Protein 45g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A 2 % DV Vitamin C 0% DV Calcium 6% DV Iron 20% DV
* Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
“You never deserved any of the promotions I gave you.”
I started working for a small non-profit when it was only 3 other employees and myself. I was able to take over a lot of jobs that they were outsourcing and saved the foundation over $15,000 a year in contract labor within 6 months of being hired. Within 2 years, the organization grew to over 15 full time employees and I was promoted from Office Admin to Office Manager to Finance Director/Travel Logistics Manager. I was on call every day and often sacrificed family stuff to make sure the participants in programming were taken care of.
After 2 years, I took a 9 day vacation with my family to Disney. I made sure that everything was taken care of before I left and had made arrangements with co-workers to be able handle anything that came up. I left contacts for myself, and my husband should there be an emergency. On the plane to FL, I lost my phone. When we arrived at the hotel, I immediately emailed from my personal email to let my co-workers and boss know what had happened and how I was handling it.
When we returned, my boss pulled me into her office and berated me for not taking my work laptop on my family vacation and said that losing my phone (not a company phone) was extremely “unprofessional” and that I didn’t deserve anything I had earned in my tenure there. She claimed that she had only advanced me because she was being nice and yelled at me so loudly that the entire office heard. I told her that was pretty poor leadership and gave my 2 weeks notice to the founder and explained the situation. Unfortunately, he felt we were “just being catty” and refused to do anything about it.
I visited my village in CHINA for the first time in 10 years *MY LIFE CHANGED*
What is your most horrifying supernatural experience? (A real life incident)
You may not believe this, but…
Los Angeles. 1980, at a stoplight. three lanes. Truck in furthest left lane, A friend was next to me in middle lane, I was in the inside lane. My friend and I were revving our motors like we were going to drag race as soon as the light turned green.
Rev..rev, looking at the light. Waiting. Yellow comes on in other direction, I was ready to go when….. this old man crosses in front of us, slowly. He looks like he’s 100 years old and so slight you can barely see him.
The light turns green but we can’t go because of the guy. All of a sudden, from my left, a truck comes barreling through his red light, crossing directly in front of us. If it wasn’t for the old guy walking across our paths, we probably would have been dead. Except……later at the coffee shop, we were talking about what a close call that was, and that but for the old guy crossing we would have been toast.
My friend asked: “what old guy?” I said the old guy crossing the street in front of us, isn’t that why you didn’t take off? No, he said, I just don’t race at stoplights. I thought we were playing.” My friend was killed, a long time ago by an old driver racing through a red light and striking his car, killing him. Me: “So you didn’t see the old guy.” He laughed thinking I was making it up.
My life was saved by a ghost.
What is the rudest thing that a new neighbor has done to you immediately after you had moved in?
It was immediately after he moved in.
We had a house for 10 years. Beautiful natural yard with several 200+ year old oak trees. Mr. New Jersey moves in behind us and immediately starts pestering my wife about getting those trees cut down because, “if they fell over they could land on his house and take out the power so they needed to be removed immediately.” Wife demanded I not talk to him about it as she didnt want me to anger new neighbor.
She put up with it for a year. I was really sick of hearing her complain about it. So I started doing yard work where he could see me. He came over and started his rant. I politely told him noody was cutting down my wifes healthy oak trees and the subject was closed. I then pointed out his pretty shrub was growing into the powerline and needed to be trimmed or we would all have a power outage.
A few weeks later the power company came out for a service call(3 days with no power for the neighbor hood). His shrub had taken out the power.
We all now get along great.
When the 65 foot Hackberry tree died, I rented a 45 foot boomlift. He let me park it in his backyard while I cut that thing into 2 foot pieces and lowered it to the ground. It was leaning over the powerline. The power company wouldnt cut it down and I had to take it down in pieces so it didnt knock out the power to the neighborhood.
He asked me why I was doing the work instead of hiring a tree service. I explained its easy work and I find it fun and relaxing.
I get to drive a 45 foot boom lift and play with a new chainsaw. Its guy heaven.
He had thought he could bully a woman into cutting down her trees. As I had not gotten involved in the fracus for a year he maybe figured I was intimidated by him for some reason. Then he realized I wasnt intimidated and just supported my wifes opinions.
What do women have that men want from us besides our holes?
I was a stripper for about ten years, so I’ve talked to far more men than the average female. The one thing most married men talked about missing from their marriage/relationship was acknowledgement, particularly for their feelings, and also their contribution. Men would routinely tell me that their wife behaved as if she was owed a better husband than he was to her; she deserved a man who made more money, but she also deserved a man who spent more time at home. And very often, a man would go to great length and trouble to do something special for a woman he cared about, and very often, she would mention the parts he fell short in that endeavor. Women have encouragement and acceptance and affection and appreciation, and when a man gets all that from a woman, her holes are hardly the thing he wants most from her. In fact, if any woman has nothing to offer, but her holes, she will find herself very unwanted, even if she has really good holes.
Aliens & Espionage: Crop Circles and the CIA Coverup | They Don’t Want You to Know
Different places have different societies, and different cultures. I could probably write a book on this, as there are joys and pains with this kind of experience. But I will specify one such experience… working for “the BOSS” while I was building a hospital in Pago pago, American Samoa.
Honestly, this guy was sort of like a Samoan version of Tony Soprano. He held bi-monthly dinners, and all that, and there was no question that he was the big boss, and everyone else had to follow and obey him to the letter. He was insulting, harsh, brutish and rude. he was a “Bluto” incarnate.
It was socking. But with one pay out every two weeks, it was hard not to take it. So I did. Ouch! It was so painful. I mean, when I was in the Navy, I had a Marine drill instructor, but this guy was on another level. Wholly Shit!
Anyways, do not think that everyone in the world is the same. We tend to mix up biology and genetics with culture and societal norms. It’s a certain American trait, but Brits seem to be prone to it as well.
Be careful out there. You all.
Today…
If you are homeless, why wont you just get a job?
I was employed when I became homeless, working in a WFH situation thanks to covid, one little problem arose though, I was on a month to month lease when the owner decided to list the property for sale, this gave me 6 weeks to look for a new rental.
I quickly realised that the $500 a week rent i was paying for a nice 2 bedroom house with a backyard, was grossly below market value. I applied for over 100 houses between $450–750 per week, and not one of them was successful.
2 weeks till I was to be kicked out, I purchased a van, did a basic fitout in it, sold 75% of my stuff and moved into the van on the last day of my lease. I spent the next month applying for houses, but eventually gave up. I maintained my WFH job, working in the van and moving around every few days.
I eventually left the job as I started finding work around the state. The pay was good, but I stayed in the van for just over 2 years, meeting my best friend Storm in the first 6 months. 2 years later, I had saved up enough and had a regular enough income stream to allow me to buy a small block of land. It doesnt have building permits, but I have parked a tiny house on it, and it suits us perfectly now
Cheese Tortellini Crock Pot Dinner
A creamy, cheesy crock pot dinner recipe featuring cream cheese, cheese tortellini and spinach.
slow cooker tortellini soup 3 768×1152
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 large bag cheese tortellini
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bunch fresh spinach, stems removed, or 1 bag frozen spinach
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 container vegetable or chicken broth
4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Place block of cream cheese in the slow cooker.
Pour the bag of tortellini over the cream cheese.
Pour the can of diced tomatoes over all.
Add the spinach to the top.
Sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and Italian seasoning over the top.
Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.
Cover the slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for about 2 1/2 hours.
Stir well and serve.
Internal conflicts
Did you ever end up benefiting, in some way, from a crime that you were the victim of?
A few years ago I had a garage full of assorted nonsense, as garages tend to be. Among the nonsense was a television and a microwave oven, both of which were taken when thieves cut the lock on the door. This was late 1990’s, when replacing a 21 inch TV could cost $400, and a microwave about $150.
Fortunately for me, neither appliance was functional. So far the net benefit is zero. But in that area, you couldn’t just drop a broken TV in the garbage can. Electronics of any type were considered “hazardous waste” presumably because of lead in the solder on the circuit boards. Did I mention this was in California? Yeah, they’re all kinda goofy about lead. Anyway, the city’s policy on such items was that if you had “hazardous waste” you had to take it yourself to the hazardous waste dump, and pay a fee to dispose of it. The fee depended on the weight, and this was a 1990’s TV, probably weighing about 50+ lbs (20+ kg).
So, when the thieves broke in, they saved me not only a trip to the dump, but also the fee I would have had to pay.
They did steal some other things, which I wasn’t happy about, but at least they relieved me of the burden of a couple of gigantic paperweights.
What is the best thing that has ever happened to you for being nice?
I have a friend whose husband committed suicide. She lives 350km away from me, so I couldn’t often see her, but she phoned me for an hour or two every morning.
Sometimes she just cried. Sometimes she talked about her life, husband, children, the event, the events leading up to his death.
I didn’t know what to do. I was very busy and I really didn’t have time. But she was my friend, she was in pain, and she needed someone to listen to her.
That’s all I did, nothing great, nothing fantastic. I didn’t try to advise her, certainly didn’t tell her she would get better.
She had an overwhelming feeling of guilt. However, her husband had given no warning that he was about to kill himself, but was on anti-psychotic medicine. So the only thing I ever said, really, was “it’s not your fault. Nothing you could have done would have stopped this” . I said that over and over again.
After many, many months of this, there were fewer phone calls. I called her to see how she was. She wasn’t always ok, and still blamed herself.
Two or three years later, she told me I’d saved her life. I was amazed, I’d done nothing special. How? “You listened”. Apparently she’d been pretty close to suicide herself.
Now she’s OK, happy with her life and her grandchildren. That was the nicest thing that could have happened to me.
The reason I’m posting this is that sometimes all people need is for someone to listen to them, to care. They don’t need advice, and to be told it will get better. That doesn’t help.
Listen, without being judgemental. Our reward is when it helps them.
Election rallies USA 2024
LOL
Hong Kong passed a new security law. What’s the significance?
Nothing really.
If you’re a normal person, who has a job and home… essentially nothing changes. It’s nearly April and I need to pay my salaries tax from my part time day job… I also need to pay my other taxes. This means I will have to endure waiting in a bank queue as there are ATM limits that are lower than my tax bill 🙁 . If you’re a grifter who took CIA money then you’re in trouble.
Joshua Wong literally had $400,000 which he tried to deposit into a HSBC (UK bank) account, he was denied as he refused to divulge the source of the funding. Under UK SOCPA that would have been seized as suspicious.
NSL law? It had pretty much zero effect on normal people in Hong Kong, for regular people nothing has changed even the real name ID phone registration was actually an anti phone scam measure NOT a result of NSL law. What was seen was lots of advertising about it… that’s the extent of it. I’ve never been stopped under NSL law. Nobody I know has been stopped. You go into a pub and likely nobody’s been arrested over it.
I have however been arrested over non appearance in court for a cycling offence. The police officer was WTF this is pointless. This is because my village has postal problems due to very similar addressed. I was fined $200HKD.
OTOH in the UK?
Under UK anti terrorism laws, a LOT of people were stopped under S44 of the anti terrorism laws. It was used for everything. As such you go into a pub and several people have been stopped over it.
UK SOCPA, yet again pub test, lots of people have been subjected to it. There are tons of stories of £2000 to buy a car or just sold a car and it was deemed as suspicious.
Westerners see how their own regimes and corrupt police forces abuse laws and think it must be so much worse in China/Hong Kong!
I mean fuck we don’t even have ANPR in HK. People park everywhere and anywhere and police shrug. Two days ago some fuck parked lengthways across a zebra crossing and the police biker who was at the scene was waddayawant me to do about it?
Commercial Thompson’s were made to look sexy. They were expensive to make, nicely finished and had flashy accessories like removable stocks, compensators and audacious drum magazines.
main qimg fec34fb011ccd9b65e5350b5c67f1f90 lq
You can see all of the weapon’s unique features here in this picture. Note the vertical fore grip, the finned barrel, Cutt’s Compensator, the slots cut into the receiver so a drum magazine may be inserted and the charging handle on top of the receiver. A lot of precise machining went into these weapons and many skilled men were employed to produce them.
The most unique feature of the Thompson submachine gun was its action. Based on The Blish System, it included a part, known as “The H Piece” which held the bolt closed until the bullet cleared the barrel, then allowed the action to chamber another round. The weapons’s designer, General John T. Thompson, declared the H piece to be integral to the gun’s design and function. It demanded to be machined and inserted at a precise angle and there was no alternative to its use. The H Piece is the brass “H” shaped piece of metal in the picture below.
main qimg 40fe5df475f7f62039f1b0f0b1ad8758 lq
Basically, the commercial Thompson was a complicated gun that required skilled machinists to create and was costly as a result.
The world was heating up though and isolationist America began to gear up for a potential war and they needed guns.
The US Army already knew about the Thompson and employed them in small numbers. But now they needed lots of them as quickly as possible. In order to meet demand, changes were made to the design so contractors could turn them out quickly. The new weapon was designated M1 Thompson in 1940 and was being made by Colt, Auto Ordinance and Savage Arms.
main qimg f6b87dcf359480f97e091cce728bec0c lq
As you can see, the vertical fore grip was replaced by a horizontal one, but the other features are still in place, most notably the charging handle on top of the receive, meaning it still employs the Blish Locking System and the H piece. It did get sling swivels and a phosphate finish, but otherwise it is the same as the commercial model Thompson. It was expensive and time consuming to make.
In 1941, everything changed. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and US troops were headed to the pacific to fight. A simpler, easier to produce submachine gun was needed, so all of the Thompson’s fancy features went to the chopping block.
main qimg 8f30ad8f07b8d5c5128a59303cd0e711 lq
This Thompson, designated the M1A1, is the one most GIs were familiar with. No compensator, a horizontal fore grip, phosphate finish, no slots for a drum magazine and the charging handle was moved to the side of the receiver. It was now a pure blow back submachine gun. The Blish lock and H piece, deemed necessary by the designer, were gone. The weapon was still fairly costly to produce but it could be made more rapidly and was ultra reliable in combat.
What is the saddest thing that happened to you that you never shared with others before?
Well. My father always wanted a son. When my mother got pregnant, he explicitly told her that he is a well reputed man and that he can not have a daughter and if it’s a daughter, it’ll be because of my mother. (Scientifically this makes no sense but in my culture, giving birth to a daughter is a matter of shame.) As fate had it, it was a daughter. Me, my father looked at me and went home. Leaving my mother all alone. Even my grandparents left. My mother alone managed everything and the day she were to discharge, my father called and told her that if she wants to come back home, she should leave me at an orphanage first. And that I was not his daughter. He said he told his friends and family that you had a miscarriage. Well my mother didn’t listen to him and somehow managed to raise me but it is extremely saddening how my father rejected his blood just because it was a girl. And it saddens me how because of me, my mother’s divorce happened. I can never thank my mother enough for choosing me over a comforting life.
Edit: Thank you all for your love and support. My mother has done all sorts of odd jobs to support me. But back in 2013, my mother got diagnosed with cancer. I was in the third year of my university and when I got to know, I was devastated. I didn’t want to lose my mother, who had spent all her life working for my education and well-being. There were days when my mother could either afford my milk or her food and she always got milk and slept hungry herself. And I just didn’t want her to leave this world without seeing me successful. I wanted to take care of her like she took care of me. So I decided I will do anything and get money for her treatment. (It was stage 2) I applied for a lot of loans, aid, even begged on the street but to no avail. With no option left, I contacted my father. He is pretty rich. Went to his office, begged in front of him, cried my heart out and all he said was that he is not my father and my mother has lied to me. I persisted but he called security. That day I felt ashamed of myself for being the blood of such a man. Luckily, my friend in college contacted me and promised to help out. His parents paid all the expenses and my mother recovered only last year. That man is now my husband. Now I have a good job and I save to return my father in law’s money. Even though he says there is no need but my mother never borrowed money to feed me and I want to take care of my mother solely.
Edit 2: This answer is getting long but I just want to add that me and my mother have gone through all sorts of circumstances. And I know people around the globe go through the same. There was a time when I came home and told my mother I want to die. I told her this world is unfair and there is no point in living when I can die. I told her I am no rich girl nor do I have anything to offer to this world, so my life doesn’t really matter; dead or alive. At that point she said you have two options, either you kill yourself and put me in more pain or you outlive your circumstances and prove your worth to your dad and men like him. And well I am glad I lived. My success though has only been possible because of my husband. As my mother says,”He is the reward of our patience and my prayers because the day I married your father, I prayed to God that I accept this man as my fate but if I have a daughter, let her husband be none like her father.”
Thank you for your love and prayers. And if you are going through a tough time, always remember the best thing about time is that it changes. Just be honest to your present and the future will bring reward. Good luck living life!
Why Kids Don’t Go Outside Anymore
What are some unwritten social rules everyone should know?
If someone shows you a photo on their phone, don’t swipe left or right.
If someone tells you, “It’s getting late,” when you’re over at their place, it’s time for you to go.
Walk as if you are “driving” and don’t stand still right at the entrance or exit of a door. Let people pass.
If you invite a friend to a party where they barely know anyone, don’t leave them hanging.
Don’t criticize someone’s smile or laugh.
Don’t stand too close when talking to people or talk “in their face.”
If you have never seen or tried what they like, don’t diss someone’s taste.
Don’t ask why the person isn’t married/doesn’t have children. Never.
When someone starts talking about their problems, don’t start talking about yours.
Don’t ask for somebody else’s opinion and get mad when they tell it to you.
If you start to smell yourself, other people have been smelling you for 3 days.
If someone can’t fix an aspect of their appearance in 5 minutes or less, don’t mention it.
Don’t microwave fish in the break room at work.
Don’t take pictures of kids that aren’t yours.
When you enter an elevator, face the door.
Don’t ever snap your fingers to get a bill from a server at a restaurant.
When your friend’s crush is around, don’t try to be the funniest in the group.
Assume nothing. Believe nobody. Check everything.
Really Dumb Americans
Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?
I quit 8 months after a bad performance review. It was the first of my working career, I was single with no family nearby or other safety net, and I had asked repeatedly for some assistance.
After the review, my boss came to my office and asked me what I was going to do. I said “find another job within the next 6 months”. Shocked her but I outlined explained my rationale. They didn’t understand my job and the amount of work it required. As a trainer, I had excellent evaluations. I never turned down an assignment and traveled throughout 6 LARGE states. And the past was not that great.
I found another job and left after 8 months but was agreed to fulfill 2 or 3 training sessions after the other job started so the company wasn’t left high and dry.
So, I left because I felt my job was threatened and was worried about my financial future, plain and simple.
According to BBC, critics worry that TikTok, owned by ByteDance based in Beijing, could be used by the Chinese government for spying. What do you think of it?
Here’s the thing, and if it were true. What exactly is the PRC government going to do with this data? Go on what are they gonna do, steal your bodily fluids?
The PRC doesn’t even kill dissidents. Ai Weiwei moved away and is still very much alive.
It’s not the PRC who is trying to take away your guns is it?
Flirt Flop
Is it ever possible for someone to feel that they are paid too much?
Gosh, yes. I’m usually able to suppress that feeling, but I’ll tell the story about the time that even I couldn’t.
I was representing a client in an estate dispute against a relative. The defendant was a borderline personality and there were strong reasons to believe the representation would be lengthy, costly, require extensive expert testimony, and be very nasty. Plus the client had limited resources.
We negotiated a fee agreement which gave me a percentage of the ultimate recovery that we both thought was fair.
As a precursor to the lawsuit, I sent a demand letter setting forth the basis of the potential case. Pure formality and I knew it would be a waste of time, but I wanted to be able to show that we had gone through all the motions.
To my utter astonishment, the defendant caved. Completely. Within two weeks, my client had a thorough accounting and a very large transfer of property to her. I had done very little real hourly work.
And according to the fee agreement, I was entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I was very distressed about this aspect and after considerable hand-wringing and thought, and consultation with colleagues, I simply picked up the phone, called my client, told her what had happened, and said, “Here’s how much you supposedly owe me under our agreement. It’s too much. I haven’t been able to figure an analytical way to reach the right number. I’m going to propose $X. That’s a quarter of the fee agreement amount. It’s still probably too much, but I can live with asking for that.”
My client was silent, then chuckled and said, “I accept your proposal. Plus, you’ve given me a lawyer story that no one will believe. Thank you.”
Afternote: that client became a dear friend and referred other business to me. I didn’t know it at the time, but my fee reduction proved to be an excellent marketing move.
What solution could work to stop the South China Sea conflict?
The U.S. must stop all trouble making and war mongering via the NED and CIA immediately and comprehensively. As the nuclear clock is ticking ever closer to mid night!
At some point China will react and that will start an escalation into a 3WW situation that nobody wins no matter how proud the Caucasians are about the U.S. power. It is easy to bribed poor Filipino fishermen to do shit at 10 grand a pop rushing their lives but the end won’t justifies the means at all! Stop before it is too late. Ukraine is a perfect example.
Perhaps the US thought it is now or never but the truth is never is the answer, the U.S. simply has too much to lose!
Double Standards
What’s the most disturbing thing anyone has ever told you casually?
Three years ago I met up with an old girlfriend from college to catch up, have food, talk about the old days and the old gang.
At one point she casually said, “Oh yeah, xxxx is in Sousa-Baranowski”. That’s the max security prison in Massachusetts, for hardcore criminals. I couldn’t believe my ears, “What?” I said, blinking and almost dropping my latte.
This guy had been a leader of “our gang” in college, the one who always had something crazy for us to do. He was the guy who taught me how to hang glide; who first got me high on pot, who got me laid introducing me to all manner of girls. He was the most laid back, casual dude you ever met, tall and gangly and always in a black motorcycle jacket because his only vehicle was that motorcycle.
“What the hell happened?” I asked incredulously.
“He stabbed a woman in the belly in his kitchen 8 times then threw her through a window. He had a standoff with the cops.”
“What… the… fuck…?”
You have to understand. We are all old now. I’m 63. He’s 67, a big time scientist, very wealthy, respected in his field, working for a major, well known pharma company. How would something like this happen? Somehow he had gotten into a fight with his wife over his “counseling” a local (female) drug addict and the wife left in a huff and he had the addict over his house. No one knows what happened next except the results. He’s in big boy prison for 8 years now. He will be old, old when he gets out, broke, divorced, homeless, jobless. He’s lost everything he worked for his entire life and no one knows why.
What are the implications of 5.5g, that China has just rolled out technologically and geopolitically in the next 5 years?
What 5.5G technology does to geopolitics I don’t know.
But after I 5.5G technology is deployed in China, my phone downloads a film really fucking fast~! 🤣
Shhh~ In the blink of an eye, the download is complete.
Using this technology, China’s top doctors can operate on patients 3,000 kilometres away in off-site locations by remotely manipulating a robotic arm, with no lag or delay in the signal.
China Is Doing Something CRAZY at the US Mexico Border!
Have you ever accidentally texted the wrong person? What did you say?
I meant to text my husband that I wanted a pet anaconda for my birthday. I had found a website that sold baby anacondas and you could buy one for $499. If you paid $49, you could get it shipped overnight.
As outrageous as it sounds, I was genuinely interested in owning an anaconda. So I texted him the link to the website while I was at work (during lunch hour) and wrote “Honey I want pet anaconda for birthday.”
My husband is usually the first person in my messages inbox because I rarely text anyone else. However, that day I had texted one of our company’s directors since there was an urgent matter that needed his attention and he hadn’t responded to my email – and so that was the conversation at the top of my inbox.
I blindly sent both texts to the director in quick succession – the text with the anaconda website and the “honey I want pet anaconda” message.
I didn’t get a response – but 5 minutes later he swung by my desk and told me how buying reptiles is a bad idea and when it grows large enough, the anaconda would swallow me.
I looked at him with wide eyes and I was like, “How do YOU know I was considering buying a reptile?”
He showed me his phone and the texts from me…..and in my mind was like “WTF did I just do.”
We laughed about it and it was all cool but it was a little embarrassing.
Note: We ended up not buying the baby anaconda. We decided it was a ridiculous idea. Well, my husband decided that and convinced me. 🙂
What is the most satisfying passive-aggressive thing you have ever done to a really mean or rude person?
I hijacked my roommate’s internet connection.
Back when I was in college there wasn’t really any broadband. We used 56.6k dial up connections to access the internet. Now my roommate Cruchkov would monopolize that damned connection for hours on end. We only had the one phone for four of us and we would pick it up any time of the day or night and hear bleeep blop beeboo beeboo. All the time. It got to the point where we couldn’t even order a pizza. “Hey Dave you want pepperoni?” “Sure Corey” “Okay I’ll ca… bleeep blop beeboo beeboo.” “DAMNIT CHRUCHKOV”. We would bang on his door but he would either not hear us or pretend not to hear us.
So I hatched a plan.
I waited until he left for work one day. Then, armed with some s%^t I bought at Radio Shack back when they sold stuff that wasn’t cell phones, I walked into his room. I unscrewed his phone jack and connected a 5v relay to the line. COM/NO went to the phone, the coil went to the other two (unused) wires. Then I buried the whole thing back in the wall and made it look good as new. I hid a 9v battery inside the kitchen phone and connected it to the ringer switch and my secret wires.
Chruchkov comes home that evening, slams the door. Thirty seconds later it’s bleeep blop beeboo beeboo. “Hey Dave, you want pizza?” “But Chruchkov is on the…” “I got this, man.” I flip my switch, his phone turns off. But only his phone. The sound of him kicking and cursing at his computer remains one of the most passive aggressively satisfying moments of my life.
What are the consequences of being too good at your job? Can you get fired for it?
Yes, I did. I went to work for a company in accounts receivable. In other words followed up with customers who bought the service and products of the business And yes I was better than very good at it. Their books were a remarkable mess. The printout of “delinquent” accounts amounted to several hundred pages. I dived in. After a few months the owners got the opportunity to take over a franchise doing what they did in a different group of counties. They carpe’d the diem. As the franchiser had to take the business back their accounts were in horrible shape. After about two years I got everything lined out, quit sending repairmen to nonpaying customers, got the giving of “product” that should be sold to customers stopped. About three months before I finally had everything straightened out the owner hired someone to ostensibly “assist” me. The very week I finally got the system set up to where anyone should be able to keep it going easily they let me go. The person hired to assist me was being paid 2/3 of what I was or I was making 50% more than her. There were also four different occasions with different companies where upper management refused to promote me because they feared the results of my leaving the department I was in.
The Sopranos – Moltisanti and Filone hijack Comley’s trucks
What is the most outrageous “fee” you’ve ever been charged?
Back during the pandemic, I took my cat, Caesar, to the vet. He was a 15 year old, orange, short haired cat. Because of COVID, the vet’s office had implemented a policy of people not being allowed to go back to the exam rooms with their pet. I wasn’t really comfortable with that but my little guy had a sore front paw so I had to get him seen by the vet. A staff member came out to my car, got Caesar (in his carrier) and took him inside to be examined by the vet while I waited in my car. After a few minutes, the vet called my cell phone and we discussed the problem with Caesar’s front paw. An x-ray was done and it was determined that the problem was with one of his claws. Apparently it was a problem that is fairly common in older cats and easily treatable. Over the phone, the vet and I agreed upon the treatment for the problem. A short time later, the staff member brought Caesar back out to my car and presented me with the bill. As I quickly scanned the bill before giving the staff member my credit card, I saw a $40 charge for a ‘ therapeutic shave’ on the bill. I didn’t understand so I asked about the charge. Found out that while they had Caesar in the exam room, someone shaved his back end for no apparent reason. I said to the staff member “ So you needlessly shaved my cat’s ass and want to charge me $40 for it? I think that you guys should owe him $40 for doing that to him! “
The charge was removed from my bill. Caesar got extra treats and a new toy that day too.
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Playing around, this time with a Wes Anderson theme; Life Aqua.
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What are the most important things I can teach my child, including both skills and behaviors? How can I ensure this training sticks?
Originally Answered: What are the most important things I can teach my child?
At the age of 11, he was cast as Harry Potter in the first Harry Potter film, and starred in the series for 10 years. At the age of 14, an article in British newspaper ‘The Sun’ listed him as Britain’s third richest teenager behind only Prince Harry Windsor and Charlotte Church, the very popular singer-songwriter TRUST Trivia: Daniel Radcliffe.
He became the youngest non-royal to have his portrait displayed in London’s prestigious National Portrait Gallery at the same age. In 2007, the British press estimated 18-year-old Radcliffe’s total net worth at $35 million, and $80 million at the age of 26. ‘Harry Potter’ Daniel Radcliffe turns 26: 10 unknown facts about the actor
Would you want your kid to become someone popular and successful like him?
Maybe. Yes.
Now read this (paying special attention to bold words):
Daniel Radcliffe: I turned to alcohol to cope with fear of failure and fame. “It is not a real pressure, but it is a pressure of living with the thought, ‘Oh, what if all these people are saying I am not going to have a career? What if they are all going to be right and will be laughing and I will be consigned to a bunch of “Where are they now?” lists?'” Radcliffe added: “I was living in constant fear of who I’d meet, what I might have said to them, what I might have done with them, so I’d stay in my apartment for days and drink alone. I was a recluse at 20. It was pathetic – it wasn’t me. I’m a fun, polite person, and it turned me into a rude bore.”
“The bottom line is people don’t like change, especially when it’s connected to endings,” she concludes. “For some people, they have a harder time maintaining a positive self-image when it’s linked to a job that gives them an identity. And so in order to deal with the intensity of that emotional pain, some people self-medicate in order to feel less depressed, less anxious, less hopeless or less unimportant” -Dr. Rubi Ludwig, Psychotherapist.
Now would you want your kid to abuse himself with alcohol/drugs while he has so much in the world that one could only dream of?
No. Definitely not.
This is just an example of people who are extremely successful, but aren’t happy. They may be child prodigies, but they are so full of fear of failure that after all they have achieved, they are no close to finding happiness. And their lives and money are wasted in running after it.
Raise your kid such that he doesn’t become this example.
1. Take the FEAR OF FAILURE away from him.
The fear, that you are instilling in him unknowingly. By saying this:
Whatever you do, just do your best. Be it studies or games.
It is important to win the Olympiad. It is the stepping stone for your career.
Study with the aim of securing first rank. So we can be proud parents.
Saying this instills the fear of failure. Kid aims for perfection, resulting in a stressed outlook.
This is Fear of Failure.
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Teach your children so fear of failure never creeps in their mind. By telling them this:
Do not focus on excelling at everything. It keeps you in a constant state of stress. Do somethings for pure enjoyment. And in fact, do everything for the fun of it.
What do you think of the Olympiad? I think it is important, but not the most important thing.
What are you studying? Let’s explore how can we apply it practically.
2. Teach him to THINK IN A HEALTHY WAY.
Not anxiously, as you might be doing now.
Mister, the exams are approaching. You better start worrying!
Sharmaji’s son is a top-ranker. He got a great on-campus placement. What will happen of you? Where will you go with these marks?
Amend your behavior. You are a grown-up now.
Saying this leads to anxious thinking. Kid is overwhelmed, loaded with inferiority complex and self-consciousness.
This is Anxious thinking.
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And there is no other way to teach them this, except to teach yourself this.
Do not encourage him to think anxiously. He’ll learn it in no time, and soon will have anxiety attacks, inhibiting performance.
Do not compare him to others thinking it’ll motivate him. Motivate him by positive means, comparative thinking will take a lifetime toll on him.
Do not expect him to behave like a grown-up. A 3-yr old will behave like one, and a teenager like one. Accept them as per their age.
3. Teach him to have a POSITIVE SELF-IMAGE.
Again, do not teach him this.
You are considered doing well only when you get good grades.
Why can’t you be more like your sister? She’s such a good kid and gets a first in everything.
Read faster
Write faster.
Run faster.
Do it faster.
This teaching promotes negative self-image. Synonymous with low self- worth and self-esteem.
This is Negative self-image.
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So, teach yourself this.
Do not pressurize children with too much focus on grades or rewards.
Remember that he can’t be like his sister. Each person is different. Are you doing this so you have to deal with only one personality?
Do not pressurize the kid to be faster in everything he does. Each kid learns at his own pace.
Teaching yourself these things will raise a kid who is free from this negative thought:
What will happen if… I fail…
A Marine’s 2-Word Breakup Text Sends Cheating Ex Into MENTAL BREAKDOWN…And Friends Are Losing It!
Do police officers ever sympathize with someone who took the law into their own hands?
I was dispatched to a call of a burglary in progress at a residence. It was maybe 10:00 PM. When I pull up, I see one guy running from the residence, and at the same time I hear a gunshot from inside the residence. I let the runner go (never saw him again) and went to investigate the gunshot.
I found a door ajar to a side courtyard, and as I approached, one of the burglars was being backed out the door by the man of the house, who was holding an ancient .32 revolver on him (I later examined the gun and estimated the ammunition was older than I was). He later told me he had fired one round (the one I heard) into the corner of a room when he saw the burglar inside his house. As soon as the homeowner saw me, he put the gun down, and stood by while I handcuffed the burglar.
I took a written statement from the homeowner, told him I hoped I was as capable as him when I was his age (I was about 30 at the time—he was around 70), and took the burglar to jail. It did not occur to me to seize the victim’s gun or charge him with discharge of a firearm inside the city limits. No one suggested this was not the proper approach.
What is life’s biggest “trap” people fall into?
My housemate is 26 years old. She’s intelligent and pretty and (generally) fun to be around.
But… she hates her job.
It’s obvious.
Sometimes she’ll just sit at the kitchen table in her pajamas, coffee in hand, looking at the clock.
And she’ll casually say, “I have to leave for work in two minutes.”
Does she actually leave for work two minutes later?
I’ll let you guess the answer to that.
But the thing that blows me away is this:
When I asked her a little while ago if she’s considered changing jobs and doing something that doesn’t make her look unhappy every morning, there was genuine surprise in her voice.
As in, “Of course I’m going to work another 36+ years at a job I despise! That’s totally normal.”
A lot of people think that.
Like my housemate, they “celebrate” the weekend and dread Mondays.
Like my housemate, they might even negotiate more hours at work so they can qualify for more vacation time.
And that’s a huge trap: Thinking you’re doomed to working a job you hate.
Thinking you have to work a 9-to-5.
Thinking you can’t earn money if you’re not actively working.
That’s all nonsense.
If you’re not happy with your work, not only can you change, but you absolutely should.
I’ve been freelancing for years and wouldn’t even consider getting a job where some boss gets to tell me things like:
When to work
Where to work
How many vacation days I can take
How much I can get paid
For example, this month, I’m a bit ahead of schedule on the projects I’m working on so I can take time off if I want to.
Do I have to ask for permission?
Nope.
Do I even have to let anyone know?
Nope.
I’m not saying this to brag, even though it might sound like it.
I’m saying this because if you feel stuck in a job you can’t stand, just know that there’s a way out for you.
Please, don’t stay at a job you despise long-term.
It’s not good for you or for anyone else.
What are the most fascinating “weird but true” historical facts you know about?
You have the doctor who pumped four gallons of hydrogen gas into his anus, to diagnose gastrointestinal problems
[1], and then you have surgical resident, Werner Forssmann, who was eager to push a tube through a vein in his elbow, until it reached his heart. This would become a method of transporting medication to and fro the incision site.
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Werner Forssman was desperate to self-experiment, although faced challenges along the way. One person he had to pass was the surgical nurse, who had access to the theatre and medical equipment.
After much convincing, the nurse gave in to his ludicrous idea. In fact, she volunteered to have the procedure performed on herself! I guess the idea isn’t as crazy as the doctor who transported parasites within himself, only to produce parasite semen for research!
[2]Anyway, despite dismissal from the doctors who believed the surgery would be a death wish, Werner continued on with his plan.
The nurse lay on the surgical table, whilst Werner tightly strapped her legs and arms in. Only, when she wasn’t looking, the doctor applied anesthetic to his own arm, cut his arm open, and pushed the 12-inch catheter (thin tube) into his vein!
Now, all he needed was an X-Ray room. Successfully, Werner x-rayed himself and noticed that the tube had reached his shoulder. He pushed the tube in further until it was 24-inches inside his vein.
Bingo! Werner reached his ventricular cavity.
For his risky actions, Werner was fired. As a result, he took up positions as a military surgeon and Major in World War II. He wasn’t a hero though. Werner was a Nazi, actively joining the party in 1932. He was eventually imprisoned, although did receive a Nobel Prize twenty years later for his medical efforts.
Largest NATO Base in Europe Being **RUSHED** in Romania
The largest NATO base in Europe is being built in Romania. Construction commenced at the outset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and is being RUSHED.
The Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Romania will turn into a military camp where 10 thousand NATO soldiers can live, this will require an investment of €2.5 billion, reports local publication Pro TV.
The base is located in a mountainous area and should become a center for command and control of troops in South-Eastern Europe.
The zoomable map below shows the location:
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What’s a rule your employer implemented that backfired terribly?
My former company implemented an 9/80 work schedule with an A/B work pattern. Meaning that those on the A schedule would work a 9 hour work day for 5 days and the B schedule would work 4 days during the same week and then the next week they would swap out. The work force, for the most part, loved it. I personally didn’t like it because I was giving the company an extra hour out of each day without compensation of overtime pay. Others loved having that three day weekend every other week. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
Anyways, the issue that cropped up immediately was the lake of key personnel on days you needed them the most. “Yeah boss, I’d love to fix or finish or diagnose this problem but without the lead engineer it just can’t be done.” “Hey, this job must be done today or heads are gonna roll.” “Sorry boss but ol’ so and so is one his 9/80 day off so we can’t get it done without him.” “Hey boss? We got a problem. We can’t run this test without Joe Blow because it’s his Friday off.”
These issues popped up every single week. It was eventually dropped.
Is there anytime when karma saved you?
We were in a beautiful relationship for about 3 years. And then suddenly she over texts, broke up with me. No explanation given. Like every other guy, I cried, pleaded for just one reason, and all she said was it’s over, I don’t want to be with you. She has changed her college a month before the break up. And like I suspected she fell out of love with me because there is new guy who approached her. Quite similar to everyone’s love story. Lol
Anyway, I was literally shattered, and broken. I couldn’t believe the girl I thought to be my future left me in such a dire condition.
It’s been three years since she is gone. Yesterday, I got a phone call from her at 2am. Basic points from the calls were:
She was unhappy, crying profusely over the phone. She said she don’t have anyone to trust and talk to, except me. And yes, I talked to her because pretty much I loved her too much.
She said the guy cheated her, and when asked him for a breakup, he said he will going to kill her, he abused and hit her off. And she thought everybody will leave silently like me.
I asked her to do a police complain, she said, she doesn’t want her parents to know, she is stucked.
After few minutes on call, she was laughing, talking to me as if we were never separated, I was wondering how easy the things are for girls.
Then she told me even before her father and brother, I am the person she trust and respect the most. I was flattered but I knew, it’s no more important.
I was again at ground zero, I felt happy talking to her, but the wounds were yet fresh.
I tried not to make her feel bad and bid her bye.
Today I Changed my phone number, and email id!
I do love her a lot, still? Yes. But I cannot give her the power to destroy me again.
The Sopranos – Billy Leotardo
When did you realize that your childhood was not normal?
I was bullied pretty bad as a kid. The ironic thing is, I grew up in the kind of school district where the things that happened to me, people believed didn’t happen there at all. But teachers were trying to encourage me that everyone gets teased & everyone has problems & that my situation is not unique. It’s amazing in this time in 2024, everyone is always telling me what I have to do to cater to people’s fragile emotions. But in 2002, it was all about how I needed to not react in anger when people tortured me in school; how I could best accommodate & live with people torturing me. The burden was never on the bullies to change.
So in 2002, I was leaving for a Boy Scout campout. My first troop hated me. (I later on joined another Boy Scout Troop that I stayed with for 20 years. But the first one treated me like crap.) These kids told me I was not allowed to talk because I’m annoying. Naturally this made me talk more. I was not anticipating this kid to pull out his pocket knife, open it & say, “If you don’t shut-up, I’m going to stab you.” I then stood up & walked away.
The reality was, I was not that afraid. I was 11 years old & had my life or safety threatened so many times up to this point, it just felt kind of natural that eventually I’d be held at knife point. It was another scout that reported him. The kid got his knife confiscated (worst punishment anyone has ever received for an action against me) & he rode off on his bike crying.
I came home & told my parents the story because I thought it was funny. Then I saw the shock in their eyes. They said we could potentially press charges. I had no idea you could get sued or arrested over a death threat because I was so used to getting them. This was the proof I needed to know my teachers were wrong; that the things I go through are not normal.
Chilighetti
Quick, easy and delicious! Chilighetti is a great way to feed a hungry family.
chilighetti
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 (46 ounce) can tomato juice
1 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 level teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces*
2 (16 ounce) can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Sour cream (optional)
Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Instructions
In a Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender, crumbling the beef; drain.
Stir in tomato juice, water, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings; bring to a boil. Add spaghetti. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 10 to 13 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Stir in beans; heat through.
Top servings with sour cream and Cheddar cheese, if desired.
Notes
* Spaghetti may be left unbroken if desired.
Have you, while repairing a computer, ever found anything that made your jaw drop?
While this dis not happen to me, it happenesn to a neighbor friend who repaired computers…
One of our other neighbors approached him to take a look at problem they (a couple) were having with their computer. The problem is irrelevant here.
So my friend went about his diagnostics to figure out how to address the issue. As any good computer tech does, once the machine was up an running again, he went about doing some basic maintenance such as cleaning up temp files and so on.
In doing so he stumble upon a huge set of pictures and videos… yes, that. Not illegal ones, but actual professional ones used in well known sites.
As it turned out, we learned that our low key neighbor was a well known porn star making videos at home, which now explained all the odd traffic we always noticed at their house. This porn was bringing them probably close $500k/yr or more. They did end up moving later on to a higher end neighborhood not to far. Shortly after moving but still owned the property, a well known on-line news magazine (you’ve all read something from them) came by looking for them, knocking on doors to see if any of us knew more about them, and if we knew where they moved to.
BTW – part of the story that the on-line magazine (you’ve all read something from them) was chasing was that her day job was unwrapping kids toys from well known entertainment company. So she was also a top rated poster/producer in that segment in YouTube for some time. We learned a lot that day… those pretty hands of hers served multiple purposes.🙂
So, the people who bought their house now have a bit of a topic and history to share about their house, because of course, we neighbors shared the history about it 😉.
It’s funny thinking back to the many casual neighbor conversations we had with that couple, and little did we know what was behind it all. She is very cute, it all made sense.
Today she is still out there, bigger than before. If anyone reading this watches porn, or watched children’s toy unwrapping, you’ve probably seen her…
The Rise of Chinese Pick Me Girls
Pizza!
In 2001, Pizza Hut delivered a pizza to the International Space Station. The pizza was a 6″ pizza and was delivered to the ISS aboard a Russian Progress vehicle. They paid $1 million to transport the same.
Does a human being know they’re dead once they die?
I had a traumatic brain injury, was on life support, and was in a coma for 7 days.
During this time I found myself looking at the doctors working on me, then I walked up a small ramp and met my brother who passed away unexpectedly.
My brother looked like he did when he was in High School, I wanted to stay with him but he said that I couldn’t come in, and it wasn’t my time, that I needed to spend more years with my wife and children.
I was heartbroken and when I came out of my coma, I remembered everything so vividly.
The doctors said they lost me a couple of times but were able to revive me, and they were so surprised because I shouldn’t have survived my accident.
This is the truth, I never would have believed my story if I were somebody else, but this happened, and for the fact that the doctors said they couldn’t control the bleeding and that I was supposed to die, I wouldn’t have believed myself.
Now having my motor skills back, but still working on my speech, I’m able to go back to work after only 3 months, this is a true miracle. And never take life for granted, there are no promises for a tomorrow.
Living a traditional life is the best thing I ever did | But is it the best for you?
This chick in a small town in the Philippines talk about her town. A nice escape.
Do you think the faster accelerated vetting of Hong Kong’s Article 23 bill is to catch foreign countries off guard and ward off possible sanctions or criticism?
Nope. You see no matter what China or Chinese do we’ll be criticised for it. A few years back I posted some screen caps of Western media:
The December 2021 LegCo elections. Go look at it. Pan Dems and other yellow groups stood for election. They didn’t get very many votes.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on what’s been happening in LegCo for the past 26 years it’s pretty obvious. The Pan Dems have never had a majority there, what they have done however is simply fillibuster and delay and oppose EVERYTHING that has been tabled at LegCo since forever. This is Hong Kong’s version of Hansard. An official record of everything said at LegCo at debates and motions/votes.
The we care about the people Yellows blocked and delayed EVERYTHING.
Some biggies:
They opposed the minimum wage.
They opposed maternity leave.
They opposed those not because they though they were a bad idea but purely on ideological grounds.
Since 2022 when the new bunch of LegCo people took their seats? Without the permanent blockage of the yellows who as above block things on ideological grounds things actually get through LegCo rather than spending months and years being blocked by them.
That had been opposed by the yellows since 1997. Yet changes were made in 6 months after December 2021.
I’m rooting for you!
What are some facts about human behaviour?
Having orgasms lowers risks for breast cancer, heart disease, and depression for women
Intelligent people are more forgetful than those with average intelligence, which is correct.
Getting paid to perform something you enjoy may make you less creative.
The thing that people remember the most about you is your charisma, Here you can learn the secrets to Charisma and Confidence.
People frequently experience déjà vu after recalling a conversation or dream.
If you died tomorrow, what would you want your family to know about you?
I have a Premium Netflix account that I don’t pay for so you guys can use my laptop to watch movies and series.
In my hostel room in college you will find a photo frame kept on the top left shelf above the study table which has a photo of Me with a Girl.If possible return it to her and tell her it’s called “Our Dastoor” or Destiny.
My phone’s pin is 1632 because that was the time(16:32) while i was setting the new pin .
In my phone there are two calculator apps. One pre-installed and the other downloaded from play store. When you will enter 1632 and press ‘’=“ in the downloaded one it will open a secret pdf which contains my Bucket List, delete that, it won’t be necessary anymore.
Can you ask the college authorities if they can still provide me the degree posthumously cause papa is very proud of my IIT achievement.
Tell my friends sorry that I promised i would certainly try beer with them the next time we go on a trip.
Donate/throw away my possessions except for the white letter with a red tape which is kept in my laptop bag. Kindly burn it away without opening it. It’s rude to read someone’s love letters.
Should Marines take orders from an army captain in the battlefield if their Marine captain or higher ranked official is dead or incapable?
Different services, but the story is helpful to understand what can happen in the real world battlefield
The 82nd Airborne jumped into Grenada at the international airport at night. Some soldiers ended up in extremely tall grass to the east of the runway and were separated from the main force but could hear the fire fight to the north and west of their positions but could not see due to the tall, thick grass
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One by one, they started to form up. At some point, they added a USAF fighter pilot Captain who was aligned as an Air Liaison Officer who specialized in controlling close air support, small unit infantry.
After the small group numbered squad strength, they stopped briefly while headed towards the sounds of the battle. The soldiers looked at the USAF Captain, the only officer present and one spoke up and asked “What do we do now sir?”. Despite being a fighter pilot by trade, he suddenly found himself in command of a parachute infantry squad.
So, yeah, in a situation where they are cutoff from their leadership and unit, Marines and any member of the Armed Forces should obey the lawful orders of senior NCOs and officers regardless of service.
You all know the American idiom “Shitting a brick”, right?
shitting a brick
What you might not realize is that this is an actual term that refers to something that happens during incarceration.
Before you go to prison, you tend to spend months in jail.
This is because a prison bed is typically not available. So you have to wait in jail until you get to go to prison.
While you are in jail, at least in the Southern states, they fed you a lot of “salt peter” (don’t know if it was actual, or slang) that was mixed with the daily mashed potatoes that you ate.
This was supposedly done to make the inmates more easy to control and calmer.
I don’t know the true story, just the rumors.
Anyways, we would eat this stuff. Since the trays were pretty much empty, but the potatoes were just dished out in glorious amounts, us guys would then eat the stuff with relish and gusto.
The thing is, however, the “salt peter” wouldn’t digest. It would just sit there in your colon. Getting heavier and heavier over time.
Eventually you would need to take a glorious shit, and I swear to God, that you would shit out a brick like mass, almost the same size, shape (rectangular; no shit. Actually the rectangular shape.) and weight of a brick.
It happens to all the (older) new inmates.
If you are over 50, sure as shit, you will be shitting a brick after about four months in county jail.
And it will sit there until someone gets a stick to break it up so that it goes down the drain.
The China Defense Ministry says that “China is ready to intervene militarily anywhere if the United States or NATO decides to attack Russia.”
This blunt public statement is almost completely out-of-character for the nation of China. For its entire history, China has always spoken with words like “peace, negotiation, Diplomacy, cooperation.” Almost NEVER has China spoken of war – or declared its intent to actually wage it — so bluntly – ever.
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
The fact that China’s Ministry of Defense used this type of language is an indication to me personally, and to many other people, that China perceives (or knows) that something imminent is about to take place regarding a US/NATO attack upon Russia.
It seems to many long-time observers that China would never have spoken words like these, unless they believe such a situation is imminent.
I find myself in full agreement with such an assessment.
As you read this, news came out this morning that all of Europe is now $61 Billion in the hole over the weapons and assistance it has given to Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.
It has also come out that, since the beginning of the Russia Special Military Operation inside Ukraine, the Russians have been able to increase military production fifteen times (15X) over what it had previously been.
This staggering increase in Russia’s national military production puts that single country’s production SEVEN TIMES that of all of Europe and the United States, combined.
Everywhere on the planet, voices are (finally) rising and admitting Ukraine cannot win against Russia and people who think otherwise must be “out of their minds.”
Here is one such voice from the Bundestag (Parliament) of Germany:
Yet China felt compelled to say it would intervene militarily — anywhere – if the US and NATO attack Russia.
The world seems headed into a gigantic, suicidal, Word War 3, and China has made clear with whom they will stand with.
The rest of us would do well to take note, while we’re still alive and can do something to stop this madness.
In Vietnam
Side boobies! Lol.
Has a super rich person ever been treated so badly at a store that they then turned around and bought the store just to fire the employee?
Well, not to fire an employee. I knew an extremely wealthy man who owned a dry cleaning business as one of his many endeavors. One year, the landlord for the building it was in announced he was doubling the rent.
The businessman said to himself, “Now, that doesn’t make sense. He can’t get that kind of rent on the open market. The guy must be desperate for money.” So through another company he owned, he made a lowball bid for the entire building for half what it was worth, and much to his astonishment, the landlord took it.
Now, since he owned the building, he wrote a sweetheart deal of a lease for his dry cleaning business. Then he looked around the building and saw that it was mostly empty, so he swung a few deals and filled it up with commercial tenants. Then, since he didn’t want to be in the Landlord business himself, he put it on the market for twice what he thought it was worth, and much to his astonishment, somebody bought it for that price.
So, he quadrupled his money and got a nice long-term lease for his dry cleaning business, all because the landlord pissed him off. But this was kind of the way he got rich in the first place.
I remember one time Exxon representatives told him he didn’t charge enough at a gas station he owned. After the Exxon representatives left his office, he handed a can of paint to a worker and told him to take Exxon’s name off the pumps. After a week, Exxon knuckled under and let him sell gas for whatever he wanted. He was moving a lot of cheap gas.
What was the biggest warning that your cat was able to give you?
That a tornado was coming.
I woke up in the middle of the night to her meowing her head off and pawing at the covers. She had been taught very young not to wake people, so this was extremely out of character. As I groggily told her to go away, her meows reached a new completely freaked out pitch (think very upset cat in a bathtub type meows), and I realized there was quite an angry storm going on outside. When I got out of bed, she ran to the doorway, continuing her frantic meows. I grabbed my phone and, noticing a text alert saying we were under a tornado warning, ran downstairs to the first floor closet with her close behind.
She was completely silent as we huddled in the closet together, hearing the world come apart outside. When people say tornadoes are loud, they’re not doing justice to the incredible roar of the twister and the banging, popping, and rough sliding sounds of buildings coming apart and cars being thrown. They’re loud…and they’re incredibly scary, even when you know you’re relatively safe.
We came through that storm with only a broken fence, busted garage door, and a few shingles missing from the roof, but as I looked at the devastation of some of the other homes in my neighborhood, I knew it could have been far worse…and I could have been stuck in my bedroom on the top floor as it happened.
President Biden
What was the most obvious lie you’ve been told?
This one is kind of sad.
I used to work at a school that had quite a few well off families. There was one kid (Flynn) who had learning issues but his parents refused to have him tested due to not admitting it. He was also spoiled rotten, his mother would never discipline her perfect little baby and his father was always away. So he was close to feral in school.
Anyway, one day in class the kid sitting next Flynn starts getting angry wanting his pencil case back. Flynn has his hands up and swears he doesn’t have it. From where I’m standing I can see it on his lap under the desk.
I go, “Flynn, give Jack his case back.”
“I don’t have it.”
“Yes you do, Flynn. Give it back.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t know where it is.”
“Flynn, you know I hate it when you lie. Stop lying and give it back to Jack.”
“I swear I don’t have it.”
“Flynn, I can see it from here. Give it back and see me after class.”
So after class I just come out and say, “Flynn, you were lying. I knew you were lying. And I’m pretty sure that you knew that I knew you were lying. What I don’t get is why. If you knew I could see the pencil case why did you keep lying to me?”
Flynn’s reply, “It works at home.”
What’s something you’ve done that unexpectedly made you a lot of money?
An auctioneer once paid me $2500 for just saying the word NO.
I was at the on-site auction of a restaurant. At the time I was buying and selling just about anything, and I saw in the auction ad that the restaurant was decorated with about 40 antique wooden newel posts, and had a brass railing that connected all of them creating some kind of walkways in the restaurant. A newel post is a wooden post usually at the top and bottom of a staircase (see the photos).
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I knew that since virtually everyone who attends restaurant auctions are either restaurant owners or restaurant equipment resellers, the ornately carved wooden posts would be very undervalued by the crowd.
I was right.
The auction was halfway done and I had won about 20 of the posts for just $40 each, plus the giant pieces of brass railing that went with them. The big problem was that I had no idea how I was going to get them out of the floor. They seemed to be pretty well attached and I had no experience in such things!
So halfway through the auction one of the auctioneers comes to me and tells me he’s really sorry but the bank told him he wasn’t allowed to sell the posts, and therefore I couldn’t have them. The reality was probably closer to this: someone new showed up at the auction, found out how little posts had sold for, offered more money privately to take all of them at once, and the auctioneer decided to see if he could steal them from me with this ruse.
I just told the auctioneer: NO. You can’t have them, they’re mine now and I’ll assert my rights to take them away. After a few minutes of this he just said,
“Howabout I give you $2500 to forget about them?”
I said OK and left 5 minutes later with $2500 cash in my pocket.
In hindsight, driving away, I realized I could have asked for more!
Starbucks
What are business or life stories of people who did the right thing, but then it backfired on them?
In April of 2014, Santa Monica High School biology teacher Mark Black caught a student dealing drugs in his classroom. So he did what most teachers would do: he called security. The student panicked and attacked Mark, pushing him onto a table.
Luckily, Mark Black wasn’t just a biology teacher; he was also a seven-time national wrestling champion, and a national hall-of-fame wrestling coach. He slid off the desk, and used simple wrestling techniques to bring the student to the ground and safely restrain him.
This should have been the end of the story. But in a modern-day twist, the entire incident was recorded on video from the cell-phone of one of the student’s friends. That friend then edited the movie, removing the attack on the teacher, and leaving only the part where Mark Black took the student forcefully to the ground.
The student sent the edited video to news media outlets, and within minutes, pundits around the country were calling for the teacher’s immediate dismissal. Hours after that, the Superintendent of Schools sent out a district-wide email calling the video “utterly alarming,” and suspending Mark.
For most teachers, this would have been the end of their teaching career, but not for Mark Black. He had mentored thousands of students over a 30 year career, and he was loved by an entire community. Many people suspected the story was untrue–because they believed in his character.
Rising up to support him, former students from around the country flew back to Santa Monica, California. A petition was launched on The world’s platform for change
asking for Mark to be reinstated, and overnight it exploded to more than 100,000 signatures. The uproar from Mark’s supporters forced the school district to investigate deeper into events… and the real story quickly came out.
In just three days, Mark went from almost losing his career, to being acknowledged in news outlets as a hero. Within two weeks, he was reinstated to his position…. all because Mark had built a network of support by being passionately devoted to his students and athletes.
_____________________
Fun Addendum: Mark Black was my high school wrestling coach. I was one of the students that flew back to Santa Monica to support him in that time. It was one of the most special experiences in my life to support such a wonderful mentor in a time he most needed it. Here is an LA Times article about him. You’ll notice I’m quoted in it 🙂
What is the single most underrated trait a person can have?
We were in a cafe.
The waiter was serving the things in our plate and he spilled some red sauce on one of my friend’s white shirt.
They both stopped for a while and looked at the stain.
“I am really sorry sir, please come with me to the washroom I’ll clear it” he was fumbling and the droplets of stress could be seen on his forehead.
“It’s perfectly fine brother. Don’t worry! it happens. Just show me the way to washroom I’ll manage” my friend said with a smile.
“Don’t worry I am not gonna change my mood to give you tip” He winked and smiled again while leaving.
And the waiter just smiled.
We went to take clothes from the washerman one day as he didn’t come to return the clothes from many days.
The washerman gave the clothes and showed him the burnt area on a shirt.
He looked at the face of the man which was getting paler and the wrinkles were more pronounced to be a man in fifties.
“Koi baat nahi dada, shirt hi toh hai isi bahane ek nayee le aayenge” (Not a problem uncle, its just a shirt and you gave me a reason to buy new one) He said with a laughter and consoled him by holding his hand.
The watchman of our building didn’t come for a long time.
He went to meet him and found that he was sick. And his daughter was about to get married in a week.
He spent the rest day in preparation of the wedding along with the son of the man and spent whole day on the day of marriage hosting the guests and serving them.
The single most underrated trait which anyone can have is EMPATHY.
The feeling of finding other person’s echoes in yourself and the art of giving smile to others by putting yourself in their shoes.
The effort to make someone’s day a bit better.
Double Name
What is the oddest reason you have been contacted by your child’s school?
Funny story here!
My daughter was (probably) in first grade at the time. It could have been KG ir 2nd grade. Anyway, she was always a playful and friendly little girl. She made friends all the time. However, she was never (and still isn’t, 20+ years later) into anything physical (e.g. sports, gym, hiking, etc.) The one physical activity that she did love was the monkey bars.
I’m not sure how many bars the thing had but probably a dozen or 2 dozen, more than enough for several kids to be on the thing at the same time.
Just to be clear, monkey bars have an upside-down U shape. You climb up 1 vertical side. Then there’s a horizontal portion a few feet long. You grasp a bar and hang from it and then you “walk” across the bar with 1 hand on the bar in front of you and 1 hand on the bar directly behind it.
There’s a drop of a few feet. The thing is just tall enough that a little kid’s feet won’t touch the floor while handwalking across the horizontal section. My daughter was on the horizontal section with 6 of her friends. She lost her grip and fell (maybe 2 feet). Her little friends loved her so much that they got worried all let go of the bar and fell on top of her 😂
The school called me to tell me that my daughter had injured herself on the playground. I lived close by and got to the school in 15 minutes. My daughter was fuming. The teachers had taken her to the nurse for her “injuries.” There wasn’t a scratch on her. But she was annoyed at having lost her playtime!
This was the first time that I had ever been called to school for non-existent injuries. I had to calm down my daughter, not because she was physically or emotionally hurt but just because she got too much love.
What is the rudest thing a beggar/homeless person did and said to you after you did them a favor?
I was at RacTrac in Fort Worth getting gas. A rough looking guy comes up to me and gives a sob story, tells me he ran out of gas, coasted up to the pumps and asked me for 20 bucks. I told him I didn’t have any cash and said let’s go over to your car and I’ll fill ’er up with my credit card. I asked which car was his. He looked around and pointed to an older car two bays over. He said “NO! Just give me some cash!” He got pissed off and said he was gonna beat my ass if I didn’t cough up some cash. I gave his crap right back to him and told him to go away or I’d knock him out. Then he frantically heads over to the next pump and starts harassing an older, well dressed woman. About that time, someone came out of the store and got in the car he said was his. Then drove away. I went over and demanded that he leave her alone and stood there until she finished getting her gas. She graciously thanked me and left. So I went back and my gas was finished pumping. I started to pull out and saw a Ft Worth police car pulling in. By now this guy was harassing people on the other end of the lot. I flagged down the officer. He was a SWAT officer in full riot gear heading back to the station! I told him what had happened. Next thing I know he has the guy spread out on the hood of his squad car searching him.
I drove slowly by and waved at the guy as the officer was cuffing him!
Is saying ‘thank you’ common in Russian culture? How should one respond if someone thanks them for a small gesture in Russia?
Here’s a little first hand story.
In 2003, I made my first trip to another country, which was England. I stayed at a private home in a place called Pinner in Greater London. My hosts gave my a room and let me use their facilities. It was the first time I actually saw and used those bizarre separate water taps for cold and hot water. So inconvenient. But that’s beside the point.
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I spend most of my time hiking and sightseeing. One day I went to see central London. In the evening, when I was going to board my train to go back I learned that there was a blackout
and the trains didn’t work.
I didn’t know how to get to Pinner, so I called my host and asked him if he could drive to the center and pick me up. This phone conversation was life changing for me due to one little detail. It was I who was asking him for help, but it was him, who thanked me several times during the mere seconds that we spoke. When he understood the position I was in and what I was asking him for, he said something like “okay, I see, I’ll pick you up, thank you, thank you, bye”. I was stunned. Those “thank yous” sounded very automatic, but they made so much difference. Like, the man had nothing to thank me for. On the contrary, I got him out from his comfy apartment and made drive to the central London at night, and yet he said thank you. Just a simple sign of politeness made a world of difference. After that I started saying thank you much much more often than I used to.
It’s been more than 20 years, and I have observed that Russian people have become much much more polite, and they use the “magic words” like thank you and please much more often. So I’d say, it has become common. It even affected people who are not used to saying thank you that often, because it has become much easier and more pleasant to deal with them.
Japan evening walk in Shinjuku, Tokyo • 4K HDR
https://youtu.be/rFcwx-sIMA8
Have you, as a police officer, ever known a “dirty” cop? If so, what did you do about it?
Cops as Robbers!
It was about 11:00 p.m. when I first observed my sergeant get a cell phone call. He looked at me and told me he had to check something and left the office. I didn’t hear from him for about thirty minutes. The next thing I hear is that they are looking to establish a crime scene. I immediately went to dispatch and asked, “Where’s the scene and what’s going on?” The dispatcher who was half-asleep said he didn’t hear the broadcast, so I made him play back the audio recording. The department tape-records all radio transmissions and incoming phone calls, a fact that would save my bacon over the next few hours.
After hearing the recording of an officer asking about a crime scene, the dispatcher said nobody told him anything. I then called the sergeant over the radio and said: “What do you have?” He replied that he would give me a call (fortunately for me on a taped line). I took his phone call, and he explained that some drunken Mexican was saying that he got kidnapped, beat up and robbed by the police. They were driving the victim around looking for a crime scene, but the sergeant stated, that to him, it sounded farfetched.
I was aware that there had been some informant information saying that a rogue cop was robbing Mexicans. In fact, the chief, in a staff meeting two months prior, had brought up the information.
I told the sergeant to bring the victim to the station, which he did. At the station, I spoke to a friend of the victim and the victim. The friend spoke English while the victim spoke only Spanish. The friend said the victim was on his way to his house to pay him back some money. As the victim approached the man’s house, a marked police sport-utility-vehicle stopped the victim, arrested him, and drove off. The witness described the involved officers as wearing blue police uniforms with one of the officers speaking fluent Spanish.
The sergeant kept downplaying the incident, and I later determined he had misdirected my initial investigation. He said we only had two Spanish-speaking officers working, while he knew we, in fact, had three. I had the two Spanish-speaking officers I knew about come into the room, and apparently, these were not the officers.
The sergeant then reminded me that the state police had several units in the area who were driving similar vehicles. Two of their officers were at our station using our breathalyzer because their machine was down for repairs. I ran down those leads and came up empty.
Because of the informant information previously discussed, I called the chief of police at 2:00 a.m. and said, “I’m not sure what I have, but one of our cops may be involved in a robbery.” Both the chief and internal affairs commander responded to the department, as well as the two other division commanders.
Information started to leak out in small dribs and drabs. Everyone working that night was interviewed, and no one was allowed to leave. First, I learned that it had something to do with an off-duty police officer who was pulled over for drunk driving. Two officers from our community-policing unit offered to give the intoxicated officer a ride home so he wouldn’t get in trouble. Instead of taking him home, they transported the officer back to a local bar.
I would learn later, that when they transported this drunken officer to the bar, they had already kidnapped the Mexican who was in the back seat with him. The truth finally came out when one officer involved in the kidnapping came clean and turned state’s evidence. This officer had recently transferred to the unit. The second officer and ring leader was not Hispanic but apparently spoke fluent Spanish—a fact I didn’t know, but the sergeant did.
On this night, they were looking for a Mexican to rob. They kidnapped this person off the street and eventually took him to a secluded area of a park and robbed him of his money, assaulted him, and left him there.
However, en route to the park, they stopped a suspected drunk driver who was yet another officer. They then started to give the drunken officer a ride home, loading him into their car right next to the kidnapped man. They dropped the officer at a local bar instead of taking him home.
As word spread of the robbery, other officers knew of the drunken officer and learned of the man in the backseat. The sergeant and others on the shift knew this information, but at that point, all remained quiet.
Initially, I think the sergeant was only covering for the non-arrest of the drunken officer, but later learned of the man in the back seat and tried to continue to sell a false narrative. It’s unfortunate once you start trying to cover one officer’s bad behavior; you become caught up and locked into a much more severe situation. There’s no question in my mind that this well-respected sergeant would never have covered for officers committing a robbery. The problem was, he got caught up in trying to help the intoxicated officer and just got sucked into the middle of a bad situation.
By the next morning, the two officers left in handcuffs going to the county jail. A group of union idiots stood in solidarity at the jail parking lot supporting the officers. In fairness to them, they didn’t know the facts of the case, or they probably wouldn’t have been there.
One junior officer came forward identifying who knew what when, which took courage considering he was going against his entire platoon and his sergeant. He and other officers on the shift received discipline. The sergeant was initially suspended pending further investigation. During this extended period of months, he had several personal tragedies in his life, losing both of his parents.
Additionally, while he was still suspended, the current chief who wanted the sergeant fired was forced to retire. A new chief took over. This chief was a close personal friend of the sergeant. Under the new administration, this sergeant took some discipline but kept his job and more amazingly his rank.
The officer involved in the robbery who turned state’s evidence got a couple of years in jail. The Spanish-speaking ringleader pleaded guilty and got almost the same sentence. They were both out of prison in about three months.
Several years later, the ringleader was back in the news, this time for the armed robbery of several banks. He went away again on a seven-year sentence, but just as before, served only a portion of that time and is now out, yet again.
Cowboy Coffee Cake
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Ingredients
1 (10 count) can biscuits, not the flaky type
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup finely chopped nuts
1/3 cup raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Put biscuits in bottom of Bundt pan.
Heat other ingredients just long enough to melt sugar.
Spread mixture over biscuits.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Would you hire someone who’s been in prison?
As a supervisor for a drywall company I hired a guy who had served half his life in prison.
he was 44 and had spent 22 years in prison. ( 4 year stretch 2 year stretch etc not one long 22 year hit),
He was by far the cleanest worker ( his work space ) and the most obedient worker too.
I had to measure up his work after his first 2 weeks.
He worked alone as he was 6 foot 9 and looked nasty.
I told him his count and that he had earned $7000 for 2 weeks work.
He apologized and said he would work harder next pay period !!! the most the other employees would make would be around $2500.
Next pay period rolls around and I measure his work. $8000 this time.
I tell him and he promises to work harder next time !!. 2 weeks later His measure was $9000. The owner strolls on the job site after the invoices have been sent in.
He asks me who Mick is? I take him to Mick and of course his work area is spotless and I introduce them. Mick shakes his hand and the boss pats him on the back. If Mick made $24000 in 6 weeks guess how much the boss made.
I had mick working for me for 5 years till he cracked and ended up in pokey again.
So YES I would employ someone who has been to prison.
I was on an hourly wage but loved to see Micks cheques
Cross of Iron – Facing the T-34s
What is the most unusual and incorrect reason you’ve had the police called on you?
my insane landlady/neighbor reported me to the police. she said i went inside her house and stole her purse because it contained $5000 cash and her phone. meanwhile, she actually left it in the yard while nibbling on random plants in my ornamental garden (yes you read that right, i had cameras 😂)
thankfully, she also told the cops i did it because she works as jeff bezos’ assistant and i wanted the phone so i could blackmail him for money. needless to say they didn’t take it very seriously. i only found out she reported me when i went to the police station to talk to them about her erratic behavior. they were wildly unhelpful then, and throughtout the whole mess that followed 🤷♂️
random other crazy parts of the days surrounding the police report:
she has cameras, and could easily prove someone entered if it were true.
the day before she randomly texted me to ”go in her unlocked backdoor while she was out, and leave the rent on her kitchen table” – specifically asking me to do it while she wasn’t home. it was the same table she told the police i took the purse from. i didn’t of course – but it seems she intended to frame me
she had snuck into my place while i was at work three days prior, i caught her when coming home early. and immediately realized she had been doing it a lot. (things had been moved, doors open i didnt usually leave open etc.. i had figured it was a guest until then) it caused her to spiral with excuses for why she did it, and plots to make the situation go away – she admitted it but didn’t apologize lol.
thats just the beginning, but thats the police report part
Is it better to be tasered or pepper sprayed?
Take it from someone who has tasted both: Take the Taser. Every time.
Now, both are awful – I wouldn’t recommend either for a leisurely afternoon. However, the difference is in how they’re bad. When a Taser is used on you, it is pure electric hell, but for exactly five seconds (the standard duration of a single trigger pull). Now, God never stitched together five longer seconds, to be sure – the current from a Taser is by far the most acute pain I’ve ever endured, and this is coming from someone who’s had a baseball fracture a finger, taken an elbow right to the nose in a basketball game, been hit with simulated bullets, and gotten into (and won, I might add) a street fight with a convicted felon. But once it’s over, it’s over. There is some lingering muscle weirdness (I liken it to that feeling that’s left behind after you finally work out a charley horse in a muscle), but that’s it.
When you get pepper sprayed, though, it’s an hours-long ordeal. When oleoresin capsicum (OC, the chemical in pepper spray) hits your mucous membranes, they go absolutely insane. It took well under one minute for my eyes to swell completely shut, and they were obviously watering profusely. My sinuses underwent nothing less than a liquid detonation – I’m trying not to be crude, but think in excess of half a pint. It’s panic inducing – you can’t see without physically prying your eyelids open, you’re punished every time you breathe, you can’t squeegee the stuff off your face (despite frantic efforts that only serve to expand the zone of misery). It took me an hour to see clearly enough to drive, and over a full day for the pain to completely subside – when OC dries, crystals are left behind that, no matter how many tears you produce, can stay stuck under your eyelid.
As a civilian, I would double down on this answer, because in the heat of the moment, officers tend to err on the side of caution – their caution. That means if you’re to the point of being sprayed, you’ve got a high likelihood of what was known among officers as “getting hosed down.” While Taser cycles can be restarted, this can only be done if the subject is continuing to resist (and cycles are recorded by a tiny onboard computer, which provides records which can be uploaded to a personal computer – in other words, supervisors will know if you abused a Taser during a use of force incident). There’s no ‘standard spray’ with OC – it will emit spray as long as there are contents in the can and you have the trigger depressed.
Unfortunately, you won’t have any vote if you’re on the receiving end. You can take hope from the fact that most officers, in my experience, prefer using a Taser (usually no medical intervention necessary, the subject can see and isn’t hyperventilating, no patrol car contamination, and on and on).
But again, do avoid both at most any cost.
Mexican Casserole
Use your choice of meats in this versatile casserole.
8 ounces Dorito corn chips, crushed, or regular corn chips
1 (15 ounce) can Bush’s ranch-style beans or chili beans
1 (10 ounce) can Ro*Tel, undrained
1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups Mexican-style shredded cheese
Flour or corn tortillas, warmed
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
In a large skillet, brown the meat for 5 minutes, using a spoon to break up any large clumps. Drain off excess fat and add onion, garlic and chili powder. Continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Add the beans to the cooked meat mixture.
Combine the tomatoes with the soup in a small bowl, mixing completely.
Place about 3/4 of the crushed chips into the bottom of the casserole. Spoon on half the meat mixture, then half the soup mixture. Then add half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with shredded cheese.
Sprinkle the top of the dish with the remaining crushed Doritos or corn chips.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until mixture is bubbling and top is lightly browned.
Serve with tortillas on the side.
What are some of the funniest “got fired” stories?
Not fired per se, but often reassigned. I spent 20 years in the military. One of my supervisors, on realizing I was essentially a lazy git, put me in charge of a shop in a distant part of the ship. No one had really paid any attention to the processes in years. So, lazy man that I was, I dug in to work out the easiest, most expeditious way to do the work. Took about a month, most of it reading manuals and regulations. I completely streamlined everything, including our reporting, eliminating redundancies and revamping workflows. Another 3 weeks to train the staff on how to follow the new procedures, and I could do my whole job in about eight hours a week.
Well, my boss wasn’t going to have me sit on my rump for the other 32 hours, so he moved me again. Same result. A third time, and I was getting the hang of it. I was down to six hours a week. In sheer Puritan frustration, he sent me to the department head’s office to do admin work. Bad choice on his part; I quit paying any attention to the three shops I’d been in, they didn’t need it. In the mean time, I’d become indispensable to my new boss, by arranging things so he could do his job in just a few hours a week.
They gave me “extra duties as assigned”. Well, those were mostly simple enough; paying attention to the written procedures and manuals, and keeping in mind the actual goals, instead of “This is how we’ve always done it”, let me go back to being a lazy git in short order. I was up to maybe 10 hours a week, and that was mostly delivering verbal reports. Maintenance standards were ridiculously high, my people got a lot of time off because the work got done faster than ever before, and me? No one ever saw me actually doing anything. I’d just wander around, a cup of coffee in my hand, dropping a hint here and a word there, or sitting in the mess and catching the occasional phone call.
My evals made me look like a lazy incompetent. Because they used the wrong metrics. But anywhere I was assigned, actual productivity rose, down-time dropped, and everyone got more time off (the only truly effective reward I had to hand out). A lot of my bosses got commendations for “improvements” I had implemented. I eventually retired, after doing some of the easiest time in the service, drawing two pensions and only 38 years old. Drove my wife nuts doing the same thing at home, before she kicked me out of the house. 🙂
Battle of Nagashino 1575
What is something you have tried, but will never do again?
My mate’s girlfriend was getting married to some other guy.
This had to happen.
I too knew that. Who would give her daughter’s hand to a jobless second year engineering student?
Around a week before his girlfriend’s marriage I advised him to cut all connections with her so that she could start a fresh life.
He replied:
“She cannot live without me. If I will stop calling her, she will die.”
I said: “She will not die. She will take time to adjust with her husband but eventually she will be happy with her husband.”
He: “Do you take the guarantee?”
Me: “I am pretty sure that she will not do such stupid thing. Please do not call her if you need her betterment.”
He: “If she commits suicide then you will also have to jump from the roof.”
After that incident I stopped giving advice to any hardcore Romeo.
It has been 2 years and the girl is living happily with her husband.
Million-Dollar Macaroni Casserole
The whole family will love this easy, cozy make-ahead Million-Dollar Macaroni Casserole.
million dollar spaghetti casserole
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef or bulk sausage*
1 (28 ounce) can spaghetti sauce
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 pound cottage cheese
1 stick butter
1 pound pasta such as elbow noodles or rotini
1 bag pizza blend shredded cheese
Optional: sliced mushrooms, diced bell pepper, diced onion
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Boil the noodles. Mix together the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese in a mixer to thoroughly mixed together. Set aside.
If you have chosen to use the bell pepper or onion, sauté them for 3 minutes then toss in the ground beef or sausage. Brown ground beef or sausage and drain well. Add spaghetti sauce and mix together. Put a few slices of butter in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Then layer half of the noodles in the bottom of the dish. Spread the cheese mixture over this layer. Then add the remaining noodles on top of this with a few pats of butter.
Spread the red sauce and meat on top.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, spread cheese on top, and return to oven for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
* Ground chicken or turkey may also be used in this recipe.
Does it cost money to go to jail?
Depends on how you intend to live your life while you’re there.
Because simply existing in jail — an American jail anyway — requires no money at all if you’re willing to subsist on bad food, basic toiletries, and a blaring day room TV.
But any kind of a normal life at all is gonna require income.
Without money in your commissary account, you can’t —
wash your hair with anything other than bar soap;
soothe a raw throat with Menthol-Lyptus;
take Tylenol for a headache;
write and mail a letter;
make a phonecall;
listen to music;
use deodorant;
eat a snack;
moisturize;
And if you consider any of these items luxuries, then you’re probably coming to incarceration straight off the street and sleeping rough.
Congrats on the upgrade.
Otherwise, you’re gonna need funds.
That means sympathetic family and friends on the outside, a work release or road crew deal from the judge and/or sheriff’s department, or a trustee uniform.
I know it’s possible to subsist in jail without means, because I’ve seen motherfuckers do it.
But it’s no way for a human being to live.
Network
Grease Palms
Update That Resume
Jail isn’t the free ride one might imagine.
Putin just scored a KNOCKOUT Blow to NATO and Ukraine is Terrified w/ Andrei Martyanov
Which historical event sounds like it came straight out of a movie?
Shawn Nelson was a plumber.
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And since Shawn Nelson was a plumber, he was rich too.
He quite literally had it all. A nice wife, a big house, and a booming business.
But one day, it seemed like whatever higher power there existed had had enough of Shawn and his life being so nice.
So the higher power commanded fate to start shitting on Shawn with unparalleled fury.
In the span of 4 years:
Both of his parents died, his mother’s death causing him to become an abusive alcoholic
His wife filed for divorce because of his alcohol tendencies
He was hospitalized for neck and back injuries, which left him unable to walk for a year or so
His truck was broken into, having all his plumbing supplies stolen
Due to him not being able to walk, which means not having a business, which means not being able to pay the bills, Shawn’s utilities were cut off.
The bank started to foreclose his assets due to him not being able to pay
The hospital that treated him for his injuries sued him for unpaid medical bills
The man had quite literally lost everything in a fraction of the time it had taken him to get it.
Safe to say, he was at his lowest point.
As many can attest, it is easier than ever to fall into the grasp of drug use during this time. Nelson was no different. He quickly got addicted to crystal meth, and he went all-in into his addiction.
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When the meth started, his erratic behaviors increased.
Nelson’s neighbors were constantly calling the cops because they were being kept awake at night by Nelson’s outbursts. He constantly threatened suicide and was verbally and emotionally abusive to his roommate and a new girlfriend.
He went so far as to call the Oklahoma bombing that killed nearly 200 people and injured nearly 700 “good stuff.”
However, it seemed fate had finally smiled upon Shawn when he found gold in his own back garden.
This was it. This was the chance to turn his life around. He could pay his bills, regain his job, make his business run again, and finally go back to his old life.
However, this was another meth-fueled delirium. That didn’t stop him from single-handedly building a fifteen-foot mineshaft in his own back garden though.
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He dug that mineshaft for nothing.
Soon after, his girlfriend and roommate moved out.
Shawn was alone in his big house with a big pile of meth.
He had nothing to lose.
On the 17th of May, 1995. Shawn Nelson ingested all the meth he had, then got into his car and started driving, stopping only when he reached the California National Guard Armory.
At this point, Nelson was a meth entity with nothing to lose, and he had only one goal in mind.
He was going to steal a tank.
Shawn arrived at the national guard barracks to find the door wide open, with no guards guarding the millions of dollars worth of tanks and guns stored inside there.
So Shawn just waltzed right in.
He found a tank that he liked and climbed in. At this point, you’d expect tanks to have something like keys or a complicated ignition system to start, but nope.
The tank had a push start button.
Unfortunately, the tank didn’t work. So Shawn climbed into another tank, all without getting spotted. That tank didn’t work either.
He climbed into a third tank, which worked, and so began the half-hour-long Meth Tank Rampage.
He drove his tank through the streets, completely invulnerable to anything the police cruisers that followed him had access to. He crushed 40 vehicles and many more road utilities until he finally got stuck, at which point he was shot dead.
Getting your life screwed over that bad, then stealing a tank does not sound like something out of real life to me.
HUGE EDIT PLEASE READ:
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Shawn Nelson was by no means a saint. He was not entirely a victim of circumstance and mostly brought the stuff that happened to him onto himself.
Mercenaries from the West inside Ukraine – Stunning Numbers
The number of “mercenaries” inside Ukraine, from Western and NATO countries, is stunning. The number of them KILLED is also stunning. Details below:
The Russian Ministry of Defense continues to track and record all foreign mercenaries who have arrived in Ukraine to participate in combat actions.
►The total number of foreign mercenaries who have arrived in Ukraine is 13,387 (Since 24 February 2022.)
►Destruction of 5,962 foreign mercenaries has been confirmed to date.
The undisputed leader in terms of the number of killed fighters is Poland (2,960 arrived, 1,497 eliminated). From Georgia, 1,042 fighters arrived, of whom 561 were eliminated. The 1,113 ‘soldiers of fortune’ arriving from the U.S. lost 491 killed. More than 40% of Canadian mercenaries were eliminated (422 out of 1,005). Of the 822 fighters arriving from the UK, 360 were eliminated. From Romania, 784 mercenaries arrived, 349 were killed. From Germany – 235 and 88, respectively. France has already lost 147 militants out of 356 arrived
but denies — at all levels — the presence of its mercenaries on the territory of Ukraine.
Forty-four percent (44%) of all foreign mercenaries who went into Ukraine, are confirmed dead.
If one applies the same percentage to Ukrainian regular army troops, then out of the 800,000 troops that existed at the start of the conflict, it is logical to conclude that at least 352,000 are already dead.
Since Ukraine has been drafting-by-force during the entirety of the conflict, the number of Ukrainian dead is clearly far higher than 352,000.
At what point will anyone in the West come to the rational conclusion that the Ukrainians have ZERO chance of surviving continued hostilities? Because THAT is the only rational conclusion to be arrived at.
If the West decides to pursue a suicidal effort to enter Ukraine militarily, is it not clear already that Western Forces would see the same 44% of their men killed the same way Ukraine has?
Last week, it was admitted by the West that eighty percent (80%) of Ukrainian Drones have been rendered useless by Russian Electronic Warfare! 80% ! ! !
Those are Western-supplied drones. Does the West think it will have better odds if THEY are the ones launching the drones? Such a conclusion would be idiocy.
When will the West come to its senses and tell Ukraine “We’ve reached the end, you must sue for peace with Russia?”
As it stands now, Western armament supplies are dwindling to the point where Western nations are no longer able to defend THEIR OWN territory, because they have so depleted their supplies of Ammunition, artillery shells, and missiles.
If the West _does_ engage in Ukraine, where do they think they will get re-supplied from? Right now, the West can’t make enough for the pittance of an army that Ukraine has left. How would they then supply the extra half-million NATO troops? The ammunition simply isn’t there anymore and the manufacturing base simply cannot make enough to supply an ongoing war effort.
None of these facts are in dispute. So why is the carnage continuing?
Do card counters really get beaten up by casino thugs, as portrayed in the movies?
My wife counts cards. She likes to play at the $1 tables at Circus Circus in Reno. She makes a few bucks every time she plays. Counting cards requires some concentration, and many people can’t do it, especially if they’re drunk, which explains the free alcohol.
The dealers all count cards. It’s the only way to keep from nodding off doing that job. So they pretty much know who is counting and who is gambling.
If you go home with $20 and brag to your friends that you counted cards in Reno, it’s great for business. If you try to count cards at the high-stakes tables, you will get escorted out if you are successful at all. A photo of you is taken and posted in the Security office so don’t come back later in the day to try again.
There are enough casinos in Reno that you can make some money if you come a couple times a year. If you move to Reno and try to make a living counting cards, you become known to the pit bosses and the security people, and find yourself prevented from playing.
No brass knuckles are involved. That’s just for the movies.
Cowboy Coffee
coffee on coals and the seashore 1246925709 92fa13d153b24e3096bde851a73fd92e
Ingredients
4 quarts water
1 1/2 cups freshly ground coffee
1 egg shell
1/2 cup cold water
Instructions
Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan or coffee pot.
Add coffee grounds and egg shell to boiling water. Return to a boil, then remove from heat and let stand for 2 minutes.
Slowly add cold water to settle grounds to the bottom. Strain if desired.
As a boss, what is the wildest reason that you had to chew out/discipline/fire an employee?
I was managing a radio station in Colorado. One early morning, I was on the air and noticed the hotline lighting up indicating an incoming call: it was the guy whom I scheduled to be on the air after me. He was calling in sick.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “We’ll cover your shift so stay home and take care of yourself, and I hope to see you tomorrow.”
I was able to find a replacement for him, so after my shaft had come to an end, I handed over the reins to the next jock. I rarely did this, but for some reason, I decided to go home for an hour before I came back to work and spend the rest of my day working in my office. Once I was home, I turned on the TV just to have some noise in the background as I went into the kitchen to make a simple lunch. As I walked around the house, I looked down to see a basketball game in progress. Who do I notice seeing courtside, was none other than the guy who had called in sick.
It was well-known through my staff that if one wanted to take off a day – even if it were for personal reasons – I had a policy in place that would allow people to call in (even at the last minute) and request time off.
To make matters worse, he had lied to me.
The next day, I saw him in the hallway and simply said, “My office. Two-o’clock. Be there.”
At the moment, I couldn’t tell if I was going to fire him for being stupid enough to call in sick to attend a nationally televised event, or if I was going to fire him for lying to me. Either way, he was becoming gainfully unemployed that afternoon.
“Thank you for stopping by my office, but I am afraid that your services are no longer needed. Have a nice day.” I handed him his final check and he left silently.
I am glad that during my time in management I rarely had to fire someone (in fact, he was only one of two people I had fired during my career (the other person was dismissed for attendance purposes. I can tolerate a lot of things with people, but being lied to is, in my opinion, the worst.
Which are some of the most ingeniously solved criminal cases?
The story starts in Denmark. It is 2012 and police officers have just made a pretty standard arrest: they found a sexual offender with possession of child porn.
Police had a much greater concern though. They needed to find who created the videos, not just who was watching them.
There were no clear clues, so they turned to the videos to see if they could find a lead.
In the background, at one point, there was the slightest shot of a pill bottle.
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They zoomed in and managed to discern the man’s first name, the first two letters of his last name and the first three digits of the prescription order.
From there, the investigators applied these details to every possible person to whom they could be attributed.
After intensive searching, they conclude that a man named Stephen Keating is responsible, however they still have very little info about him. Furthermore, this evidence alone isn’t enough to convict him.
Rather than giving up, they once again went back to the videos. This time however, they found an image showing the man’s hand. From there, they used technology to create an impression of his fingerprint.
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The resulting fingerprint was a perfect match.
53-year-old Stephen Keating was arrested, just three weeks after the investigation began.
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Keating had repeatedly sexually molested three children, all under the age of 12. Outside of the ones captured on video, it was revealed there were another 12 children whom he had abused.
He was sentenced to 110 years in federal prison, but he may have never been caught had it not been for some brilliant detective work.
[4K】Relaxing Walk in Japanese Small Town – Ikegawa, Kochi
This is just lovely.
Cowboy Coffee with Kahlua Cream
Featured in the November 1998 issue of Texas Monthly – created by Chef Grady Spears
how to make cowboy coffee recipe 1695022684
Ingredients
1 pot hot coffee
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur
8 teaspoons shaved chocolate
Instructions
Make a pot of good strong coffee.
In a bowl whip the cream until soft peaks form.
Fold in the powdered sugar and Kahlua.
Put a dollop on each cup of coffee and garnish with shaved chocolate.
What single decision had the greatest effect on history?
On September 28th, 1918, Henry Tandey, a British soldier serving with the 5th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, saw a weary German soldier wandering into Tandey’s line of fire at the small French village of Marcoing.
The enemy soldier was hurt and didn’t even attempt to raise his rifle. Altough Tandey had a clear vision and an opportunity to reduce the number of enemy forces by one, he chose not to shoot. The German soldier allegedly saw what he did and nodded his thanks before getting out of the sight.
That German soldier was Adolf Hitler.
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This story supposedly comes from Hitler himself. When Neville Chamberlain visited Hitler in 1938 (before the Münich Agreement), he saw a picture by Fortunino Matania ordered by the Green Howards regiment depicting a man saving his fellow comrade. Hitler had allegedly identified the man as Tandey on the basis of a U.K. newspaper article and claimed Tandey was the one who saved his life:
That man came so near to killing me that I thought I should never see Germany again; Providence saved me from such devilishly accurate fire as those English boys were aiming at us.
There has been a lot of evidence that this story is not actually true (see the sources below). But it doesn’t make it less cool nevertheless. If it were true, it would definitely be a legitimate candidate for a single decision that had the most dramatic effect on the entire 20th century.
If nothing else, it kinda reminded me of the following joke:
A man decided to visit a fortune teller. After looking into his hand and into the crystal ball, the fortune teller says in a dramatic tone:
“You sir, will be responsible for the death of millions”
Shocked and taken aback, the man goes back to his home. Along the way, he passes near a river and sees a small boy drowning helplessly.
“Well, if millions of people are going to die because of me, I might at least save one life.”
He jumps into the river and pulls the boy out. The shocked mother comes in tears and says:
“ Oh my dear god, thank you so much Mr., you are a saint. Adolf, you should thank this gentleman yourself.”
If you have just killed someone in self defense, what can you do immediately after the fact to help cement your innocence?
Call a lawyer.
Shut up until your lawyer shows up.
Take pictures of the scene and especially the witnesses. Give the phone only to your lawyer.
When the cops come say ‘I’m sorry Officer. I’d love to tell you my side, but my wife told me to wait for my lawyer.’ Change that to your Dad, etc. At some point before then say ‘Dad, tell me the following…’ so you aren’t lying to the cops.
If they are going to miss the obvious, like a witness, or the gun slid under the dumpster, point it out. But then shut up again.A buddy was getting divorced. His soon to be ex said, she felt threatened when talking to him because he was a soldier (it didn’t matter for the other 20 years…) He was a nice guy and wanted to say, ‘it’s okay, I won’t talk to her.’ But his lawyer shut him down.
If he said that, it gave the impression that he really was a threat.
If he made a mistake, and called his kid, but his wife answered, he could be found liable of breaching a court order.Don’t move things, except to safety and holster your weapon.
A cop had a legit shoot, but noticed the bad guy dropped the gun, right at the cop’s feet. The cop moved the gun to the bad guy, to match what he saw as true, at the time.
Moving the gun got him convicted.Changing your mag might be a good idea because you don’t know if the fight is over until the cops arrive.
Leave the 1/2 empty mag at your feet. Put the safety on/de-cock it, etc. because you don’t want the cop who takes your gun having an ND.
You don’t want the cops to show up and you have a gun in your hand. If your gun is in your hand, very nervous cops will point their guns at you. You don’t want that.Don’t move anything you don’t have to. Giving first aid is allowed but it messes with the facts. Ask 911 before you do it.And shut up. You will really really want to talk. But who among us haven’t said something stupid?
I have continued to play with text to image creations. Lately I have been generating women with vegetables. Here’s some of my works. What do you think?
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she has 0(1)
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she is 0(4)
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she is 3(3)
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she is 3(2)
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she is 1(1)
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she is 0
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she is 2(5)
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she has 3
Default a beautiful stunning woman wearing satin dress she has 2(3)
My favorite Internet kitty
What’s an experience you had in a hotel you’ll never forget?
I was island hopping in the Caribbean, and I had prebooked a mid priced hotel for my stay in Puerto Rico.
I fly in after dark and get to my hotel and evidently they were overbooked, they told me that they would upgrade me to a better hotel. I am deeply suspicious, because its been my experience, if you get moved its to a worse hotel.
Still, its after dark, I’m in a strange place for the first time, I let them move me. We get it to my new hotel, which is beach front, as opposed to the block from the beach one I had booked. It had a huge arena/auditorium/entertainment center that had an ice capades like show that night. My room is about the cheapest in an upscale hotel, so not to shabby.
Lots of nice restaurants, great pools etc. The next day they have a circus move into the entertainment center, and I think I will go see that later in the evening.
I go to the pool, and this guy comes in, leading two tiger cubs on leashes. He takes them to the edge of the pool, and takes off the leashes, and they jump in with me.
I end up playing with two tiger cubs for the afternoon.
It was awesome. I will never forget it.
Breaking Bad | Combo’s Death
What is the most brilliant example of taking advantage of a loophole you have ever witnessed?
I was a maintenance worker on a paint line, working a 4-day work week. Monday through Thursday, 10 hours per day. This day, a slow Thursday, I was greasing the wheels on the chain as it passed through the line.
A top manager was passing through, steamed off for some reason. He noticed the line was running with no work on it, and he screamed at the line leader, “Why is this line running with no work?! He (pointing at me) gets three days off with no pay!” and stormed off with no explanation.
After he was gone, the line leader came up to me and said, “You heard the man. Three days off with no pay. Let’s make it this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. OK?”
Wow! Half a day, and already almost 500 upvotes. Thanks, everyone.
Fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, But…”| Why Putin’s War Has Jolted Ukraine’s “Foreign Fighters”
Chicken Diable
Chicken Diable makes a wonderful sauce, and it is delicious served over rice.
chickendiable C
Prep: 10 min | Bake: 1 hr 30 min | Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) frying chicken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup wet mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cut frying chicken into large pieces.
Melt butter and add honey, mustard, curry powder and salt. Coat chicken pieces with the sauce and place in a baking pan (do not stack).
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours, tightly covered.
Can China maintain its leading role in EV and lithium battery technology?
Yes
Unless other nations understand and introduce Socialist elements and State Subsidies into their EV architecture
China can make the best batteries and best integrated platform – two most crucial elements of an EV at a cost that is 65% of the next cheapest manufacturer in South Korea
The Americans make far lower quality batteries at a 170% higher price
This puts a Chinese EV at $ 30,500 with a nice profit to the Brand versus the same American EV made in USA at a minimum of $ 52,000 at a lower quality
You just can’t compete
It’s why the US is so keen on keeping China out
It’s why no other nation is building Charging Infrastructure so comprehensively like China is doing
China has such a vast charging infrastructure that it is easy and quick to charge your EVs
Yet the Infrastructure network is only 6% profitable
No issues because it’s State Subsidized
And that’s 6% at such a huge scale
At a fifth of this scale, a charging infrastructure of so much quality would make a loss of at least 10% to 12%
Do you think a single private player would take such a risk?
Nopes
Ultimately the EV Maker has to provide the charging infrastructure like Musk is doing
Yet Musks profits from EV sales are shrinking due to his losses in the charging infrastructure
This ain’t new
The US heavily subsidized it’s industries for the earliest motor cars
Back then you had Hansom cabs driven by Horses and roads were paved with bricks not with Tar
The US Government floated almost $ 36 Million of Bonds to build Roads in various cities and State Governments floated another $ 40 Million
To build tarred roads for Cars owned by Ford and Others who incidentally didn’t chip in a penny
Likewise you had a 30 year tax subsidy from 1907–1937 afforded to six car makers to enable them to keep the costs of their engines as low as possible
An Engine could cost $ 100-125 to make, almost 4/5 of the value of the car
Yet the companies pumped back a share of their profits and kept the engine cost lower and lower until by the 1920s the cost of the engine dropped to around 1/2 the value of the car and later to around 40%
It’s why US had a lead in Cars
It’s why Germany had a lead in Engines
Today they may rant about Free markets but all these countries had subsidies in their early days and protectionism
US imposed an import duty of 67% on Cars from UK and Germany until the Mid 1970s
So as on date, China is gaining huge traction for EVs
They are discarding the Lithium Battery in the next five years or so for the next generation batteries
Their charging infrastructure is very strong and fast, fastest in the world
The others who can compete include
Korea – $ 110 Billion in Subsidies to make Batteries
Japan – $ 15 Billion in Private Research Funds to make Batteries
Yet China has more engineers and more money in subsidies ($ 250 Billion) for battery technology alone
So i feel China will have a lead in EVs for at least half a decade or maybe longer
Coconut life
Do you have to pay for food in prison?
Have you ever read a nutritional content label and wondered what a 2000 calorie diet would be like? In prison you get to find out.
The government says 2000 calories are what you need, so that’s what they provide to inmates. You can inflate that number some with carbs or roughage.
Here’s how it worked at CCA (the for-profit privately run prison): the US Marshalls defined what a detainee’s diet should look like. CCA would design meals around those goals, then turn the food service over to a sub-contractor. The sub would get a fixed amount for every meal produced. Ahha! Every dollar we save by skimping on ingredients is a dollar in the sub’s pocket. We can all see where that’s headed…
In federal prison the food was much better because there were no sub contractors. In this situation, the inmates are their own worst enemies. The kitchen would make sheet cake without any sugar. Why? Inmates stole it all! Same for spices.
The federal low had two lines that inmates would shuffle through for each meal. All items that were costly for the prison (protein) were dished out to the inmates from behind the counter. Low cost items like rice, those nasty grease pad potatoes, and lettuce would be “on the bar” where you could take as much as you want.
All of this is “free.”
You can pay for food. You can buy stuff on commissary, or you can buy the stuff that’s being cooked in the units. This is usually a mix of items stolen from the kitchen and things bought on commissary. It’s always better than what comes out of the kitchen.
Teachers Are SICK Of Dumb Gen Alpha Kids..
What is something a guest in your house did that made your jaw drop? How did you react?
Ok warning this is GROSS!!!!!!!!!!
A co-worker of my now ex-husband came over with his “side piece” (was not thrilled about that as it was condoning this behavior but I go off topic) and she asked to use the bathroom, we told her where the guest bathroom was and thought she went into there. While they were leaving I went through our bedroom into our bathroom. I then noticed she didn’t use the guest bathroom but had been in our room b/c things were out of place and that where my jewelry box was had been opened and gone through. I went into the bathroom really fast to see if some other personal items were missing I noticed that this nasty girl used a…feminine cleaning product (BARF) and MY wash cloth to “clean up”. Luckily they were still outside talking when I went out there and lost my fking mind!! I tossed a plastic bag with MY wash cloth and the empty product at her (I WAS WEARING 2 PAIRS OF GLOVES AND HAD A BAG OVER THE OTHER BAG I PUT EVERYTHING IN) and then told her to empty her purse and pockets. Now, the guys were at first shocked and then my now ex-husband was embarrassed by my “request” and behavior and his co-worker was pissed that his “friend” was being treated in such a manner. When she finally did what I “asked” there were 2 pairs of earrings (pearls, and black diamonds), a custom made pearl ring I got from my father, a gold pinky ring my grandfather had custom made for me, the onyx and diamond ring, pearl necklace and matching bracelet I got for my first communion and confirmation as well as my pearl drop. I told them to get the fk off our property and they were never allowed back or I would call the police. I recorded the whole encounter outside. Now I did NOT yell at them, I was pissed the fk off but the neighborhood did not need to know what was going on.
Brazil reality
Have you ever accidentally found out that you were about to be fired?
Not accidentally found out, but figured out months in advance that my entire department was going to be laid off. I basically followed a bunch of clues.
This was way back in 1998 when I started working at Kodak. Kodak is headquartered in Rochester, New York. One of the managers convinced higher-ups that Kodak should open a software development center in Washington, D.C., because of availability of software engineers in the area. There were many people against it, but she got approval to head a development center in the D.C. metro area. The development center was called Washington Development Center (WDC for short).
So, she came to D.C., found an office in Maryland, did a bunch of hiring. I was hired as part of that. Eventually, after six years, she found a better position in Kodak. So, she left. They got a guy who was completely against WDC to manage WDC. This was clue #1. Let’s call him Mike.
The first thing Mike did was give everyone raises. He said the previous manager was underpaying everyone. Everyone was happy. I thought “Why? No one asked for a raise. Everyone is happy here.” A couple of months later, I saw several projects moving away from us. I went to my boss and asked him. He said, “The way Kodak works is that business units control the money. BUs propose projects, and development centers bid on them. Since we have higher real estate costs than Rochester, we bid higher.” I asked him, “Were the recent raises a factor?” He basically shrugged.
Clue #2: Making us uncompetitive by giving raises. Actually, I have to say it’s a touch of genius right there. We used to be competitive before because we didn’t pay people as much, which offset our real estate costs.
So, then the question became, “Should we move to a new location?” My boss found a location in Virginia where the rent was low. What Mike did was put the idea of moving to Virginia up for a vote. Most employees in this location lived in Maryland. They would have to commute an hour to get to Virgonia. So, most of them voted against it.
Clue #3: Mike knew how the vote would go. His job was to make the right call even if it was an unpopular one. By having employees make the wrong decision, he absolved himself of all responsibility.
Clue #4: Then there was a re-organization, and Mike got a new boss: let’s call him Jake. First thing Jake did was to meet everyone in his new organization. They planned for him to visit us. We all prepared presentations for him to show our technical strengths. He slept through 75% of the presentations. I didn’t realize this until I started my presentation. I walked up, started talking, and then looked at him and saw his eyes were closed. I stopped short because tears were coming in my eyes. Everyone else was saying “Go on. Go on. It’s OK.” I felt like wadding up some paper and throwing at his bald head, but didn’t.
We gradually kept losing projects. Eventually, a lot of people weren’t doing anything. One day, I went to the break room to get some coffee. There were two people in the break room chatting. These two people were the ring leaders in getting everyone to vote against the move to Virginia. They asked “Hey, how’s it going, Jayesh?” I replied, “Oh, nothing. Just waiting to get laid off.” They were looking at me with their eyes wide as I walked back.
A few months later they announced that we are getting laid off. We were given options: a) Voluntarily accept to get laid off now and get severance b) wait till the last day. If you waited, you might be offered a job in Rochester that you could work remotely. If you were not offered a job, you would get a slightly better severance. If you were offered a job, and you refused, then you don’t get severance (you are technically resigning, not getting laid off). I knew I would be offered a job, because I knew the ins and outs of a critical project. So I said “Lay me off! Lay me off, please!” My boss got offered a job because he was the second person who knew about that project.
Oh there was a guy, who had been in Kodak for 29 years 6 months. When he had joined, Kodak offered pension, if you stayed in Kodak for 30 years. Six months more and he would have been set for life. He wasn’t offered a job and got a severance pay for five years. He was probably around 55. If he had been offered a job, he could have stuck around for six months more and gotten a pension for life. He was one of the people who didn’t want to move to Virginia. I was thinking if we had moved to Virginia, we could have staved off the inevitable for at least a year or so. He would have been set for life.
I still have respect for Mike for engineering our closure so beautifully. He did it in a way that he doesn’t get the blame; instead, he was able to show how he saved Kodak lot of money. I was merely a by-stander. He was the puppet master. He used people’s inclinations against them. Pure evil genius. Respect.
Funny and odd thing about this. The video is glitching out!
Can I ask a parked police car why it’s posted on my street days in a row? Can they opt to not to give any information or ignore you, or are they obligated to disclose information?
There once was a plain unmarked van parked directly in front of my house for about one week during the daytime. It had tinted front and side windows. One day, I decided to walk closer so that I could see the license plates. They were VA (Veteran’s Administration) plates. That gave me the impression that federal law enforcement had borrowed that vehicle to use on a stake out. And since they were parked directly in front of my house, I assumed I was not their target. So I went back to my house instead of seeing if anyone was inside the van and blowing their cover. Then after about one week, the van was gone. Then after another week, all hell broke loose. Marked and unmarked police cars surrounded a neighbor’s house across the street and even drove on their lawn. There were many men dressed in black uniforms with POLICE on their backs carrying what looked like automatic weapons. After things calmed down, I went up to one of the officers to ask what is happening. All he would admit to is that they were conducting an investigation. Not satisfied with that answer, I wrote a letter to our Chief of Police. He did admit it was a drug raid but offered no other details. He also said to contact him if I have any questions about police activity in the future. Unfortunately, he retired a short time later so I lost my contact.
Many years later, one morning, I looked out my living room window and was shocked to see the street in front of my house filled with black SUV’s and men dressed in black standing around their vehicles. Once again, the men had POLICE on their backs and were holding automatic weapons. I got scared thinking they were about to burst into my home. But after a few minutes, there was no knock at my door. So I peeked out the window and the officers I saw seemed relaxed. So I opened up the front door and started to exit to find out what is going on. That’s when one of the officers waved at me to go back inside which I did. I eventually discovered it was another drug raid, but at a neighbor’s house on the same side of the street as my house, just two doors away. I think it is time for me to move.
A nice technique
Why won’t the Chinese premier Li Qiang face reporters for the duration of his term, which runs until 2028?
That’s not his job, and not in his remit.
Yes, Zhu Rongji began the tradition of meeting the press during the two meetings. This has been retained by his successors, but the PM is not obligated to give press conferences. His job is to deliver the nation’s progress report and announce Beijing’s economic and social targets for the coming year during the two meetings.
We are entering an era of America pushing for war, and this is but another sign of the Chinese closing ranks.
Entertaining foreigners is best left to the experts at the foreign ministry who train a lifetime to accommodate them.
There is Wang Yi, who just concluded his 90 minute long press conference, and there is the daily press conference helmed by a senior foreign ministry spokesperson that can be up to vice-minister seniority.
To my knowledge, China is the ONLY government that provides this level of open access to foreign journalists year-round.
This is how all America feels
What is something that most people don’t know?
You can taste garlic with your feet.
When you speak inside your mind small muscles in your throat mimic the formation of each word.
When you lose weight, most of it ends up as carbon dioxide which is exhaled from your lungs.
Prince Charles has a car fueled by wine.
Polar Bears aren’t white, they’re just glowing.
The raptor sounds in Jurassic Park are actually mating tortoises.
Pirates wore eye patches to increase night vision, not cover a missing eye.
Parts of Canada have less gravity than the rest of the planet.
1 teaspoon of honey is the lifework of 12 bees.
A small fraction of the static on your tv is radiation left over from the Big Bang.
Your ears and nose are connected to your tear ducts.
Once Charlie Chaplin entered a contest for “Charlie Chaplin look-alikes” and he came in third.
People in the southern hemisphere see the moon upside down compared to the north.
Humans have patterns (like stripes, spots and geometric shapes) on our bodies that are invisible to us but cats can see them.
There are 80,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 possible arrangements of a 52-card deck.
Whats going on with this?
Why is Toyota so hesitant to build electric cars?
Profitability!!!!
Always Profitability
Same reason why most of the world cannot manufacture EVs on China’s scale
You see Japan has a fully integrated supply chain for ICE Vehicles. From the Engines to the Chassis to the Intelligent systems to the Fuel Injection
So Japanese Cars can make a lot of profit
Same for Hybrids
Japan has the entire supply chain for Hybrids and the best quality in the world
So Japanese Hybrids are very profitable
EVs are a different kettle of fish
China thanks to ten years of ENORMOUS SUBSIDIES by the State amounting to almost $ 600 Billion (4 Trillion RMB) have managed to scale up and keep refining the quality of EVs, Solar Panels and Wind Turbines until they completely control the supply chain and technology on a scale that NO CAPITALIST ECONOMY CAN MANAGE
It’s easy for BYD to invest 10 years in making EVs and researching and refining EV Quality because China always cut them a cheque to ensure BYD stayed in Business for 7 1/2 years until they finally produced the most efficient and best technology
For Tata?
For Toyota?
For Honda?
Impossible
India doesn’t have the money to subsidise anything and Japan is capitalist
You certainly can’t expect Honda or Toyota to invest 10 years perfecting their batteries and integrated platforms when they don’t get any profits right?
Same for Tata or Hyundai
Right now the best batteries are Chinese, platforms Chinese, Chassis and Components Chinese and all of them well ahead of any other nation
So if Japan makes EVs using Chinese Basic Components, the Japanese companies will barely make profit while the cream will be taken by the Chinese players like CATL Or Korean players like SK
So Japanese Car Makers have put up around $ 15 Billion and have been trying to develop Hydrogen Cell powered cars as a Rival to EVs
Of course China has already pumped up another 380 Billion RMB ($ 55 Billion) of Subsidies and their Hydrogen Fuel Cells are surging rapidly
They plan to power trucks and trains using Hydrogen powered cells
$55 Billion in China is nearly the same as $ 130 Billion in Japan against a mere $ 15 Billion
Eight times more investment
In the Capitalist world, Profitability is what drives everything else
New Technology won’t be explored unless it can be profitable
In the Chinese Model,Necessity and Demand drives everything else
The State will fund things and players until they finally are able to develop the core technology and ensure a commercial production model that is a generation better than anyone else
It’s why, after Iphones & galaxy , when Alcatel and many phone makers simply abandoned further development and research – China kept going on and on and on with their smartphone models even if it meant paying the cream to the American entities like Qualcomm or Intel or other such entities
So that one day they could crack the supply chain and then build their own superior and most cost effective supply chain and indigenous technology
Fish gangs
What was the strangest thing that happened to you as a foreigner in Japan?
I arrived in Tokyo with a terrible stomach ache and followed by bad diarrhea. For the first 2 days I could barely walk and only eat very little.
I then decided to go see a doctor, my wife called her friend who lives in Tokyo to ask about the closest hospital etc. He and his girlfriend showed up in our apartment, taking me to the closest clinic just in case the nurse/doctor don’t speak any English.
It was a normal clinic routine, I (or was it my wife?) filled up a form with my names etc, we wait and then saw a doctor. True enough, the doctor doesn’t speak English well, so he communicated with my friend while sometimes punching some keys on his phone for English translation to say things to me. By this time I feel really bad for my wife’s friend as he has to translate what i feel, in detail, to the doctor, about my diarrhea. It’s probably his worst first conversation with someone ever!
All good, he prescribed medicine, while explaining to my friend what and how much to take when. The doctor was very very responsible, he found translations on his phone again to write the name of the medicine and what each pill is for etc in English.
The strange thing comes when I want to pay the bill. The nurse said that the cashier was closed on weekends (it was Saturday), she estimated that the cost would be around JPY 10,000 or less. So, she asked me to give her JPY 5,000 and comeback on Monday to settle the rest with the cashier.
The strangest thing is, I told her that Monday is my schedule to take my kid to Disneyland and Tuesday to Disney Sea, to which she replied (translated by my wife’s dear friend, obviously) “ok, come whenever you have time, it’s OK”
I was dumbfounded by her answer, I asked again to confirm and she said yes.
I mean they know that I don’t live in Japan, nor do they ask my friend’s number/ address. My wife’s friend, my savior, then explained to me that it is quite normal in Japan because Japanese people are very responsible and honest, so they always pay what is due.
Big respect for their culture.
PS: I ended up paying the balance on Thursday, it was around JPY 3,500 🙂
Forbidden books
Where is the most dangerous island in the world?
Personally, I think it’s the Pitcairn Islands.
But not for the reasons you may think.
Globe
For those of you who don’t know, the Pitcairn Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It’s one of the most isolated places in the world, and only has a population of 47 people, most of whom are descended from the nine people who originally settled the islands. They’re also all mostly interrelated, in one way or another.
The territory is owned by the United Kingdom, but governed by New Zealand’s British High Commissioner. They rarely visit, and ships only come to the islands about two dozen times a year.
[1] So I think it’s fair to say that the Pitcairn Islands are very isolated from the rest of society. The 47 residents of the Islands don’t have too much contact with the outside world.
But that’s precisely what makes it so dangerous.
In 1999, a policeman from Kent, England was serving an assignment on the islands, when he started to uncover some sinister things going on. He started uncovering allegations of sexual abuse, including against children.
An Australian pastor visited the island around that time, and made some shocking observations
“I noticed worrying signs such as inexplicable mood swings,” he says. “It took me three months to realise they were being abused. I tried to raise the subject at a meeting of the island council, and one gentleman replied: ‘Look, the age of consent has always been 12 and it doesn’t hurt them.'” [2]
When further questioned, residents of the island basically said “that’s just how it is here”. Girls would get into relationships at a disturbingly young age on the island, and nobody really noticed from the outside for a long time. Most girls had their first child between ages 12 and 15.
That’s pretty messed up. As it turns out, the remoteness of the island had allowed a disturbing culture of sexuality to develop. The policeman started questioning every single woman who lived on the island, and they all saw nothing wrong with it.
But British officials definitely saw something wrong with it, and pressed charges against seven men. That may not seem like a lot, but consider that that was most of the island’s adult male population at the time, including the mayor of the islands.
This was a huge scandal, and raised a lot of questions about extraterritoriality and law and stuff. During the trial, they had to fly in policemen, judges, lawyers, journalists and other court staff; from the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
This effectively doubled the island’s population during the trial.
Lawyers for the defendants made a strange argument in order to try and get their sentences reduced: they argued that if they were imprisoned, the island would cease to function. And they had a point. When an island has a population as small as the Pitcairn Islands, locking up seven able-bodied men has a huge impact.
Four defendants got reduced sentences because of the unique nature of the island’s population. Two were spared from jail entirely, and one was acquitted.
This is what I think makes it one of the most dangerous islands in the world. Not the wildlife, not the flora and fauna, but the people living there.
The same way anonymity can make people cruel and immoral, isolation can do the same thing, allowing cultures of abuse and mistreatment to develop. In my opinion, this case is no different to cases of abuse within cults. Both involved small groups of people and corrupt leadership, who basically created a little realm in which they could get away with horrible things.
China’s Military Aircraft Can Vanish ‘Off The Radar’ As Scientist Developed Plasma Device
In another remarkable leap forward in the realm of military technology, Chinese scientists have unveiled a groundbreaking development that is sure to revolutionize aerial warfare: a new plasma stealth device that could render Chinese aircraft virtually invisible to enemy radar systems. You heard that right! We might see the time where Chinese aircraft will go undetected on enemy radar systems and in turn inflict a plethora of damage. Today’s episode will uncover the new development of Chinese scientists that might make Chinese aircraft invisible in the future. https://youtu.be/TD20CoQ1dPA
What are the consequences the world faces if China goes for war over Taiwan?
India may suffer massive shortages
Luckily not of food products but many other things.
Electric Vehicles , Electronics, Vehicles, Smartphons, Pumps – will all reduce significantly as they primarily depend on Chinese Components and Import Substitution is impossible due to the Ukranian Crisis.
The Biggest problem is ANTIBIOTICS, PAINKILLERS, ANTIVIRALS
India manufactures a lot of these but 80% Pharma Raw Stock comes from China
A Blockade by US could prevent Crucial Antibiotics from being delivered to more than 60% of the Countries in the World (95% Developing Countries)
Globally the Biggest Problem will be – CHIPS
Taiwan exports 93% of its Chips and controls 70% of the Global Supply Chain
A Blockade on the Taiwan Straits by China could result in an existing supply crunch intensifying several times over.
As on date only 7 Stacks of Chips are being delivered for every 12 Stacks of Chips relative to 2019 Globally -ie:- only around 60% of the Global Supply
If Taiwan joins in then you could have 7 Stacks for every 36 -48 Stacks or only around 15%-20% of the Global Supply
That would impact many many Industries
ASEAN Nations will lose Big
The Seas are very profitable for Trade. Those routes are disturbed – it will lead to a Supply Crisis like EU is experiencing.
And the Western Economies will crumble even worse
A Lot of their Hedge Funds invest in Chip Manufacturing Entities and a Huge Shortfal market could collapse such funds by as much as 40%-60%
It will all pass…
Do you think China has the guts to attack Taiwan, or are they just lame threats?
Its not a Question of Guts
Its a Question of having the ability to follow through
War is a drain on everything and fighting a War against several enemies could be a huge obstacle to any country.
Every repurcussion has to be planned , anticipated and handled
Putin took 8 years and even then it was a Weak Joe Biden that finally moved him into the Ukraine Conflict.
8 years of planning, contingencies, new alliances
Has the US ever fought a Conflict or War where there is a threat of either China or Russia coming for a defensive battle?
Not since the 1960s
Same Reason.
Attacking Taiwan is a 2 Week Job, 4 weeks Tops
Taiwan cannot hold against China and no amount of alliances can hold a Determined China from hoding Taiwan
The Political Repurcussions, Global Repurcussions, Financial Repurcussions – these are Chinas largest obstacles.
China has to plan for these and how to counter these
Strong Alliances are crucial here
China already has Russia and Central Asia
Turkey mostly will not condemn China in any way
However ASEAN?
ASEAN nations are headless chickens and if pushed and pressurized heavily could create problems for China
Long story short – China will attack Tiwan only if threatened beyond anything we have seen until today
What is the most shocking thing that’s ever happened on live TV?
In 1997, Gay Byrne was hosting the Late Late Show.
His two guests of the evening were a nun and Irish poet, Brendan Kennelly.
The night was going well – at the midpoint of each episode, they usually hosted a phone-in competition. You know the format; they ask an unbelievably easy question, get people to send in the answer, and they pick one person to call and tell them congratulations! you’ve won a prize!
This evening was no different.
The prize of the evening was a new car and Byrne dials the lucky winner.
Ring ring.
Ring ring.
The phone is answered by a quiet sounding woman. She sounded meek, even when told she had won.
“Are you happy, Rita?”
“Yes,” Rita replies quietly.
“Are you watching the show tonight?”
“I wasn’t”, Rita replies …
… “my daughter died last night”.
News
Instantly there were gasps and Byrne’s face drops and his tone changes.
“Oh no. Oh dear Rita, I’m very sorry.”
You have to remember that this was live TV. Thousands of people, including a studio audience full of people, were sat in front of him. Byrne probably also had his studio team giving him instructions in his ear. So, he flubbed, and very inelegantly asked:
“And why did she die?”
“Are you being funny?” she shot back.
“She got knocked down. She was in a car crash last night.”
It turned out that it was Rita’s daughter who had entered the competition – she was so hoping to win a car and it was a car that ended her life only a day before.
Byrne, being the fantastic host that he was, realised that he should really give Rita, the poor woman, an out if she wanted it.
“Good heavens. Well Rita, I don’t think we can continue with this in the circumstances. Do you want to?”
“I do.”
This led to applause from the audience and Rita continued.
The first guest, the nun, offered her some consolation, saying that it surely was no accident that the postcard was picked tonight.
Next, it was passed to the poet, Kennelly, who recited one of his most famous poems, “Begin,” from memory:
“Though we live in a world that dreams of ending
that always seems about to give in
something that will not acknowledge conclusion
insists that we forever begin.”
Towards the end, Rita was quietly weeping.
Byrne then tells her that she has the support and prayers of the entire country, and Rita, in turn, told Byrne that she felt it was important to stay on the line for her daughter, that she was accepting the prize “for her”.
I’m describing this clip because I can’t find the full version of it anywhere.
Graham Norton, the extremely popular Irish chat show host of his own show on the BBC, actually once said that this moment inspired him to move into chat shows.
Gay Byrne died recently at the age of 85, after a short illness battling cancer.
He will forever be missed and remembered fondly by Irish people of a certain age.
Edit: It turns out that the video in that article has since been removed, which must have only happened in the last few days — unfortunately.
Also, many people have pointed out how I feel like this was more shocking than events like Budd Dwyer’s suicide.
I knew these would be discussed in-depth, so I figured I’d go with an event I knew most people wouldn’t have heard of.
On February 14, there was an incident between a Taiwan coast guard ship and Chinese fishing boats in the waters off Kinmen, a very short distance from Xiamen. In this incident, the Chinese fishing boat was hit by the Taiwan coast guard ship and capsized. Two of the Chinese fishermen drowned.
Since then, there have been 15 rounds of discussions between the Chinese authorities and the Taiwan authorities. The Chinese side has demanded compensation and an apology to the fishermen from the Taiwan side; Taiwan has refused. The DPP, which controls the Taiwan government, has refused any responsibility for the action, and claims that there is no video recording of the incident It has appealed to the US to become involved in the discussions, which the US so far has ignored.
The incident has received widespread coverage in China, and this has led to a hardening of Chinese popular opinion, and the government’s stance to Taiwan. Chinese public opinion feels that the Chinese authorities have been too accommodating to Taiwan for too long, and instead of treating Taiwan as “fellow Chinese”, they should be treated as an enemy. For a long time, PRC Chinese considered the DPP and KMT to be hostile to the PRC, but that ordinary Taiwanese were decent Chinese who wanted to be re-united with China. Now that view is dismissed as a fantasy which should be rejected.
The Chinese government closely follows public opinion from online media, and has shifted its public stance during the Two Congresses meeting in Beijing. When discussing Taiwan, there is no more talk of an appeal to our “Taiwan compatriots”. Instead the talk is of reunification, without specifying whether it should be done peacefully or by military means.
As the PRC increases its military patrols in the Taiwan straits and around Taiwan, it is likely that the PLA forces will ignore Taiwan’s demarcation lines for the sea and air. The DPP government is likely to look to the US for support in enforcing these demarcation lines, and the US will need to decide how far it wants to go in supporting the Taiwan authorities.
On the military front, the US is thinly spread with the Ukraine war, which may escalate into a more direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, and the Israel/Hamas war, which may evolved into a multi-front war for Israel, involving the Houthis in the Red Sea and Yemen, the continuing war in Gaza, and a possible northern front including Lebanon and Syria involving Hizbollah. The longer the war lasts, the greater the damage for Israel’s economy, which has already lost 20% of its GDP since October 7.
This presents a major dilemma for the US: it already has two major wars on its hands, and it needs time to build up its military for a possible major confrontation with China. But the US won’t be able to fully prepare itself for military confrontation through re-armament until 2027. If the US confronts China militarily before then, it is likely to lose.
Economically, China is on the move by selling products which are just as good as American products, if not better, at much lower prices. Notable areas are solar panels and EVs, where western manufacturers and exporters cannot compete.
As if that were not enough, we face a re-run of the Biden-Trump battle for the presidency in November. If Trump is elected, he is likely to disengage on the foreign policy front, and will tell Putin that he can have Ukraine, and maybe Europe. NATO will only exist on paper.
He has talked about raising tariffs on Chinese imports to the US to 60%.
Interesting times indeed.
Chicken farmers in Australia be like…
If money is not an issue, would you rather live in Miami, the SF Bay Area, Los Angeles, or New York?
New York is an absolute no no
Too many blacks at night everywhere and 90% of them wearing hoodies and giving the “mugger vibe”
And not the Good African blacks or the blacks you see in UK
The Stereotype 1990s blacks depicted in family guy
You may think you landed in Lagos
Except Manhattan and i dont like Apartment living too much.
Miami?
I have never been to Miami. In Florida, I have been only to Orlando.
SF Bay Area
Sorry
Too many Homosexuals
I went there twice and both times, you had many men holding hands and resting heads on shoulders and giving you the shudders
Beautiful place though
Like South Mumbai to a certain extent
Los Angeles?
Again I have been to LA only to go to Universal Studios and Rodeo Drive and when I land in US
No idea how life in LA can be
In the US, I would prefer living in New Rochelle in Westchester County Or some of those nice Suburban communities, ones where Indians are not discriminated against
Or even San Jose
My Son lived in a place called Los Gatos and he was told all the white guys were uppity people who would be racist to Indians. That never happened. Good people, Friendly people
My idea of a money no limit place would be :-
One Acre minimum property
Excellent Medical Facilities nearby where the Labs process results in a day and not four days
Where a Specialist makes an appointment to see you, the next day and not next Thursday
At least two Indian eateries in a 1 Km radius. Not the Naan, Roti one but the South Indian one which is rarer in the US
Low rate of crime
Accessibility to a City for emergency
The Answer was Westchester County
I advised my sons to consider this place as a final retirement place in the days when US was a better country than it is today
My wife is already not too pleased about one son settling in China and has warned me “You kept praising China, and now our younger son is in China. Now you are praising Russia. If the elder one settles down in Russia, you can live with him and I am out of here”
Meanwhile in Texas
Do you know anyone who had a good heart who went to prison?
I’ve known men who had good hearts and went to prison.
Where they lost them.
I’ve met men who went to prison and grew larger hearts, just like the Grinch.
I’ve met men who never had good hearts and never will.
And, I’ve met men who managed to hold on to their good hearts in spite of it all.
Shortly after arriving at the facility where I did the bulk of my time, I met a man who was almost the same age as my father. This was a spry fellow, slender, medium height, and bearded.
He had been in Vietnam.
He was just a kid when he went to war. While away he kept an unusually candid journal. Later in life he transcribed the journal faithfully into a book and self-published a small number of copies. It must’ve been tempting to edit out the parts that made him look like the stupid teenager he was, but he didn’t. The journal and the book tell the same story without so much as a spelling correction.
He allowed me to read his journal.
It was filled with the concerns of an eighteen year old boy, “Does she love me? What did she mean when she said that? What should I tell her about John?” All these normal, adolescent, girl-centric concerns projected against a backdrop of horror.
On his first day of patrol in Vietnam, his outfit marched into a village and demanded to know where the Viet Cong were. One bad apple threatened a woman by holding her infant over a well and screaming for answers about the VC.
The sergeant saw this and said, “C’mon Smith. Let it go.” Smith (or whatever his name was) dropped the baby into the well. The sergeant calmly walked over, pulled out a hand grenade, removed the pin, and dropped the grenade into the well after the baby.
After the explosion he said, “Don’t have to worry about that fucker.”
This was day one of patrol. Imagine the shock. Imagine being ripped out of your Mid-West suburban utopia and being cast into this asylum for the chronically cruel.
The entire course of this young man’s life was forever altered. His experiences at war led to a drinking problem. The drinking led to DUIs. Three DUIs became a felony conviction. His father’s guns still in his home became “felon in possession of a firearm.”
This was a good man. His heart was in pain for his entire adulthood as a result of the things he saw.
Instead of offering him help, we locked him up.
Oh baby…
Senior Russian Military Colonel: Possibility of full-scale war in Europe “not ruled out – growing significantly”
A senior Russian military officer warns that the conflict in #Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in #Europe and says the probability of Moscow’s forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing “significantly.” Colonel-General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for “Military Thought”, a defense ministry publication, the state RIA news agency reported on Thursday. “The possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine – from the expansion of participants in ‘proxy forces’ used for military confrontation with Russia to a large-scale war in Europe – cannot be ruled out,” RIA cited him a saying. “The main source of military threats to our state is the anti-Russian policy of the United States and its allies, who are conducting a new type of hybrid warfare in order to weaken Russia in every possible way, limit its sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity,” he was quoted as saying. “The likelihood of our state being purposefully drawn into new military conflicts is significantly increasing.” The war in Ukraine has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and President Vladimir Putin has warned that the West risks provoking a nuclear war if it sends troops to fight in Ukraine. Putin has cast his decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 as a special military operation designed to secure Russia’s own security against an increasingly hostile US-backed Ukrainian leadership. Kyiv says it is defending itself against an imperial-style war of conquest designed to erase its national identity. Zarudnitsky’s comments come at a time when the West is scrambling to help Ukraine with more arms and financing after Kyiv’s failed counteroffensive last summer and after Russian forces regained the initiative on the battlefield. Zarudnitsky advocated a number of changes in the way Russia organizes its military and security, RIA added, including placing greater emphasis on relying on what he called friendly countries to ensure Russia’s own security and consolidating the whole of Russian society around its defense needs.
Fathers be like
Apricot Chicken
apricot chicken 2
Ingredients
Chicken
4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (13 ounce) jar apricot preserves
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
3/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups Russian dressing or use store-bought
Russian Dressing
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chili sauce (or ketchup)
3 teaspoons prepared horseradish (or to taste)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Instructions
If using homemade Russian Dressing, prepare it first. If using store bought Russian dressing, proceed with the recipe.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Chicken
Wash and place chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
In a medium size bowl, mix together preserves, dry onion soup mix, water and Russian dressing. Pour over the chicken breasts. Bake for 1 hour.
Russian Dressing
Place onion in a small bowl and mash to create a paste. Stir in the mayonnaise, chili sauce, horseradish, hot sauce, Worcestershire, paprika and salt.
Stability
What habits did you pick up in prison that non prisoners don’t understand?
Don’t make eye contact. If you happen to, do not smile. The general friendliness we see as acceptable and desirable in the real world (except France) can get you into trouble in prison.
Look in every trashcan. I still can’t break this habit. Prison is a constant state of want. You learn to make do or do without. There’s stuff in there that you need.
Trust no one. Eventually you will come to know one or two well enough to exempt them from this rule… but even with these select few, you still shouldn’t lean on them. Practice solidarity with yourself.
Don’t ask questions. You’ve no right to know, and asking can cause problems with inmates and guards alike.
Lock up everything. It only takes a moment for someone to walk off with whatever you hold dear. If it’s further than arm’s reach, it’s at risk.
Beware the quiet. If you’ve been reading and suddenly realize that the normal background idiocy has mysteriously squelched, pay attention. There’s a reason, and it’s probably not good.
Don’t stand out. Don’t ask for special privileges, don’t complain, and don’t go around trying to make friends. Squeaky wheels get greased with blood.
Stockpile books. You never know when you’ll be in lockdown for a fortnight. You’ll be grateful if you’ve got something to do besides another game of cards.
A warning from veteran who went to Ukraine
Is Britain’s idea of using frozen Russian assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine any less illegal than simply stealing them, and how would this affect London’s reputation as a financial centre?
It’s literally stealing.
You can make all the olympic level mental gymnastics you want, oh it’s only stealing from bad people. But all in all it’s still stealing, it’s taking stuff that isn’t yours.
Oh sure you can of course decide that it is yours or make contrivances and change the law so that it becomes ‘legal’. But in the end it’s intentionally depriving somebody of their property on a permanent basis thus means theft.
affect London’s reputation as a financial centre?
It will affect confidence, in that if you can steal theirs or change the rules so that they can take it legally, what stops you from doing it to others?
If anything the UK is doing this over and over.
They’ve literally refused to give Venezuela’s gold back to them.
But it goes back to this:
affect London’s reputation as a financial centre?
London’s reputation as a financial centre is evaporating. EU passporting is ending in 2024 😀
So they’re literally resorting to looting.
That’s not particularly surprising as most of them why pay for something if you can steal it?
Ukraine War: Irish fighter ‘Rambo’ describes ‘terrifying’ Russian tank chase
What can I learn in one minute that will be useful for the rest of my life?
Adjust a picture frame at your desk so you can see behind you with the reflection of the glass.
In a pinch, the seatbelt in your car can be used as a bottle opener.
Balance an empty can on the doorknob to alert you if someone tries to open the door while you’re elsewhere in the house.
Anything you say before the word “but” does not count.
Suspect someone’s giving you the wrong phone number? Read it back to them incorrectly, if they correct you, it’s legit.
Windows key + E to open My Computer.
To confirm which circuit breaker is associated with an outlet, plug in a hairdryer and turn the volume up before you flip the circuit breaker.
When you want to cross words out you don’t want to be legible, instead of scribbling over them, write random letters and words over the original.
Using ‘~ ‘ before a word in Google searches includes synonyms of that word in your search.
When filling your car with gas, hold the trigger halfway. You’ll get more gas and less air in the tank.
Have an Excel file too big to e-mail? Save it as an xlsb it shrinks the size by 50-75%.
When you’re on an elevator, the floor with the star next to it is the one that leads outside.
Save the job description when you start a new job. It makes updating your resume a lot easier.
When showing people pictures on your phone, zoom in a little bit so they can’t easily swipe to other pictures.
Can’t decide if you’re hungry? Ask yourself if you want an apple. If you answer no, then you’re not actually hungry.
This is what a “real” man does…
How can we remind Russians we have no problems with them? We have a problem with their despot.
You don’t. You have problems with Russians now.
There are many dimensions of current conflict between Russia and collective West or whatever you call Russian opponents. Anyway the U.S. are the main enemy and there would be no conflict without their involvement. A lot has been said and written on the matter so I won’t delve into it further.
Now comes the definition part. Who are “you”? Ok, I assume you are talking about people of collective West. Not governments, not military industry lobbies, not bankers, not oil traders, not oligarchs. Just people.
Why do you have problems with Russians? Because your countries are our enemies. And no sweet words will change that simple fact.
Could this be different? Yes. Your countries made a plethora of pointless, stupid and self-contradicting decisions.
Yet, the most stupid of those decision was the decision to attempt economic isolation of Russia.
This:
1) Made Russian people your enemies
2) Forced modernization of Russian industry and economy at unprecedented rate
3) Boosted Russian military-industrial complex
4) Resulted in further consolidation of Russians around Putin
5) Destroyed all “soft influence” that you had in Russia through your corporations and business ties
The list is long.
Now a small personal story.
By February 2022 I was mainly working for a couple U.S. corporations (Intel and HP if you are interested) as lead localizer / reviewer of Russian content (freelance).
I was generally sympathizing Americans and Europeans and had no communication problems. I was quite against any confrontation. However, actions of European and American governments made me lose these jobs and, naturally, my attitude to them has seriously changed.
You made a Western-minded person in Russia angry about “the West”. There were millions of Russians like me who had ties with the Western world or who earned their income working for Western companies. Actions of U.S. and European governments made you lose our sympathies and lose any leverage the West had in Russian society.
Not that we would work against Russia or became “the fifth column”, but had this “economic blockade” remained a threat, we would surely push for decisions that would help us save our jobs and sources of income.
Now it is just too late. Pro-Western people in Russia were forced to adapt and vast majority of them are no longer pro-Western. Sure, some just fled Russia but even then, this didn’t have any noticeable impact on Russian economy and Russian society.
To sum it up, you had your influence in Russia but lost it. You earned money in Russia but lost it. Even your cultural influence is fading. Simply because Russians are no longer looking on your content through rosy glasses. And well, TBH your media entertainment content in last few years mostly sucks.
Maybe your own audience is brainwashed enough to push any “agendas” but I don’t remember any new Hollywood blockbusters in last few years that would be really appealing to Russian or any other third-world audience. I haven’t even feel the desire to watch anything like that.
Moreover, your “brands” are rapidly losing value in eyes of Russians and more and more Russians look at them with disdain.
Moreover, Russia is setting the example for “Global South” demonstrating that a large part of your “superiority” was just imaginary. The further our hostilities go, the greater is this understanding. Especially when it comes to “cultural superiority”.
Still… if you are talking about people… many Russian still don’t think categories. Most of us still don’t assume that every American or European is an enemy. Yet, we assume that most of you are simply brainwashed about Russia, Russian people and Russian so-called “despot”.
A side note for more context. I do support the ruling party of Russia but I don’t support President Putin. I am a big fan of Russian Prime Minister and other efficient administrators from United Russia team.
So enjoy your “politically correct” remakes, dull comics that are indistinguishable from each other and reanimation of long-dead franchises that can’t be saved even with once great actors.
Las Vegas babysitter who beat 5-year-old boy to death sentenced to life in prison
Horrific.
Terrible.
What is the most disgusting thing that someone has done in a restaurant?
I have a three-way-tie. We had a family come in with a baby, toddler, and a small child, maybe 6 or 7. I noticed the baby didn’t look well to begin with. You could just look at this kid and tell she was miserable and running fever. I asked if she was alright and the mom assured me she was just tired.
The toddler decided to suck the sauce off her noodles and stick them to the wall. Mom and dad said nothing. A little while later the older child put her hands in the baby’s diaper and announced to everyone “Ewww! Chrissy’s got runny poo!” She wiped her hand on the white tablecloth. Mom pushes plates aside and changes this horrendously smelly, runny diaper right on the table. She couldn’t understand why I was making a big deal out of it when I asked her to take the baby to the bathroom.
Next we have the lady who ordered a huge meal and requested a large, empty to go cup. It wasn’t until after she left that I realized what she was doing. She was chewing her food and spitting it in the cup instead of swallowing it. I’m pretty sure she had an eating disorder. It’s none of my business if she did or didn’t, I’m not judging, but it would have been nice if she had thrown her cup of chewed food out herself instead of leaving it for me to deal with.
Finally, we have the man who decided that instead of using his big boy words to show his displeasure at being denied a take out box for an all-you-can-eat meal (There were signs and the menu stated no to go boxes on it) that he would urinate in my lobby. He did this right in front of a cop that was dining with us. The guy was not too bright. Yes, the cop took action.
Let’s see something nicer.
The internet found her and destroyed her
She was deserving.
When have you cheaply or inexpensively fixed an item someone thought unrepairable?
Not exactly unrepairable but definitely expensive.
I recently treated myself to a used luxury automobile because I’m getting old and wanted to splurge. I had it less than 2 weeks when the power driver’s seat wouldn’t move forward or backwards. Unfortunately it was frozen slightly too far back so I really had to stretch to reach the pedals … not a very safe way to drive.
The dealer looked sad when I brought it in. He said this was a common problem with my model, but the “repair” involved replacing the whole motor assembly under the seat, it would cost upwards of $3k, and extended warranties almost never covered it.
I went home and contacted my insurer who said they didn’t know if it was covered, I should have the $200 diagnostic done and then the dealer would present a claim for the repair on my behalf and they would “work it out”.
The night before my follow-up appointment, my husband (not a mechanic) looked under the seat with a flashlight. The gear to move the seat had come out of its track. He hit it a few times just so and the gear popped back into place. Now the seat works perfectly again.
Today I have a real treat for you all. It is the movie “Fail Safe” which is a 1962 depiction of the build up to world war 3. And it stars Henry Fonda, so you know it’s a great movie.
Please take the time to watch it. It was 60 years ahead of its time.
Meanwhile, my post on Quora…
Why is the USA so eager for a war with China
Any one who wants war has a mental disorder.
Obviously they have never experienced war, and has no idea or concept of what it entails. Pain is real. The loss of everyone you ever knew is real. The lost of your money, your homes, your jobs, and your friends is real. The loss of your culture and your society is real.
The loss of your innocence is permanent.
…
So why do so many American “leaders” want to engage a war with China?
I’ll repeat myself.
Anyone who wants a war has a mental disorder. They are not right in the head. They need to be seen by a doctor and treated for this disorder. If need be, well then, locked in a padded room. But they should not be permitted anywhere near the levers of power.
…
Ah. It was deleted.
I guess that stating the obvious is against the “rules” in the United States.
a young boy, puts $100 in the bank every single day. One day the boss at the bank noticed and asked, hey buddy, why do you keep dropping $100 in here everyday? The kid says, Can we talk in your office? The boss says, yes, and they go to his office. Then the kids spills the beans. Well, I make a bet everyday with someone new that I can kiss my right eye. The boss laughs and says, no way you can do that. The kid smirks. Wanna bet? The manager agrees, and quick as a wink, the kid takes out his fake eye and kisses it. The boss feels kind of silly and gives him $100. But he wants it back. So The kid says, okay, but with a twist. I’m pretty sure that you are wearing red girly panties. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you back your $100 plus another 100. Thinking he’s too smart, the boss agrees. The kid adds, but before you drop your pants, we need 10 witnesses to make it official. The boss gathers his team and after taking his pants off, he feels very proud to have won $100. Then he notices the kid is all smiles about losing money. Confused, he asks, why are you happy about losing your cash? The kid grins. Well, I had a bet with your team about how fast I could get you to drop your pants.”
Braised Pork with Green Chile Sauce
Mild green chiles season this meaty pork stew. Serve it with rice or as a burrito filling. This can also be served with tamales. This chile verde is also good served with scrambled eggs.
chili
Ingredients
Pork
1 (3 pound) lean boneless pork butt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
Garnish
Tomatoes, cut into wedges
Cooked rice
Sour cream
Lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
Trim and discard fat and cut pork into 1 inch cubes.
In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat; add meat a few cubes at a time and cook until very brown.
Push meat to side of pan and add onion, garlic and bell peppers; sauté until limp.
Stir in chiles, oregano, cumin, salt, cilantro, vinegar and water.
Cover and simmer until meat is fork tender (about 1 hour).
Skim off fat and discard.
Serve with rice or make burritos or serve in your favorite way.
For Burritos: spoon pork into warm, soft flour tortillas, add sour cream, tomato wedges, and a squeeze of lime juice and fold to enclose. Rice may also be enclosed with the filling in the burritos, if desired.
What can you do to upset your neighbors the most in a well-to-do neighborhood?
Set up a drug dealing operation.
Because I was raised poor, a lot of things DID NOT bother me once I moved into a nice neighborhood. Things that might drive other neighbors (who have always been wealthy) absolutely crazy wouldn’t faze me at all. Loud music? So what. Kids shooting off fireworks? Hey, it’s better than gunfire. Lawns that grew a little too tall? Big deal. But set up a crime syndicate in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the U.S., and you’re going to make some very influential people extremely irate!
I lived in poverty when I was younger. The shack we lived in measured 500 square feet. My bed was in the kitchen. Stabbings and shootings in the neighborhood were routine. Before I was born, my parents found a guy dead on the front porch. He had been stabbed overnight and I guess he stumbled toward the house for help, only to collapse there. Drug deals became common.
My father worked very hard to eventually escape poverty, and I applied the same work ethic to my life. I had no desire to remain in a neighborhood where I had to fear for my life every single day. Anyone who has lived in such a place can tell you that it’s a miserable way to live!
I became successful. I got married. My wife was also successful. It took me 42 years, but we finally bought one of the more modest homes in one of the wealthiest towns in America. Celebrities became my neighbors. I didn’t hear gunfire. There was no crime. Kids left their toys on the lawn overnight and nobody stole them. People left their car doors unlocked at night. This is why I had worked so hard, for this level of safety and peace of mind. I had finally arrived!
About a year after moving in, our very quiet neighbor (an older lady who lived alone) moved out. A lady who had just divorced her multimillionaire husband moved in. She had triplets who were 17 at the time, two boys and one girl. She apparently had no control over them. Among many infractions, the girl once drove through our lawn, tearing up the grass and the driveway. Who drives through your neighbor’s lawn? One of the sons was driving drunk when he plowed through a neighbor’s fancy brick driveway entrance. But worst of all was the other son, who apparently had a large drug dealing operation.
Sketchy-looking cars would pull up at all hours of the day. The kid would come out of his house, sit in the back seat, make some sort of exchange, and then go back inside. Cars and houses throughout the neighborhood began to be broken into, probably linked to the people showing up to buy drugs.
This is what I had escaped. When you’ve worked so hard to live in a place with no crime, and you’re suddenly faced with drug dealing, people breaking into cars and houses, vandalism, and all that stuff you escaped, you become pretty ticked off. We didn’t pay all this money for a house only to have flashbacks of where I grew up. Other neighbors who were unfamiliar with such behavior were even more furious!
One particular neighbor, who happened to be a big time television producer, finally made the call. Police swarmed the house, found A LOT of drugs, and the kid who had now turned 18 got a pretty hefty prison sentence. The family moved out a month later.
My dad bought himself a 1973 Mercury Montego two door. Every option you could imagine, back when you could actually order a car built for you.
image 230
Really sharp car, dark blue metallic with a blue vinyl top. Had a dark blue leather interior with front bucket seats. Was his pride and joy. Biggest motor available, 460 4bbl. That car was a real sleeper. Fast as hell. Got about 8–9mpg. Every time you went around a right turn there was a metallic thump from the back somewhere. Turn left, nothing. Dad was an OCD prick. Drove him nuts. Was to the dealership for service multiple times. They replaced all kinds of stuff, even the rear axle. Finally he had me lay in the back seat and listen as he drove around. I isolated the sound as coming from the area of the drivers side rear quarter panel. Dad and I took out the rear seat and removed the interior panel. We found heavy nut and bolt hanging from a string. Taped to the sheet metal was a note, “How long did it take you to find this?”
Coconut Corn Bread (Dominican Republic)
2024 02 18 10 12
Ingredients
1/2 cup diced mixed candied fruit
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup coconut cream
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup shredded fresh coconut
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix candied fruit and rum in small bowl; reserve.
Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl; add eggs, one at a time, beating until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients except candied fruit mixture and coconut; beat until smooth, about 30 strokes by hand. Fold in candied fruit mixture and coconut. Pour into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Bake until top is golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
Cool for 20 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing.
In the 17th century, a priest in Venezuela was particularly fond of meat. Yet during the Catholic holiday of Lent, eating meat is not permissible — only fish may be consumed. So he wrote a letter to the Vatican.
image 15
He had found an animal, he said, which “lived in the water, had webbed feet” and “it even kind of tastes like fish when you cook it”. Would it be allowed to consume this creature during Lent? The Vatican replied, also by letter — it was allowed to eat the creature, provided they classify it a fish. So they did. And Venezuelans have been eating this animal ever since.
What species do I speak of? The capybara. World’s largest rodent, a largely aquatic species that loves to dwell in water. A meatlover’s delight — from giant hamster, to conveniently reclassified “fish”. One hell of a good loophole, if you ask me.
I worked for a food establishment that keeps all of its food on a “line”. One day I was sicker than I’ve ever been and needed to call out. I figured this wouldn’t be a problem since I never called out, but I was wrong.
So they force me to come in under threat of termination.
So i come in. I’m making food on that line, and I have a very specific urge everyone knows well. But, oh my oh me! I can’t leave the line! I have a lot of food to make! So I threw up. On the food in the line.
The company had to close for a short time to have the line professionally cleaned and sanitized.
When they finally reopen, I get called into the office. They ask me what happened. I tell them quite plainly that I tried to call out sick and was forced to report to work. Their genius response was ”you were scheduled to work so you had to come in.“
So I simply asked them how much it had cost to have the line cleaned. They give me a rough figure. I tell them they forgot about the money they lost out on by being forced to be closed during that time. Lastly, I tell them, straight to their face, that if I call out, it’s for a reason. If they force me to come in while I’m sick and throwing up, I will purposely throw up on the line again and they can pay that price again. And if they try to saddle me with the bill of cleaning the line, reduce my hours, or fire me for any reason, I would be more than happy to report them to the number that’s literally above their head about us not being allowed to come in sick. The next week my hours were reduced. I pulled out my phone, looked at the sign I referenced the week prior, and started typing in numbers in front of the manager. My hours were immediately reinstated.
After that, anytime I called out sick, I was told to feel better and call when I wasn’t sick anymore.
I feel like I’m a good fit to answer this question because I used to own a Chevy Volt, which is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). In the summer, the Volt would drive 50–60 miles using only the battery, before switching to the 4-cylinder engine and acting like a normal hybrid, alternating between gas and battery.
Most days I did not drive anywhere near 50 miles. So I would come home, plug in to 120V, and the car was fully charged in the morning.
Why not a PHEV, then?
Well, it’s got an engine I rarely used, and some complicated electronics and wizardry to switch back and forth between the battery and the engine. It was something else that could go wrong on top of a straight EV propulsion system.
Some people like PHEVs because once they exceed range of the small battery pack, the car switches to gas and then you can just drive it like a gas car. Fillups are quick, and you’re back on the road. When you get to your destination, you can charge if you like, and your next 50 or so miles are all electric.
I loved the Volt. But I always felt it would grow up to be a Tesla, and last year, it did.
I much prefer having an EV. It’ll handle that 50–60 miles of daily driving you ask about with aplomb. Since the range of my EV is 318 miles, I could do that much driving for 4 days easily, without recharging if I didn’t want to.
Or I could charge at 120V/15A, as I typically do, and in the 12 hours or so that I’m sleeping and doing other things at home, I can add 36 or miles of range. Yes, eventually I’ll have a deficit, if I really do drive 50–60 miles per day, but I don’t. And for those that do, you can easily install a 240V outlet and charge quicker if you need it. So it’s a non-issue.
My in-laws are Chinese. I am a white American with mixed West-European ancestry. When I sit down to a meal with them, I have learned to practice strategic food placement on my plate so that it is never actually empty.
In the US, we have drummed into our heads as small children that it is incredibly rude to leave uneaten food on your plate, especially if you are a guest at someone else’s table. It is an insult to the chef. “There are starving children in Africa!” was the exhortation when I was a child. “Eat your vegetables and be grateful you have them!”
In Chinese culture, it is the obligation of the elder generation to make sure that the younger generation(s) are fed. If your plate is clean, that means you must still be hungry, but are too polite to ask for more. So they give you more, whether or not you actually have the capacity to eat it, whenever they observe sufficient empty space on your plate. Furthermore, it is extremely impolite to refuse to eat food given to you by a parent, auntie/uncle, or grandparent.
Therefore, I have learned to eat an amount sufficient for myself at meals while leaving enough on my plate to spread out and take up all of the large bits of contiguous space that might accommodate an additional serving.
I still feel guilty about the starving children who might like to have my leftovers, though.
My first boss told me that when she realized that several of us-all teenagers-were trying to coordinate our schedules so we all got off on the same day, so we could hang out outside of work. I didn’t understand it then. I thought she was just being a bitch.
But, ten years later, when I was in management, it made more sense. Coworkers are one group. Friends are another. Mixing those groups can cause problems, especially when one friend is put in charge of another.
It’s fine to be friendly with your coworkers. You should be friendly with them. But being friendly, and being their friend, are two different things.
I’m anti-social anyway, so it was easy for me to avoid making friends with the people I’ve worked with over the years. I’ll chat with them at work. I’ll ask them about their families, and they’ll do the same for me. But when work is over, I don’t hang out with them.
I suppose a lot depends on the type of job, though. Not every job is about making money. What I do now, for example: teaching. It’s not-for-profit. But I also don’t see my coworkers very often. Just in the halls during passing periods and during our weekly staff meeting. Other than that, I’m usually the only adult in the room. If adult interaction is your thing, teaching probably isn’t the best career choice.
This image was uploaded on an Internet forum with the caption:
“This is the lettuce you eat in your burger when you go to Burger King, enjoy it“
image 233
The netizens were shocked and horrified. They were angry to learn someone working in the kitchen has been messing up with their food.
Soon people got down to tracking the person; ‘where done and who doing this’! The image was posted anonymously, on the 4Chan forum. 4Chan users got down to work to discover the person behind it.
In the picture you can only see the shoes and pants of the uniform of the hamburger chain and that does not reveal anything since they are all dressed the same.
The image was tracked to its location. They found out where came from.
image 231
It came from an area where there was only one Burger King for many miles around.
image 232
Thereafter the netizens wrote and posted many mails to the Chain manager of Burger King, Mayfield Rd.
Then the Manager got into action and in a short time, the manager was able to find who had done it Two people who were on that shift were fired on the spot, they lost their jobs, and faced a fine of thousands of dollars.
So now you know, never make people angry on the internet, you could end up paying dearly.
I remember a guy who worked at a company with me. He was a professional who loved his job. He was 83, when the company forcibly retired him.
He made good money, and took fabulous vacations, had his house paid off 30 years before. He died 3 weeks after they forced him out. He lost the will to live, when he stopped doing what he loved.
I knew this lady that I worked with, who hated her job, she was depressed about having to go into work every morning. The happiest day of her life was when she retired early, with an early retirement package.
I think the benefits of working longer or retiring early very much depend on how you feel about your job.
It also depends on your health. If you think you will die early, then there is really not much point in working late. Unless you really love your job.
If you think you will die late, then working later, getting a bigger pension, and more savings, and using your wages for vacations and toys, now that your house is paid for, is the way to go.
I think it also depends on the country you live in. I live in Canada, I loved my job, I got 30 vacation days, 12 flex days, plus 3 golf days a year. I don’t know how many sick days and compassionate leave days I was entitled to because I never used them all up. So I got the equivalent of 9 weeks vacation. With weekends and statutory holidays I got 162 days off a year. Which is almost exactly half a year, so work wasn’t the same to me as an American who worked weekends, and only got 2 weeks vacation.
I could take fabulous exotic vacations, or just relax at the cabin while working.
Jamaican Rum Punch
2024 02 18 21 33
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients
4 cups water
1 cup lime or lemon juice
6 cloves or allspice berries
3 cups strawberry-flavored syrup
2 cups Jamaican white rum
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together in a punch bowl, and let the mixture settle for 1 hour before removing the cloves or allspice.
Stir and serve over ice cubes in old fashioned glasses.
Water and rum may be added to weaken or strengthen as needed.
One reason I wanted to shake hands with Oskar Groening is because our first meeting did not go so well. On the first day of the trial, I introduced myself and reached out to shake his hand. The strangest thing happened. He was trying to say something as he was sitting sideways in his chair. He turned white and fell backwards, not saying a word. He was holding onto my arm so he did not hit the floor. At that moment he was not a Nazi but an old man who fainted and I was trying to save him from falling. I screamed, “He is falling and I can’t hold onto him – he is a big old guy!” This was not the interaction I was hoping for. I knocked out an old Nazi.
The second reason is because I am interested in what will happen when someone from the victims’ side meets with someone from the perpetrators’ side. You cannot predict it. So today after the trial session concluded, I went up to Oskar Groening. He wanted to stand up but I said, “Please don’t, we do not want a repetition of last time.” I just shook his hand and said, “I appreciate the fact that you are willing to come here and face us. But I would like you to appeal to the old Nazis who are still alive to come forward and address the problem of neo-Nazis in Germany today. Because these young misguided Germans who want Hitler and fascism to come back — they will not listen to Eva Kor or any other survivor. You can tell them you were in Auschwitz, you were involved with the Nazi party, and it was a terrible thing.”
As I was talking to him, he grabbed me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Well I probably wouldn’t have gone that far, but I guess it is better than what he would have done to me 70 years ago.
Everything he is accused of — I am saying he did all that. I have forgiven the Nazis and everyone who has hurt me, but I told him that my forgiveness did not prevent me from accusing him nor from him taking responsibility for his actions. And I told the media that he was a small screw in a big killing machine, and the machine cannot function without the small screws. But obviously he is a human being. His response to me is exactly what I was talking about when I said you cannot predict what will happen when someone from the victims’ side and someone from the perpetrators’ side meet in a spirit of humanity.
image 236
I know many people will criticize me for this photo, but so be it. It was two human beings seventy years after it happened. For the life of me I will never understand why anger is preferable to a goodwill gesture. Nothing good ever comes from anger. Any goodwill gesture in my book will win over anger any time. The energy that anger creates is a violent energy.
I am asking a question: What do we want in the future? Do we want to keep pointing fingers and the accused stay in one corner and the accuser stay in the other corner and they never connect? How will that work out? Look at the world – it doesn’t work out. All we have is people who are feeling angry, people who are running around doing crazy things.
When tragic things happen, we have to sit down and discuss, what are the options for the victims and for the perpetrators? Most people are only here in court to accuse him of things he has already admitted. So now what? I don’t think we should raise a statue in his honor, but he can serve as a good example to young people that what he participated in was terrible, that it was wrong, and that he is sorry that he was part of it. Now there is a message that has some usefulness for society.
If I had it my way, the dialogue between the survivors and perpetrators would have started a long time ago. And it would have helped the survivors cope and maybe heal themselves, but even more so not to pass the pain on to their children.
My ideas in life are very different, I know. I am in the minority — maybe a minority of one. I know how society looks at it, but as I look at society, I do not think it is working very well. So what I am saying is, maybe we ought to try something else. And my idea is for people from the victims’ side and people from the perpetrators’ side to come together, face the truth, try to heal, and work together to prevent it from ever happening again.
Back some 30 years ago, fresh out of college, I worked at a real estate company owned by a Greek immigrant.
The company did everything involving real estate, loans, brokerage, management, home flipping…. It was a good place to get all around experience.
About 3 months into the job, the owner approached me and asked if I was ready to purchase my first house. Told him I was not ready, I was living with my parents and saving money. Then he told me a real gem.
He said to not purchase a condo or house for my first home. Huh? I said. He told me to purchase a four unit apartment. I told him I did not have that kind of money. Then he gave me the whole spill.
A single family home cost $150,000 and I would need $10,000 deposit plus pay $1000 per month for loan payment plus upkeep.
A four unit apartment cost $250,000 and I would need $15,000 deposit plus pay $2,000 per month for loan payment plus upkeep.
Here is the real kicker. If I bought the house, I would not have anything left over after I paid for all my expense.
If I bought the apartment, I can rent 3 other units at $700 each and the rents will actually pay all my cost.
WOW!
Here is the second kicker!
He said I can save that $1,000 a month and after two years, purchase another 4 unit apartment. Then I can move to my second apartment and rent the original place for extra $700. Now I will be saving $1,700 per month! My head was spinning. I realized how he made his fortune. He had multiple apartments collecting rents.
I went home and told my parents about what the owner told me. My Dad was bit skeptical but said he will help me to get the loan if needed.
Fast forward 30 years…my wife and I are making retirement plans. Thanks to the advise from my boss early in my career, things look good.
Back when homeless people were Hobos, Drunks were Winos, and “substance abusers” were Hypes, I pounded a classic foot patrol beat on San Francisco’s Mission Street. After 3 or four years, I literally knew everyone on my beat, bad, good, or wack-a-doo.
We’d periodically get some merchants complaining about this or that, so the Captain would tell the Lieutenant, and he would lean on the street Sergeant, who in turn would tell us: “ Its the weekly sweep time boys”.
Mitch would grab the BIG paddy wagon, and the six beat cops would ride its rear bumper while picking up the usual miscreants more or less at random.
We’d do a decent job of disarming them before tossing them in the wagon, and in that the prisoners and the cops knew how to play the game, we didn’t get any big surprises.
Untill:
I forget his real name, but if I called him “stinky” , and mentioned that he NEVER took off any of the 3 pairs of pants, or five overcoats he wore, everyone knew who he was.
Stinky was face down on the pavement across the street from the food market at 22nd when we grabbed him. Mitch did a cursory high risk pat search for weapons, or bottles of cheap wine, and finding none, cuffed him up and put him in with the other 15 bums in the back of the wagon.
At the Station, we had a regular assembly line thing going where the arrestees would line up, get a photo taken, have their meager belongings tossed into a brown grocery bag, and then shamble into the drunk tank.
Stinky shuffles up, and is so out of it, he can’t empty any of his 11 coat pockets. Mitch leans him against the booking counter, and begins taking handfuls of God know what out of the pockets.
Suddenly Mitch jumps in the air, yelling all sorts of Germanic based profanity, and is yelling “ Something bit me..something M….F….g BIT ME !!!”
Stinky has a semi-blank look on his face, but says; “ Oh, that’s just my lunch”
I grabbed the offending coat, ( while wearing gloves!) , turned it up-side down, and shook it.
About 7 or 10 half-dollar sized LIVE soft shell crabs fell out, and began scuttling around the booking room.
Stinky had apparently stolen them out of the fresh sea-food bin at the fish market up the street before we nabbed him.
To say that hilarity ensued would be vastly understating the commotion that followed, but suffice to say Stinky didn’t get his lunch, and Mitch never lived it down.
The Lieutenant had Mitch prepare a Line Up Briefing presentation on the “importance of proper searches during custody” later that week. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he finished
Avdiivka, Ukraine FALLS to Russian Army – “Complete Rout”
Once considered impregnable, the KEY city for Ukraine defense, Avdiivka, the most heavily fortified city on the entire planet, has fallen to the Russian Army.
Within hours, the bloodiest battle of the 21st century (so far) will be over.
For those who have not kept up on developments in the Russian Special Military Operation (SMO), Avdiivka is the place from which the Ukrainian Army has shelled the civilians of Donetsk City for TEN YEARS!
There are going to be lots of tactical, strategic, and political implications from this that we will see over the next days and weeks.
There are reportedly very FEW Ukrainian defenses behind Avdiivka; the Ukrainians put all their eggs into one basket, counting on the deep Soviet-era nuclear bunker system, and defenses built since the end of the civil war to make it “impregnable.”
ALL of those defenses have failed and the Russian Army now controls the city.
(HT Remark:Remember how CNN and Bloomberg crowed endlessly that cutting Russia off from SWIFT was like using a Nuclear Weapon, and that there was no way Russia could survive that? Here we are, two years later, and now, there is no way for UKRAINE to survive!)
This is a developing story . . . check back for updates.
2023.02.22 China Declares War On The United States
Gonzalo was correct.
https://youtu.be/mj7mauNj8DY
Be the Rufus
image 234
“Today I went to Dunkin and saw a clearly homeless guy singing on the side of the road and picking up change. Eventually I saw him stroll into Dunkin, as he was counting his change to buy something I began to get super annoying and talk to him over and over again even when he didn’t really want to talk. Since he had maybe $1 in change I bought him a coffee and bagel and asked him to sit down with me. He told me a lot about how people are usually very mean to him because he’s homeless, how drugs turned him into the person he hated, he lost his mom to cancer, he never knew his dad and he just wants to be someone his mom would be proud of (along with another hours worth of conversation.) this lovely mans name was Chris and Chris was one of the most honest & sincere people I’ve ever met. After realizing I really need to get back to class Chris asked me to wait so he can write something down for me. Handing me a crumpled up receipt he apologizes for having shaky hand writing, smiled, and left. I opened his note and this was it. “I wanted to kill myself today because of u I now do not. Thank u, beautiful person.”
The most important thing that drug rehabs understand that soon to be patients don’t, or can’t, or have forgotten, is that your being there is a matter of life or death. Plain and simple — you will die or you will get clean — that’s it.
Preparation for rehab goes like this.
You make the call to rehab and tell them you need help. Their phone intake staff will ask you a handful of questions like:
What is your drug of choice?
How long have you been using?
Are you safe?
Have you ever been to rehab?
Do you have a phone number that we can call you back if we get disconnected?
Are you on probation or parole?
Do you have an address where we can pick you up?
Those are a few of the questions the rehabs I’ve been to have asked me during the phone intake interview.
If you noticed, there is a seemingly important question that isn’t asked (or wasn’t asked of me).
That is: “Do you have insurance?”
Every rehab that I’ve been to didn’t require insurance. Once I got into rehab they helped me find funding.
Once you make the call asking for help, rehab is usually less than twenty-four hours away.
Here is a list of things that are great to have, but without resources not all of them are possible.
Your shoes and clothing.
Toothpaste, toothbrush, body wash, stick deodorant, razors. Don’t bother bringing any aerosol deodorant, mouthwash or cologne. If it has alcohol and has an outside chance it can be abused, it is contraband.
Cigarettes.
Money.
Hard candy in an unopened brand new package.
Don’t bring drugs, alcohol or weapons. That’s a crime in and out of rehab. They will call the cops. You will pay dearly.
Now you’re packed up and ready to go.
Usually, within twenty-four hours they send a van to pick you up at your doorstep. Again, it’s life or death so time is ticking and rehabs understand that.
The van is probably going to have four or five other people heading to rehab also. They’re in the same boat as you.
Once you get to rehab, you’re gonna get naked and searched. So, let’s back up. Before you get picked up, get a shower and shave. Somebody is going to be looking at your body without your clothes on.
Once you’re searched and all your belongings are searched, you’ll be assigned a bed.
You’re going to have 1–5 roommates.
You’ll go through 1–7 days of detox. This will seem difficult. You’ll be on medication. It’s gonna hurt, but it gets better.
After detox, you’ll be moved to rehab.
Now it’s official.
There are lots of people with lots of problems in rehabs.
Focus on yourself — they are not your friends. Don’t trust them, don’t believe them and don’t leave with them.
Listen to your counselor.
Pay attention.
If you have the opportunity to get into a halfway house after rehab, take it.
It’s awesome. You get to work, save money and start your life over.
In WWII, Nazi Germany was concentrating their man power toward the Eastern Front.
An ENTIRE Wehrmacht Division which consisted of 2 brigades of about 12,000 soldiers was up against a single Soviet KV Heavy tank.
The crew of the tank (5 personnel) held off the German advance for hours. The Germans simply couldn’t disable the beast. Eventually, the crew of the tank ran out of ammo and was killed by the Germans.
The Germans took the bodies of the Soviet soldiers and buried them with full military honors.
They swept through the KV and grabbed a flag of the Soviet Union. The bodies were buried with the flag, saluted, and 21 rounds were fired in their honor.
Everyone is aware of the infamous Christmas Truce of 1914 during WWI. Similar things about during WWII. Please remember that during WWII, Germany was signed under the Geneva Conventions. The SS didn’t really care for this. But the Wehrmacht did and had to abide by it.
During national holidays like Christmas, the Germans and British once again ceased fire. They all agreed to stop shooting to give themselves time to bury their fallen soldiers. This happened on multiple occasions but was looked down upon, especially by Adolf Hitler.
During Operation Barbarossa (Invasion of the USSR), German was winning in the beginning. They were sweeping through the Soviet Union fast and capturing millions of Soviets. With the unforgivable Einsatzgruppen killing off Soviet Jews in the rear.
There are many pictures out there of Wehrmacht and even SS soldiers helping their enemies (Soviets). With the increasing victories of the Germans, thousands of Soviets were being injured. There are pictures and stories out there of SS soldiers caring for those victims. I know, it’s really hard to believe. (I’ll add the pictures in once I find them).
The Geneva Conventions state that once the enemy is disarmed, they’re no longer an enemy but a POW. And POWs must be treated humanely and taken care of.
During WWII, the Wehrmacht captured American POWs. They were separated (officers from enlisted). They were given jobs (mostly for junior ranks). They were given 2 full meals a day, and were able to receive care packages from the Americans Red Cross.
This was different with the SS most of the time.
Americans were captured by the 1st SS Panzer Division (Hitler’s Honor/Body Guard Division, Leibstandarte SS) after the Battle of the Bulge.
This image completely breaks my heart, as I’m an American soldier and have massive respect to my veterans, especially WWII veterans.
Instead of taking prisoners, the SS decided to shoot them dead and leave them in the snow. An MG-42 opened fire at them, killing 84. A few survived and managed to reach another American Division. After that, most divisions gave the order to kill all SS personnel on sight. In 1944, the commander of the SS Division (Joachim Peiper) was caught along with his men. They all stood trial for killing POWs. Peiper unfortunately got away with his crime. He was later killed by Nazi Hunters long after the war.
Jamaican Banana Bread
2024 02 18 10 14
Ingredients
Bread
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons light cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons dark rum or 1/4 teaspoon rum extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup flaked, sweetened coconut
Topping
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons dark rum or 1/8 teaspoon rum extract
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
2 tablespoons flaked, sweetened coconut
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Bread
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with electric mixer; add sugar, beating well. Add egg; beat well.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir well. Combine banana, milk, rum, line rind, lime juice and vanilla extract; stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Stir in pecans and coconut.
Pour batter into prepared pan; bake for 60 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan. Let cool slightly on wire rack.
Topping
Combine brown sugar, margarine, lime juice and rum in saucepan; bring to a simmer. Cook 1 minute; stir constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and coconut; spoon over loaf.
I pulled an idiot move and had the other driver follow me. New town, didn’t know my way around very well but knew I was being followed. Drove past my apartment complex and into a neighborhood, make a u-turn back out to make sure I am being tailed and yep, I am. Ended up driving to a convenience store and parking up front. See the other guy park as well, then as soon as he gets out I back up and leave. Do a few more twists and turns and catch a red light or two, make sure I lost them, then go to my apartment. Lucky for me they didn’t know which drive I was going to or even where I was going. And I left about an hour later for the airport and was gone a week plus. Thankfully they never saw me again, out of state plates would’ve been a give away for me.
– Kursk 2.0? – Moon of Alabama, Jun 09 2023 – Collapse of Operation Citadel 2.0 – TASS, Feb 24 2024 by Konstantin Sivkov – Vice President of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences for Information Policy
> Sir Tim Clark told the Financial Times he had seen a “progressive decline” in Boeing’s standards, which he put down to long-running management and governance mis-steps, including prioritising financial performance over engineering excellence. <
Use as open (not Ukraine or Palestine related) thread …
Posted by b on February 25, 2024 at 13:03 UTC | Permalink
Cheese Tortellini Crock Pot Dinner
A creamy, cheesy crock pot dinner recipe featuring cream cheese, cheese tortellini and spinach.
cheese tortellini crockpot dinner
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 large bag cheese tortellini
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bunch fresh spinach, stems removed, or 1 bag frozen spinach
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 container vegetable or chicken broth
4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Place block of cream cheese in the slow cooker.
Pour the bag of tortellini over the cream cheese.
Pour the can of diced tomatoes over all.
Add the spinach to the top.
Sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and Italian seasoning over the top.
Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.
Cover the slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for about 2 1/2 hours.
Stir well and serve.
Fail Safe (1964) | Full Movie ft. Henry Fonda | Voyage
A U.S. plane loaded with hydrogen bombs is flying towards Moscow and because of technical difficulties, is impossible to recall. Starring Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau. Directed by Sidney Lumet.
“Dr. Strangelove” and “Fail Safe” were released the same year, 1964, and deal with the same subject. Dr. Strangelove got more attention due to its satirical, comedic approach to the subject of nuclear destruction, but Fail Safe brings home the point in a far clearer, more compelling manner. It’s just as chilling today as it was 60 years ago.
This is for all youse guys that used to read Mad Magazine back in the 1970’s. It was part comic, part sarcasm, and part boyhood joy. Nothing even similar to it exists today. But, back in the day, we all would read it while drinking our sodas, and munching on our Babe Ruth candy bars.
The summers were of baseball, and fishing poles. It consisted of canoes, and mason jars. It was bicycle riding, and rail road track hikes, as well as exploring old homes and factories. It consisted of wall telephones in olive green kitchens, milk boxes on the porch, and hotdogs over an open fire in the evening.
We wore bell bottom pants, polyester billow sleeve shirts with choke collars, and big decorate belt buckles. A “nickel bag” of pot was enough to put on an open album cover, and use your driver’s license to separate the stems from the seeds. We had cigarette lighters built into the cars will back seat ash trays, and “cherry bomb” mufflers.
It was a calmer time; a simpler time. A time before the world went completely MAD.
This is my tribute.
2024 02 22 20 25
MAD Magazine.
What me worry?
fa6d464b7dbdcf6a38bb711ea6504ccc2accdd8842b859b140e6f82e1c5d0839a134efc7c3cbdc2dc5dbc9da273a06449fd143bb0cea8f2dc7c4688858a19fb8Screenshot 2023 09 11 at 11.41.47 AM
I turned 18 and had proof. I looked 14 but it didn’t matter. 2 brothers owned a deli in my neighborhood, they took a liking to me. I made $108:00 a week and drank $150:00 worth of Lowenbrau beer back when it was made in Germany. The refrigerator where they kept the beer was out of sorts. Every beer had ice in it. It was fucken heaven.
The deli brothers slept in a back room at the store. They closed at 11.
I used to bang on the window at 2 in the morning. They were handing me cases of Lowenbrau out the door at 2 am and 4 am. I ran up a very large bill.
I was incredibly popular with the drunks I hung out with, mostly because I was always buying. One night they were robbed as they closed up. One of them reached for a gun behind the counter, the robber blew both their heads off and split.
I came upon the carnage at 1 am. I knew something wasn’t right when the door was open. I went in and saw they were dead. I walked out with 4 cases of Lowenbrau and put them in a friend’s trunk.
We sat in the nature preserve drinking till the sun came up. It was a great summer. I owed close to one thousand dollars in credit. It would have taken me years to pay it off. They were barely scratching out a living in the deli. We were all better off
Beef and Mushroom Stew with Caraway Dumplings
Browning meat in the oven reduces the amount of fat needed for cooking. Serve with julienne parsnips and carrots.
Beef and Mushroom Stew
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
Stew
1 1/2 pounds round or blade steak
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Bouquet Garni*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (if necessary)
1/2 pound small mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Dumplings
1 cup soft fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 egg white
Instructions
Stew
Cut steak into 1 1/2 inch cubes. In a bag, combine flour, pepper and salt. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat with flour mixture. Shake off excess and place meat on wire rack in flameproof casserole. Bake in 350 degrees F oven for about 25 minutes or until browned. Meanwhile, prepare Bouquet Garni.
Set meat aside on platter.
Place casserole over medium heat. Only if necessary add all or part of the oil. Add mushrooms, cap side down, and cook until golden, transferring to platter as they brown.
Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is transparent. Add stock, wine and tomato paste; bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping bottom of casserole with wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits.
Return meat to pan; add Bouquet Garni. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Meanwhile prepare dumplings.
Dumplings
In a bowl, toss bread crumbs and melted butter together with a fork. Combine flour, baking powder, caraway seeds and salt. Mix lightly into crumb mixture. Beat together egg and egg white; add to crumb mixture and mix lightly (mixture will be soft) shape into 8 balls of even size.
Remove Bouquet Garni and discard. While stew is simmering, add dumplings, cover and cook, without removing lid, for 18 minutes.
Notes
* Tie together with kitchen twine 1 celery stalk with leaves, 3 or 4 sprigs parsley, 1 bay leaf and small sprig of thyme.
I worked for a company called Pyxis that made medication dispensing systems. The first CEO of the company was a VERY smart man named Ron Taylor who said “we will NEVER be FDA regulated” – the thinking being that if we are, the weight of the FDA’s requirements for paperwork and process are just *onerous*. Which they are. Anyway, we made sure the product never delivered drugs to patients – that the Nurse or Doc that used our system was ALWAYS the final vehicle of delivery – so we didn’t need to be FDA regulated.
Years later, Pyxis is bought by Cardinal Health who then buys bunch of other med-tech companies and they have this bright young VP who says “since half of our stuff is FDA regulated, let’s make ALL of our stuff FDA regulated!!!”. All of us old-timer engineers told him it was a bad idea, we explained that we’d never release a new software revision or product again… but he didn’t listen.
Once we invited the FDA to the building to check out out, that was that. The doors were very nearly shut, he was asked to leave and the company took a HUGE hit. The FDA didn’t really want to be there, but once you invite them in – they’re in. I was there for the whole transition – not my first time seeing that – and it was pathetic. In my remaining years at that company, not a single major product initiative or update made its way out the door.
I was an assistant manager of a service station (gas ration + garage) and responsible for most of the station’s hiring, training, and firing.
We had hired a kid named “Kris,” who had managed to pass the math part of the application and seemed relatively competent to be polite and make accurate change.
One day, a long time customer of the garage came walking around the bay side of the building and waved me down. He was more my boss’s customers met than mine, but we knew each other well enough.
“Hey, Mark. I wonder if I could talk to ya for moment?” He had a fairly concerned look on his face.
Being someone who was always willing to help a customer solve an issue, I didn’t hesitate.
“Of course! Hat can I do for you?”
“Well, I , uh, I wanted to let ya know that I was talking to the kid in the store and, and he told me that I should definitely not be bringing my car here to you guys.”
I was speechless for a good five seconds, but my eyes were probably meeting my ears.
“Mr. Smith, thank you so much for letting me know. You know how hard Mr. Boss and I work to make sure all of our customers are well taken care of and I appreciate you sharing this with me.”
I walked over to the store side and asked Kris if he had actually told our customer, Mr. Smith, who had been a gas and garage customer for over 15 years, that he shouldn’t trust our shop to take care of his car.
Kris was 19, heading on up to 13, so he thought he was a “man of the world” since he had a 30+ year old sugar momma and must’ve thought that made him something extra special.
“Yeah.”
“You’re fired. I’ll have Mr. Boss down here in less than an hour to write your last check. You can wait here or come back.”
He decided to come back after standing there for a moment without saying anything.
I called up my boss and told him what had happened. He told me to write up a letter explaining why he was being fired, and that he would be there as quickly as he could to get that check together.
Kris came by and I gave him his check in an envelope with the letter. I just handed it to him. He took it and walked out. I didn’t say a word, and neither did he.
Good riddance! I was so glad we had done such a great job by our customers that one of them had no problems letting me know about that kid.
Teaching conditions and pay were not good for government teachers. The premier, Sir Henry Bolte, had thrown down the gauntlet for teachers. There was to be a strike and teachers were to gather at the steps of Parliament House while a bill to make striking illegal for teachers was to be debated.
I decided to go by public transport so I would not get stuck in town or have to pay excessive parking fees (after all, I was a lowly paid teacher). I got to the steps of Parliament House before 9 a.m. There were police shoulder to shoulder forming an impenetrable line – and the only teacher there was me.
I moved up and down, waiting for others to arrive. By about 9:15, no=one else had arrived and a senior policeman stepped down and spoke to me. “Why are you so special that there are so many of us here?” I replied that I was the only one on time and everyone else was late. By 9:30, all except two police left.
By 10, there were a few hundred other teachers there, so the two police were totally overwhelmed. But we did behave!
My moment of fame, and the local papers didn’t get a photo of me facing off to over a hundred police!
My two friends let’s call them John (Christian American) and Fatima (Arab Muslim) are going out.
They have a passionate love story. Tattooed each other’s names on their bodies. Fought a giant backlash from her Arab family against their marriage because he is from a different religion and culture. Made deep promises to have an eternity of love and marriage together.
One day Fatima gets a message from a woman saying that she is so sorry to be the carrier of bad news but John her fiance is cheating with that woman’s sister. The message contains so many screenshots and proofs that cannot be faked and he is indeed cheating.
The texts she showed me were vomit-enducing. He would tell the other woman exactly the same things he tells her. How he only lives for her. How he can think of nothing but touching her. There were nudes exchanged between them and words of adoration.
Fatima’s world collapsed. She came to me crying and asking about what to do. I told her forget about him. What a piece of trash. Dump him this moment. My blood was truly boiling knowing all the sacrifices she made and all the promises that were broken.
Next day, I woke up to pictures of John and Fatima together uploaded online. I asked her and she said “Oh Salma he told me he was just comforting her because she was having hard times. Besides all men play around sometimes and I love him”.
I can’t decide until this moment whether I want to slap him or her…
People will always associate with you when you’re succeeding. No one wants to associate with failure.
Nobody’s busier than a person who doesn’t want you.
Just because you love each other doesn’t always mean you’re meant to be together.
It’s okay to fuck up and make mistakes and to be scared. You don’t have to know what you’re doing all of the time.
There’s nothing better than showering and putting on an oversized t-shirt and then crawling into a bed with fresh sheets.
Nothing turns us on more than someone who sincerely cares about you and who directly communicates their intentions.
Sometimes we get into those moods where we don’t feel like reading, you don’t feel like being on the internet, you don’t feel like watching a tv show or you don’t feel like sleeping and existing in general.
There’re no final version of ours . We never stop evolving, growing/ changing, nor should we.
Sometimes you’re in a mood to destroy your relationship with everyone you know.
Having a baby fall asleep on your chest is one of the purest and nicest things ever.
Dancing around your room to music and not giving a single fuck is one of the ultimate forms of self care.
Privacy is power. What people don’t know, they can’t ruin.
This old gentleman was in court because he got a felony ticket for duck hunting with a self made shotgun round that was one grain too heavy after being weighed by the game warden. Some random obscure law. He had been returned to court a number of times while the District Attorney was trying to figure the case out. A new judge who heard the case had the biggest smile as he heard the story from the District Attorney and the very humorous old man.
The judge started chuckling then roared laughing as the man explained that he was the president of the young duck hunters boy scout something or other for the past 40 years teaching young men to hunt ducks and the Game Warden was his ex-wife’s new victim as the warden had been dumb enough to date her, and so the Game Warden was being a bit of a tool.
The judge was laughing so hard as he asked the District Attorney if it was ok to just drop this silly outdated charge so no one had to listen to the outrageous story anymore.
I had to stop the guy on his way out to exchange numbers and went out hunting with him the next week. Dinner was good.
David: Shots fired at 123 Mockingbird Lane, in the city.
911 Center: Is anyone hurt, is anyone in danger?
David: No more danger. Yes, my wife. She is in need of EMS, just to check her out. She has some pretty serious contusions.
911 Center: What happened?
David: She’s just scraped up pretty bad, but is safe. Three men tried to drag her into their vehicle, as she got out of her car.
911 Center: Where are those three men, now?
David: Two are laying in the street and one is hanging outside of his vehicle. A white panel van.
911 Center: I have police and EMS on the way. Where are you now?
David: I am in my house with the doors and windows locked.
911 Center: Are the three men moving?
David: I have three males suffering from various gunshot wounds, none of them are moving or breathing, that I can tell.
911 Center: I’m glad that you and your wife are okay. Stay in the house. Stay safe. The police will clear the area and then come in contact with you. Are there any other people with guns, in the area.
David: No. It’s quiet. The neighbors are all in their homes. Cars are driving around the bodies.
___________________________________
Dispatch: Break. Units, 31, 202, 103, 104 and 115. Respond to 123 Mockingbird Lane. Victim reports shots fired, 3 male suspects appear to be shot and non-responsive. Victim and his wife are in their home at the same address, and are sheltering in place. Witnesses report no other individuals in the area.
Unit 31: 31 in route. 202, put 103 at the north end of the block, 115 will position at the south end. 104, 202 and myself will clear the area.
Dispatch: Unit 31, EMS from Smiths, and Centerville paramedics are ready to roll in, once the area is clear.
Dispatch: Break, all units, step down from active shooter protocol, be on standby until 31 clears.
__________________________________ Detective Branch: Sir, at what point did you determine your wife was being attacked.
David: I heard her screaming from the street. I recognized her scream as unusual, because she only screamed like that once before.
Branch: When was that?
David: When she was approached by a stray pitbull and the baby was in the yard.
Branch: Then what did you do?
David: I grabbed my AR and ran to the front of the house.
Branch: What did you see?
David: A big guy dragging my wife by her hair, while she was kicking and screaming. The skinny guy was trying to grab her feet, but she was kicking the crap out of him.
Branch: Then what?
David: I yelled, “I have a gun! Let her go!”
Branch: What did the big guy do?
David: He tried to lift her up to shield himself with her body. The skinny guy started to reach into his waistband. I saw a gun silhouette against his white t-shirt. He wasn’t facing me, so I knew he was going to point his gun at my wife. I shot him first.
Branch: Is that why he was shot in the back?
David: Yes.
Branch: Then what?
David: I shot the skinny guy twice before he fell. One got him in the right shoulder, and the second one hit him in the middle of his back. He didn’t get up, which seemed to piss the big guy off, so while he was fighting with my wife, I ordered him to let her go!
Branch: What did he do when you told him to let your wife go?
David: He seemed to not be too sure what to do, but then I heard two gun shots come from the van. A bullet impacted on the side of the house, about 10 feet from where I was standing. The muzzle flashes were quite bright, coming from the van.
Branch: Then what?
David: So I have this low light scope, and the guy in the van was opening his door and he had a large caliber hand-gun, looked like a 45 or 44 magnum. I wasn’t about to let him out of the van with that gun, so close to my wife, so I put the crosshairs of my scope, on the driver’s head, and shot him. I saw a puff of red in his headlight beam and he didn’t move.
Branch: Why is the big guy, dead?
David: Because he looked over his shoulder and didn’t see the driver any more. He called what I am assuming is his name, and “Nick” didn’t answer. He then put his arm around my wife’s neck and he looked like he was going to choke her out or break her neck. He was big enough to do that… I didn’t have a choice.
Branch: What happened then?
David: I yelled to my wife to “run to your left!”. She used her feet and what strength she had left, to run to her left. The big guy turned to the left with her, which exposed his right side profile. I shot him in the right side of his rib cage. He went down pretty quickly.
Branch: Weren’t you afraid to hit your wife?
David: I prayed to God that I wouldn’t. But I knew that if I accidently hit her, she would forgive me. But I couldn’t forgive myself, if I didn’t hit the men who were attacking her.
Branch: Do you have anything else to add in your statement?
David: No sir.
__________________________________
31: Dispatch, this is thirty-one. Paramedic says all three subjects are DOA. Need a coroner out here, with a bio-cleanup crew. We are taping off the area and posting a patrol at the house for the night. Put 103 on it.
Dispatch: Chief wants to know if we are pulling in the vic for the DA?
31: His call. But I am not seeing it.
THE END
Footnote: I originally posted this answer back in October of last year. However, I deleted my account and all my answers after my life was threatened. (Not over this post, but another one.) So, now that that problem is solved. I am going to re-enter Quora. Hopefully, with a few more controls and a nice security system.
Modern Women Get SALTY When Men Start Ignoring Them
I was having a skiing class in St. Anton, Austria back in 90’s and the class took a lunch break. Eric the ski instructor was making conversation and asked how we had all come down to Austria. I told I had driven and he asked if I had found it a problem driving on the RHS in my right hand drive car (Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 went like hell). I said no and I drove a lot abroad and he then asked which other countries drove on the left. I think I mentioned Japan, Australia and New Zealand and then a Dutch chap said South Africa. There was a moment of silence before Eric said “The British invented concentration camps”. I should have bitten my tongue but came back with “Maybe but we didn’t fit them out with Gas Chambers and Ovens” . “No just machine guns” replied Eric. The Dutch chap then said that many Dutch people wouldn’t ski in Austria as Kurt Waldheim (former secretary general of the United Nations and former member of the SS) was President of Austria. He had been voted in despite knowledge of his war efforts. They had better ski in Holland then said Eric. At which point someone suggested it might be a good idea if we changed the subject and normality resumed. As we get up from the table Eric says “Where would you like to ski this afternoon?” I couldn’t resist it so I said “How about Poland? ” At least everyone laughed, including Eric.
Last week I had the pleasure of babysitting my friend’s 4-year-old daughter for the day.
We had a fun day: going to the library, picnicking in the park, playing on the playground and ending the day with a little bit of ice cream! (I’m allowed to spoil her).
Once we had been home for a few minutes I noticed I was getting a migraine and asked her to play quietly because my head hurt.
I then proceeded to peruse my phone as I waited for the migraine to subside.
“No, no, no,” the little girl said to me.
I glanced up and gave her a curious look.
“If your head hurts, you don’t look at the screens. You close the eyes like this and don’t do the phone or the computer,” she told me.
I obeyed and noticed that my migraine dissipated quicker than usual.
That 4-year-old was incredibly unqualified (what with her still being a toddler and all), but I’ll be darned if she didn’t have some great life advice.
She Tried To Date Women As a Man And Quickly Learned Why Men Are Opting Out of Dating | Part 2 Norah
A guy asked me to be his girlfriend the night before he left to France for a 3-month internship but I rejected him because I wasn’t sure. We remained close friends after that. On the night of my birthday (he was still in France), we video-called and he sent me a link to a website. It turned out that he made a video of each of our friends saying happy birthday to me, along with my favourite songs playing on the background. At the end of the video, he said happy birthday to me with Rascal Flatts’ song My Wish.
“And while you’re out there getting where you’re getting to I hope you know somebody loves you And wants the same things too Yeah, this is my wish”
He is now my boyfriend of 2 years.
AI experts make predictions for 2040. I was a little surprised
My mother did. I was the youngest of six kids. We brown bagged lunches every day. We. included my father. My mom made one heck of a good lunch from leftover from the night before. She always baked and had a slice of cake or some sweet included in our lunch.
My dad was senior test director at our local Army base and was pretty high up in government service workers (GS 15 rank almost equal to a General but was a civilian). He worked with high ranking Army people.
His brown bag lunch started to go missing several times a week. My father was money tight (tight as a crabs ass and the crab is waterproof) so him having to spend money for lunch was not going over very well.
My Mother made cupcakes for dessert one day but iced two of them with, you guessed it right, ExLax. Not just your normal dose for constipation but enough for an almost immediate explosion.
It only took a few hours for my father to find out who was stealing his lunch. That Major was transferred very quickly after the incident.
Hungry Potter and the Chamber of Snacks – (Harry Potter AI)
Not my mom but my dad. I was 12 going into 8th grade, dad and I were doing my back to school shopping at our thrift stores. I had my budget, my list, I knew exactly what to spend. When we got to the counter and after she totaled everything, she could have said this before, but the cashier said the store was under new ownership and there was a 10% purchase fee. WTH!!! I’ve never heard of that except at grocery stores (that cost plus thing). Anyway I’m over budget so I have to take off some things, the shoes I could live without, the belt I really liked, and 2 shirts. Not a lot and I could recycle a few more from last year (my used last year clothes are really showing their age so they get put in work clothes or grease rags) but we total out and leave. My dad who had been so excited early seemed really quiet. After loading this in our truck we head towards home. In my reserve pocket I pull out my ice-cream fund. Every year before or since (even this year when dad took me college clothes shopping) I keep enough for ice-cream. My dad stops at the shop and says he’s not really in the mood for ice-cream. Wait a minute this is our thing always. My dad sets in on this I should have better, he should have made more money, his little girl shouldn’t have to buy 2nd hand clothes for school. He has completely failed me as a father. Maybe I would have been better off with his brother’s family, they have money. I was shocked, appalled, I have never felt that way. I slapped him, harder than I meant to but I did. And I pulled out, as he says, my grandma voice. Listen here mister. You have never once come close to failing me not even for a moment. The love and devotion you have given me is worth more than any amount of money in the world. I don’t need better or expensive stuff. I need you holding me at night when I’m scared, telling me you believe in me when no one else does. Letting me know that beans and bread for dinner is perfect again this week. I don’t want more money or expensive, flashy stuff, I want us. I want our goofy little traditions, our silly little interactions, our weird fun times. You are the best father in the whole world because you value love over anything else. Now this is our ice-cream tradition and if you don’t want to do it then let’s just leave. We both cried alot in our truck that day, and it was the best ice-cream treat we’ve had. My dad has never brought up money again and I haven’t slapped him…well that hard again. I love you always daddy
Trump is a great golfer. The best golfer to ever occupy the White house. It’s not even close. He is very good. Yet, as in most things Trump, he is not as outstanding as he claims to be. He lies and cheats.
that: “once playing with Trump in the 1990s he realized that Trump had placed a ball just feet from the pin that he had never hit. Mulvoy called Trump out on cheating and Trump rationalized:
“Ahh, the guys I play with cheat all the time,” Mulvoy said Trump told him. “I have to cheat to keep up with them.”
Someone I know golfed with Trump at a charity event. Apparently Trump was cheating and was called out.
When asked to stop cheating, Trump responded: “I cheat on my taxes, I cheat on my wives, and I cheat at Golf. Get used to it.”
Trump then smiled broadly, and kept cheating. He didn’t win the tournament. But he didn’t stop cheating.
“I’ve played with him a lot,” says a frequent guest in Trump’s foursomes. “This one time, I was in the fairway and he was right of the green but a little bit down the hill. He didn’t think anybody was watching, but I was. I saw him make a chipping motion from the side of the hill but no ball came up. Then he walked up the hill, stuck his hand in the hole and pulled a ball out. It must’ve been a ball he had in his hand the whole time. Then he looked up and yelled, ‘I chipped in!’”
2. The Quick Rake
This is a sneaky little move in which you hit your approach putt and then quickly walk up and rake up what’s left of it, no matter the length, before your opponents can stop you or think to holler, “Hey, wait a minute!” Trump has mastered this move. He does it sometimes before the ball has even stopped rolling. MSNBC cameras caught him doing it once to a ball that had sped five feet past the hole and was gaining speed. By the time anybody can object, the ball is already in his pocket.
3. The Ball Switch
“Whenever I’ve caddied in Trump’s group,” says Greg Puga, an elite Los Angeles amateur and caddy, who has Trump in his group plenty, “he always gets his own cart. He makes sure to hit first off every tee box and then jumps in the cart, so he’s halfway down the fairway before the other three are done driving. That way he can get up there quick and mess with his ball.
Csipetka (Pinched Noodles – Hungary)
Csipetka
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Mix flour and salt; add egg. Stir to make a stiff dough, sprinkling in a few drops of cold water if necessary. Knead until smooth.
Let dough rest for at least 30 minutes.
Flatten dough a bit at a time between floured palms (or roll 1/8 inch thick on a floured board) and pinch off pieces slightly smaller than a dime. Drop them into rapidly boiling salted water; cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain and rinse csipetke; stir them directly into stew or soup, if ready. Otherwise, turn them into a bowl, coat with oil, and set aside in a warm place until ready to use.
Notes
You can drop csipetke into broth or soup for extra flavor and texture, or you can serve them alongside a main course with sauce or gravy, or you can use them in place of dumplings or noodles in almost any other recipe.
This may have been common at the time but it will still sound pretty bizarre to American ears in 2020.
In May 1894, the federal government put four men on trial for smuggling opium into San Francisco aboard the yacht Emerald. Now, shipping, selling, and smoking opium was totally legal in America that year; there were at least twenty shops selling opium in Chinatown – and advertising in the local papers and the city directory (under “Opium Dealers”). However, everybody had to pay the $10 per pound import duty in order to do so, and as always, there were people who didn’t want to cut the government in on the profits. One of them was Ewen W. McLean, who’d been smuggling opium for almost a decade. But he and his captain, John Voss, had avoided arrest and were safely out of reach up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Louis Greenwald, George Thomas, George Wichman, and Emerald’s mate, Henry Mensing weren’t so lucky. After a couple of days of testimony, in which two members of what the newspapers called “the Emerald Ring,” flipped and gave up the four and the whole scheme, the prosecutors had a solid case and just needed to tie up a couple of legal bows.
One of these was demonstrating that the duty hadn’t been paid. Not too difficult, because the half-pound tins in which the opium was smuggled were supposed to bear a Customs stamp and none of the ones seized did. The second issue was a little trickier. The government needed to show that the opium was in fact opium and that it had come from abroad (thereby requiring payment of the duty).
There were no crime labs back then, no CSI or Quantico, so the government had a conundrum. They solved it by bringing in an opium expert, a Chinatown resident and long-time opium consumer named Mun Jin Moy, who laid out all the gear he needed to smoke some opium. At the urging of the United States Attorney, Mun broke open six cans from the seizure, withdrew some opium from each, and as the newspaper reported it, “cooked his dope over the little spirit lamp, and then, placing it on the bowl of the pipe, sucked away with apparently great enjoyment as his little eyes blinked and glistened through the wreaths of smoke.”
Undoubtedly fairly wasted at this point, but apparently still able to talk, Moy considered carefully. “’Him velly good,’” he said, and ruled that the opium had come from Victoria, being a higher quality than that from Panama.”
With that testimony “in the can,” Mun left the stand, the only person I know of who was actually paid by the government to get high in a federal courtroom. The jury evidently liked what they heard, because they convicted three of the four defendants, who got five years in San Quentin for what were essentially tax violations.
Up in Victoria, McLean ran dope to Hawaii for a few more years, then left that business and went legit, founding the Vancouver Stock Exchange and making it into “Who’s Who in Canada,” so crime evidently does pay sometimes. John Voss attempted to sail around the world in a canoe and didn’t quite make it, but he wrote a book about it (still in print) and his canoe is in the Maritime Museum of British Columbia.
But paying a drug addict to come to federal court and smoke a bunch of dope (from the government’s evidence) and testify about it? That’s pretty damn bizarre.
Your best memories are not always real. When someone makes us feel good, we tend to color all memories of them positively and they might not be as good as you remember. Kind of like how as kids we thought our parents were super heros. This makes you a better person cause you can leave in the present and not compare your present relationships to the past.
maybe you’re the problem. When in difficult relationships it’s important to consider if and how you’re the problem. Not to say that bad people don’t exist but also if you’re with them, why then are you with them? You do have a problem too
Your family doesn’t love you unconditionally. Try being a pain and you’ll see this for sure. Actually the only people who love you unconditionally are people who don’t love themselves. Even your child will stop loving you and love another mother if you stop mothering them
Not everyone will get to have a peaceful beautiful death. Many will die in painful ways. Enjoy a beautiful peaceful life while you can.
You will likely be completely forgotten about 20–80 years after you die. Your legacy too so stop focusing on building a legacy and instead focus on giving your family a beautiful love cause that’s mostly what they’ll miss before you get forgotten. The people who knew you might never forget you but soon they’ll die too and you’ll seize to exist. Don’t believe me? Just think about it… what’s the name of your grandfather’s grandfather?
Your children don’t care how successful you are. They just want and need your positive attention. If you sacrifice this for work or building a legacy, they’ll very quickly and happily squander your legacy soon as you’re gone
You don’t know what you don’t know. Next time someone speaks allow yourself to listen and discover what you didn’t know
very few people are thinking about you right now. Most of them are thinking about themselves and what you think of them but not really thinking about you
In 10 years you’ll most likely realize you did some things wrong even the rbi gas you’re convinced that you’re doing right. As you acquire more info, you’ll realize how limited your thinking was. Don’t believe me? Just imagine how madly I love you were in that first love. You probably thought that will never change. You now realize you were wrong
many people choose you because they see the value in keeping you around. As soon as you lose that value you will lose those people too
Actually it is sad, and when I peer into the future, it is absolutely worrying. Please be safe everyone.
Lots of videos today, but most are super short.
Enjoy…
Western Diplomacy is ‘Primitive’
Russians have had to dumb down their speeches at the UN so other countries can understand them, deputy representative Dmitry Polyansky has said.
Russian diplomats perceive their Western counterparts’ approach to international affairs to be “quite primitive,” Moscow’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has said. Moscow’s representatives are not certain what caused this, but have simplified their messaging in response, he added.
Polyansky made remarks about the quality of the Western diplomatic corps in an interview with RIA Novosti published on Monday, based on his personal experience at the UN. He expressed concern about Anglophone speakers at the forum selectively ignoring the context of particular situations for their own benefit.
”They pick an arbitrary point in time and claim nothing happened before it. They try to blame a nation for its actions regardless of prior events or the general context,” he explained.
2024 02 13 14 46
The diplomat cited the Ukraine conflict as an example. The US and its allies have been describing Moscow’s military action against Kiev as “unprovoked” and supposedly motivated by “imperial ambitions,” and have pressured other nations to frame it in the same way. As they learn more about the conflict, however, those parties realize how much the general context and Western actions since Ukraine gained its independence matter, he added.
”This trick does not always work, but it is a trend. I don’t know if it’s some deeper trend or just something typical for some people coming from [Western] schools of diplomacy,” Polyansky said. “Having a dialogue with them is challenging because they show certain superficiality, tunnel vision, and unwillingness to seek the core causes of conflicts. No solutions can be found without [such analysis].”
The office of the Russian envoy to the UN has been simplifying its addresses due to uncertainty over how their words are understood, he said. Russian diplomats used to quote foreign and Russian classics in speeches, but are no longer using this rhetorical device as much, Polyansky said.
”Times dictate things. Our partners may now be less well-read individuals, so occasionally we want to speak in plainer terms to make sure our signal comes through,” he explained.
Reality
A New Civil War is A Very Real Prospect for the US
It has long been on the minds of doomsday preppers and fiction media creators alike – but how likely is it, really?
Let’s sketch a big country in three broad strokes:
First, its population is over 333 million. These citizens privately own about (or at least) 339 million guns. They are unique in that no other state in the world has more private guns than people. They easily outdistance, for instance, Yemen, a country with a martial culture that has gone through years of civil war and yet there are only about 53 firearms per 100 inhabitants.
Second, polarization is unusually high and virulent: As of 2020 already, a political scientist at one of America’s most prestigious universities, found that “political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years — more than in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or Germany,” for instance. The result: America is special, but not in a good way. “None of the wealthy, consolidated democracies of East Asia, Oceania, or Western Europe,” a 2022 paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace pointed out, “have faced similar levels of polarization for such an extended period.”
Last year, another Carnegie Endowment paper found that even while some of the perception of polarization on specific policy questions (such as gun control or abortion) is exaggerated, that perception itself is detrimental to the country’s cohesion. Because “the people who are most involved in civic and political life hold the least accurate [here meaning: highly negative] views of the other side’s beliefs” and there is a high degree of what political scientists call “affective polarization.” Put simply, all or many of those citizens, collectively hoarding so many guns that over 40% of households are armed in one way or the other, do not like or even merely respect “the other side” of the political spectrum – not at all and ever less.
Third, the country also displays a pronounced cultural preoccupation, really almost obsession, not merely with the idea of civil war as such or the specific history of its own very bloody civil war in the nineteenth century. Rather its elites and general population are fixated on a coming civil war, which, as of 2022, a whopping 43 percent considered likely in the next ten years. Debates, high-brow books, articles, and popular culture feature this fantasy prominently and persistently.
We are talking, of course, about the United States of America. While it would be easy to adduce more criteria and data points, there is no need. The above is sufficient to demonstrate that it would be shortsighted to pooh-pooh the risk of a second civil war in America, for two reasons: It is not a mere fantasy, owing its current national resonance to “hype” and the titillation of imagining a liberatingly apocalyptic future of chaos and every man and woman for themselves (and, in the US, I guess, every other gender that wishes to participate).
Smart Americans realize this as well. Barbara F. Walter, for instance, is a prominent political scientist who has worked extensively with the CIA to develop a model of civil war predictors, for any country but the US, of course. She has now come to warn that the model begins to fit America itself disturbingly well. She may have her centrist biases – the usual exaggeration of “Russian influence” included – but her core points are valid: The US is turning into an anocracy, that is, in essence, a regime that only pretends to be a democracy. (In fact, that is what it has always been, I would contend.) And there is a substantial constituency of those who feel threatened by losing their former social status and preeminence. Those happen to be phenomena strongly correlated with a risk of civil war.
Let’s also not forget that America is proving its enormous capacity for global disruption every day, even without civil war at home. While some observers may – even gleefully – hope that Americans fighting each other would finally have to let go of the rest of us, that is a very dicey bet. With an elite narcissistically obsessed with global “primacy” and “indispensability,” about 800 bases worldwide, an arsenal of thousands of nuclear warheads, and a nasty habit of blaming others for its own failures, a new American civil war would not exclude aggression abroad. Moreover, declining as it is, the US is still a key part of the global economy, much more so than in 1860, when its first civil war already had serious repercussions for the rest of the world.
In sum, it may attract preppers with camo baseball hats, beards, and pump guns, but don’t let that fool you: American Civil War 2.0 is a serious issue. So, what about it? What can we reasonably guess about how likely it really is and what shape it might take if it happens?
To start with the latter question, perhaps the first thing to note is that big civil wars can start small and local. That is, by the way, the real significance of the recent, open tensions over migration and border control between the state of Texas and the federal government in Washington. They did involve armed forces and much foreboding rhetoric, but, fortunately, no shots were fired. Yet those glibly dismissing the incident as mere political theater are wrong. Because, as the New York Times has noted, it was not only Texas that defied the US government. Rather, “many Republican state leaders publicly expressed defiance in terms that echoed armed conflicts.”
Indeed, the second thing to note is that, due to America’s federal structure, a new civil war would most likely begin with secession. In the fracas between Washington and Texas, 25 Republican governors openly sided with rebellious Texas. This was a perfect illustration of how one local flashpoint could quickly suck in the rest of the country by creating a logic of ultimate polarization and then secession. This logic has not yet fully unfolded. Its contours, however, have emerged clearly.
It is worth noting that many of the fiction narratives about Civil War 2.0 make the same point: Whether it is the cult graphic novel series “DMZ,” the bitterly ironic novel “American War” (it’s obvious in-joke is that it has some Americans treat other Americans the way Americans and Israelis now treat Palestinians, Iraqis, or Syrians), the small-budget yet clever movie “Bushwick,” or the big-budget “Civil War” about to hit American cinemas now: Again and again the basic premise is a scenario of secession escalating into massive domestic warfare.
Third, while the humongous pile of private firearms would certainly play a large role in a new civil war, it would be misguided to assume that such a fight would only pit gangs of private citizens, organized in militias, against official police and military forces. In reality, a dynamic of secession, once set in motion would lead to parts of the US’s manifold “siloviki” choosing their own allegiance, splitting, and starting to fight each other. If you believe that, in such a situation, the formal chains of command ultimately linking them all back to Washington would remain intact, I have a whole-and-indivisible Yugoslavia to sell you.
And, last but not least, in such a development, the war would be both severe and long. In that respect, it would resemble the first Civil War. Although, due to advanced technologies and declining inhibitions, it could be even more devastating and cruel. In Netflix’s recent and tellingly successful “Leave the World Behind,” the protagonists never learn who exactly is blowing up their country, but by the end of the movie two things seem reasonably clear: No, it’s not enemies from outside, but an inside job, and nukes are being used. That, by the way, was the premise as well of the earlier, initially unsuccessful but now cult television show “Jericho.”
How likely is such a dark future? Obviously, we do not know. But let’s note two things: We could, a priori, be looking at an America where no one is much interested in thinking about it. Yet we are seeing the opposite. If you think that means nothing, fine. Just don’t mistake your guess for a good policy or planning basis.
There are, of course, alternatives to civil war. One is peaceful de-polarization under the current anocratic conditions, which, hypothetically, can happen. The other is full-blown authoritarianism: one way to suppress the possibility of a civil war is to impose dictatorship.
But here’s the catch: A country can end up with both civil war and dictatorship. Ask the ancient Romans. Those Romans, that is, who were so much on the mind of the founders of the American Republic.
It has long been on the minds of doomsday preppers and fiction media creators alike – but how likely is it, really?
If you are greeting four people standing in a group, at least smile at the fifth person standing along with them, whom you don’t know, so that they don’t feel disrespected.
Whenever you ask someone to do something for you, even if they are ought to do it, frame it as a question to boost their self-esteem. ‘Can you please get my pen from the table?’ sounds much soothing than ‘Go, get my pen’.
People in hurry, appear too irritating, but they may be anxious about something or facing an emergency, don’t bother much, just give them a way and ignore, and even if someone is just too impatient, that’s something to pity.
You desperately want to interrupt someone, may be they are completely wrong, but at least let them finish a sentence, so that you don’t appear even worse than them.
When you finish eating, pick the little pieces of food fallen around your plate and put them on your plate and throw them, it shows immense maturity.
Don’t wait for someone, standing in front of the opposite sex wash room, because when the gate opens again and again, it can be quite embarrasing, and also people may question your integrity.
When you disagree with someone, it doesn’t make them a criminal. Respect their opinion, and realise the fact that your thoughts may also be your opinion and not a fact. ‘Argue with respect.’
Whenever you break a line, you become a teacher for countless innocent people, this isn’t something great to give back to the society, respect a line.
Not liking to be touched is not arrogance, it’s a natural trait of most people, avoid touching people as much as possible to protect your self-esteem and respect theirs.
When you shout at someone, all you are doing is wasting your energy, misusing your larynx, and showing immaturity, learn to take boldest of actions and give harshest of warnings, keeping a smile.
Italian Oven Chowder
To enjoy this hearty chowder as the Italians do, be sure to include the oysters.
Creamy Italian Seafood Chowder 4
What is Creamy Italian Seafood Chowder?
If you are a seafood lover – this Creamy Italian Seafood Chowder is for you!
Sometimes called an Italian “white” seafood chowder – a delicious variety of seafood and vegetables are suspended in a cream-based broth that really allows the flavors of the seafood to shine through. (You can also make a “red” seafood chowder with a tomato-based broth.)
Some Italian families serve this seafood chowder on Christmas Eve for the traditional Feast of Seven Fishes, but we love it anytime of the year – especially with fresh-caught seafood in the summer.
Why you’ll love Creamy Italian Seafood Chowder
It’s chock full of a variety of fresh seafood – and you can vary it depending on the catch of the day, or to suit your family’s tastes.
This chowder is hearty and delicious, and it makes for a very satisfying meal.
You can prepare it ahead of time (but be sure to read our tips below in the Frequently Asked Question to avoid overcooking the seafood if you make it ahead).
Ingredients
4 slices bacon
2 large carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 medium parsnips, sliced 1/2 inch thick, cutting larger pieces in half
In a 4-quart Dutch oven cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in the pan. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble and set aside.
Add carrots, parsnips, and onions to Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until brown, stirring occasionally.
Add potatoes, chicken broth, garlic salt and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. (At this point the soup can be cooled, covered, and chilled in the refrigerator overnight.)
In a small mixing bowl stir together melted margarine or butter and flour. Stir flour-margarine mixture, milk, and corn into chowder mixture in Dutch oven. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened. If desired, add oysters and liquid to soup; heat through.
Sprinkle each serving with crumbled bacon and chives or parsley, if desired.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Salt Pork and Bacon – These two ingredients are an easy way to add delicious flavor to any soup or chowder – the rendered fat is used to sauté vegetables, so you won’t need to add other fats. While we use both salt pork and bacon, you could easily just use all of one or the other – the salt pork adds a nice salty flavor, while the bacon adds a smokey taste.
Seafood – Buy a total of four pounds of seafood. We made our chowder with fresh haddock, chopped fresh clams, shell-on shrimp (frozen shrimp is fine), fresh scallops, and crab meat. You can substitute any of these varieties of seafood, or use all of one or the other, just as long as the total weight equals four pounds.
Clam juice – Look for bottled clam juice at the supermarket – sometimes sold near the seafood counter. Other times, you can find it near the soup aisle.
Dairy – Heavy cream makes up the broth, along with the clam juice and a broth from the shrimp shells. Unsalted butter smooths things out and adds more flavor. You could lighten this soup up a bit with light cream or half and half – but it won’t be quite the same.
Tomato – Buy canned whole and peeled San Marzano tomatoes. You’ll break up the tomato pieces into the soup and reduce the juices to create a serving sauce that garnishes each portion.
Other Vegetables – Peeled and diced russet potatoes are the best for this seafood chowder, plus diced onion and celery, and minced garlic.
Herbs and spices – You’ll use a variety of herbs and spices including bay leaves, fresh basil, fresh mint, dried oregano, kosher salt, black pepper, and fresh thyme.
I was 27 when my husband (29) passed away unexpectedly while stationed overseas. It took 3 weeks for the army to bring his corpse back to the US and a week after the arrival his church service and funeral took place. A week after the burial, I traveled back to my country of origin for only one week. My daddy, who was extremely fond of my late husband, and who couldn’t attend the funeral due to work obligations and visa lasting procedures, had an open-hearted conversation with me. He said that all of us will die. And many of us will go unexpectedly. That there was a divine reason why all of what happened had happened and that I would need to eventually come to peace with losing him. I needed to see my story with my husband as a chapter of my book that ended. I needed to turn the page to the next chapter for my own benefit, if not, instead of having one dead in the family, they were going to have two. Because that’s who I was going to turn into. A dead living woman.
I listened to his words which made sense, but I didn’t want my life to make sense so quickly so I forgot about them until after I dragged myself into an alcohol addiction for months. And one day, I remembered his wise words and between that and the help of a close friend, I realized my daddy was right. Either I got over my husband’s passing or I was going to stay dead myself.
200 Times Wife Has a MELTDOWN After Getting Caught Cheating #2
Aging is a natural process, but there are steps you can take to maintain a youthful appearance and overall well-being in your 70s and 80s. Here are some tips to help you look and feel young:
image 12
1. Stay Active: Regular exercise is crucial for maintaining muscle strength, flexibility, and overall health. Low-impact activities like walking, swimming, and yoga can be excellent choices.
2. Eat a Balanced Diet: A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats can support your skin, hair, and overall health.
3. Stay Hydrated: Proper hydration is essential for skin health. Drink enough water to keep your skin hydrated.
4. Protect Your Skin: Use sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays, which can cause premature aging. Moisturize your skin regularly to keep it hydrated.
5. Get Sufficient Sleep: Quality sleep is essential for overall health. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
6. Manage Stress: High-stress levels can lead to premature aging. Practice stress-reduction techniques like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga.
7. Regular Checkups: Visit your healthcare provider for regular checkups to address any health concerns promptly.
8. Stay Socially Active: Maintaining social connections can contribute to mental and emotional well-being, which can affect your overall appearance.
9. Mental Stimulation: Keep your mind active with puzzles, games, or learning new skills. It can help maintain cognitive function and a youthful spirit.
10. Good Skincare: Use skincare products suitable for your skin type and age. A good skincare routine can make a difference in maintaining healthy skin.
11. Fashion and Style: Update your wardrobe with clothing that makes you feel confident and stylish. How you dress can impact your overall look.
12. Hair Care: Consider a hairstyle that suits your face shape and is easy to maintain. Many people embrace their natural gray hair, which can be quite attractive.
13. Regular Dental Care: Don’t neglect your dental health. Regular dental checkups and good oral hygiene can help maintain a youthful appearance.
Remember that aging is a natural part of life, and it’s essential to embrace the wisdom and experiences that come with it. Looking and feeling young is about maintaining your health and self-confidence as you age.
I was working at this shipping company, I think it was.
The boss was one of those who would bully his subordinates. He often made several employees cry.
Anyway, we were in a meeting. It was more like a bitching session.
The boss spent the meeting screaming at everyone, calling us lazy and insisting we were the worst employees ever. He was screaming at us and I felt I had to say something.
So I did.
The boss got right in my face. I mean, like a few inches from me. He started screaming right in my face and I simply stood my ground.
The boss screamed at me to get out, that I was fired.
Then he screamed at everyone else, calling them lazy and telling everyone to get out if they didn’t like the way he was running things.
Each and every person followed me out the door. This literally meant there was no staff to get any work done.
Not surprisingly, the boss ended up getting fired.
I was turning 30. I had planned a party for me and my going to be 12 year old daughter. It was a Saturday. My sister and I went with our kids to Mom and Dad’s for the regular Saturday bagel routine. Dad was at his parents’ house mowing their lawn. He had called me earlier with a, “Happy Birthday Robbio, See Yah later”. I responded, “Love you Daddio”. About 45 minutes into our bagel breakfast, the phone rang and my mother answered. The color completely drained from her face. She kept repeating, “A stroke? A stroke?” It was my grandfather. My father was in the hospital. My then husband and brother-in-law raced to my mother’s side and my sister and I loaded the kids into my car and sped to our grandparents. I played the game in my head, If I get all green lights he’s fine. If I see kids playing he’s fine….etc. It was a warm September day. The windows on the car were open. As we approached the house, we could hear what only could be described as wailing. It was Grandma. I have never, ever heard such a sorrowful, painful sound. My daughter found my Dad’s smashed glasses on the lawn. My grandfather returned from the hospital, just shaking his head. He said nothing. Shortly the family showed up. My dad had died. He had a massive heart attack. The sanitation workers picking up trash had jumped off of the truck to help my grandfather apply CPR, but to no avail. He was basically dead before he hit the ground. For the next fifteen years, no one and I mean no one could say, “Happy Birthday” to me. I forbade it and if someone accidentally said it, they got schooled. I still can’t really celebrate my birthday, even though it’s been 36 years. I do have a major amount of respect for sanitation workers though.
Five days after moving into a new (to me and my wife) home our neighbor, Lee, showed up at our door to borrow my weedeater. He’d seen me using it in my backyard the day before and said he wanted to do some “cleanup” around his yard. I told him that I was sorry but I had a firm policy against loaning my tools or equipment out. I also mentioned that I’d bought the weedeater at a local home improvement store for around $75. He replied that he wouldn’t use it that often so he didn’t see the point of buying one.
End of story, right?
Not quite.
The guy pretty much avoided me after I denied his request; if I came outside while he was in his driveway or yard, he’d ignore me, or just give a cursory wave before turning away. Over time I became friendly with Mack, my neighbor across the street, and one evening we were in his backyard, staining his deck, when he said that he didn’t think I was a bad guy, at all. I asked him to explain and he told me that my next door neighbor, Lee, had told him and a couple of other neighbors that I was an asshole who didn’t want to help anyone out. Because I wouldn’t lend him my weedeater.
I told Mack that Lee struck me as being something of an opportunist and con man, and Mack admitted that Lee did have those tendencies. That convinced me that I’d been right to refuse to lend him my weedeater. He was just angry at me because I didn’t buy his BS.
I couldn’t say how friendly German women as a whole were to American troops; (although sometimes they were very friendly indeed, I’ve often read, lol)…but I can relate a story my dad told me about an interaction he once had with a German woman towards the very end of the Third Reich.
My dad was a medic in the 3rd Armored Division. He landed on Omaha beach, fought all through France, drove through the carnage and destruction of the Falaise pocket, was in Belgium at the Battle of the Bulge and was in Germany at the Battle of the Hurtgen forest. He was also at the liberation of the Nordhausen forced labor camp, where V-2 rockets were being constructed by slave labor…Poles, Jews, Czechs and Russians. My father was in the Ruhr pocket in Rhine-North Westphalia, Germany when the war ended.
It really didn’t dawn on me until much later in life what a living repository of history my dad was, and how present he had been at and for so much history. He told me many truly amazing stories, and as I was always pretty much the only one among my siblings who ever showed any interest in my dad’s WW II service, I wrote everything he told me down and have it archived on my computer. (And even as a child, I was fascinated by my father’s stories and recognized them for the real family and WW II history they were). I really wish I had tape recorded my dad telling these stories when he was still alive, and always meant to…but life and time got in the way (as it often does) and I never got around to it. Still, though…I’ve got them all down in print.
This happened shortly after the 3rd Armored had crossed into Germany proper. My dad told me;
“Often,when we moved into and occupied these towns,of course we would sometimes take a break for chow.And invariably, little French or Belgian or in this case Germankids wouldcluster around, watching us getting ready to eat and hoping for some food.All of these children had been living in occupied or food-rationed countries for years now; they were often terribly thin and pale.And they’d gather around, smelling the cooking food and shyly watching us with big eyes.
And of course…we shared. I mean…how the heck could you eat while being watched by hungry kids? Anybody with a heart would’ve shared, and we always did.
And in this particular town, there was a little fella watching us. He had a beat-up, moth-eaten black coat on, and a little black cap on his head. Short pants and knee socks…legs like pipe cleaners…like sticks.
So I decided right then and there to make sure this little guy got fed well.
I grabbed him by the hand, took him to the head of the chow line and told the guy filling our kits, “C’mon, pal. Load this little guy up. Load‘im up.Looks like he hasn’t had a decent meal in years.”And he hunted up an aluminum tray, and piled it high with corned-beef hash and beans and white bread. I dug a D-bar out of my pocket and also put some chewing gum on the tray, too. I knelt down and put the tray and food into the boy’s hands.
You should’ve seen this kid’s face. (Laughs). His eyes nearly popped out of his head! “Danke schoen, Herr Soldaten!’’, he said to me politely and wonderingly. I found an empty packing crate in the street, led him over to some steps in front of a house, propped up the crate and helped him put the tray on it and sit down, and stuck a tin spoon in his hand. In German, I told him to help himself and eat up. Eagerly, he began to dig in.
But as the boy began to bring the first spoonful of food to his mouth…a door to a house on the other side of the street flew open, and a matronly “hausfrau“ maybe sixty years old or so came storming out of the house and across the street to us, snatched the spoon right outta the kid’s hand, grabbed the tray of food and hurled it to the ground.
“ALBERNES KIND!” (FOOLISH CHILD!), she yelled at the boy.“Do you notknow, have you not heard?These American soldiers are all CHICAGO GANGSTERS!! They will kill you!! That food is poisoned!! And yet you are blockhead enough to eat ofit??!!”
Viciously jerking the boy up off the stairs by his arm, she swatted his ass good and turned to march with him back to the house across the street.As the kid started bawling, I grabbed her by the arm to try to stop her and explain things to her. I spoke and understood the Deutsch pretty damned well by then, and I knew exactly what she’d said; and I was very much dismayed that she actually believed I, or we as Americans, would really try to poison her child…or grandchild, most likely. And I desperately wanted her to understand that this wasn’t the case.
And besides…I wasn’t even from Chicago! (Laughs).
So Itried to talk to her, addressing her as ‘’gnadige frau” (gracious lady) and telling her, “The food is not poisoned! Look!”And I bent over and picked up the tray, and actually scooped up a handful of hash off the ground and ate it right in front of her!“Nicht giftig!”, I kept repeating to her, “nicht giftig!” (Not poisoned!)
Unfortunately, she was having none of it. With a glare at me and a sniff of her upturned nose, she turned away and dragged the bawling kid across the street and into the house and slammed the door behind them.
I felt bad that the little guy never got his chow, and that these people had been so ingrained to hate and distrust us by Nazi propaganda.
But not all the German people were that way. Many of them were quite friendly and distinctly glad to see us…as opposed to the Russians.”
My father told me lots of other stories, some funny, many quite tragic, which I’ll be submitting to Quora in the future. My first story of his got an overwhelming response, and I was glad so many people enjoyed it. I fancy myself a student of WW II, and it really made me pleased that so many other people find so much interest in my dad’s war tales. Thanks to everyone for your views and comments…more to come if you’re interested!
I went to the drive up window at our pharmacy to pick up my script. It was a very blustery day. As I went to put my $20 in the drawer a gust of wind blew it out of my hand. After paying with my ATM card I pulled away and parked. Got out of the car and searched the area but no luck. My thought was I hope whoever found it needed it more than me and drove home. During the next week or so I was in and out of my car including the trunk several times.
I had a bag full of clothes to donate to Goodwill. In order to get to the Goodwill near me I had to drive to the intersection near my pharmacy, turn left, travel about half mile, turn right onto a busy highway, drive another half mile and turn left into the Goodwill parking lot, drive to the back of the store to deliver my donation. The rear parking lot backed up to a wooded area. I took the clothes out of the trunk of my car and deposited them in the bin provided.
Just as I walked to the back of my car a $20 bill blew right up to my feet. I just couldn’t believe it. The bill looked like it had been out in weather for a while. Was it my bill from the pharmacy. Was it somehow stuck to my car or trunk. But how could that be. I had driven my car quite a bit and had been in and out of my car and trunk several times during that week. In any event I was so happy because I sure needed that $20.
When Delusional Woke People Get OWNED
https://youtu.be/TNtVDYnSxh0
TO THE MOM AT THE SCHOOL DROP OFF THIS MORNING
Today I walked my son to his kindergarten class. It was cold and we were huddled together like sardines as we stood outside the door waiting for the bell to ring.
I saw you with your little boy just a few feet from us, and I looked down when I realized you were looking at us. I hoped you didn’t know who we were. I hoped you didn’t know my son was “that kid.” The one who’s not transitioning well in this school year.
I know what the kids say about my son. They go home and tell their parents my kid is bad. Sometimes he pushes and hits. Sometimes he is defiant and refuses to sit down, be quiet, or stay in line.
I know because the kids tell him what they think of him on the playground. “Mark said I’m bad today.” Or “Aiden’s dad said I can’t play with him anymore.” And my heart hurts, because I know he’s struggling in school. And we are working every angle… in school with a specialist, at home, and through classes, books and resources.
Today, you looked at me, then at my son. “You must be K,” you said to my son. And I looked up and smiled sheepishly. It was an apologetic smile. Almost a “I’m sorry you know his name” smile, because that means you’ve heard the stories.
I said to you, “Yes, this is him.”
I whispered when my son stepped away that we are aware he’s causing some trouble and we are working on it. That we take his behavior very seriously.
And then you did something I never expected. I don’t know if I was waiting for you to tell me what you heard K did to your son, or just tell me off. But instead you told me about your older son who struggled with similar problems at this age. You told me that now he’s in high school and he’s a straight A student.
Instead of tearing me down, you lifted me up. You gave me hope. And you handed me an olive branch so I know that I do have an ally during school drop off. An ally I never expected.
You didn’t have to make that connection. You could have ignored us or pretended not to know us. Or yes — you could have told me what you think of my son (you would not be the first). But you didn’t. You showed me grace and kindness and you uplifted me more than I could possibly describe in words.
I told you I would love to learn more about steps you took with your older son. I would love suggestions and guidance and that I would call you. And you know what? I will call you. Even if no suggestions or guidance is ever exchanged. I will call you because you are a friend I want to have. You are a good person.
Supporting evidence: Having spent more than 5 years at TCS I thought employees must accept their manager’s decision, no questions asked. After I moved to Australia I took up a casual hour based contract job. I didn’t mind the pay (which was less than what my experience could get me) because I loved the team. My manager believed in giving credit where it was due and soon the top management wanted to offer a fixed term contract which meant I could take paid leaves. I was so grateful and was about to sign the contract when my manager asked, “Aren’t you going to ask for a raise?”
“But this is so nice of them and I don’t want to make it awkward. What if they think I’m being greedy?”, I asked.
My manager laughed but looked at me seriously as she said, “Ruchika, if you don’t ask, you don’t get! You know you can get more money outside and they know it too. Don’t let them get away with it. Show them you know your worth.”
I nodded and wrote an email only to please my manager. I was so surprised at the response because the higher step pay was granted to me, just like that.
After some time, the management decided to offer me an ongoing permanent position and offered me the topmost step pay in the band. I was about to sign the offer letter as my manager reminded me to ask for a raise again. “But they are already offering me the topmost level in my band and they can’t change the band for this job, so I’m not sure what they can do.”, I responded.
“They will figure out a way if they want to. I know they will because they know you’re good and wouldn’t want to lose you. However, if they can’t, the worse that’ll happen is, they’ll refuse. I can’t see what you have to lose.”
Cursing the awkward situation I was in, I wrote an email trying to sound grateful and confident at the same time. My manager approved the draft and I hit send. By the end of the day, the General Manager asked HR to add a special loading to my pay package, which meant I was earning pretty much the same as the next band without undergoing any admin headache.
The thing is the company knows their good employees and understands, like all relationships, this association needs to be beneficial to both the parties. So if there’s something that you know will help you perform better for your company… just ask!
Boss asked me to train a newly hired paralegal graduate to do my job in one week as she was going to be my backup while I was on vacation.
I asked him how do I train 35 years of experience in a fresh paralegal graduate? I did my best to cram the information before I left for vacation.
She was inattentive and I had grave concerns since she refused to take notes.
Upon my return, I got the blame for every mistake she made during my absence. Each attorney gave me a list of their grievances.
I defended myself and was scolded for insubordination and told my services were no longer required.
So I left, turning in my keys. 4 hours later I receive a text stating that I misunderstood our conversation and that it was not their intention to terminate me.
5 hours later, I receive another text stating that he was no longer firing me but I needed to be less reactive and more understanding of the firm needs.
I decided to help clarify the situation and informed him that my text response confirms the separation terms.
And if you are a teacher, you might be cranky after reading this. It does not put teenage me in a flattering light.
When I was in high school, you had to take 2 years of gym in order to graduate. May I just say, over 30 years later, the most frequent recurring nightmare I have is not having enough of the right credits to graduate high school.
This plagued me.
I hated gym. I wasn’t athletic. I was not a group anything, and was particularly awful at group sports. I’m very tall, so you’d think I’d be good at volleyball. Nope. Into the net every time.
I despised everything about gym, because I was an outsider. Outsiders are most vulnerable in gym class. I just wanted to be alone & read books & listen to Bowie records.
Plus, I hated my body. I thought I was supposed to look like Farrah Fawcett. I did not look like Farrah. I was fat, and in particular I hated my legs.
Back then, you were required to do certain things to pass gym. One of those things was called dressing out. We also had to participate in class, then take a shower & dress for our next class, all in six or seven minutes at the end.
As you can see, this was a lot of body exposure for someone who hated their body so much. Every part of it was a humiliation to me.
I have a picture of myself in a swimsuit after my senior year. Thing is, my body was fine. I’d be delighted to have that body again.
(So if you are a teenager and hate your body, stop it. You are more fabulous than you know.)
Dressing out was changing out of our school clothes & putting on our gym clothes, which was basically a polyester onesie. Navy shorts attached to a navy & white horizontally striped shirt which zipped up the front to our neck.
It was just heinous. See?
image 176
(Photo courtesy of Google images)
I just wouldn’t do it. I’d plead not feeling well & wonder why putting on this onesie & playing dodgeball could possibly advance our lives in any way. I sat on the sidelines staring at the antics of class with great disdain. And I seemed to be getting away with it.
I was not getting away with it.
One day, our gym teacher, Mrs. K, walked over to me. She had a very pleased with herself expression on her face. She was smirking.
Because kids like me were the bane of existence to teachers like her. I had a bad attitude.
Once in a while, teachers will one-up kids like me. My antennae went up. The smirk worried me.
I need to talk to you, she said.
I stood up and gazed at my foe, with her Hamill haircut and velour track suit in a particularly unflattering shade of mauve.
I have to tell you, she said, almost unable to contain her glee, that you are failing gym. There’s no way for you to pass. None. I have told you over and over you have to dress out and participate. You haven’t done either. So, she continued, delivering her coup de grace, unless you go to summer school, you will not graduate with your class.
SUMMER SCHOOL? Oh, HELL no.
I do believe I cried. She was unmoved, giving the standard line that eff-ups like me hear time and time again:
There are consequences to our actions!
It was unbearable.
I did feel ashamed. It was just so stupid and avoidable. I’d truly screwed myself this time.
Two things were certain.
I was not going to summer school.
I was not being left behind a year. Impossible.
So I had to put my thinking cap on & figure this mess out.
Okay. What does she want? What do teachers like her want from students? Above all else?
The answer was clear. The problem was the execution of the plan. She would be suspicious. I had to deliver this perfectly.
The next day, I showed up at gym class. I put on the wretched gym suit. I participated in calisthenics and dodgeball. I showered & dressed for class. I saw her looking at me with my peripheral vision; I did not turn my head or make eye contact.
Me & my new, improved attitude were docile. Subdued. One of the herd.
Next day, I came back. Did the same thing. Participated. Laughed along with the other students. Plays well with others, check.
I knew the fatal flaw would be to ask her to pass me. So I didn’t. Nothing happened. A week went by.
Then one day she calls my name after class. I trot up to her. I keep my eyes big and innocent. I say Yes m’am.
I’ve noticed, she starts, that you’ve been dressing out & participating for a week. Without a reward in sight.
That’s right, I think, keep going…
You have had a real change of attitude.
It’s actually worked, I think, this is just thrilling.
So, she continues, kind now; dare I say moved? If you continue to dress out every day & write a two-page report on the importance of dressing out, I will pass you.
YES
But you have to do it every day, she warns, letting me know not to test her benevolence.
Ah, bien sur, Madame. I give effusive & grateful thanks.
I walk out of there like a boss. I can barely contain my joy. No summer school. I graduate with my class.
I tell my best friend, howling with glee, about how my attitude had changed.
Unbelievable, says my friend T, with more than a little disgust.
What do teachers want most? They want to make a difference in a kid’s life. I let her think she had changed me; that she’d taught me the importance of a good attitude.
What are most people surprised to hear about Australia?
the crustaceans we put on barbeques are called “prawns”, not “shrimp”.
I had never heard of Steve Irwin until after he become famous overseas — he was not that well-known here before he became famous overseas
Steve Irwin and Crocodile Dundee are anything but “typical Australians” — typical Australians live in cities, like Sydney and Melbourne and the other state, territory, and federal capitals
we rarely see dangerous animals or insects — Australia is not particularly dangerous and we have a long life expectancy
we don’t see many kangaroos or other native animals unless we live well outside the big cities
Pavlovas — you must eat one
Australian confectionery is very good, at least compared to American confectionery
Australian food (meat, vegetables, fruit) is fresh and generally of a high quality
most Australians live near the ocean — the interior is relatively empty (and dry, as in desert)
Australia does not have a lot of Mexican restaurants because we don’t live next door to Mexico — it is a long way from here
Australians do not like Starbucks, and do not have “Burger King” — we call it Hungry Jacks because of a court case run by a business here that already had the name “Burger King”
our Woolworths has no relation to American Woolworths … except our Woolworths stole the name before the American Woolworths tried to open stores here (Woolworths Group (Australia) – Wikipedia
)Australians drive on the left — like the British, Japanese, New Zealanders, Indians, and many other people in this part of the worldwe have winter in June, July, and August, and summer in December, January, and February … and no, we don’t think that is strangeit gets cold here in winter, especially because we build our houses to be cool in summer … and then freeze in winter if we don’t have heaters and woolly jumpers (sweaters).
If you only bring summer clothes to Australia you will suffer during winter months.we have Christmas in summer (December) … because Christmas is not a celebration of winter, it is a celebration set on 25 December
Australians write dates as day/month/year not month/day/yearthe Australian accent is different to the New Zealand accent — just ask a New Zealander to say “fish and chips”: if they say “fush end chups” they are from New Zealand. It is definitely different to any British accent.Australians use A4 paper, not “Letter size”; we use the metric system; our currency is the Australian dollar … and we changed all of those things in my lifetime.our temperature is in Celsius.
No, we don’t understand Fahrenheit, we have to convert it to Celsius first.we put “petrol” in our cars, not “gas” … unless your car has been converted to use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), in which case we say “LPG”, not “gas”. Petrol is not a gas, it is a liquid.
One boss asked a subordinate to review sick leave usage. The subordinate reported that 40% of all sick leave was taken in conjunction with a weekend. He took it as proof that people were abusing the sick leave system.
The boss ordered all supervisors to require a doctor’s note when someone took sick leave in conjunction with a weekend.
I did a quick analysis of his order and responded, “Monday and Friday are each one fifth of the work week, or 20% of the work week each. Together they add up to 40% of the week. If people get sick at random, they will call in evenly over the work week. You should expect to see an even distribution of 20% of sick leave taken on any given work day. The fact that only 40% call in on Monday and Friday (20% each) proves that no one is abusing sick leave.”
So I was working with this Car Dealership in the States for quite a while, about 4–5 years. Made good money and we had relatively good business practices, which isn’t common in car sales anywhere, and I ended up liking it alot. Anyway, they had this page in the employee handbook that states essentially that if your fired, quit, etc before commission is paid out on the 15th of each month then they were not required to pay you your commission. And that instead of $15 an hour your paychecks were retroactively reduced to minimum wage of $7.75. So, in this dirtiest of fine prints, what it didn’t tell you is that if they fired you on the 14th, which happened ALOT, then instead of getting your commission check, you were handed a bill that you owed them. Unless you worked an impossible amount of hours, you’d never be able to break the “Draw pay” or the money they front you weekly, $600 weekly. You would have to sell an absurd amount of cars, which case your not fired no matter how much you suck, or work 100+ hours a week to cover it. It was just cruel and dirty. I watched many folk get fired on the 14th and on the 15th have a letter from accounting stating that you ower them $300-$500 due in less than 30 days. Everyone screamed it was illegal, but “You signed the agreement” was always the answer. Somebody sued them for it once, and if memory serves me right they dragged it out for about 2 years and settled on not nearly enough money to cover lawyers and court costs. Dirty fine print at its best.
In 2012 a man was traveling in a Suzuki car with 3 others in Patna. He was driving at a speed of 100 kmph on an empty highway. Soon an SUV passed them at a very high speed. The SUV was so fast that it almost got out of control and was about to hit the Suzuki.
To save the accident, the driver of Suzuki tried to move away from the passing SUV. Doing so, the Suzuki got out of control and overturned and hit the corner of the road.
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(photo for illustration only)
Four people in the car were badly injured, but narrowly escaped. The SUV driver fled after the accident and there was no one else on the road. Suzuki’s driver was badly injured and he got out of the car and sat on the middle of the road, shouting “Save!”.
It was 36 degree heat and the road was scorching. The driver lay on the road thinking that he was about to die. He wanted to help the other 3 passengers, who were still inside the car and were moaning in pain.
A few minutes later a car arrived. The man who got out of the car made a video of the accident with his phone. Then he took a closeup of the driver, whose face was covered in blood. Then this person sat in his car and left from there.
A few more minutes passed and the other car stopped. A middle-class couple came out and saw the driver lying on the hot road. The couple went back to their car and came back with a sheet.
To protect the injured driver from the scorching sun, the couple shed a sheet over him and stood up. They both stood in the sun. The husband then called emergency health services and asked them to come to the scene immediately.
They both stood there giving shade to the injured driver for almost 70 minutes! So long in the sun!
After the ambulance arrived, the couple took two other passengers in their car along with the ambulance.
The couple left the hospital after the four injured were admitted to the ICU. The driver narrated this story after recovering from an injured condition for several months, but he could not meet the noble couple.
China is militarily aggressive towards Taiwan and in the South China Sea.
China is a dictatorship.
China is trapping developing countries in debt with the Belt and Road Initiative.
There are many, many more lies. They could fill a book, so it’s not appropriate to expound on all of it in a Quora answer.
Some food for thought…
China has fought no wars since 1979. How many wars has America fought?
China has legitimate maritime disputes in the South China Sea, just like USA and Canada have no fewer than five maritime disputes.
China does not sanction other countries, nor interfere in their politics, nor overthrow their governments. America has done all of this.
According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, 85% of Chinese trust their government. Only 40% of Americans do, and 30% of Brits do.
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According to Latana’s Democracy Perception Index (which measures what people think of their political system), China is the sixth most democratic country, well ahead of Canada, UK, and USA.
image 178image 179
The Global South gives overwhelming support to the Belt and Road Initiative. Over 150 countries participate!
Married Women Held Accountable for Late Night Encounters with Under Age Boys
At 4pm he told us to compile a report and action plan ready for tomorrow’s 830am meeting. Now to do this properly would take each of us a full day’s work. All 7 of us protested, and asked for more time. I asked when he expected us to find the time, and he told us to work on it that night at home. I openly said “sorry, that’s unreasonable. I have a 90 minute drive home, then I’ll be cooking dinner, and then helping with showers and homework. When that’s done I have about an hour before I’m ready to fall asleep. His reply? “Get your wife to make the dinner and shower the kids while you work on the report.” And then he left the room. So we all united and decided not to do it.
He went off his tree at 830am the next morning when nothing was done. I had a word to the very nice HR lady, about what he said, along with the list of people in the room who witnessed it. When he blew his gasket and wanted HR to issue warnings, she simply told him to reschedule the meeting for the following day, and let us work all day uninterrupted to prepare for it, in work time.
My ex worked at a Friendlies restaurant. They had that wonderful phenomena with the Sunday morning church crowd. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, ask anyone who works Sunday morning at low-end restaurants.
This one family was notorious for demanding exemplary service, running the servers ragged and not tipping. On my ex’s last day of work, they showed up and did their usual. Rather than not tipping, they left a little card that said “I’ve given your tip to Jesus!” She balled up the card, followed them out into the parking lot, threw it at the dad and said “Jesus doesn’t pay my fucking rent!”
The dad flew back into the restaurant and demanded she be fired. The manager said it was her last day, and maybe things like this wouldn’t happen if you tipped the server. It was golden.
70% of people keep things to themselves to avoid being judged by others.
People between the ages of 18–33 are the most stressed in the world After the age of 48, stress level tends to reduce.
The most common lie said by humans is ” I’m fine”
Pretty people are automatically more acceptable by people. Average looking people have to do something above average to get accepted and ugly people have to do something extraordinary!
Always tell the truth. So when you have to tell a lie, people are more likely to believe you.
More you talk about a person to others, more you fall in love with that person.
If you announce your goals or tell someone else about them, you are less likely to accomplish them because of lack of motivation interest since you have nothing to prove.
A true friend who understands your troubles is far more valuable than a hundred friends who only show up for your smile.
We tend to behave better when we are being watched.
Happier is not the one who has more money, but the one who has more money than his neighbor.
Anger increases the desire of possession in people. People make more efforts to obtain the object that is associated with angry faces.
‘Maturity’ has no connection with ‘Age’. Yes, age is just a number…you can find more maturity in a child, than a person in his 50’s. Maturity comes with ‘Empathy’.
Intelligent people tend to have fewer friends.
We want more choices, but choose better with fewer options.
I’ll admit that when I conducted interviews — either alone or as part of a panel — there were times when I liked, or disliked, a candidate early on. That’s why I came up with a series of questions to ask and made sure to ask them all: I wanted to give the candidate an opportunity to change my mind, one way or the other.
I will say that my initial impression was right about 70% of the time but ending an interview after five minutes would be a waste of the candidate’s and, more importantly, my time. In my 50+ years in the work force, there was only one occassion when I ended an interview prematurely. When I owned a security guard company I interviewed a woman for a job as Operations Manager. When she sat down she said that she’d heard good things about my company and she really wanted the job. Then she stood up and leaned on my desk, so I could see down her blouse, and said she’d do anything to get the job. I looked at her and smiled, and she repeated, Anything.
I ended the interview at that point, after less than ten minutes, and thanked her for coming in. I told her I planned on making a decision before the weekend (she’d come in on Tuesday) and I would let her know what is was. I had my assistant call her two days later and tell her another candidate had been hired. That chick was a lawsuit waiting to happen and I wanted no part of her.
When I’ve approached a table and before I’ve even said hello I’ve been met with ‘just so you know, we are on tripadvisor’. *sigh*. I can tell straight away I’m going to get AT LEAST one complaint about food/service/drinks/the colour of the tablecloths or whatever other excuses they want to make in order to receive a discount or face a terrible review.
We have a group of women who come in twice a month. There are always between 8-10 of them. They are taken care of as well as we take care of all our other guests. The fact you leave reviews on tripadvisor is not special and you will not be treated any differently. Every time they come in they order the same lamb dish. Everytime they ALL complain about the lamb dish.
The first time I was apologetic and gave a good discount on the bill. Two weeks later it happened again I gave a discount but started to suspect something when other patrons complimented the lamb and I had watched them talking for a good 15 minutes after food was served before complaining the food was cold. The third time it happened I was pissed off. Not only were they generally rude to the staff but when they paid the bill they would make a big deal out of saying they left a little extra for the server and it has never been more than 5 pence. Luckily we are in a country where we don’t rely on tips to earn a living.
So this third time they come in; as usual they want lamb and as usual they complain about it. When it comes time to pay I take the complete bill over, no discount.
The chief moaner said that as they hadn’t enjoyed the lamb they should get some discount. I was once again reminded they were on tripadvisor. I proceeded to tell them that they had been here twice now, ordered the same thing and complained about it both times. They were choosing to come here and if the food was that bad they didn’t need to come back. They were more than welcome to leave a terrible review and in exchange we didn’t have to give them free food every other week or put up with their terrible attitude and it was a worthwhile trade.
Shockingly they didn’t argue back just paid the bill and left. Also shockingly they came back two weeks later like normal and ordered the lamb, which when asked if everything was okay with their meals it was ‘delicious’ or ‘lovely, thank you’.
They still come every fortnight and we never got a negative review on tripadvisor.
She Sells Her Soul For 50 Years Of Pleasure, But When The Devil Comes For Her, She Outwits Him
In 2022, I visited New York City to take a training for my job.
I set aside the day before the training started as a sightseeing day. I knew I wanted to visit Ellis Island and the 9–11 Museum, so I bought a package ticket for both through the website where I booked my flight and hotel.
On my sightseeing day, I took the subway from my hotel down to Battery Park and met my tour group there. The tour guide, who was wonderfully intelligent, knowledgeable and interesting, took us to the ferry, which took us to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
After the ferry returned, it turned out that I was the only one of the group who had also signed up to go to the 9–11 Museum. The tour guide walked me down there, saying it was only a few blocks away.
I’m 63 years old, and not in very good physical condition. The temperature was over 90 degrees, and I do not do well in the heat. So it was a long walk for me, and I had to take frequent rest breaks. The tour guide was quite patient with me, and we had a really great conversation during this walk.
At one point in the conversation, I mentioned my husband. The tour guide said to me, “Your husband must be very smart. I know this because you are very smart, and I can tell you would never put up with a guy who wasn’t as smart as you. You would have him for breakfast.”
I will never forget that complement!
P. S. FYI, my husband IS very smart.
Italian Wedding Soup
This Italian Wedding Soup Recipe is simply the best! Made with acini de pepe, beef and pork meatballs, carrots, celery, greens, and Parmesan cheese. This soup is SO flavorful! Serve with crusty bread and a glass of wine and enjoy!
Packed with onions and carrots, spinach and pasta and meatballs, this hearty soup is perfect for chilly winter nights. Serve a big bowl of wedding soup with crusty rolls for a satisfying meal.
Italian Wedding Soup 33 1 of 1
Yield: 29 cups; about 16 (12 ounce) servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
2 hamburger rolls or 4 slices white bread
2/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 pounds ground beef or meatloaf mix
1 medium onion, grated or very finely diced
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, diced; about 2 cups
2 cups finely diced carrots, about 3 large carrots
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 to 4 1/2 quarts (16 to 18 cups) chicken broth, homemade or purchased
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs or 3/4 teaspoon each dried oregano and dried basil
10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach
1 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
2 2/3 cups uncooked orzo, ditalini, or other small, roundish pasta
Instructions
Meatballs
Combine the bread, egg, milk, and salt, stirring until everything is well moistened. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes to soften.
Add the ground meat, onion, cheese, and herbs. Mix gently until thoroughly combined.
Shape tiny meatballs, (about 1 inch diameter or less). Using a level teaspoon scoop (which volume-wise is actually 2 level measuring teaspoons) makes about the right size. Place the meatballs on a parchment-lined or lightly greased cookie sheet, and refrigerate them while you prepare the soup.
Soup
Get out a large pot, at least 6 quart capacity. Pour the olive oil into the bottom of the pot, and add the onions and carrots. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for another couple of minutes.
Add the broth and herbs, bring to a simmer, and cook gently for 10 minutes.
Add the frozen chopped spinach, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, total; the soup will take awhile to come back to a simmer, due to the frozen spinach. Help it along by breaking it up with a fork as it cooks.
Gently drop the meatballs into the soup. Simmer the soup for 30 minutes or so, then stir in the pasta, cooking until it’s al dente. For orzo, this will take about 8 minutes or so.
Add salt and pepper to taste; using reduced-salt canned chicken broth, we added 1 teaspoon salt; and 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.
Serve the soup garnished with freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese.
When I was a Probation and Parole officer I had this guy on parole and probation at the same time. He had several positive cocaine drug tests. Usually three positive tests was where they would be arrested. Larry was uniquely qualified for extra chances. I can’t remember the fourth reason, but it most have been pretty good for me to have given him the pass. Then he got his fifth positive test. As much as I liked him I felt like I had to arrest him then. So, I confronted him about the positive test, and instead of denying it like most parolees did he said, “Officer Davis, I was this woman, and she poured cocaine all over her breasts and p**sy, and said, Larry go down on all this stuff.” Then he looked at me like a five year old child would, even though he was a forty some year ago man and said, “Officer Davis, what did you expect me to do?”
I never new if that story was true or not, I’m pretty sure it is, but anyway it was such a good story that Larry got another chance and completed hi probation and parole, with a little help from me.
Older Woman Leaves Her Good Husband And Can’t COPE With The CONSEQUENCES
This was back around the mid-90’s in So Cal. We were having dinner with serveral of my husband’s coworkers and their spouses. It was a fairly well-known Italian place, I ordered shrimp and broccoli pasta. I took a few bites, and there was a large curled up caterpillar (I later learned was a “tomato horn worm”). It was the size of the shrimp, but not quite a brilliant green like the broccoli.
I didn’t want to make a huge fuss, so I pushed food around the plate. The server came around, and noticed that my plate was still mostly full. He asked if there was something wrong, and I pointed to the caterpillar. He went kind of pale, and quickly whisked my plate off the table. My husband noticed, but with the rest of the table eating and conversing, no one else did.
The owner of the place came over and very quietly apologized, and offered me another item. I no longer had much appetite. He asked if I would like a dessert, but no, I just couldn’t. You could tell he was genuinely aghast. I didn’t make any announcement to the rest of the table, but just said I was full. They didn’t know anything until they were told that the entire table’s bill was comped.
We still laugh about that “green” shrimp. And yes, that restaurant is still in business.
Irishman here. About 25 years ago, our next door neighbour went on holidays to Spain for 2 weeks leaving their 16 year old son behind. The son had a series of parties all week and I called in to him to have words with him. When I called in, there were a group of kids there and when I was talking to him, I noticed from his eyes that I may have done better talking to the dog. He was as high as a kite and you could see and smell the drugs. I reported it the Gardai (Irish Police) who called out to him, but did nothing.
Friday of the week came and the party was beginning to grow with loads of people and loud music. I couldn’t take it any longer and my wife, kids and I went to our holiday home in Wexford for the weekend. Before we left, we informed the Gardai and some neighbours.
The following morning, we got a call to say the house next door went on fire and we had a lot of fire damage in our house. We came home to chaos.
The young lad next door moved in with some relatives nearby and they refused to ring his parents in Spain to tell them in case it would ruin their holiday.
When they came home, we spoke to them and they refused to accept any responsibility and we had to put it through our insurance. At the time, I was very naive regarding putting in an insurance claim and missed out on a lot. I should have replaced stuff where I just got them repaired and made do with a lot of other stuff. In short, I only claimed for half of what I should have and in saying that, my insurance increased for the next 5 years and affected our no claims bonus for 7 years. It cost me 10s of thousands of Punts.
The next door neighbours got their house completely gutted and rebuilt. Essentially a new house. The only thing that remained of the original house were the 4 walls, All concrete. They then moved out to a new house elsewhere.
In answer to your question: Yes they should pay and carry out a clean up. But it didn’t happen in my case.
When my son was in 8th grade, he refused to get in my ex’s car when she came to pick him up. I never found out why.
We took him to counseling, she had him meet with her minister (I took him over). In all cases, he sat there for over an hour and never said a word.
Eventually, she sued me for not forcing him to go with her. Judge took testimony. Told him all the things that we had tried to find out what was going on. Judge decided to take a crack at it. Spent 15 minutes chatting with him in chambers. Judge found him personable and likeable, but when he brought up why he wanted nothing to do with his mother, my son shut down and refused to interact with him.
Judge’s decision was that my son had veto powers over any custody agreement. My son never talked with his mother again until after high school graduation. He is 25 years now, he still has a bad relationship with his mother, and I still don’t know why.
1968. Single Mom, very poor. So poor I couldn’t afford needle & thread to sew my good blouse with a torn sleeve at shoulder. Worked for GSA, government with 2 other office ladies. Main Secretary had to have major surgery; off several weeks. The other lady became ill & took extended leave also. Left me to do all the work.
I didn’t mind as all the custodial/maintenance persons told me what a great job I was doing. They all said my annual appraisal warranted an outstanding rating; meaning a bonus of $200.
My boss called me in for the appraisal and his words: “I think you deserve an excellent rating but if I give it to you, I will have to fill out a lot of paper work. Then what will you have to work for next year”.
I was crushed and dumbfounded. It was unbelievable to the others persons as well. Within a few months, I found another job. Karma stepped in. Boss called me within a month and asked me to return as the other gals were leaving.
I was 16 years old and had an appointment my mother made because I was bleeding from my rectum. I was a 16 year old who thought it was all so dumb and wasn’t this doctors appointment just stupid and why mom did you bring me here… I was vocalizing all of this and my mom was crying and I was being awful. Finally I hear, “Shut up you little bitch!”
I was stunned. My mother probably wanted to applaud the man and I don’t blame her.
That doctor found very active ulcerative colitis. I was pretty sick. Pretty dumb too. To that end he went on to become my doctor for the next 20 years or until he retired. We had a real bond because of his big mouth.
On the day of his retirement he gave me a big hug and told me that I’d come a long way from the little brat he had met at first. He told me I was his favorite patient now. Good thing he was the best doctor I ever had.
He never apologized for saying that to me, but I did apologize for acting like a little bitch. Entitled one at that. Lol. You go Dr. Cocco!
*****PS. For anyone that thinks this behavior was wrong for a doctor. Maybe. However in this case I was bleeding actively from the inside out. This doctor could tell that with no exam really. All a person in GI bleed status has to do is fart and if you are in the medical profession you know what it smells like and tastes like pretty much without a “guaiac” or test. In this case the doctor could tell that I was mega non compliant as I was 16 and you don’t die at 16. So he stunned me into submission to get me out of there and to a hospital.
My mother had a child die from a bowel that was twisted and maybe she did or did not know what was going on. This was a whole different era. She was probably afraid it was happening again. In any event I was a bitchy little entitled brat back then. Even if it wasn’t emergent she should or would have clapped. Lord knows she tried everything else.
Just so you all know the rest of it maybe you’ll get more of the big picture.
We all pick up bad habits. One of my bad habits (I have many) is that I often swear in English. When I swear, very few people around me understands English, so they do not realize that I am swearing.
Familiarity causes problems.
So I swear at the house. My wife does not like it, but it has become so commonplace that I don’t think about it.
But…
I have a young daughter.
And GULP! she has started to swear! Oh, God no! So I stopped all my swearing completely. But I think the Genie is out of the bottle. And NO, I do not think that it is “cute”. I hate her swearing.
I think that I am handling it fine, and not raising an eyebrow when she says “What the Fuck!” or “that God-damn son of a bitch”, or anything else.
Now, I use the terms… “Jimmy Crickets”, “fiddle-sticks”, and “Gosh and golly”. Alot.
But still…
Don’t let your life change because you have gotten too relaxed and confident. A word to the wise.
Yes, he was. Albert Einstein was notoriously incapable of remaining faithful to one woman. Female beauty was his greatest weakness, and he wasn’t shy or bashful about the fact — he famously explained relativity as “an hour talking to a pretty woman feeling shorter than a minute of having one’s hand on a hot stove”.
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Albert Einstein had mistresses throughout his life. He was unfaithful to his first wife, who was the mother of his three children. He then was unfaithful to his second wife as well, who was also his cousin. The little girl on Einstein’s lap? His adopted granddaughter. Who, as legend has it, may have been an out-of-wedlock daughter fathered by the aging scientist and then adopted by one of his sons to ‘avoid scandal’.
The stereotype we have of Einstein is “somewhat confused, awkward scientist completely obsessed with his work”, but in reality, he was quite socially savvy and quite capable of seducing women, something he did often and ferociously. Women in his life were aware of his proclivities — a great man belongs ‘to the world’, and sharing, as he saw it, was caring.
Some women like their men handsome. Others go for brains. Albert Einstein had no shortage of brains… and no shortage of women in his life. He got around, so to speak, and was sexually active until old age.
I always use my cruise control as I have a heavy foot and without the control would speed without meaning to. I was on my way to church and when I turned off the expressway I stopped for a light. That turned off the cruise control. I was doing 70 in a 35 when I spotted the trouper. I slowed down and pulled over and of course he came up right behind me. The usual “Do you know why I stoped you”. I was totally honest. Explained about my cruise control being off and realized I was speeding the same time I spotted him. He went back to his cruiser and then came up, handed my license back and said, “You haven’t had a speeding ticket in years so I’m just telling you to slow down. Where were you heading anyway?” I said, “Wow, thanks and I was on my way to church just up the road”. Truth.. He smiled and said I should be on my way before any of my friends drive by and see me sitting there. I thanked him again and stayed 3 under the limited the rest of the short drive to church. I have always wondered if it was because I am a little old lady or the fact I was very honest with him. But he saved me a huge fine that day.
The western media is a coordinated propaganda machine mostly own by the far right Neocon group that has a clear agenda to demonised any nation or nations that refused to be submissive and subservient to them. And China and Russia is their key focus.
Do their coordinate their attack on China to slur it, to demonise them, to cast doubts on China, to downplay their achievements and to spew hates on China and the Chinese people. That is simply a fact and a matter of fact that everyone on earth knows except some 5% or so brain dead who blindly follow the western media narratives.
Politically the U.S. is a dead man walking. It has totally lost its plot. It has done so much shit the entire world wants to get as far away from the U.S. as possible. With the exception of US slave vassal states like Germany, Japan and South Korea, US fellow natives slaughterer like Australia, Canada and to some extent New Zealand, its fellow despicable colonial masters like UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium and those nations who loved to poke Russia in the eye and then run to hide under the U.S. skirt Lithuania or Poland!
China has 150–175 nations on earth out of the world’s 195 nations respecting and supporting them regularly versus the above 12–15 nations supporting the U.S. that is the comparison.
Obviously, I mean OBVIOUSLY, they have never been to China and have no idea how fucking enormous it is.
If you hop in a car, and start driving, it will take you days… DAYS… passing huge apartment buildings full of hard working, militarized families, studying… working… training…
image 158
…building after building. Mile after mile. Kilometer after kilometer. Over and over and over.
One enormous giga-complex housing thousands of families… after another… and another… and yet another.
China is HUGE.
Simply enormous.
…
China is not the third world cesspool that the Western “news” says it is. It’s a nation thirty years in the future. It is proud. It is strong. And it is LETHAL.
It is a dragon wearing a cute panda-bear suit.
You all in the West are unaware.
Backwards. Retarded.
Fed garbage; not just figuratively, but literally. Most American doesn’t even know where California is on a map, or how many States there are, or how much 5 + 8 is.
When I say “stupid”.
I mean it.
Meanwhile in China…
I started using facial recognition and QR to pay back in 2013. That was ten years ago. I haven’t touched a coin or paper money in all that time. Using paper money is so 19th century.
My car is electric and it talks to me, and only turns on when my voice recognition software allows it to.
It self parks, customizes the interior with a rotation of interior motifs, plays my morning jazz tunes, and gives me a nice warm back rub as it links to the toll road and carries me off to my office.
In my office, my staff brings me my coffee and turns on my systems for me. Sometimes they might have a kid or two with them, being sick or what not. No worries, though, they are their next to their parents doing their studies next to the desks.
Lunch is paid for all my staff. It’s one of the state mandated laws, and after they eat a huge healthy cafeteria meal of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, they go take their normal naps.
…
That’s just the first four hours of a typical day in China.
…
There’s a bunch of dunder-heads that think that the USA can invade China with D-Day style Naval assaults, and the threat of nuclear war.
Troll?
Moron?
Buffoon?
Ignoramus?
They believe that proud and powerful aircraft carrier will lay off the coast of China and launch cascade after cascade of fighters and bombers into China.
They think that stealthy submarines will sneak up and start bombing China. All this unopposed, and the Chinese will take it. Smile and say “… can I have another, master?”
They believe that the proud troops will be easily resupplied by Australia, Japan, Korea and Philippines. After all, that is the on-going American construction activity. Billets. Barracks. Supply depots, and large investments in bordellos for employment for the locals.
Fantasies. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
NEVER going to happen.
…
I am here to tell you that World War started in 2008.
Oh, sure, the elements started far earlier. But historians will write that the date of the war began was in 2008.
image 157
It peaked in 2020 with the bio-weapon(s) that the USA launched on China during CNY (John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo brilliance there), and fell back towards conventional war with the NATO conflict began in Ukraine.
It hasn’t gone that great though.
Wars don’t go to plan, and this crop of brain-dead, pathological psychopathic oligarchs are dangerously deluded.
Take Ukraine. Ah. The “war in Ukraine”.
What they mean is the unreported hostilities used to counter the Russian “special military operation”.
Over 3000 American soldiers (with countless more NATO gents) are dead. Just because the American “news” isn’t reporting it, doesn’t mean that it is not going on.
Dead Americans are all over the place. I have photos and photos. Movies and movies. But if I put them up, they get pulled. It’s “news you can use”, but that is bad for the Westerners to see.
Good men. Soldiers. American men.
Dead.
Over what? And why?
image 156
It is sad.
I cry for the widows at Fort Lenard Wood.
image 155
As that phase winds down with a European collapse (economic, social, industrial, and military) a new phase opened up.
All to schedule; a disruption of the middle eastern shipping lanes.
Ah… that’s gonna teach China a lesson!
In their wet dreams, perhaps. China is about 3450 steps ahead of the rest of the world. They know what underwear that you will wear two days from now. Long before you even decide to put some on. That’s how advanced China is.
This idea that “China can be isolated” has failed, and is bound to fail, as the Chinese BRI are now proving how far-sighted and successful the rerouting of shipping avenues have proven themselves.
No wonder both Russia and China are screaming forward; an economic gallop. While the collective “West” is mired in inefficiency, lunacy, and insanity.
None of which is being reported in the “news”.
Here’s some more American troops in Ukraine…
image 154
Meanwhile…
We are watching the United States collapse in front of our very eyes.
After all, Texas has laid forth the reasons for departure from the Federal monstrosity.
And look at all the “steam” that it is gathering…
image 153
And yeah.
The USA has this dream of opening up a long-desired war in the Pacific over China. Troops, material and weaponry are flooding toward the Philippines, Japan and Australia. All ready to die for “democracy”.
Whatever the Hell that means.
image 152
A rally-cry of the moronic who still believe that “their vote counts” and that American culture (woke, red-pill, open marriage, LGBQ+) is worthy of preserving.
Woo! Woo! I’m gonna kill Commies for all that free gay sex!
And when that day comes… “death by cop” will be experienced in America. Up and down the coasts. As the United States will be bludgeoned by many, many, MANY people; and their nations. People who have been ridiculed and marginalized over the decades of pompous, elitist wars and flouting.
America is NOT respected in the world.
It is despised.
It is no mistake the distain that the illegal immigrants show towards American. And they are the polite ones. The USA is poised to get a much-needed Ass-Kicking at a scale of ferocity that is off the scale; in both ferocity, and in long-duration and everlasting pain.
And the United States has lost.
It just hasn’t been reported on yet.
Look around yourselves. The USA has no downtowns. No factories. No hard workers. No functioning anything. It’s just on the long slow crumble…
At this point in time, “war against China” will not be needed.
I was swimming in the hotel swimming pool and this lonely 12 year old girl came to swim. I immediately swam to the other end. She just kept following me, and talking and saying her parents were busy, and didn’t have any time to spend with her, and she was in a strange city.
I was really really getting uncomfortable, she wasn’t doing anything wrong, and if her parents or my wife were there, I wouldn’t have been near as uncomfortable, but would still be worried.
I eventually left her in the pool by herself.
When I was living in the city, the neighbors kids, probably 5 and 6, would come out and wait by the fence for me to walk to work, and I would stop and talk to them for 5 minutes, always staying back at least 3 feet from the fence, in my own yard.
They were such cute kids. But I hardly knew the parents.
When I walk down an almost empty street, if there is a woman in front of me, I either fall further back, or speed up and pass her when there are people around. I can’t just walk at my own pace.
You have to avoid anything that looks vaguely inappropriate, even if you are doing nothing wrong.
Wife Thought Husband Was A Doormat Until He Showed EVERYONE Graphic Evidence Of Her “Adventures”
I was with a group of people who where trying out clay pigeon shooting, and were standing around in groups of 3 or 4 people.
When it was your time, you were called forward and given the shotgun, shown how to load it and where the off-catch was. Then you just needed to put the shotgun against your shoulder and call out for the pigeons to be released. Nice and simple, and the trainer was standing to the left of the shooter.
Until we had a girl who, having loaded the shotgun, had a problem and needed to talk to the trainer. So, she needed to turn around and decided to turn to her right, with the shotgun pointed horizontally in front of her. Of course, that meant that she was then pointing a loaded shotgun at everyone else in the group as she turned around.
Apart from me, no-one in the group noticed what was happening. I was, obviously, flat on the ground before she reached my position. End of shooting for her.
You know guys, sometimes I get the biggest belly-laugh when I read some of the answers here. Either they are terribly deluded, or they are immensely ignorant.
…
Here’s a REAL answer.
First of all, let’s throw out some FACTS to “set the table”, so to speak.
China has the largest Navy in the world.
China’s navy is not spread out all over the place (like the USN), but are concentrated at the projected battle fields.
China’s navy is also the oldest navy in the world. It was operating CENTURIES before the first organized navy in Europe.
China’s navy has been restructured, and operates NEW ships with cutting-leading-edge systems and technology. Many of which are unique and unknown to the West.
Were a war to occur between the USA and China, a Naval war would be the lest of the worries of the American “leadership”. Economic, social, and financial collapse would all be in free-fall.
But, let’s answer this question.
Can the United States Navy sink the Chinese Navy?
Here’s my answer…
Yes, the USN has the ability to destroy vessels, aircraft, bases, and people of the PLAN.
It is highly unlikely, however, that they will be able to completely destroy the PLAN.
It is likely that in the process of this destruction, that the USN would suffer great losses in men, material, weapons, and vessels.
Both sides will likely take great losses.
But this is 2024. China’s city-destroying munition capabilities are global. The consequence of a United States (or proxy) war against China will result in the people of the attacking nation being hurt.
Thus…
American major cities will also become targets for destruction.
…
Remember, boys and girls, China is a peaceful nation…
…until it isn’t.
…
Never forget the great losses that the United States incurred the last time they fought the Chinese.
Look at the BIG PICTURE. Not the tactical issues, but the strategic issues. Then faced with this reality, project the highest probability outcomes.
Three days! In fact, they fired the CEO that fired me, then called and asked if I would consider coming back. I said, no. They then offered me a contractor position at over $200 an hour, I still said, no thank you. They ended up hiring someone nearly twice my salary and that person quit within 90 days. Although still happily unemployed, I never considered going back. Two weeks after my severance pay ran out, I found another job and was very happy. More pay, less stress, and much better management. I was lucky! My previous company, no so much. They tried contacting me a few times for questions, and I gave them info if I could but I never did any work for them again. I followed the recently fired CEO on LinkedIn and till this day, she is still unemployed. I sure hope she learned her lesson about hiring friends with less skills to replace experienced workers. It may not have been her best plan for success. Just about all the management were inexperienced friends of the CEO. Of course, many were let go once she was fired. The company is near bankruptcy and most of the good talent started to leave. It is sad just how much damage a CEO can do to a company when they put their own interest first.
second class life in MOSCOW! better than the WEST?
Examples of pointless human cruelty are, sadly, boundless. This is a shocking image and I apologize in advance for sharing it, but here’s one that truly got to me… in Belarus, 1918, after WWI had already ended, the brave Russian officer Rosinski was captured by the Bolsheviks.
image 159
The Bolsheviks tortured the captain, likely to get information out of the man, which he bravely refused to give. After that, they simply continued with the torture out of some sick sense of innate cruelty. He was ‘the enemy’ and he was at their mercy, so they brutally murdered their captive.
The brave captain was emasculated. And anally impaled on a tree branch. All this while still alive.
Alfred Savoir, the man who published the picture and was an eye witness to the death of the brave military officer, described “M. B.”, who ordered this atrocity, thus:
I knew him not long ago; he was a charming teenager with an ironic wit and joker. He was rubbed with French culture, he admired the novels of Barres and he quoted willingly poets that I did not know quite. He was also a great dancer, a great flirteur and a good bridger. He often came to Paris, and he amused himself.
Today, this bourgeois benevolent and skeptical, this happy boy is impaling people. Understand who can!
This is a perfect example of just how cruel people can get. And also, its a perfect example of the very worst treatment, torture and humiliation a human being can be forced to endure.
What shocked Savoir the most when seeing the scene, wasn’t just the act of cruelty itself, but the utter indifference of the crowd:
“In this inhuman document you will find something more terrible than torture, it is the attitude of the crowd. Look at these figures: they are bored! A horse falling Avenue de l’Opera provokes in the Parisian public more reflexes, more comments. Here, what placidity, what indifference!”
Basically, the Communist soldiers overseeing the brutal torture of the prisoner of war in their hands, had seen similar horrendous tortures taking place before their very eyes. Rosinski, chillingly enough, wasn’t even the first, or the worst of their victims.
Needless to say, the image and story have been etched in my mind forever. Why are humans this way? Simply because they can be. You give a person the power over life and death, and you’d be surprised by how even the most polite and milquetoast person turns into a psychopath practically overnight under the right circumstances…
Pictures of Noah’s Ark That Are Completely Real — If They Happened Today
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The classic cosmic do-it-yourself project, Noah’s Ark, is probably well known to all of you. In it, God tells Noah to “build a giant ark, grab two of every animal, and let’s turn this planet into a giant water park.” But what if this tale involved a common man who was having financial difficulties today?
It all began in the 1990’s under President Bill Clinton. By off-shoring manufacturing, and converting to finance and a Managerial economy, the GDP reflects a measure of how wealthy the top 1% is in a given nation.
Elements of society that generate profit for very wealthy people, for large corporations, and for the government are measured int his calculus. Things that matter to them; things that generate money for them, are what is measured.
The collectable tax base. Higher taxes = higher GDP.
Annual liquidity of the currency of the nation. Less savings = higher GDP.
Vacant buildings; a potential to be rented out for profit. Empty building = GDP.
Income from tariffs for inbound imported items. Add tariffs = Higher GDP.
Population. More people = Higher GDP.
Income from duties; on inbound products. More duties = Higher GDP.
Services; potential or realized. Includes babysitting, and waitress activity.
The success of the stock market. Direct correlation.
Inflation. The higher the inflation; the higher the GDP.
Personally, I think this is a Ponzi scheme of great deception. As it holds no advantage to a business owner, or an investor in determination of value, gain or loss of anything. It is just a rather useless measure that is used by the “news media” to convince dissatisfied people that they are happy and doing well.
This isn’t my idea.
This is what is discussed in the most prestigious video with the great economics professors of the West; Michael Hudson, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen.
She took one of my team members out for drinks with some other colleagues and didn’t invite me. I didn’t mind at all at the time because people form friendships at work and it’s fine not to always invite everyone. But I did think it was a bit odd.
It turned out that this was the beginning of an elaborate campaign to try to get my job. She tried to undermine me with my staff, my peers and my management as well as my stakeholders. She blamed me for things going wrong, lied about things I had said/not said, and tried to take my work off me. She even tried to tell my lesbian staff member that I was homophobic.
She wasn’t subtle. And because I prioritise people management and relationships at work, it got her nowhere. I got my revenge a bit later when asked to review a crucial report she had produced. I eviscerated it, quietly suggested to my manager that if she wasn’t capable of such basic work, and couldn’t write grammatically correct English, perhaps her contract shouldn’t be renewed.
She never spoke to me again, and left shortly after.
When my wife and I were first married we would frequently buy coupon books that were put out by charities that gave discounts to go to different restaurants. We really enjoyed this because it gave us a chance to go around see different restaurants but also to see different parts of the city where we lived.
One night at about 7:00 around the Christmas holidays we went to a small Mexican restaurant that was in a nearby town. We went in and there were very few people in the restaurant and it was very small with only four or five tables. We were seated by a young girl who looked to be about 11 or 12 years old. She greeted us politely and gave us menus. She came back to the table and took our orders and my wife and I were able to sit and have a nice quiet conversation.
When the food came the young girl and her younger brother who appeared to be about eight years old carried the food to the table, expertly placed it in front of us and brought us our non-alcoholic drinks. A little while later she came back and asked us how the food was and we told her that it was very good.
At this point we we were puzzled because they seemed to be the only two in the restaurant. I got up and walked to the door of the kitchen and saw only the two children working hard as they prepared food at the stove.
So when he brought the bill I asked the young girl where the adults were who owned the restaurant. She explained to me that her mother and father had gone out for the evening because it was near the Christmas holidays and they hadn’t had much time together.
She and her brother had cooked dinner for us, served it and also accurately handled the bill at the end of the dinner. She even gave us each a piece of candy and wished us a merry Christmas.
My wife and I were both stunned as we left and talked about these two little children who prepared and served such a good dinner. This became a subject that we talked about for years.
Walter White’s 5 Most Badass Moves | Breaking Bad ( Bryan Cranston)
I would like to start this by saying I am an American who has lived in the UK for 38 years, worked in 12 countries and visited 43 countries. My Bachelors is a BSc (Economics) in International Relations.i will try to be as unbiased as possible.
The experiences are very different. Jingoism and patriotic brainwashing takes place in many countries, but honestly, my life in a Californian elementary school had more in common with China and North Korea than most of Europe. Pledging the flag every day and the teaching of American exceptionalism. Yes, the is much to be proud of in the US from the National Park movement to flight, amazing manufacturing leap forwards to putting man on the moon. However there is much that is not taught:
The natural resources of the US created great wealth, the founding fathers were largely gentry land owners (and mainly slave owners). Washington and Jefferson’s families have had huge estates in Northamptonshire England, and went to the US as it was not enough for them.
Slavery – this is taught now. It made a huge difference in wealth creation. Meanwhile most of Europe, slavery was illegal (yes I know rich brits and Dutch owned slave trade companies and the abolition movement pressured hard in Europe to stop it, and did a generation before the US Civil War.
Robber Barons exploited the poor in the South (and the North) and were even celebrated for living the American dream. The union movement in the early 20th century started to counter this. But the fear of the “red menace” largely squashed it in the post war years.
The 2 world wars decimated Europe, WWII especially. So America, who’s infrastructure was largely unaffected profited well as decolonisation took place and Europe rebuilt. The balance of power changed.
The dollar became king. America was seen as the land of opportunity. But really the mind set of Puritan settlements seen as radical nut jobs in Europe, coupled with the propaganda of the revolution (remember the red coats protected shipping lanes from pirates and also tried to defend the colonies from the indigenous population, that is not cheap and the tax on tea was to help pay for that) and everything else led to small government, frontier spirit and let’s be honest, exploitation of immigrants and the working class. The country was new, so yes, opportunity was there.
But now, so many people have to work hard to feed their families. One sickness can lead to bankrupt and homelessness. People are largely ruled by fear and capitalism. It is sad, but true.
Now compare this to the European experience. The American revolution showed Europe a route for change. And revolutions took place through the late 18th and through the 19th centuries. But it was to workers and farmers that led the charge, not the upper echelons of society like America. Strikes and worker mobilisation and supportive societies led to stopping children in factories and up chimneys. It led to rights for the workers. In the tin mines of Cornwall, in the early 1800’s, the average life expectancy was 23. People rose up to fight for their rights. And they were given, after long hard fights.
Attitudes were different after the world wars. The populations lost so many compared to America (of course the US involvement, where my Grandmother’s first husband was killed on the beaches of Normandy) led Europe to be thankful, but it was nothing of the scale in Europe. Most people wanted (and want) a better quality of life. Socialised medicine systems like the NHS were established. Worker rights improved further to encourage them to work in different industries (the UK encouraged people from India, the Caribbean and Africa to come and work here). There are similar stories in mainland Europe. We saw that by having these things in place, people became happier and more productive.
I know no European who really considers health insurance before moving jobs. It is not a thing. I do know many who like packages where they can take less pay for even more leave.
I now work in the NHS. I have 31 days off a year as paid vacation and 8 bank holidays. I work as hard as I have in other countries as my American work ethic was drummed into me since childhood. But I have travelled the world, taken time to see friends and family, indulged in hobbies, been to 90% of my kids’ school events and relaxed when we have had a hard time. I am told off if I go too long without a break or don’t use my allocation. I am told off if I am seen emailing when I am off.
Between social health care and annual leave I believe I experience a far greater level of freedom now than I did in the States. And I really wish my fellow Americans could experience it too.
First time in Chinese new year CCTV performance, the PLA: “winning 决胜” with island landing: that shows Beijing determination towards Taiwan reunification. This is unusual as traditionally, Chinese new year celebrations are without 🔥. Enjoys the 3.27minutes video :
Over 35 years ago, our small daughter had a fairly young (16–17yo) babysitter while I worked at a part time job in a school. Obviously the babysitter was not required during school holidays, so the babysitter, who I will call Marjorie, decided on the spur of the moment to hop on an interstate bus and have her own little holiday.
Before school recommenced, Marjorie came to me looking embarrassed, and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t babysit for you any more.” I was a bit blindsided as I knew she hadn’t just found a new job or anything like that, so I asked what was the matter. With much embarrassment, Marjorie told me that on her return to our small town, she found that there were rumours circulating to the effect that her sudden departure on her holiday was because I had come home unexpectedly to find her in bed with my husband.
Talk about making a story out of nothing! (I should note that at another time when my husband went on leave from his job at the same time his company car broke down and had to be towed to the city for repairs, the rumours circulated that his absence was due to his crashing the company car and breaking his leg 🙄). Apart from it being totally untrue, it was insulting to my husband to insinuate that he would be having an affair with a barely legal teenager. And poor Marjorie, who was a very sweet young lady, was mortified.
So I said, “If you stop babysitting for us, it will reinforce the belief that there is truth to this disgusting rumour. What we need to do is to go shopping together in the main street and have lunch, then for you to keep babysitting to demonstrate that nothing has happened.”
When I was a young boy, my parents warned me to stay away from a particular house on the West side of town. My parents would warn “They want to be left alone, so leave them be. Do not go up there, and do not provoke them. Remember they have guns.”
Why ask questions that you know the answer to?
What are you, a sadist? Asking the same old questions day in, and day out. Hoping, praying, waiting, for some other tidbit of information that would make the reality easier to digest?
On paper, in theory, all of the 11 aircraft carriers that the United States fields (10 Nimitz and 1 Ford), could be destroyed by Chinese conventionally-armed DF-26 “carrier Killer” missiles. Given the flight times for the latest upgrades for the hyper-velocity versions of the DF-26 anticipated stopwatch from launch to destruction is within five minutes within the 4000 Km range.
image 151
They are very effective.
And are designed to completely destroy Aircraft carriers.
China has a few thousand of them. Against what? 15 aircraft carriers.
From time to time, China takes them out as a warning to overly aggressive American neocons that are getting “too big for their britches”.
These units are not the ONLY weapons systems that are designed to destroy carrier flotillas, islands, and large bases like in Guam or Hawaii. There are many others. It’s just that the DF-26 is particularly good at it. Given the enormous numbers of launchers, and the insane levels of stockpiled munitions, one can only assume that all targets from land bases to submarines will be the prey for this missile.
The DF-26 appears to be designed specifically for high precision conventional strikes. The most likely target for the DF-26 missile would be Guam going by the range of the missile. Given the nature of the targets in Guam, which are mostly air bases (Guam has two large air bases where, as revealed by satellite imagery, B-52 squadrons are deployed), the DF-26 might be carrying specially designed cluster based bomb-lets to cause maximum damage to bombers spread out on the tarmac. In addition, there could be a specially designed deep penetration warhead for Hardened and Deeply Buried Targets (HDBTs).
Now, for the longest time, the USN and the ONI have been very quiet about the massive exponential increase in Chinese weapon lethality, survival-ability, and technology. The reports have been duly logged. The studies have been gamed out. The results and conclusions have been presented, filed and forgotten.
But it has only been during the last year that the USN admirals have become increasingly frenzied when dealing with hawkish Administration and Senate members. These people are not taking “no” for an answer, and want to find some edge; some justification, to “pull off” a “successful” war against China.
So, sometime, within the last nine months or so, the ONI through a number of key admirals, laid out the reality to the neocon “war hawks”.
The Chinese “just ran rings around us,” said former Joint Chiefs Vice Chair Gen. John Hyten in one after-action report
. “They knew exactly what we were going to do before we did it.”
Dozens of versions of the above war-game scenario have been enacted over the last few years, most recently
in April by the House Select Committee on competition with China. And while the ultimate outcome in these exercises is not always clear — the U.S. does better in some than others — the cost is. In every exercise the U.S. uses up all its long-range air-to-surface missiles in a few days, with a substantial portion of its planes destroyed on the ground. In every exercise the U.S. is not engaged in an abstract push-button war from 30,000 feet up like the ones Americans have come to expect since the end of the Cold War, but a horrifically bloody one.
And that’s assuming the U.S.-China war doesn’t go nuclear.
“The thing we see across all the wargames is that there are major losses on all sides. And the impact of that on our society is quite devastating,” said Becca Wasser, who played the role of the Chinese leadership in the Select Committee’s wargame and is head of the gaming lab at the Center for a New American Security.
“The most common thread in these exercises is that the United States needs to take steps now in the Indo-Pacific to ensure the conflict doesn’t happen in the future.
We are hugely behind the curve. Ukraine is our wakeup call. This is our watershed moment.”
So…
Please give me a break. Stop asking for answers that you do not want to hear.
If the United States drops one bullet inside of China, and Taiwan is China, the entire USN gets sunk. And the American losses in the first two hours will be absolutely horrific.
Finally, keep in mind that the limitations of the DF-26 (4,000 km) represents just a tiny portion of the massively lethal military onslaught that the China is ready and willing to unleash upon the United States and it’s idiotic “allies”. I suggest the Mr. DF-41 educate you all on what will happen to American and European cities. And lets not forget the up front and personal Type 094 or Jin class submarines.
China Launched a new Generation of Fighting Robots that Shocked the World
I’ve been fortunate so far in avoiding most scams. But a recent incident is worth noting. The driver side window was coming off the track in my wife’s Corolla. I took the vehicle to a Toyota dealership. They diagnosed the problem as a bent window regulator. The diagnosis cost nearly $100. But the repair would cost an additional $500. This did not seems right to me, so I declined. A bit of research on YouTube led me to purchase the part for $50. I saved an additional $50 money by purchasing a window regulator without the motor, then just transferred the motor from the stock unit. The most relevant aspect is that I was able to complete the entire repair in well under 1 hour. It was straightforward, and it worked perfectly. Charging $600 for the job is a scam – period.
In retrospect, I doubt the repair tech ever removed the door panel. Since this incident, I take my vehicles to a nearby independent shop that has earned my respect. Furthermore, I regularly reference YouTube for guidance in making minor repairs myself.
Women know but still won’t change, they just demand men accept their damage.
I had a young man who worked for me, quite a few years back, for about 6 months. He was constantly late to work which use to annoy me no end.
When staff come to work late on more than one occasion, I sit them down and have a chat. I let them know that I have noticed that they are late and that it makes me feel bad. I feel bad because it tells me that they don’t want to be there. So I ask them if that’s true and if I can do anything to improve this.
Every time I have this conversation it has never been said to me that they don’t like the job or don’t want to be there. So I continue with the reality that if I don’t insist upon them being at work on time it has the potential to spread to all the other employees and I can’t have that happening. I ask that they be mindful of the wider implications of being late and to make sure it isn’t a habit.
So this is how it went with this young man except he continued to come in late. My conversations gradually changed from nice to demanding to threatening him with losing his job if he kept it up.
Sure enough he again came in late,again, and I fired him for it. He was shocked and couldn’t understand why and literally said this golden nugget to me. “Why? I haven’t been late since the last time!”
In Australia the industrial relations law at the time allowed me to fire any employee, with no written warnings, if they had been with the company less than a year and the company employed lease than 15 people. This being the case I was well within my rights to fire him without a formal process.
A few weeks after his termination I am served with papers informing me that a wrongful termination complaint has been filed against me and I have to appear before a tribunal. Great!
In his filing he lied about his start date and lied about the size of my company and the number of employees. I had to prove otherwise and sent this documentation into the tribunal along with why he was fired prior to the hearing. It was work I shouldn’t have had to do but it was not too onerous.
I wrongly assumed the tribunal would throw the case out based on the evidence I gave them and the lack of evidence he gave, but no, it went ahead anyway.
He and his representatives – by the way, I was not allowed representation – talked about his work and why he shouldn’t have been sacked and how bad an employer I was, this carried on for about 15 minutes and was mostly untrue.
When my turn came I declined to talk about him, his work or say anything negative. I told the tribunal it wouldn’t serve any positive purpose talking about his work. I simply addressed the two key pieces of evidence that allowed me to fire him with no come back.
The tribunal then separated us both to speak with us separately. I was told by them they could tell I was a good employer by what I said and how I didn’t say anything negative about him. They said I had done nothing wrong and asked if I would consider reversing my decision to fire him and let him resign instead.
I resisted this as that wasn’t how it happened but relented after further pressure from the tribunal.
The whole thing, in my mind, was him deliberately wasting my time so he could make me pay for having fired him. It’s possible he was after a payout too but the way the tribunal saw things it was obvious he couldn’t succeed with that.
For those who will feel the need to side with the employee because all employers are money hungry, slave driving mongrels and want to leave me some comments.
Know this:
He never rang to say he was going to be late. He was at the gym prior to coming to work. His work was not good when he was there. He was late on more than 10 occasions. I also asked his supervisor to talk to him about being late. He never once offered to make up the time and was very quickly out the door at days end. He also never asked to vary his hours either.
So let’s begin by by prefacing this saying this happened to by my god-daughter’s mother. I had known this lady for over 24 years at the time. I was the one person that she called when she needed help, a ride to work, grocery stores planning her money, and things like that. So I didn’t think twice, when she asked to borrow my extra truck for awhile. So I’m thinking that she’s only wanted to be able to do couple things for a week or so, but NO. She ends up keeping it for nearly a year, didn’t change the oil change when I told her that she needed to after keeping it more than 5 months. But she did get an front end alignment, then she bugged me about getting her money back for it so much, I just said f*¢£ it. I ended up showing her to continue to drive the truck just about a years time. Finally she calls me and tells me I can come and pick it up cause she was moving to different house. I go to get it and find out that the only reason she was returning it was the engine had messed up, and needed fixing.
So I she called me up to tell me that I can have the truck back, but it going to need some fixing up. And just to make herself look better, she calls a mechanic, to diagnose the problem. He dies and she even arranges for him to fix it. But he has never fixed it or returned the truck. So far forward two years and she is asking to borrow the other car I had bought to replace truck, plus loan her several hundred dollars. She even tried get her daughter to sweet talk me into give her what she wants. I didn’t give in and told her that I just didn’t haveit then. No darn way I was going to help her out anymore after she messed up my truck.
May be because the “some people” is indeed 87% of the world call the Global South! And maybe because those people has intelligence, you don’t! You thought sucking up to the U.S. and helping them stay in denial is great.
Oh by the way the rest of the 13% most are coerce into saying US is great, some are forced to do, the rest are wishful that US is strong! A bankrupt nation with a million homeless with 35 trillion dollars debts is anything but strong!
Tagliatelle with Gorgonzola Sauce
blue cheese pasta 10
Ingredients
25g/1 ounce/2 tablespoons butter, + extra for tossing the pasta
225g/8 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, divided
150ml/1/4 pint/2/3 cup double or whipping cream
30ml/ 2 tablespoons dry vermouth
5ml/ 1 teaspoon cornflour
15ml/1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
450g/1 pound tagliatelle
Salt and ground black pepper
blue cheese pasta 8
Instructions
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan ( it needs to be thick based to prevent the cheese from burning).
Stir in 175g/6 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese and stir over a gentle heat for about 2 to 3 minutes until melted.
Whisk in the cream, vermouth and cornflour.
Add the sage; season. Cook, whisking, until the sauce boils and thickens.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water according to the instructions on the packet.
Drain well and toss with a little butter.
Reheat the sauce gently, whisking well.
Divide the pasta among 4 serving bowls, top with the sauce and sprinkle over the remaining crumbled cheese.
Interview to Tucker Carlson – Kremlin.ru, Feb 9 2024 Vladimir Putin answered questions from Tucker Carlson, a journalist and founder of Tucker Carlson Network.
> Russia is said to weaponize everything. The position of China is not (yet) seen in military terms. The emphasis is on economic competition. Any undeniable Chinese achievement must be declared to have been a bad investment. The directive thus reads:
“When writing about China’s achievements – question their purported cost.”
But we will be very polite if you’re 1) not that brainwashed and 2) reasonable.
Positive reports about China are rare to be seen in American media, you don’t think it’s strange.
Posts revealing the facts behind your propaganda on Tweeter/X or Facebook got deleted, you don’t think it’s strange.
Chinese users were banned on social media for no reason, you don’t think it’s strange.
Chinese quorans are upset and disappointed about this, because no matter how detailed we tried to prove China is not what you thought, what replies I frequently received is: it’s China’s propaganda.
OK, fine, whatever.
Several days ago, I met a guy here, his argument is, China DID genocide Uyghurs, because he has evidences. I checked his evidences only to find they are reports on some mainstram media.
Firstly I told him, although those reports had “revealed” some CCP documents, but it is about the vocational education records (background information: Chinese farmers do not own large peice of land, so they are not able to be rich on their small piece of land due to huge polulation, and they usually don’t have chances to work in cities due to their economic status), and this is a proverty-eradication program initiated by government. However, MSM like NYT took it as an evidence of “forced labour”, LMAO, this program is nation wide, not just in Xinjiang but to all Chinese in lower income levels. Obviously he didn’t know this background.
He said although he can’t read Chinese, he can verify the information via translation.
Then I told him 1) what you can verify is the translation, not the truth, 2) this is called selective appropriation , translation usually used to project negative images in news reports, these are academic conclusion in communication studies and I have a degree in this area.
He said he can’t verify my education background.
Then I suggested him to read some of the leading scholars in this area.
This is just a simple version of what happened.
The fact is, during the course, I’m annoyed by his stubbornness and arrogance, and his attitude rejecting any polite argument, then I lost control, calling him brainwashed, stupid, uneducated.
See, this is a typical case of Chinese quorans being “strangely aggressive”.
This is in the era when computers broke the $1,000 price so a lot of people with limited skills were getting them.
At that time, I made PC clones, and sold/serviced them (and any other brands) in the local area. Think: small town.
The PCs we sold were all with home delivery and setup. That saved so much hassle (for us and our clients). At least when we left they could dial up and get online and surf the internet. Usually! One client it just wouldn’t work. Wrong password error no matter how many times he tried.
Finally, we got the ISP to tell what password he was trying to use. Let’s say it was ABC, the correct one. When we setup it up with logged in fine. Saved the password. So all he had to do was click connect.
But what he did was add ABC to the password field. So his first attempt to login was with ABCABC then ABCABCABC. Each time he tried he just appended his correct password onto a long string of correct passwords.
Computer were new… that is an easy thing to do. And the in home setup and service got us past a lot of those kinds of issues.
It wasn’t uncommon when at someone’s house for service (not a new one) the client would want me to clean up the hard disk. Kinda like go through their folders and ask “do you want this?” and if not click delete.
Sometimes they would mention it would be best to avoid a specific folder or so.
So, this guy asks me to clean up his folders…. and we’re going through one by one. Now, I am not a prude and could careless if you have porn on your computer.
But, I click a folder and the screen fills with adult images…. of my client sitting next to me and others some of whom I recall knowing! Now, that is really something I don’t want to see! I think my client was also a little more than embarassed.
The Spiritual Connection of Cats | Why Did GOD put a CAT in your life ?
My father had a boyhood “best friend”. His name was Zeke.
He used to tell me stories. They would go fishing together as boys. They would do things. They would get drunk, and they would live their lives on “Polish Hill” a Polish-American suburb in Pittsburgh.
He was Zeke’s “best man” at his wedding. And he knew both Zeke and his wife quite well as they all were High School friends.
One day…
…I was perhaps 16 years old at the time, and having a long-distance, relationship with my girlfriend. With periodic phone calls, and weekend visits to her home in Lower Burrel, PA.
One day…
My father was crestfallen. He came home (from work) and was pale as a ghost.
It turns out that his buddy Zeke had an argument with his wife. It was pretty bad. And the wife took out a pistol and shot Zeke in the face.
BLAM!
It apparently blew most of his head off, and he was buried in a closed-casket.
It really shook my dad up, and I don’t blame him.
Now, myself, being much older… has had good long time “best Buds” Childhood friends dead… yeah I know what it is like.
Robbie… drug overdose. Marcus… Suicide by shotgun blast. My cousin Sincere’ … Coronavirus.
My brother, Daniel… I just don’t know… he doesn’t answer any e-mails. It’s been over a year now.
Life moves on.
People.
Life is too short to die over an argument. If you and your spouse are not getting along… then leave. No one needs to die over anything.
At the age of 39 I had it all. A loving wife, two fantastic kids, an apartment in New York City, a house in the country, new car, nice vacations and a high paying job as Creative Director of a hot creative advertising agency.
Everyone wanted to be me.
Except me.
On the outside I was the poster boy for Happy Successful Man Who Has His Whole Future Ahead Of Him. But deep down inside I was miserable.
I began to assault myself daily with that five word mantra. The one that so many of us begin muttering when they find themselves wandering through that unfamiliar, unsettling neighborhood known as midlife.
Is this all there is?
We don’t ask ourselves that question when we’re 25. It’s still too early in the first quarter of the game. We caught the ball on the five yard line and we’re making our way up the field.
But at 39, it’s halftime. Do the math. The average man is going to live till the age of 78. I was on the back nine.
I know — your actual mileage may vary. You could get killed falling off a ladder at age 60. Or at the age of 100 you could fall off a hooker. There’s a lot of latitude in The Middle. But somewhere between 30 and 50 you’re halfway done. It’s up to you to decide when to look at the face in the mirror and say:
Is this all there is?
No. There’s a whole lot more. And I’m going to tell you how to get there. Tonight I’m going to send someone to your house. He’s a teenager, about 17 or 18. He doesn’t know much about life — what teenager does? But he knows what’s cool. And after talking to you for a couple of hours, he’s going to be able to zero in on what’s a cool new direction for you to head in.
In fact, by the end of the evening, this kid is going to completely outline and plan the second half of your life. And that’s what you’ll do. Trust me, it will be cool.
What’s that you say? That’s the dumbest damn thing you ever heard? Why should you let some teenage kid with no world experience plan the second half of your life?
My answer is, why did you let him plan the first half?
This rut that you’re stuck in, this life that you’re trapped in, who planned it? Not you. Not the YOU you are now. Most of us form our life’s plans shortly after high school. Maybe we’re 16, maybe we’re 23, but for the most part we’re still kids. And then once we make a plan, we stick with it.
That was my insight. I was pushing 40 and still living the dream of some teenage kid.
That kid didn’t exist anymore, and yet I was still following the path he laid out for me. Most kids can’t project past next Saturday, much less conjure up what your life could be like 25 years down the road.
That was the moment I decided that the 40 year old me should start planning the life of the 60 year old me and beyond.
I was at the top of the ladder, and I suddenly realized I didn’t need one more rung. I wanted to find a new ladder.
I did. Climbing that ladder was at times terrifying, but never boring. Today I have all the things I had at the age of 39 and more. But this time around I’m deliriously happy with who I am and where I am. I still have dreams for the future, but I no longer wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and ask is this all there is?
My Act Two was conceived, written, produced, and directed by an adult. And I’m grateful for the insight that convinced him to take on the job.
EDIT – JANUARY 30, 2017: Dear People of Quora. I am overwhelmed by your response to my post. Not because the number of views and upvotes have skyrocketed, but because most of the comments and the private messages have asked me for more. Lots more.
One commenter, Traci Amick, said it like this: “Marshall, Marshall, Marshall… You can’t leave us hanging! When you made the decision to redirect and change your life what and how did you do it?”
There was a reason I left you hanging. I’ll get to that in a minute. But first, let me give you a brief (and I do mean brief) overview of what happened after the light bulb went on.
Here I was, pushing 40. At my core I’m a writer, but somewhere along the way the ad agency that hired me to write ads promoted me and paid me more money to stop writing and start managing. I wore suits, spent a lot more face time with clients, and I supervised a hundred other people. And while it was often gratifying, I realized that my career had stolen the one thing I loved doing most. Writing.
My solution was to start writing on my own. Over the course of countless nights and weekends I wrote a play, Squabbles, a comedy. Two years later it ran for eight weeks in a dinner theatre in Kansas City. (Since then it has played in thousands of theatres around the US.)
Shortly after Squabbles opened, ABC-TV asked me to turn it into a pilot for a sitcom. It didn’t fly, but now I was an accredited pilot writer, and for the next 6 years I kept my day job as an advertising agency Creative Director, and developed TV pilots for the networks on my own time. It’s unusual for a pilot to get picked up for a series, but two of mine did. I was 45 when the second one got picked up, and I decided to make the leap. I left advertising for TV.
I went to Hollywood, but it wasn’t fair to uproot my wife and kids to chase my dream, so they stayed in New York. I flew home as often as I could, which wasn’t often enough. Many of you asked if my quest for a new career wrecked my marriage. Just the opposite. After two years, despite the fact that I was on the fast track, I left Hollywood and came back to what was most important to me — my family.
There were some TV writing opportunities in New York, and I wrote a movie script which I sold and produced, and then — out of nowhere — a whole new creative avenue opened up. The Internet.
I caught the wave early. I opened Compelling Content, an Internet advertising agency, sold it five years later, and eventually zeroed in on the final frontier for every writer. A novel.
That took five years, and in 2006, I published The Rabbit Factory, my first crime fiction novel. Today I’m a #1 best selling author, with five books of my own, and the coauthor of the NYPD Red series with James Patterson.
I didn’t mention that in the original post because I didn’t want to be thrown off Quora for shameless self-promotion.
I’m not on Quora to sell my books. I’m here to exchange information, to share experiences, to give and take bits and pieces of life magic. I love this forum, and I’m grateful that one of my posts could resonate with so many of you.
One final note: Eight days after my original post I have a quarter of a million views, 3300 upvotes, and over 100 comments and messages. In the beginning, I responded to the comments, but I’ve reached the point where I no longer can. I wish I could, but I have to get back to my day job. Writing.
At the moment, I’m working on NYPD Red 5 with James Patterson. But this experience on Quora, especially your comments and messages, has made me realize that there are a lot of people out there going through the same mid life career angst that I went through. And that the 60,000 word version of my story just might make an interesting book.
EDIT 2 – FEBRUARY 15, 2017: One million views. Humbling to say the least (and I’m not exactly a guy who’s world famous for his humility).
The subject of life change is a hot button for most of us, but more often than not it’s the story of someone stuck in a dead end job who is looking for a better way. My experience wasn’t that. I walked away from a successful career that was stifling me, and today I’m thriving in the one I had been dreaming about.
I get a lot of head nods when I share my story in person, but I’m amazed that it resonated with so many people across this global forum.
Thank you for your eyeballs, your upvotes, and your feedback.
I was able to answer every direct message, but because of a Quora Quirk it’s extremely difficult to respond to the hundreds of comments. There’s no logic to the order in which they appear and no way to reorder them so the newest are at the top. That means I have to click on “comments,” scroll through five or six, then click on “more comments.” Eventually, I get to one I haven’t read yet, but as soon as I send a reply, the site takes me back to the top of the comments, and I have to go through the process all over again.
EDIT 3-MARCH 18, 2017: For those of you who wanted more details (really — it’s not my ego; some of you actually asked) I’ve expanded my answer into an article on Medium. Thank you for the encouragement. Here’s the link: The Thrills and Perils of Switching Careers
I rented the ground-level apartment in my friend’s split level for a few years. The guys who rented upstairs owned a party lighting company, and as a result they usually came home from work around 3 AM. I worked a nine-to-five job, and I’m a fairly light sleeper. When they came home from work, they’d occasionally turn on the TV, and usually fairly loud, which would of course wake me up, but most of the time I could drown out the noise by turning on a fan in my bedroom.
This was annoying but I could deal with it……until one of their girlfriends moved in upstairs. This nasty such-and-such had no problem with turning up the volume on the TV all the way, in the middle of the night every night, and watching for hours. This was the early years of flat-screen TVs and they had a big one, so likely it was verrrry expensive. When I knocked on the door to ask them to turn it down, I was told ‘this is when we get home from work and we’ll do what we want’. Even having my friend, their landlord, intervene, had no effect.
Well, a few nights of one or two hours’ sleep made me downright ingenious. I remembered that once, while microwaving my dinner, I had started vacuuming the floor and having both appliances turned on tripped the circuit breaker. I crossed my fingers that we were on the same circuit and during the next morning’s 3 AM showing of Willy Wonka, with the girlfriend screaming “I love this movie!” and turning the volume up even louder than usual, I turned on the microwave and the vacuum. Five seconds and poof! Blessed silence! I heard a little shuffling around upstairs, then one of them went down into the basement and reset the circuit breaker.
The power came back on, and so did the television. I waited about a minute before turning back on the microwave and vacuum. Poof! Silence! They reset the circuit breaker again, but this time there was no more TV. I went back to the most blissful slumber ever.
My friend later told me that they complained to him about the power going out because it was such an expensive TV and that could damage the electronics. I told him that if they kept the volume to a respectable level then I wouldn’t have to do anything about it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to if it happened again. The microwave/vacuum trick was only necessary a couple more times before they got the hint and kept the noise down in the middle of the night.
Chinese believes in owning assets and keeping a healthy cash flow. As a Chinese origin I do find western lease or rental mindset difficult to comprehend but it is a cultural thing.
Chinese people feel compel to own things and to not let others dictate lease terms to them. Westerners feel that buying assets when you can lease them makes more sense. But to me it is cultural. China is a 5000 years nation, the west like the U.S, Canada and Australia are merely 250 years or so. They are a warrior type mentality that fights all the time. I guess it impacted their mindset.
Chicken Scaloppini with Rustic Tomato Olive Spaghetti
2024 02 03 09 03
The ingredients are married perfectly to enhance the chicken.
Ingredients
4 ounces multi-grain thin spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large leek, white and light green parts, thinly sliced (or 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 cup Lindsay® California Ripe Pitted Olives, halved lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 egg whites
1/4 cup dried Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 (4 ounces) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Instructions
Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté leek and garlic in oil 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, olives and pepper flakes; simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, beat egg whites with 1 tablespoon water in a shallow dish or pie plate.
Place bread crumbs in another shallow dish or pie plate.
Dip each cutlet in egg mixture letting excess drip off. Dredge in bread crumbs to coat each side lightly.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; sauté for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.
Drain spaghetti; transfer to four serving plates. Spoon tomato sauce over spaghetti; top with chicken and garnish with basil.
Prep: 15 min | Cook: 15 min | Servings: 4
Nutrients Per Serving: Calories: 401, Calories from fat: 132, Total fat: 15g, Monounsaturated fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 73mg, Sodium: 683mg, Total Carbohydrates: 33g Dietary fiber: 4g Protein: 33g
I asked AI to make a Music Video… the results are trippy
Pol Pot (real name Saloth Sâr) was the dictator of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, taking power at the end of the Cambodian Civil War. As soon as he took power, He and his administration transformed Cambodia into a one party communist dictatorship. Over the next 4 years, he and his administration committed various human rights violations and carried out what is now known as the Cambodian Genocide. To go into more detail, Pol Pot and his administration:
• Forced the Cambodian population to work without pay.
• Made the Cambodian population live in the country side by forceful removing them from their homes in the cites.
• Destroyed Cambodia’s legal system and replaced it with re-education and interrogation centers. If they thought that you were guilty, you would have been very hard pressed to convince them otherwise.
• Caused much of the Cambodian populace to starve, many times to death.
• Killed anyone they either felt didn’t fit into their new society or deemed to even slightly be a threat to their regime. these included: people with connections to the previous government, Doctors, Lawyers, Intellectuals, Journalists, Business Leaders, Vietnamese Cambodians, Chinese Cambodians, Thai Cambodians, Christian Cambodians, Cham Muslims and family members of prisoners who were thought to be a threat to the regime. Even wearing glasses or being able to speak multiple languages could get you killed.
• If you were to be executed (which was very likely), you would have been taken to one the various “Killing Fields” and would most likely be killed with a pickaxe, so that they did not waste any bullets.
By the time they were overthrown during a Vietnamese invasion, the Cambodian life expectancy was about 18 years old.
As bad as rulers such as Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin and Mao Zedong were for their people, I believe no one was as brutal as Pol Pot was.
I feel like their motto put it best:
To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.
This doesn’t qualify as disgusting, but many years ago, I was involved with an Internet startup. They spent all of their time having meetings which achieved nothing, and were a complete waste of everybody’s time. One day, I was asked, no told, by the CEO to prepare a lengthy report on something that I considered ridiculous. I wrote 3 pages of it, and then decided to see what would happen if I didn’t finish it off, so I added 35 more pages of Loren Ipsum (Latin), and handed the report in. At the next meeting when everybody was present, I made a point of asking the CEO if the report was what he had wanted. He said “Yes, it was great”. I stood up, and told the entire room that this very important report that I had handed in, and which the CEO thought was great, actually contained 35 pages of Latin, proving that he hadn’t actually looked at it. I said “I quit”, and walked out of the door. The company went belly up 6 months later.
I don’t know if it was disgusting, but it was rather a unique trick. I used this a couple of times on drug dealers.
When I worked undercover in narcotics I would be asked to buy street-dealer weight in either cocaine or Heroin. The designer drugs weren’t around yet and this new stuff called crack was just making its way onto the market.
One problem every undercover faced was the hand to hand delivery of the drugs. During the actual purchase, you needed to be able to testify that you gave the money directly to the seller and they directly handed you the drugs. ( AKA hand to hand purchase).
Drug dealers were wise to this. When an informant would introduce me to the seller they would take the money but they would only give the drugs to the informant and not to me directly.
I couldn’t testify that I got the drugs from the informant. That would require me to identify the informant and have them testify. No way I would do that. So I came up with a cool little trick.
I would give the dealer the money and he would pass the drugs off to the informant who gave them to me. I would look at the package and say it was light (not the correct weight) and throw the package back directly to the dealer saying I wanted my money back. Drug dealers are not in the business of giving out refunds.
I’d move in close seemingly to get my money back, but we’d talk a little and I would agree to the light package if he would agree the next package would be a little overweight.
As soon as the dealer agreed, I’d reach out and take the package back directly from the dealer, sometimes almost pulling it out of his hands, thus completing a hand to hand transaction.
We would let the case sit for six months before we made the arrest, so they would not remember what informant walked me in. But my little hand to hand trick worked every time.
What is the craziest military tactic ever used?
Viewer discretion is advised… Imagine you’ve time travelled back to the 7th July 1944, and you’re now a squad leader on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands with the 105th Infantry Regiment of the US Army. As your cutting around giving the ‘grunts’ on the .30 cal Browing machine-gun their ‘arcs of fire,’ suddenly, multiple blood-curdling screams across the battlefield could be heard – BANZAIIIIII!!!!!
The Japanese have just launched a massive banzai charge, leading from the front are their officers, brandishing their samurai swords. Just behind the officers are thousands of Japanese soldiers with bayonets fixed, and as the sun glints down on the cold steel you feel the sweat beads across the forehead form. You lift your helmet and wipe the sweat with your sleeve as you wait for them to get in range. . . you wait. . . and wait. . . RAPID FIRE!!!
Your M1 Garand’s barrel is glowing red, the .30 cal is clattering away bursting your eardrums. As one of the enemy Japanese soldiers falls another one takes his place. They have now broken into your position and the hand-to-hand fighting is fierce. . . all of a sudden you’ve been brought back to the present, you don’t know why, but grateful that you’re now safe. . . I’ve dramatized, but I want to try to put you into the same position (‘foxhole’) as the defenders.
image 15
The Battle of Saipan and the US forces had pushed the Japanese back so far they had nowhere to go by 6th July, so the commander of the Japanese forces Yoshitsugu Saitõ made plans for a final suicide banzai charge for his soldiers and the civilians on the island. Saitõ said:
“There is no longer any distinction between civilians and troops. It would be better for them to join in the attack with bamboo spears than be captured.”
Why the Japanese soldier didn’t believe in surrender, was because they believed in the code of ‘Bushido’ the samurai code of conduct:
Honour was a samurai’s life. Upholding one’s honour through suicide was regarded as a virtue. Loss of face was regarded as an insult that had to be avenged. Surrender was unforgivable sin that resulted in exclusion from civilized society. Dying in battle is what a samurai aspired to achieve.
The Japanese would try to swarm the enemy in a mass frontal attack which the allies called a banzai charge. This was shortened from, Tennõheika Banzai “Long live His Majesty the Emperor.” This tactic was classed as an honourable suicide which was against well organised, dug-in troops with machine guns and artillery support.
image 14
The American soldiers/marines who fought at the Battle of Saipan were some brave men, they had “balls of steel.” This is what Wilfried ‘Spike’ Mailloux of the 105th Regiment facing the Japanese Banzai charge at Saipan, said:
“I was scared as hell,” said Mailloux, then a 20-year-old corporal from Cohoes, a mill town north of Albany. “When you hear that screaming — ‘banzai’ — who wouldn’t be?”
To me, the Japanese soldier’s banzai change of World War 2 was the craziest military tactics used.
JEFFREY SACHS FULL INTERVIEW ABOUT CHINA – U.S RIVALRY CONTINUE ? AND MORE
Oh my God. A deep madness.
https://youtu.be/cVYtF3HVSXY
Subtle Change in Ukraine Blame Means Deadly Trouble for Americans
OPINION-EDITORIAL — A very subtle change in the words coming out of the Russian Foreign Ministry signals the FINAL step before the annihilation of the United States. We have now reached the final step . . .
The wording used by the Russian Foreign Ministry was very subtle, but its implications are anything but. See if you can pick-up the subtle change in this excerpt from RT:
The US and its citizens are complicit in the deaths of the Ukrainian POWs who were killed last week when the Russian Il-76 military aircraft transporting them was shot down by Kiev’s troops, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has said.
On Thursday, Russia’s Investigative Committee released a report stating that the cargo plane was destroyed using two US-made MIM-104A missiles fired by a Patriot air-defense system. The Il-76 came down in Russia’s Belgorod Region last Wednesday. All of those on board – 65 Ukrainian POWs, three Russian troops, and six crew members – were killed.
Russian investigators stated that Ukrainian troops fired the missiles from a staging area in Kharkov Region, not far from the village of Liptsy, some 10km from the Russian border. They based their conclusion on 116 missile fragments found at the crash site bearing inscriptions in English.
Responding to the report, Zakharova said in a Telegram post that US citizens “need to know where their money is going,” arguing that President Joe Biden and his administration have made Americans “complicit in a bloody tragedy.”
Did you catch it? Did you pick up the subtle change in the language they used? It’s right there in front of you!
Here, let me focus it for you:
“The US and its citizens are complicit in the deaths of the Ukrainian POWs . . .”
Then again, in a later paragraph:
” . . .arguing that President Joe Biden and his administration have made Americans “complicit in a bloody tragedy.” “”
This tiny and subtle change points the finger not just at the US Government, it also points the finger at . . . . YOU. And me! Individually. Personally.
This is a point I have made repeatedly on my radio shows in the past two years. I have earnestly pointed out that what our GOVERNMENT does, is being done IN OUR NAME.
Remember, this nation celebrates Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address wherein he posited that we have “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Ergo, when the US Government does something, it does it in OUR name. You and me.
The Russians have now made clear who it is they hold responsible for what the US Government is doing: YOU and ME.
You see, we . . . . you and me . . . . ARE in fact, to blame!
We sit back and do nothing while our government runs roughshod over the whole world. Sanctions on this one and that one. Military action here. Military action there. And whenever our Government engage in that activity, people we don’t know, in lands we’ve never been to or maybe haven’t even heard of . . . . die.
Oh, and while our government is doing all this crap to people all over the world, you and I sit back and do . . . . nothing. We don’t make a phone call to our members of Congress or the Senate. We don’t write a letter or send a fax. We don’t even fire-off an email. We sit on our asses and do absolutely . . . . nothing.
The Russians are now making clear it is YOU and I who are doing this. YOU and I who are to blame. Directly. Personally.
You know what? They’re right.
WE are to blame. We elect these people then sit back and tacitly approve of what they’re doing by our own, personal inaction. They slaughter people all over the world. They bomb countries back into the Stone Age. You and I sit back and do absolutely nothing. Or worse, we sing idiotic Beach Boys Parody songs like “Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran . . . .” as if somehow what we’re doing is good. It isn’t.
A Russian guy I know cited US Senator Lindsey Graham the other day to make a very valid point to me. He showed me what Lindsey Graham, posted on “X” (formerly Twitter) wherein he said the following:
Then the Russian guy asked me “What if some member of the Russian Federation COuncil (i.e. a Russian “Senator”) Posted this exact message on VKontake (Russian Social Media) only changed the countries involved, like this FAKE SAMPLE:
FAKE RUSSIA SENATOR
In case the Putin Administration is wondering, it is abundantly clear to the United States and everyone else in the region, that the Administration doesn’t want war. But it will be difficult to tell the families of the fallen soldiers that the United States is not at war with us.
The United States is at war with Russia on multiple fronts through their proxies (Ukraine). Weak talk and weak action are putting our service members [in Ukraine], at risk. If the United States doesn’t pay a heavy price after the deaths of our service members, and the wounding of many more, then the Putin Administration is derelict in their duties to protect Russian personnel in harm’s way.
To the Putin Administration: Stop the weak rhetoric and respond with strength to protect Russian interests and lives. Your current approach to United States/NATO aggression is not working. Change while you can.”
Same words as Lindsey Graham. Same logic.
So I have to ask YOU, the Reader, if Lindsey Grahams words about Iran are good enough to warrant the US attacking Iran, would the FAKE Russian Senator’s exact same words about Ukraine, justify Russia hitting us?
Why not. Same situation!
You see, this is a big problem for my fellow Americans. We view the world as being ours to do with as we please. We never once stop to think how other powerful nations, might decide to use OUR logic, when dealing with . . . . us.
Now, some of you will react by saying “They wouldn’t dare.” Oh no? Why not?
And you would respond “Because we would nuke the living shit out of them.”
Really?
Because they can also do that to us.
Oh.
Yes.
Reality sets in.
And those same reactionary Americans who would say “They wouldn’t dare” would then likely say “They won’t, it would mean the end of the world.”
Yes. It would. And we would have done it to ourselves by the way we are behaving around the world.
Why should Russia sit back and allow us to supply arms to Ukraine, which are now clearly being used to kill Russians?
Why shouldn’t Russia tell the United States (again) to stop supplying weapons that are killing Russians and then add, or Russia will start hitting the United States?
Why shouldn’t Russia make it direct? Blunt?
Well . . . . turns out, they just began making it blunt. At the top of this Op-Ed, they have now begun blaming “American citizens.” You and me.
Where is this leading? Let me explain it this way:
What is the difference between “Killing” and “murder?”
Murder is the unlawful killing of an innocent. But “Killing” is allowable if it is “justified.”
For instance, if a guy is aiming a gun at you, and you do something which kills him, that is “self defense” and not murder, even though the guy is now dead.
So there is a difference between killing and murder. One may be allowed while the other is not.
Same thing with countries.
The U.S. is supplying weapons for Ukraine to use to kill Russians. Russia has repeatedly told the US and NATO to stop, but we are not stopping. ERGO, it would be “justified” for Russia to kill us in self defense.
Thankfully, the Russians have good morals and they know that perhaps the innocent American people ought not be harmed because of our evil government. SO thus far, they have not killed us.
I think the change in Russian Foreign Ministry wording mentioned at the start of this Op-Ed, tells us that’s about to change.
The official Diplomatic Corps of the Russian Federation is now openly, and publicly, laying the blame for the deaths of Russians, upon “the American people.” Me and you.
Having repeatedly told us to stop, the only thing left for Russia to do is to make us stop – by killing us.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has now begun laying the historical groundwork to justify exactly that.
By changing their statements to lay blame upon “the American people” they are building a record to justify killing . . . us.
Wise-up folks.
Unless we reign-in our wayward government, and stop them from running roughshod over the whole world, you and I __can__ be held accountable. You and I __can__ be stopped.
The clock seems to be ticking.
Now, you can either step up and start being an active and engaged citizen, and start telling your elected public servants to knock it off, or you can go right back to sitting on your ass and doing nothing until the brilliant white flashes start. Then you can feel sorry for yourself as you vaporize, except God already knows: You brought this on yourself by not getting off your lazy ass and stopping your own government while you still could.
No pity for you and me.
FEARFUL EUROPE! Europe Slows down De-Risking from China
I had my fairly new license and was driving my parents car when a deer darted out in front of me. I swerved and put the car into a ditch. Not hurt.
I find a phone and call a tow truck. Get back to the car and there is a police car there. I explained I’d stayed with the car for 15 minutes but knew there was a gas station nearby.
He gives me a ticket for speeding because in his opinion that’s the only way this could have happened.
Now this is a small municipal court for traffic tickets. My license was from my parents home 3 hours away. He was expecting me to just mail in the fine rather than contest it. He approached me before court to “refresh his memory about the event” and naively I did. He gets called and testifies that I was speeding.
So, I asked him where he was when the accident happened and was able to witness me speeding. He said he passed me going in the opposite direction.
So, I asked: if you saw me speeding in the opposite direction & saw me wreck my car, why did I have to walk 20 minutes to the phone, call police headquarters to report the accident, and walk back before you wrote the ticket?
The judge stopped things at that point & dismissed the charges.
This will not go down well with the electorate and, moreover, with the soldiers of the Ukrainian forces:
A poll published by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology in December found 88% of Ukrainians supported the top general. Zelensky’s approval rating, though also high, was considerably lower at 62%.
It is far from clear that any new commander will be able to improve Ukraine’s difficult situation on the battlefield without significantly more forces and weapons — precisely what Zaluzhny has demanded of Zelensky, adding tension to what was already a fraying relationship.
Zaluzhny’s popularity — both within the military and among ordinary citizens — makes his removal a political gamble for Zelensky. It also poses strategic risks at a time when Russia has intensified its attacks and Western security assistance for Kyiv has slowed. The general has built strong rapport with his Western counterparts and has often been able to advocate directly for certain materiel and seek counsel on battlefield strategy. … Both Budanov and Syrsky are considered favorites of Zelensky and Andriy Yermak, the chief of the presidential office and Zelensky’s closest adviser. Nearer the front, however, there seems to be little appetite for change.
“My personal opinion is you can’t do something like this right now — Zaluzhny is someone 80 percent of the military considers a good authority,” said Oleksandr, a battalion commander fighting in eastern Ukraine.
“For what is he being removed? It’s not clear. And who will replace him? Syrsky? God, I hope not. No one in the army likes Syrsky,” Oleksandr added.
The Bild publication writes that Zaluzhny wanted to withdraw troops from Avdiivka a few weeks ago, but Zelensky refused him this and on December 30 he personally went to the city to the front line to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters.
So all the coffins that arrived from near Avdeevka to Ukraine since December 30 are solely on the conscience of Zelensky and his passion for narcissism.
Avdeevka is nearly surrounded and any attempts to hold onto it will cost many valuable lives of soldiers for no discernible advantage. But, just like with Bakhmut, Zelenski wants to hold on to the city to be be able point his western sponsors to some ‘successes’.
My hunch is that, after Monday’s kerfuffle in Kiev, the decision to fire Zaluzny was still hanging in balance.
The change now only happened after the noeconservative destroyer of Ukraine, Victoria Nuland, had landed in Kiev.
When asked by a journalist whether Nuland had learned about Kyiv’s plans on the battlefield, she replied that, in her opinion, Ukraine would achieve great success.
“I have to say that I leave Kyiv tonight more encouraged about the unity and the resolve, about 2024 and its absolute strategic importance for Ukraine. I also leave more confident that, even as Ukraine strengthens its defenses, Mr. Putin is going to get some nice surprises on the battlefield and that Ukraine will make some very strong success,” the U.S. Under Secretary of State emphasized.
This hint does not foresee success on the ground but asymmetric operations within Russia or the Black Sea. More to the like of this which has happen last night:
Ukraine sinks Russian ship.
During a night attack by drones in the Donuzlav area, the Black Sea Fleet lost the Ivanovets MRK, built in 1989, 493 tons of displacement, armed with Moskit missiles.
Sinking that ship will do nothing to change the outcome at the battlefront. Nor would any attacks on Russia oil and gas infrastructure change anything.
Nuland’s remark also hints that the replacement of General Zaluzny will not come in the form of Army General Alexander Syrski, who is disliked by the troops for unsuccessfully holding grounds in Bakhmut and elsewhere at too high costs in men and material.
Nuland’s hint towards asymmetric operations points to the elevation of the Chief of Military Intelligence Directorate Major-General Kyrylo Budanov as a incoming replacement for Zaluzny.
Budanov has been responsible for some daring, if mostly unsuccessful, terror attacks on Russian land and interests.
Back in June 2023 the Economist explained why Zelenski might seek to elevate Bundanov:
Aides huddle close when the general speaks. Under his leadership, Ukraine’s main directorate of intelligence—HUR—has become a plucky, autonomous authority that punches above its weight. It resembles a gang. “Before we had managers, now we have a leader,” says one veteran officer. Oleg, an operative who has known General Budanov for decades, speaks approvingly of his ability to infect others with his fervour, comparing him to a snake “hypnotising you before he comes in for the kill. Restrained, measured, never panicked. You do anything he asks.” … As a confidant of the president—those in government call them kindred spirits—General Budanov is understood to be playing an ever-bigger role in behind-the-scenes peace negotiations. Sources say he is a conduit to secret talks with the Chinese, and he has also been in contact with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner outfit.
In conversation it is clear that General Budanov has been thinking hard about post-war Ukraine. Last winter there was talk of him becoming defence minister. He insists his only ambition is victory. Yet secret polls conducted by Mr Zelensky’s office show they are thinking about using the cult of their hero spymaster to counterbalance a perceived rivalry emanating from Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s likeable and independent commander-in-chief. General Budanov’s colleagues say they are convinced he is destined for a big political role once peace comes—if he lives that long.
To the TV producers (Yermak) around the former comedian actor Zelenski it is all about ratings.
Budanov may be good at marketing his image as a successful terrorist.
But he has zero experience of leading any size of unit in combat. You can not lead a company, battalion, brigade or army by ‘huddling close’ with aides. It needs long term strategic thinking just as detailed attention to all kinds of day to day logistics.
Leading an army is like conducting a huge orchestra through a four year long Wagner epos. Having played the first fiddle in a chamber quartet does not qualify for that.
I am sure that U.S. military is not happy about this move. While there were some disagreements with Zaluzny about the right strategies those were between military professional who allowed for diverting opinions. Zaluzny was seen as an experienced professional soldier. Budanov is seen as a spook who had never been in command of any real military. He well not be talked to at the same level.
According to one source, Zaluzhnyi’s senior staff are also expected to be removed from their positions.
With the new inexperienced leadership the situation on the ground will soon become a catastrophic mess for forces of Ukraine. There will be wrong priorities, miss-allocations of resources and large scale losses of men and ground.
On the other side terror attacks on Russian targets, industrial equipment as well as population centers, are likely to sharply increase.
The larger U.S. aim of all this, first announced as a 2019 RAND study, is still unchanged:
The study at that time recommended the arming of Ukrainian’s army as the best way to unbalance Russia. We have since seen the escalation of that strategy. The move from the battlefield to the realm of terror is a response to the degradation of the first by empathizing the psychological effects of the second.
The foreseeable outcome though is unchanged. Ukraine will be smashed, Russia’s power will increase and the global view of the U.S. as a reliable partner will be diminished.
Posted by b on February 1, 2024 at 14:48 UTC | Permalink
I exposed a huge scam by my local gas distributor (cooking gas).
This is a typical cooking gas cylinder in India.
As you can see (not very clearly though), on the neck of the cylinder, net weight and gross weight are clearly mentioned.
Recently, I read an article in ‘The Hindu’ that revealed that a lot of gas agencies/distributors/delivery persons in India are stealing cooking gas. They take out about 1–2 kg of gas from each cylinder and sell it separately in black. The loss in weight is too small for an unsuspecting buyer to notice. But in terms of money, this translates into a loss of about 60 INR per cylinder. The article cautioned everybody to get their gas cylinders weighed before paying the delivery person (Delivery persons are mandated to carry a portable weighing scale along with them by the Govt.)
At first I laughed it off. My agency was trusted. It would never do that. But then on a whim, I decided to try it out. When the next cylinder was delivered to my home, I casually asked the delivery boy to weigh it. The color on his face instantly changed. He started stammering, started insisting that there was no need for this because the bond of trust we shared! I immediately grew suspicious. I pressed him. He then started making excuses that he forgot to bring along his portable weighing-scale.
Luckily, I had my own weighing scale at home. I immediately brought it out and weighed the cylinder myself. The gross weight printed on the cylinder was 29.5 kg, whereas the scale read 27 kg. A difference of bloody 2.5 kgs.
The delivery boy started begging me not to register a complaint against him. And that he wouldn’t repeat the mistake ever again.
Apparently, this is a huge scam going on all over India. If you are reading this answer, please get your gas cylinder duly weighed before paying for it.
Not exactly fired, but we thought it was a great reaction.
After a recent merger between two rather large companies, it was necessary to reduce personnel, so each department was asked to cut staffing by a certain percentage.
To encourage volunteers, management offered to give a full week worth of salary and paid medical benefits for each full year a person had worked at the company if they took early retirement. And anyone who qualified for a pension also got the full pension as if they had not retired early.
One member of our team was about 14 months away from his planned retirement date when he would start receiving full Social Security and pension payments.
He had worked for the company for 45 years. After some simple math, we all strongly encouraged him to take the deal.
He got 45 weeks of full pay, a whole year of benefits coverage (negotiated with HR), his full pension, and they also bought out the almost two months of accrued vacation time that he had been saving up in order to retire a few months early.
He basically got a 12+ month paid vacation with full benefits. We will be having a retirement party for him on his original planned retirement date in a couple of months. 😀
I imagine that wasn’t what management had in mind when they made the offer, but everyone on our team was very happy for him to get it!
The Duran: NATO Crossed Putin’s Red Line and Russia is Ready to FINISH It
Yesterday, I was working with an Orthodox Jewish woman around age 25 on sparring.
Let’s call her Chaya. It was her first day training and I was taking her under my wing to mentor her a bit. (Yes, I have reached the level of being able to slightly teach others. Not much)
Chaya was very sweet, and found it hard to hit. She was so kind and shy, she found it so difficult to get up the anger to hit.
I was holding up the kick shield for her to practice on. (For those who don’t know, this but with punching)
She wasn’t hitting the body shield bag hard enough. She just couldn’t summon the anger needed. She kept giggling and being very gentle and kind.
I tried to rile her up. “Come on, Chaya. Imagine the teacher you hate most? Imagine being cut off in traffic? Imagine your air conditioner breaking on the Shabbat.”
Nothing. She just had no anger.
So I had to be a ***** and I knew exactly what to say. So I said “Imirtza Hashem by you, dear. Have you tried being less picky?” Which means “With God’s help by you,” in reference that she needs divine assistance to find a partner, something Jewish singles (especially female) hear ALL THE TIME AND IT DRIVES US ALL CRAZY! It’s condescending, it’s shaming and it’s really salt in our wounds. And we hear it from well meaning busy bodies all the time.
Chaya’s eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened with sheer rage. She punched the bag so hard, I was knocked back several steps. “See, I knew you had that in you,” I said triumphantly. “Now, you know you can punch.”
She delightedly thanked me and we exchanged worst date stories.
Sometimes, you just need some motivation and if it takes using evil, so be it.
No. But may I highlight a dirty trick by a phone soliciter?
I’ll take that as a yes.
A neighbor of mine was a saleman for Sam’s Club. The guy who makes a pitch to your boss, offering a discount to any of his/her employees who’d like the group membership, put on sales presentations at state fairs etc., cold-calling as well.
Then I moved halfway across the state. He calls me one afternoon, disguising his voice and acting as if he’s calling on behalf of some worthless telemarketing offer. Of course I, not recognizing him, utter some choice words before hanging up. He calls me right back, identifies himself and proceeds to ask me why I couldn’t be more polite in declining whatever it is that’s being offered.
I told him why. Said my peace and then we chatted about whatever he had really needed to talk to me about.
Many years ago I was in a chat room of a group with hundreds of members. Predominantly adults but, there were older teens. I don’t remember what was being discussed but, this kid (older teen) started making rude comments then started making bizarre comments about school shootings,violence and basically hinting he was going to do something. Quite a few people ignored it or told him he was being inappropriate and that he would be reported to moderator. Most in the discussion didn’t take it seriously. I went to his profile which fortunately wasn’t locked down. So concerning posts and was able to figure out the state, town and high school he attended. And his actual name. So I called the police in that town. Explained what I had seen, sent screenshots etc. While I was on the phone with a detective they got a call from one other man who had done the same as me. Surprisingly, the detective called me back a few hours later and while he didn’t give me many details he did say, that between myself and the other man they were able to locate the boy and that everyone was safe. I confess to stalking the FB profiles later and saw that he had been hospitalized so hopefully he got the help he needed. I worried I was doing the wrong thing but, I just kept thinking how hard it would be to live with myself if I saw news the next day of a school shooting and HADN’T called.
Candies in a box
“I know that I have less to live than I have lived.
I feel like a child who was given a box of chocolates. He enjoys eating it, and when he sees that there is not much left, he starts to eat them with a special taste.
I have no time for endless lectures on public laws – nothing will change. And there is no desire to argue with fools who do not act according to their age. And there’s no time to battle the gray. I don’t attend meetings where egos are inflated and I can’t stand manipulators.
I am disturbed by envious people who try to vilify the most capable to grab their positions, talents and achievements.
I have too little time to discuss headlines – my soul is in a hurry.
Too few candies left in the box.
I’m interested in human people. People who laugh at their mistakes are those who are successful, who understand their calling and don’t hide from responsibility. Who defends human dignity and wants to be on the side of truth, justice, righteousness. This is what living is for.
I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch the hearts of others. Who, through the blows of fate, was able to rise and maintain the softness of the soul.
Yes, I hustle, I hustle to live with the intensity that only maturity can give. I’ll eat all the candy I have left – they’ll taste better than the ones I already ate.
My goal is to reach the end in harmony with myself, my loved ones and my conscience.
I thought I had two lives, but it turned out to be only one, and it needs to be lived with dignity.”
Brilliant Anthony Hopkins
and free interpretation of Mario de Andrade’s poem
We had a dishwasher that wouldn’t latch, darn thing wasn’t more than 20, 24 months old. Called the repair guy. He “fixed” it, I paid the bill and off he goes. Well the darn thing starts leaking about two days later from the middle of the door at the bottom. So he comes back, takes the front of the door off. I can see the paths of the water leak from the “newly replaced latch” all the way down the insulation ( soaked by the way) to the spot where it leaked onto the floor. He informs me that we need a new door, over $450, we only paid $560 for it. So I informed him I wasn’t paying for a door, the latch was obviously installed wrong. Oh non, says he, the latch is fine. Oh no, say I, you broke it I’m not buying anything. So he leaves. I call the repair business office, they send a higher up, supervisor or some such ro lookat it. I show him the paper work, he looks at the machine and, Lo and behold the latch is incorrectly installed and the door needs to be replaced. New door for free, and no labor charge. He even refunded the work for the latch.
The greatest threat to the U.S. is your mostly brain dead population created as a result of 75 years of U.S. media propaganda and spin by the US media to glorify the U.S. and demonised those that refused to be submissive and subservient to them.
I have been a business mechanic of sort for years on end till my retirement, and in my view, the first part of any change is recognition and acceptance of the need to change! In the case of the U.S. you guys don’t even know you are in life support and that your U.S. economy is one humongous Ponzi scheme!
There lies the US problem. If you don’t want to know that you are haemorrhaging cash due to forever wars and you cannot afford your defence spending. If you refuse to accept that Chinas has lapped you guys! You ain’t gonna fix it! There lies your problem. Americans must be the most ignorant and naive people on planet earth! You media has made all of you believe in your so call “exceptionalism”
You still think Chinese lives in caves with bats and Russians are Slavic underachievers! And you are 10 foot tall genius! Many here in QUORA still thinks we are in 1945 when the 2 world wars ravaged all other major powers! And the U.S. share of world economy is 52%.
China and Russia don’t need to lift a finger, Americans will implode the U.S!
Please note that the antonym for Democracy is not Communism. It is Dictatorship. There is no logical contradiction between communism and democracy, as many in the US seem to believe. It is a ridiculous, gross misconception.
Is America a true democracy? In my opinion, there is no true democracy or true dictatorship in this world. Every country lies somewhere on a continuous spectrum between these two extremes. If America were a true and pure democracy, I should be able to look into Trump’s tax records and no one could stop me. Note I am not criticizing the American system, but only saying that you cannot call it a true and pure democracy in the sense of the word. It is just closer to the democratic end of the spectrum than some other countries.
I am from Taiwan, not China. I have not lived a single day under communism, but I have lived many years under an anti-communist dictatorship, and that was BAD. You cannot equate democracy with anti-communism. It is simply wrong.
It is very strange to me that communism is such a dirty word in the supposedly free and open-minded American public psyche, as if it were some kind of voodoo witchcraft. I find it totally anti-intellectual and closed-minded, not worthy of a true and free democracy.
I lived in a townhouse with one shared wall. When I moved in, the neighbors were a very quiet couple, never heard a peep out of them. They moved out a year later – and 3 single male construction workers moved in. They played obnoxiously loud music at all hours of the day and night. Complicating matters – I had a 3 year old, and was pregnant with my second child. So sleep was a need.
My wusband (nicer than saying ex-husband because he WAS my husband at the time) politely went next door to ask them to turn down the music – several times. It got to where they wouldn’t answer the door when he went over there. We called the police several times – and they wouldn’t answer the door for the police either.
The situation was wretched – and I began looking for ways to get the message across. One night – they left their garage door open during a particularly loud jam session. I had already gone to bed, and was wearing a huge maternity nightgown – because – I was hugely pregnant. I quickly snuck into their garage, and flipped the breaker switch. And scurried back to my side of the townhouse quietly. They figured it out the next morning. And did their party thing the next night – and I repeated the process. After that they left the garage door shut.
Around this time, I had the baby I was expecting. My wusband and I decided to take the kids and visit a friend for a few hours on a Saturday when we knew all of the neighbors were home sleeping off their Friday night party. Before we left, we moved both of the stereo speakers over to the shared wall, and turned on some super loud heavy metal music to share with said neighbors. And left. We did this several more weekends.
The construction workers broke their lease and left a couple of months later.
Many years ago I had a strange neighbor that lived with his mother next door. I did not speak with them but I would wave if I saw them to be polite.
A few years later I had fallen asleep on the couch and heard this weird noise by the window like scratching. I thought it was my cat and started checking, I see the screen going up in the window and two arms, I started screaming get the f*** out of here and slammed down the storm window.
I woke my son up and called the police, unfortunately my description was two arms of a Caucasian male. This was in the country so not a lot of people around. Four police cars later and after getting my story they went next door. I figured they were asking if they saw anything, but no they were hauling out the guy next door. They found him hiding under a car in the garage. They told me they knew this guy and he had been in trouble before. He had actually broken into my house when the people before me lived there. That would have been good to know before…
So we go to court and you can tell this guy is not right in his mind when he talks to the judge stating he doesn’t understand: so after my victim impact statement, they hold him over but say I can go but not to worry he will not be back.
I do not know what happened but he was back two weeks later and now I have to live next to this guy.
All I could think of was this, my neighbor he knows when I am home or at work so what exactly were his motives to break in knowing we were home? Scared me to death and I had two kids to think about (my daughter was not home the night this happened luckily).
So I called my brother and he came over with a shotgun to teach me target practice. I printed off pictures of this guys mugshot to use for target practice in my backyard. When I was done, I posted them around my property so he would get the message…
Not sneaky but hopefully scared him off. I never had trouble for the next year I lived there but I also never leave a window or door unlocked at night either. Even in the summer months.
Luckily I have much nicer neighbors now and a much better gun to protect myself with if the need arises.
Opening Incredible Garage-Found Gun Safes After 8 Years | What Will We Find Inside?!
Update 4/12/17- Many, many folks have asked me to identify the hotel chain. It was a Hyatt!
I was on a road trip and needed to stay overnight suddenly because a fast moving snow storm was blowing in.
I could see the logo of a hotel chain I occasionally use a few blocks away. I called them and asked if I could have a room on short notice? No problem. Note that between the time I called and the time I appeared at the front desk was maybe 20 minutes!
Here is a portion of my front desk (FD) conversation-
FD- “Mr. B. thank you for staying with us on such short notice. I see you have our affinity card so you have a room on our priority floor. Please remember that we have complimentary coffee and breakfast on that floor beginning at 6:00 am.”
Me- “Thanks but I’m leaving early tomorrow and I’ll be gone by 5:00 am.”
FD- “I understand Mr. B. Have nice night.”
So I trundled up to my room and there on the desk was a small pitcher of ice cold milk and three fresh chocolate chip cookies along with a note. The note was handwritten and addressed specifically to me and thanked me for staying on such short notice. It was signed by the manager. I was very impressed but the best was yet to come!
The next morning my alarm went off at 4:30 am as I planned on leaving at 5:00 am. The message light on my room telephone was blinking but the phone never rang! Of course that would have disturbed me.
The message was something like this-
“Good morning Mr. B. We noted that you were leaving early this morning and couldn’t take advantage of the amenities on our priority floor. We took the liberty of placing coffee and breakfast pastries outside of your door. We didn’t know if you preferred regular or decaffeinated coffee so we included a carafe of each. Have a safe trip!”
You know guys, sometimes I get the biggest belly-laugh when I read some of the answers here. Either they are terribly deluded, or they are immensely ignorant.
…
Here’s a REAL answer.
First of all, let’s throw out some FACTS to “set the table”, so to speak.
China has the largest Navy in the world.
China’s navy is not spread out all over the place (like the USN), but are concentrated at the projected battle fields.
China’s navy is also the oldest navy in the world. It was operating CENTURIES before the first organized navy in Europe.
China’s navy has been restructured, and operates NEW ships with cutting-leading-edge systems and technology. Many of which are unique and unknown to the West.
Were a war to occur between the USA and China, a Naval war would be the lest of the worries of the American “leadership”. Economic, social, and financial collapse would all be in free-fall.
But, let’s answer this question.
Can the United States Navy sink the Chinese Navy?
Here’s my answer…
Yes, the USN has the ability to destroy vessels, aircraft, bases, and people of the PLAN.
It is highly unlikely, however, that they will be able to completely destroy the PLAN.
It is likely that in the process of this destruction, that the USN would suffer great losses in men, material, weapons, and vessels.
Both sides will likely take great losses.
But this is 2024. China’s city-destroying munition capabilities are global. The consequence of a United States (or proxy) war against China will result in the people of the attacking nation being hurt.
Thus…
American major cities will also become targets for destruction.
…
Remember, boys and girls, China is a peaceful nation…
…until it isn’t.
…
Never forget the great losses that the United States incurred the last time they fought the Chinese.
Look at the BIG PICTURE. Not the tactical issues, but the strategic issues. Then faced with this reality, project the highest probability outcomes.
They are not pretty.
JUST NOW…States Under Attack NEED National Guard Deployed IMMEDIATELY
Modern architecture in Nigeria is built with total convenience in mind. We have more toilets and bathrooms in our houses than bedrooms. I’ve built two myself, although not opulent in any way, but it was unthinkable to construct a four-bedroom home with just one or two bathrooms.
When I travel and hear people or real estate agents in developed countries boast about their six-bedroom houses with two baths, the Nigerian in me can’t help but feel puzzled. In Nigeria, such a setup would be considered ridiculous.
I understand that building in developing countries like Nigeria is quite cheap, but just how much extra is it going to cost for a decent bathroom in every bedroom?
The unwritten standard amongst Nigerians is that each bedroom must come with its ensuite bathroom, just like a hotel, ensuring privacy and convenience. Additionally, there’s always a separate toilet for guests by the living room.
image 13
This practice in Nigeria also stems from practicality. With sometimes large families, the idea of waiting in line for a bathroom in your home seems absurd. To think that one would have to walk the entire hallway to get to the toilet, especially at night. This is unimaginable in a home with several boyfriends and girlfriends.:D
Our homes are designed to ensure that everyone has their own space, minimizing inconvenience and maximizing comfort. Building a bedroom without a space for a toilet, accessible only from the same bedroom is a great disservice to whoever is to occupy that room.
While mostly rich folks opt for homes with extensive bathrooms in developed countries, it’s intriguing to note that such a luxury, sometimes at a lower standard is a standard feature in a modern Nigerian building.
P.S.
In the comment section, some people have shifted focus to Nigeria’s poverty, rather than discussing architecture. About 23% of Nigerians, over 50 million people, belong to the middle-upper class, and many in this category can still afford to build their homes. This number alone is more than the population of many rich countries. Nigeria is a land of both immense wealth and poverty. If you’re looking for stories about poverty in Nigeria today, you’ll have to keep scrolling or better still, write it yourself! This post focuses on the architectural styles prevalent among Nigerians who have the means to build their own homes based on my observations!
Poverty is a real problem in Nigeria and it’s getting worse, but there is so much wealth in Nigeria too. Sadly, talking about Nigeria’s poverty and scams is more acceptable and beneficial to many westerners that we can’t even talk about anything else without backlash.
Oh, boy, did I! My mother still blames him for my hatred of math 35 years later!
I had an Algebra teacher get it in his head that A students will always get an A, B students will always get a B, etc, regardless of the grading scale. If and A was 90-100%, A students will do the work to get above 90%, and if an A is 95-100%, we would do the work to get a 95%, etc.
So he decided to make his grading scale A= 98–100%, B= 95–97%, C= 92–94%, D= 90–91‰, below 90% is and F.
So what had been an A/B student (me) would instead fail. Yeah, we hated him. And it only took 1 semester to get him onto probation, and he was gone after the second semester.
He really screwed up by doing this to my class. Out of 52 kids in my graduating class, almost 10% were teacher’s kids, plus one was the principal’s kid! In rural Wisconsin, many normal kids had parents that were uninterested in grades or intimidated by teachers, but when the parents ARE the teachers and principal, that factor disappeared, and they had no problem pitching an absolute FIT until it was fixed.
But I still hate math, the damage was already done.
Papa Vento’s Sicilian Chicken
Like Chicken Parmesan, my father made this for us all the time while we were growing up.
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Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup olive oil (+ more for frying)
1 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan
Ground black pepper
6 large slices mozzarella cheese
1 large can (32 ounces) crushed tomatoes (regular or Italian seasoned)
1 medium onion
Instructions
Pound out chicken breasts between wax paper to 1/2-inch thick.
In a shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. In another shallow bowl, pour 1/2 cup olive oil.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Dip chicken breasts first in olive oil, letting excess drip off, and then press into breadcrumb mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium / low heat. Sauté chicken breasts until golden on both sides.
Arrange chicken breasts on bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour crushed tomatoes evenly over chicken. Halve the onion and “sliver” cut it, sprinkling them on top of the tomatoes (quantity depends on your taste ). Lay 1 piece of cheese over each chicken breast and bake for 30 minutes until cheese starts to turn golden and sauce is bubbly.
My father makes this with pounded round steak and non-seasoned tomatoes but we love this version. You can make it either way and make up your own mind.
When I was born my parents lived in a flat (apartment ) in quite a rundown area as they were struggling to make ends meet.
My Dad worked 12 hour nights and came home to my mum in floods of tears. Shed been cooking a curry and the “skinheads” on the next floor didn’t appreciate the cross cultural culinary efforts that my mum was whipping up.
They kicked and banged at the door screaming “it stinks of f***ing P***s in here” and other derogatory and racist remarks. All while knowing full well there was a young mother and baby inside.
My Dad came home, and after mum told him what had happened, he decided to visit the chap upstairs.
Knocking was done via my Dad’s shoulder on the flimsy little Yale lock (Dad was a rugby player, Prop to be exact!) and upon entering the was confronted with the offender, in his underpants, swinging a mase at him. Dad kindly removed the offensive weapon from him and told him what a silly man him and his friends had been. Then, upon exiting, Dad noticed this guy’s new stereo system and it reminded him that he’d also had enough of his crappy music at all sorts of hours.
Dad informed him that “I’ve had e-f***ing-nough of this too” and proceeded to throw the stereo system out of this chaps window, which was obviously shut because Dad wouldn’t waste time like that.
Job done, Dad goes back down stairs to enjoy his curry. Then there’s a knock at the door and matey boy has phoned the police. My Dad was honest and willingly accompanied the officers to the station to attempt to resolve the matter.
Fast forward and it goes to court. Now there’s breaking and entering, GBH, criminal damage and………. burglary. This guy had had the audacity to say Dad had stolen his precious stereo system and, during questioning the Judge asked my Dad “so, do you know the whereabouts of the said stereo system”
My Dad replied “Yes your Honour, with all due respect I believe the stero is still in the f***ing tree”
The courtroom burst into laughter and after the judge reminded my Dad to watch his language, decided to send a constable to investigate my Dad’s claim.
After the proceedings resumed the constable concluded to the court
“Yes Your Honour, it would appear that the stereo system is still in the tree”
I believe the chap upstairs was done for wasting police time and moved not long after.
My Dad has always got plenty of these stories from his younger days and whilst I don’t condone any of his actions, they’re bloody epic!
Chinese penchant for knowledge and continuous improvement means that Chinese will always become smarter that Americans in general. Americans in general are cursed by the perception that they are exceptional. Starting from this premise makes them think they are better and smarter than the rest.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. The U.S. became overwhelmingly strong due to the coincidence of history. The 2 world wars wrecked all the major economies and left the U.S. with one eye but the rest of the world has lost both their eyes! The became the king of the blind.
Confucianism ethics in every Chinese person mean they focus on being educated and learning. They will stop at nothing to give their children the very best education money can buy. Diligence and hard work is among the traits that gives Chinese the edge. This means apart from having a higher and better education that is at least 3 full years ahead of the west, the Chinese race never stop learning.
American has this feeling of entitlement and it thinks the world must be submissive and subservient to them and they can always be the best by hook or by crook. These days mainly by crook! Given any task Chinese will start faster and work harder at it and in the end Chinese will be more successful.
Candice explains why it is important for wives to be monogamous
Chinese lower -cost cars are the result of EV’s and they need batteries which China has the raw materials to make unlike the US so low cost EV’s represent the future of international relations between the trading Nations which has developed into a competition between two trading blocks.
Bipolarism has taken the world by storm BRICS led the way as the Russian Special Operation guaranteed retreat to be forbidden, the World post February 24 – 2022 will never be what it was from 1991 to 2011, I know that end date is not universally accepted it was when Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi refused to be cowered into submission and took on the British and French Arab Spring which had to be save by Obama coming to their rescue bombing Libya and alienating Russia, Vladimir Putin saw the need to jump into the Presidency again because Demitry Medvedev was too far gone supporting Obama, now Demitry Medvedev is an anti Western hawk compared to Putin, that’s how different things are in Russia today compared to 1991 to 2011.
After 2011 Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad followed in Gadaffi’s footsteps and unlike Muammar Gadaffi the Syrian leader remains alive while military Keynesian economics has conquered the United States of America after getting up to full speed under Obama in 2011, now the US economy is swallowing Europe using the pretext of war with all credible sources pointing to the modern times unprecedented threat coming from the Southern Powers China and Russia which is alarming the US, Britain and EU.
This international predicament developed from the US, British and EU’s 1991 complete victory over the entire political and economic landscape within which China has risen in that 33 years to reflect the exact opposite as the goods arranged on supermarket shelves are coming from China taking the place of Japan as the manufacturing centre of the US, Britain and EU’s operations, on top of that China as part of BRICS is now the largest exporter of cars to what is now becoming known in political and economic narratives’ as the Northern Group associated with the pattern of wealth acquisition in the North American continent and poverty in the Southern American continent.
BRICS represents the South and have gained control over a significant portion of the World’s economic landscape which the Northern Group of Nations the US, Britain and EU can’t afford to allow China’s belt and road initiative becoming the turning point of the Northern Groups 1991 to 2011 political and economic control of World affairs, one way the Government’s of the US, Britain and EU can reign in BRICS as they did Japan is to make China’s products economically non viable by pushing up the prices compared to the competition from other parts of the World that do not challenge the economic dominance of the Northern Group the US, Britain and EU.
Import duty is one way the Northern Group are pushing up the prices of what China has to offer, this Government policy does have limitations as the Northern Group manufacturers become protected and take advantage by pushing up the prices of their cars.
1, In 1991, US pharm industry promoted opioid-related drug by saying opioid is harmless. Doctors could prescibe it to patients & drug stores could sell it. From 1999-2017, 200,000 Americans died from opioid. Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of OxyContin was sued & fined for $8.3 billion in 2020. Purdue is owned by a Jewish American family Sackler.
2, In around 2010, OxyContin was hard to get. People turned to heroin which is cheaper but stronger. It also uses an ingredient from opium. In 2010-14, CDC reported that the death rate due to heroin has risen more than 200% among “white” & African Americans.
3, The 3rd wave is fentanyl which started in 2014. It also contains an ingredient from opium. In Aug 2021-Aug 22, 100,000 Americans died of drug overdose. 2/3 were fentanyl.
Capitalism & politics
In the book “Death of Despair & Future of Capitalism”, economist Anne Case & Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton point out the collusion between pharm capitalists & politicians. Their deep collusion makes it difficult to control drug.
Politicians receive donation from pharm capitalists. Hence politicians will never come up with an effective law to control drug.
British Guardian reported in 2017 that, for the past 10 years, US pharm industry spent $2.5 billion in lobbying politicians. 90% of congress-persons & 97 out of 100 senators received political donations from pharm industry. At least once.
The fight between the 2 political parties is another reason. While both parties swear they would fight drug crisis, no party wants to cooperate with the other to effective beat drug abuse. No party wants the other party to become a hero.
scapegoat
In order to show they have done their part in fentanyl battle, USA blames it on China.
China adopts zero tolerance on illegal drug & is very strict on drug control. China is ahead of United Nations to classify drug into fine categories so as to effectively catch drugs that do not meet the requirement.
Since Sept 2019, US customs has not caught any fentanyl from China. But US politicians keep telling Americans that China exports fentanyl.
In 2023, USA sanctioned a Chinese police unit & lab that inspects for illegal drug. Perhaps USA is upset that China is too strict & US customs did not find any from China.
USA also sanctioned companies that produce LEGAL chemicals & equipment that can make fentanyl. The chemical is legal because, if used properly, it can be used to make pain killer for, say, cancer patients. The equipment is legal because it is a tool to make pills.
US politicians are not serious about solving problems.
Look at poverty: any theft below $950 is not a crime. ie USA encourages open robbery.
When USA loses jobs due to Clinton’s globalisation program, Trump said China steals US jobs.
Instead of curbing gun violence, USA militarizes teachers & babies.
If one day USA collapses, it is the collusion of US politicians & capitalists.
How do you start a business? You must have these two.
Business concept.
Capital.
Do you have a great idea, or you have money to invest, or a little of both?
If you have money, this is the scariest part in China. Because if you are asking on Quora (instead of Chinese social media), you are likely a foreigner who aren’t familiar with Chinese language and society.
Like with any society, it’s not wise to advertise your willingness to spend your money. You are just ringing the dinner bell for scammers, more or less. There will be hundreds of people being very willing to become your best friends.
Isn’t China very safe? Very. But while police can protect you from criminals, police can’t protect you from yourself and your own bad decisions, persuaded by scammers.
If you have a great idea, you may think of ways to safeguard your ideas, trade mark if you can, so the people you pitch your ideas to will not simply steal your ideas and lock you out of any profit.
Chances are there are millions of people in the same boat as you: having great ideas, wanting investors.
What to do to start your dream business in China?
Starting a business requires more commitment than a marriage. You have to be ready to give 200%.
Need money. Unless you are lucky enough to have a financier, you need some initial capital to invest in your idea, to create some kind of a working prototype, to have something for show. This will put you above the millions of people who simply got ideas.
Get to know China.
China is like any society. There are honest people and there are really shady people. You can’t simply see it on their appearance alone.
If you are a lone warrior, your first investment is to live in China, even a few months at a time. Get involved in Chinese daily life, get involved in the industry you want to be in. Find a part time job there?
Or seek out an existing support network you can trust.
If you are Indian, seek out other Indians already working in the industry you want to start business in. They are likely more sympathetic to befriend and show you the rope. They may even find you a job.
But beware, even your own compatriots can scam you, or mislead you. Don’t be too trusting.
This is all I have for a Quora answer.
With only a very vague question, this is all you are going to get. Being an entrepreneur is full of risk. Your first lesson is not to get rich quick, but learn risk management. I rather you lose a few thousands today for a hard lesson, than to lose a few millions 10 years later for this same lesson.
Pro-Tip: Find professional legal consultation for second opinion.
Say you are about to engage in a business deal, whether with local Chinese or your compatriot, secretly go outside to find paid consultation services. They will know Chinese laws and regulations more than anyone. They can smell a fish from miles away. You can’t save money on this.
Pornstar’s ABANDONED Mansion ~ You Won’t Believe What We Found Inside!
https://youtu.be/IaAq1x21k4o
Malaysia man’s viral stunt of planting banana tree in pothole gets road repaired within hours
Public works department blame continuous rain as reason behind delay in road maintenance
Frustrated over the authority’s inaction, a Malaysian man planted a banana tree in a pothole on a road to draw attention to the problem.
Mahathir Aripin from Jalan Sandakan-Lahad Datu village in Sabah posted a photo of the banana tree standing almost in the middle of the road on his Facebook page.
The base of the tree was covered with some soil to ensure it stood erect.
He also posted a message expressing his concern for those using the road and humorously suggested he might use tar next time.
“I feel sorry for the road users. I’ll cover it with tar next time,” he said on 29 January.
Seeing the response to his Facebook post, the local authorities responsible for road safety – the Sabah Public Works Department – started work to repair the road.
Reports said the pothole was filled within hours of Mr Aripin bringing attention to it.
The public works department blamed continuous rain as a reason for delay in the road maintenance.
This method of highlighting road repair issues is not unprecedented. There have been cases reported in Kedah in the country, and even in Florida, US.
Mr Aripin’s post sparked a conversation on road conditions in Malaysia.
On social media, several commentators commended his effort to bring attention to the problem of road safety and maintenance.
One jokingly said that he should have planted a durian tree whose fruit is notoriously foul-smelling instead of a banana tree.
Others responded with the laughter emoji while some called his attempt to plant a banana tree in the pothole “naughty”.
The pothole’s location was about 500m from the spot where a recent accident claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl, believed to have been caused by a pothole.
According to Malaysia’s Road Safety Plan 2022-2030, the country aims to reduce road deaths by 50 per cent by 2030.
In police work, there are many things you see that you would rather have not seen. Suicide by firearm seems to be at the top of my list. I only experienced this once in my career.
Sure I have found people a day after the person lost their head, sort of, with the blast from a shotgun — what a mess. It’s very inconsiderate to the family members or even first responders who have to deal with this.
But only once, when I was responding to a call of a man with a gun was I quite close when the shot was fired. I was out of my patrol car with a partner and running up an outside staircase which led to the man’s apartment when we hear the bang. He is sitting on the landing at the top of the stairs with his back against the wall, looking at us. He had a small caliber handgun still in his hand, and the barrel remained in his mouth. He was alive for the moment, but it was apparent he wouldn’t survive.
My partner took out a pair of latex gloves because there was blood, and started to put them on. I didn’t wait for gloves and grabbed the gun with both hands and first peeled his finger off the trigger. I then peeled the rest of his fingers from around the gun and handed it to my partner.
I wasn’t sure how this man felt about the police, but I was going to be sure that he didn’t take one of us with him. The man expired while we were at the scene. There were skull fragments and white and gray brain matter against the wall behind where he was sitting. Even after shooting himself he remained upright and seated.
A crime scene was immediately taped off, and detectives were brought in to investigate. The first unique discovery was that the handgun was fired twice. The first bullet was later found flattened but still in the brain cavity. It must have struck the inside of his skull with sufficient force to fracture it but did not exit. The second bullet was found underneath the man’s body.
Something I learned from detectives that night is that it’s not uncommon for a person considering suicide by handgun to fire a test round to make sure the gun is working properly. The noise from the first shot was reported by a neighbor and drew us to the scene.
Had our arrival hurried this man’s final desperate act? That’s something we will never know. I would have loved to have had the chance to speak with the man and perhaps change his mind. But that wasn’t to be.
I was permitted to enter the man’s home with the detectives and found a neat and well-organized apartment. He had this entire event meticulously planned out.
On the dining room table were a series on neatly organized envelopes lined up in a perfect row. Three were separately addressed to family members, while one was marked Funeral director and last one simply said: Police. Inside the envelope, marked police was a neatly handwritten letter. The first thing I noticed was that the letter was dated with today’s date. The letter explained that he had taken his own life freely. He went on to explain that he suffered from a very painful and debilitating terminal illness which would lead him to a more painful state before his eventual death.
He provided us with the names and contact information for several doctors who were treating him. He also asked us to make sure we contacted the funeral director first, so his family members would not see him in his current state. He went on to ask us to hand-deliver the other letters to his family members and provided their addresses, which were all local. He closed his letter by apologizing to us for any mess his act may have caused.
We next opened the letter to the funeral director, as it was unsealed and only identified with the words funeral director. Again, we found a neatly handwritten letter reminding this funeral director of his pre-paid funeral contract. The letter advised that one of his children had the written agreement. He went on to provide significant detail on his final arrangements, down to the suit in which he wanted to be buried.
The final three letters were to his children and were sealed which is how our officers delivered them to his loved ones.
A cursory search of the apartment which is standard in any crime scene identified two more, nearly exact sets of letters. Each set of letters were also handwritten but had different dates on them. Each roughly a few weeks apart. It was clear that the man had planned his demise on several prior dates and but hadn’t or couldn’t go through with it, until tonight
We reviewed these earlier letters because they were not in envelopes or sealed. The letters to his children were very loving and apologetic; asking for their understanding and forgiveness for his decision. They also spoke of the hopelessness of his medical situation and the difficult decision of letting go.
I never met this man until that night, and yet I feel like I knew him. In reading his letters, I believe that he was a decent man confronted with an impossible problem with no good solution. His final written thoughts were of comforting and reassuring his family and seeking their forgiveness for his decision to end his pain and his life.
We Found A Abandoned Safe In The River. What’s Inside The ABANDONED SAFE? (OPENED)
Obviously, I mean OBVIOUSLY, they have never been to China and have no idea how fucking enormous it is.
If you hop in a car, and start driving, it will take you days… DAYS… passing huge apartment buildings full of hard working, militarized families, studying… working… training…
image 11
…building after building. Mile after mile. Kilometer after kilometer. Over and over and over.
One enormous giga-complex housing thousands of families… after another… and another… and yet another.
China is HUGE.
Simply enormous.
…
China is not the third world cesspool that the Western “news” says it is. It’s a nation thirty years in the future. It is proud. It is strong. And it is LETHAL.
It is a dragon wearing a cute panda-bear suit.
You all in the West are unaware.
Backwards. Retarded.
Fed garbage; not just figuratively, but literally. Most American doesn’t even know where California is on a map, or how many States there are, or how much 5 + 8 is.
When I say “stupid”.
I mean it.
Meanwhile in China…
I started using facial recognition and QR to pay back in 2013. That was ten years ago. I haven’t touched a coin or paper money in all that time. Using paper money is so 19th century.
My car is electric and it talks to me, and only turns on when my voice recognition software allows it to.
It self parks, customizes the interior with a rotation of interior motifs, plays my morning jazz tunes, and gives me a nice warm back rub as it links to the toll road and carries me off to my office.
In my office, my staff brings me my coffee and turns on my systems for me. Sometimes they might have a kid or two with them, being sick or what not. No worries, though, they are their next to their parents doing their studies next to the desks.
Lunch is paid for all my staff. It’s one of the state mandated laws, and after they eat a huge healthy cafeteria meal of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, they go take their normal naps.
…
That’s just the first four hours of a typical day in China.
…
There’s a bunch of dunder-heads that think that the USA can invade China with D-Day style Naval assaults, and the threat of nuclear war.
Troll?
Moron?
Buffoon?
Ignoramus?
They believe that proud and powerful aircraft carrier will lay off the coast of China and launch cascade after cascade of fighters and bombers into China.
They think that stealthy submarines will sneak up and start bombing China. All this unopposed, and the Chinese will take it. Smile and say “… can I have another, master?”
They believe that the proud troops will be easily resupplied by Australia, Japan, Korea and Philippines. After all, that is the on-going American construction activity. Billets. Barracks. Supply depots, and large investments in bordellos for employment for the locals.
Fantasies. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
NEVER going to happen.
…
I am here to tell you that World War started in 2008.
Oh, sure, the elements started far earlier. But historians will write that the date of the war began was in 2008.
image 10
It peaked in 2020 with the bio-weapon(s) that the USA launched on China during CNY (John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo brilliance there), and fell back towards conventional war with the NATO conflict began in Ukraine.
It hasn’t gone that great though.
Wars don’t go to plan, and this crop of brain-dead, pathological psychopathic oligarchs are dangerously deluded.
Take Ukraine. Ah. The “war in Ukraine”.
What they mean is the unreported hostilities used to counter the Russian “special military operation”.
Over 3000 American soldiers (with countless more NATO gents) are dead. Just because the American “news” isn’t reporting it, doesn’t mean that it is not going on.
Dead Americans are all over the place. I have photos and photos. Movies and movies. But if I put them up, they get pulled. It’s “news you can use”, but that is bad for the Westerners to see.
Good men. Soldiers. American men.
Dead.
Over what? And why?
image 9
It is sad.
I cry for the widows at Fort Lenard Wood.
image 8
As that phase winds down with a European collapse (economic, social, industrial, and military) a new phase opened up.
All to schedule; a disruption of the middle eastern shipping lanes.
Ah… that’s gonna teach China a lesson!
In their wet dreams, perhaps. China is about 3450 steps ahead of the rest of the world. They know what underwear that you will wear two days from now. Long before you even decide to put some on. That’s how advanced China is.
This idea that “China can be isolated” has failed, and is bound to fail, as the Chinese BRI are now proving how far-sighted and successful the rerouting of shipping avenues have proven themselves.
No wonder both Russia and China are screaming forward; an economic gallop. While the collective “West” is mired in inefficiency, lunacy, and insanity.
None of which is being reported in the “news”.
Here’s some more American troops in Ukraine…
Meanwhile…
We are watching the United States collapse in front of our very eyes.
The USA has this dream of opening up a long-desired war in the Pacific over China. Troops, material and weaponry are flooding toward the Philippines, Japan and Australia. All ready to die for “democracy”.
Whatever the Hell that means.
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A rally-cry of the moronic who still believe that “their vote counts” and that American culture (woke, red-pill, open marriage, LGBQ+) is worthy of preserving.
Woo! Woo! I’m gonna kill Commies for all that free gay sex!
And when that day comes… “death by cop” will be experienced in America. Up and down the coasts. As the United States will be bludgeoned by many, many, MANY people; and their nations. People who have been ridiculed and marginalized over the decades of pompous, elitist wars and flouting.
America is NOT respected in the world.
It is despised.
It is no mistake the distain that the illegal immigrants show towards American. And they are the polite ones. The USA is poised to get a much-needed Ass-Kicking at a scale of ferocity that is off the scale; in both ferocity, and in long-duration and everlasting pain.
And the United States has lost.
It just hasn’t been reported on yet.
Look around yourselves. The USA has no downtowns. No factories. No hard workers. No functioning anything. It’s just on the long slow crumble…
At this point in time, “war against China” will not be needed.
It’s OVER.
He HOARDED GUNS! I Bought The MOST EXPENSIVE Storage Unit In The Country!
I’ve been pretty busy as of late, and I had another blood pressure scare. I was terribly uncomfortable, and the stress of Tanzhou driving was going to have me pop.
Stage two hypertension. Not a good thing.
But I fixed it on my own.
What I did was started doing arm curls with weights. I do a couple of reps each and every day.
50 reps each arm with 5kg. Nothing too strenuous.
Guess what?
Yup, my blood pressure goes down to that of me in my 20’s.
120 BP
…
I mean, I’m not doing a 20 to 30 minute routine. I am only doing five minutes a day.
Yet… it works!
I’m averaging 120 BP. Rather than the 160 – 170 that I was dealing with.
I also cut out my morning coffee, and all caffeinated drinks. Oh, I will get a coffee from time to time with the Mrs at a restaurant, but the days of the drive-through habit are over.
Motherfucker does not mean what most people think.
Before the American Civil War white males would visit “Pleasure Houses” to have sex with the slaves. As slaves these women would have no choice but to do whatever the man wanted.
But some would, somehow, be more abusive than the slave owner could tolerate. Basically beating the slave to the point she couldn’t be used for a while.
The men who had a reputation for this were only allowed to have sex with the former “Breeding Stock”. The older slaves who had already given birth to several new slaves.
These men were called “Motherfuckers” for the obvious reason. They were so low that slave owners cared more about their slaves (who they didn’t think as fully human) than them.
In WWII the meaning shifted. As Americans retook France, many French women were generally appreciative, and showed the GIs their appreciation. But that only goes so far. There were some guys that couldn’t get laid even by women who would, “Support the troops” so to speak.
For these men they could use the generous food rations the US Army gave to give a starving widow’s family a few days worth of food for a quickie.
So it referred to guys who were such losers they could only get laid if the woman’s choice was to sleep with them or let her children starve.
So the “mother” being referred to in the cuss, is a woman who’s in such desperate straits she would do anything, even sleep with the “motherfucker”. The implication being they couldn’t get a legitimate prostitute to sleep with them.
An American Civil war?
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Medvedev:
“The formation of the Texas People’s Republic is becoming increasingly realistic. What I wrote about at the end of the year before last in a joking prediction.
The American administration demonstrates complete incapacity to handle the migration crisis that has erupted in one of the largest states in the USA. Its governor boldly ignores the White House’s position with the feeble old man Biden and starts rebuilding barbed wire barriers. Anything to defend against the influx of migrants who are crossing the southern border uncontrollably. Another vivid example of the weakening of U.S. hegemony, occurring from within due to the actions of Americans themselves.
Official Washington, so enthusiastically supporting Kiev’s neo-Nazis and seemingly noticing nothing else, has shown itself to be impotent on matters of domestic policy. The scholastic decisions of the Supreme Court that migration issues fall under the jurisdiction of federal authorities, not the state, are detached from reality. Due to their inaction, these authorities may finally push the population of Texas, which is already seriously considering secession, to the breaking point. History knows cases where individual states attempted to part ways with the United States and form a confederation. All of this led to a bloody civil war, claiming the lives of thousands and thousands of people.
One way or another, America may face an irresolvable constitutional crisis and plunge into a prolonged abyss of a new, possibly even more destructive, civil confrontation. The Western world will watch with bated breath, fearing the American mess. However, these are their problems.
And although the turmoil in the USA poses significant risks to global stability, the rest of the world, munching on popcorn, observes with some schadenfreude the onset of the bad illness of Pindostan.”
Sinister Parodies Of Classic Children’s Books
Oh baby, here we are going to take a trip down the twisted mind of an artist. He’s got this gig of parody artwork that gave me a few chuckles, and repelled me as well. Anyway, it’s a quaint diversion, and I hope you all appreciate it.
“Bad Children’s Books” or the classic children’s books from 1940’s to 1960’s hijacked by illustrator Bob Staak. Subversive, disturbed, twisted, but full of humor!
Why did Phoenicians start forming the colonies so late? They have been on the Mediterranean since 1500 and developed active sea trade between late Bronze Age civilizations not long after?
Well. There were these guys called the Sea Peoples. They weren’t very nice at all. They raped, killed, pillaged & burned all the civilizations in the Mediterranean c.1200 B.C. They wiped out the Mycenaean Greeks, Minoans, Hittites, Trojans & Ugarit. The only ones to survive were the Egyptians & Phoenicians. It’s kind of hard to build a trading empire with these guys rampaging all over. It’s better to wait & let them fizzle out after a few centuries.
The guys got no marbles
Vulture Mine Tostadas
This is my own creation. I named it for a mine near Wickenburg right here in Arizona. I’ve been making it for a number of years. It’s a good cooler weather dinner. Instead of making the chili as instructed, you can use your favorite chili – even store-bought chili – and prepare the potatoes portion of the recipe, serving your chili over the mashed potatoes.
viva
Prep: 15 min | Cook: 1 hr | Yield: 4 large “tostadas”
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 1/4 cups minced raw onion
1 can pinto beans
1 1/3 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin (comino)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
8 cups mashed potatoes
4 cups shredded lettuce (optional)
1/2 cup chopped raw onion
3/4 cup grated longhorn or Cheddar
Instructions
Brown ground beef and onion, draining fat. Add pinto beans and tomato sauce, cooking for 15 minutes.
Combine chili powder, flour, water and a little salt; blend this paste into previous mixture. Cook for 45 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, prepare mashed potatoes with butter, milk and black pepper, adding only enough milk to ensure rather stiff mashed potatoes.
To serve, spread mashed potatoes in dinner plate to resemble a 2-inch thick tostada (with a rim around the outer edge). Spoon chili into depression and top with lettuce, onion and cheese.
Ukr Bad Day: Putin Calls Macron Bluff, No West Troops Ukr; Belgorod Disaster; Rus Chasov Yar Canal
What was the strangest way an embezzler was caught?
My father was a store construction field supervisor for The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P Grocery Stores) during the early ‘50s. During his understudy period, his supervisor regaled him with amusing stories of his days with the company that stretched back more than 40 years. One story was about less than expected sales at a brand new store.
Below, a typically thrilled crowd packed in tightly at a new A&P Supermarket Grand Opening:
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The new store was a success: larger, better stocked, off-street parking, new and exciting interior. Sales were way up over the old store it replaced, but not nearly as much as other new stores in similar neighborhoods. Because it was at the low end of sales and profit increases, it got extra scrutiny.
Secret shoppers reported that the store was open and thriving during its assigned hours. That the shelves were stocked. That the customers were jamming the aisles. That the shopping carts were being heaped high. That the employees seemed diligent in monitoring for shrinkage, yet shrinkage was determined to be sky high. Auditors were sent in to check receipts. The eight registers were being fully and completely tallied. Secreted observers with binoculars saw no evidence of vehicles driving off with bulk loads of merchandise. Shoplifting seemed to be in line with other stores. The manager was reported to be present, engaged, and energetic in his duties.
The fellow my father worked for was asked to review the layout of the store to see if something was wrong with how shoppers were being navigated through it. He went in and walked the aisles, saw nothing unusual. He followed numerous shoppers through the store and through the checkout lanes and out to the parking lots… nothing amiss. He was standing in line at one of the checkout counters one day about a week into his sleuthing and analysis when out of boredom he idly counted the checkout lines. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Nine. Wait. What?
He left the store and informed his Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company bosses that the store’s layout was indeed the issue: the manager was embezzling by having installed a bootleg ninth line but was reporting only the sales of the authorized eight. My dad’s supervisor swore that he’d told his bosses, “well, either we need to fire the manager or else put up a new sign that says A&P&Fred’s Supermarket”.
They went with “fire Fred”, naturally.
What do you think?
Has a customer ever intervened on your behalf when you were being treated poorly by a co-worker or boss?
No, but I’ve intervened. I was at a Quiznos. The only people there were the owner and a young girl. As she was making my sandwich, the owner kept up a stream of insults and criticism.
By the time she went to ring me up, the poor thing was in tears. I asked her if she was new, and she said it was her first day and first job. I said I don’t usually give advice to strangers, but no one in any job needs to put up with abuse by a boss, and she should walk.
She said her parents would be mad, so I recommended that she explain to her parents exactly what her boss said.
I even gave her my card and said if her parents wanted a witness as to how poorly her boss treated her, to have them call me.
Her boss heard what I said and started giving me shit. I told him he was a horrible boss, and probably a horrible human, and that I’d would let everyone I knew not to give him their business.
The girl walked out with me and I escorted her to her car.
I never heard from the girl’s parents, but the place was closed a month or so later. This was when Quiznos was doing well
What are some mind-blowing facts about food?
1.Potatoes can be used to remove rust. Simply cut it in half, add salt to the surface and there you go. Rub it against any corroded objects.
2.Vinegar, Ketchup, lemon juice, can also remove rust. Basically any food with oxalic acid/citric acid will do. Save yourself some money from buying rust removers.
3. Lemon juice can be used to remove highlighter strains. Get some juice on a piece of cotton, rub it on the highlighted text and the color will fade.
4. Your average apple is a year old. Most apples are picked slightly unripe, treated with chemicals and stored in warehouses for 9–12 months.
5. Banana candies are what bananas used to taste like. Ever wondered why banana candies taste nothing like bananas? That’s because it was based off the Gros Michel banana, which was completely wiped out by the Panama disease (fungus), after that we are left with our replacement bananas.
6. Red bell peppers are simply ripen green bell peppers. Yellow or orange bell peppers are also different stages of the bell pepper. They are the same fruit.
7. Popsicles are invented by an 11-year-old. He invented the popsicle by accident when a drink he made was frozen with the stir stick stucked between.
8. Almond allergens can be transferred through sex. If you have an almond allergy, and your partner have just eaten almonds, don’t have sex.
9. You can make diamonds with peanut butter. Peanut butter is a carbon-rich material, imerge it through enough pressure and it becomes diamonds. I wonder where diamond shops get their diamonds from…
10. The original Coca-Cola contains cocaine. The name basically comes from it’s two main ingredients, Coca leaf and Kola nuts. Coca leaf contains cocaine.
11. Fruit stickers are edible. So is the glue used to glue it. But unless you like eating stickers I’ll advice you to peel it off.
12. Bananas, cucumbers and kiwis are berries, while strawberries, blackberries, raspberries not berries but aggregate fruit.
I’m not stopping
What is the best comeback you used on someone?
I left home one evening to go to the post office and the supermarket after that.
It’s winter, it’s cold, so the car has to warm up a bit, but after a few seconds I put it in drive and got to the post office in a few seconds. I just need to go in, open my P.O. box, get the mail and get back to the car. The engine wasn’t warmed up yet – my dad told me it not too good to turn it off so soon when it’s still cold – so I left it running for half a minute, tops.
By the way, I live in a very small town (village) north of the big city.
Miss Karen Knowitall comes in as I get back to the car and tells me I should have shut the engine off when I got out. She doesn’t like to breathe car exhaust when she leaves the city to go to the country side.
As I got in the car, I just answered: “Ah yes, I know the feeling! I moved to this town to get away from the condescending a$$h0le$ of the city …
But, hey! You can’t always get what you want, ma’am. Right?
And I drove off !
Japan – Tokyo Suburbs: Walking around Yotsugi • 4K HDR
Notice no con-trails. They are just not anywhere in Asia. Only in America and Europe.
It is called mancinella (Hippomane mancinella) and is considered the most dangerous tree in the world, as well as the most poisonous. It is a plant native to the Americas, with particular reference to Florida, the United States and Central America.
Its venom is so powerful that it is advisable to stay a couple of meters away from it. Its fruits are similar to small and tempting apples, but even a few bites could be lethal.
Christopher Columbus had nicknamed the fruit of the mancinella, “little apple of death”.
It seems that this plant drove the horses who ate it crazy. Hence the word Hippomaniac.
The white resin of the mancinella is very caustic and poisonous. A single drop can cause severe skin irritation, with swelling, dermatitis and burns. Even raindrops coming from the branches of the mancinella can damage the skin or even make you blind if they get into your eyes.
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Even the bark is toxic. Burning it causes the release of harmful substances that can cause temporary, and in some cases permanent, blindness. The combination of risks associated with the mancinella have allowed it to win and maintain the Guinness Book of Records as the most dangerous tree in the world.
Men Are Oppressed Not Women (They’ve Been Lying To You)
What firearm would you recommend for defense against home invaders?
“What firearm would you recommend for defense against home invaders?”
Paintball.
Yes, yes, I know you’re going to say it’s not a ‘firearm’, but you haven’t thought things through.
If someone enters your house at night and you wake up, you think ‘intruder’ and you fire that Desert Eagle Penile Compensation piece in your dark bedroom — without donning your hearing protection (because, who is going to have hearing protection with that Desert Eagle on their nightstand, right?) — fire that piece in the darkness at the shadow in the doorway, you know what will happen. The noise will replace your hearing with a loud ‘iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii’ and your retina will be sporting these muzzle flash afterimages of your wife crumpling in the doorway. Or, in the unlikely event that it’s not your teenage daughter sneaking back into the house after leaving through her bedroom window, but an axe murderer — you just rendered yourself too blind and deaf to re-aim and shoot again.
Now, reconsider my suggestion and imagine you have a paintball gun on your nightstand.
First of all, no flashes and noise to mess with your night vision and hearing. Just a ‘pffft’ and angry cursing from the shadow in the doorway as he’s trying to wipe paint from his eyes. Because you know that just like you don’t have hearing protection on your nightstand, he sure as hell isn’t wearing paintball protection on his nocturnal visits. Paintballs on your unprotected body hurt like fuck. And the intruder won’t know what’s happening. No muzzle flashes or loud noises, just the sound of a blowdart and getting stung and wet all over — that’s unnerving, man, and I’d like to see the intruder who wouldn’t scamper back to whatever rock he crawled out from under. (Did I say that right? Sounds right…)
And while he runs like fuck from the stinging wet paint, you call the cops and tell them there’s an intruder running around your neighbourhood, a man splattered with purple paint. However incompetent the police are in your area, they should still be able to find someone covered in paintball paint.
Plus, if you make a mistake and confuse family members with intruders, you don’t have to take them to the ER (or bury them), but you simply apologize and help them wash off the paint.
So, forget about all those macho handcannons and just get yourself a paintball gun for home defense. Your NRA neighbour might laugh at you, but he’s going to be the one with the axe buried between his starry eyes from the muzzle flash, while there’s still an almost full magazine in his Desert Eagle.
A lot of people respond that my answer is ridiculous and dangerous. And they might be right — pelting an intruder armed with an assault rifle with paint balls might well result in getting you killed. However, I posted this answer not to promote paintball guns for home defence, but to think ‘outside the box’. In the comments, a lot of people also offered their own alternative solutions — shotguns loaded with rock salt, pepperballs, et cetera — and that was my intention: instead of looking to use lethal force, what alternatives are there?
Also, many commenters seem to believe that I would just shoot at an intruder with paintballs and then wait for them to respond. I guess they haven’t read my other answers and don’t know about my experience with violence. I can’t blame them, but, no, I wouldn’t just stand there like an idiot, but use the paintball attack to close the distance to blade range.
And another edit:
Some commenters say that defending your house with firearms is a Christian duty and that the Ten Commandments don’t say ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’, but ‘Thou Shalt Not Murder’. My thoughts on that subject:
I’m raised Christian, but became agnostic because of the hypocrisy of organised religion. However, even if these commenters are right, using a lethal weapon to repel an intruder (99% of intruders are after possessions, not looking to murder you in your sleep) is not exactly ‘Christian’: even a casual reader of the gospel would understand that Jesus Christ himself would not condone the spilling of blood over mere possessions. Therefore, arming yourself with lethal weapons in order to repel intruders is premeditated killing, i.e. murder. There are plenty of effective non-lethal weapons (tasers, for instance) that can be used without killing the intruder.
But what about the killers and rapists?
If there is a high rate of homicidal intruders in your neighbourhood, high enough to warrant the stockpiling of lethal weapons for ‘home defence’, you might want to look into relocating your family. Chances are that the ‘reporting’ on these ‘deadly home invasions’ is merely scare tactics by groups like the NRA in order to sell more guns. In reality, getting killed by an intruder is as unlikely as getting killed by a Great White shark.
In reality, most child rapists do not jump from bushes or climb into the bedroom window — in the majority of child rape cases, the rapist is familiar to the child, i.e. family members, daycare staff, teachers, priests*, and baby sitters. In other words, the people to whom we entrust our children.
(* Personally, I loathe the people citing the Catholic catechism to morally justify using deadly force defending their children from getting raped by intruders. If you want to keep your children from getting raped, keep them far away from Catholic priests.)
Women Got Shocked After Hearing These Stats Of The Ideal Man
Last night, as I was taking my daughter back from her night-time skating class, we hit heavy traffic in front of our complex (the “Ghost City” that is supposed to be abandoned. LOL!). And it was 15 minutes of bumper to bumper.
Turns out that it was a roadside sobriety test checkpoint. And the local governments run these things all around CNY as many, many people drink and drive.
So I rolled down my window and exhaled into the wand.
It turned red and an alarm went off. The police scrambled, and I got out of the car.
I’m an American, so I knew what was going on. And no, I wasn’t drinking.
I was expecting to put my finger on my nose and walk a straight line. But no. That did not happen. Not at all.
So I stood there, and they got my various licenses, and registrations out of the car, and then subjected me to a far more stringent test. They pulled out a handheld black computer like device. And a red camera like device.
I had to hold my breath, and then exhale into a black monitor for six seconds. This was a much more accurate device. They then recorded my eyes and pupil dilatation with the red device.
He showed me the results; ZERO.
So I was good to go.
…
I signed my name on the ledger, and then they let us go. Ah. An interesting experience for certain. MM gets a police checkout. What do you know. Check one for my experience ledger.
Yeah. I took my niece’s cigarettes away from her and she freaked – she was 10, or 11.
She told her grandmother (who I knew bought her the cigarettes) and she called C.P.S.
I refused to drive into the city to do the interview and made the guy drive out to my shop. On my terms, on my territory. And, I told the story exactly as it happened. Then, I asked him to call the kid. He didn’t want to. So, I did. (he even tried to wander out of earshot, but I followed him holding the phone in the air so he could hear)
I put her on speaker – told her she was on speaker with me and the man from Child Protective Services – and asked her to tell him what happened. She told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Then I asked who bought the smokes.
I was right, it was “gramma”. And, we hung up.
Then, I demanded he call “gramma”. And, he didn’t want to. So I did. (I even showed him the phone numbers on the phone so he could see I wasn’t trying to pull a fast one)
I told her that I was putting her on speaker, and I was there with the guy from C.P.S., and that we had a few questions. (he didn’t have any, I had a couple)
I asked why she called – she blubbered some nonsense. I asked if it was because I took the kid’s cigarettes – and she said that I had no right to take them. She was getting pissed. So I played her like a sunfish – I yanked her right out of the water. I asked if she bought the cigarettes for the kid, and she said, “Where else do you think she got them? They’re not going to sell her cigarettes, she don’t look old enough.”!!!
Then, I asked why. And, she said (and I shit you not), “So she’d quit bummin’ ’em off of me!”!!!
The guy hung his head, and I did one of the shrug your shoulders with palms facing up at shoulder level. Case closed.
I did my best to have “gramma” charged, or a C.P.S. case brought against her, but the guy just let it slide. I called the supervisor. Same thing.
That was twenty years ago – now the kid always says to me variations of, “Thank you for caring, thank you for trying – now that I’m a mom I understand what you were doing – I’m sorry.”
She has two great kids and last time I talked to her they were going for more. I hope they have as many as they want.
Never stop trying, never stop caring, it sinks in even if you think it’s not. (even my son, who has no kids (the dirty rat – I’d like a few grandkids), told me, “Thanks for being an asshole – I get it.”
Never give in, never surrender.
Apple Rum Baklava
Apple Rum Baklava
Ingredients
3 cups chopped apples
2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons rum
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 pound phyllo dough
1 pound butter, clarified, melted
1 cup honey
Instructions
Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl; mix well.
Trim 8 sheets phyllo dough to fit 10 x 15-inch baking pan. Keep unused phyllo covered with damp cloth. Arrange in baking pan, brushing each sheet generously with melted butter. Spread half the apple mixture over phyllo dough. Arrange 6 buttered sheets phyllo dough over apple mixture. Spread with remaining apple mixture. Top with 8 buttered sheets phyllo dough. Cut into squares. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Heat honey in small saucepan. Drizzle over hot baklava.
Yields 12 servings.
May substitute 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 tablespoons lemon rind for rum.
I’m not sure if they teach this in drivers’ ed in places where it snows a lot, but I took drivers’ ed in a place where snow is rare, so they didn’t bother to teach me about driving in it. Here are some snow-related driving tips that I had to learn on my own:
If there is snow around the wheels of your parked car, and your tires just spin when you’re trying to move, there are three ways to get your car unstuck: dig out the snow (takes a lot of time and effort, and is uncomfortable in the cold), throw some kitty litter under your tires for extra traction (requires kitty litter), or my personal favorite: rock the car back and forth until you build enough momentum to get it un-stuck. It’s the lazy man’s way of getting your car moving in the snow. It only works if you can go straight ahead of your car for a while, though. Will not work if your wheels are turned, like if you’re parallel-parked and have to exit the space by turning first.
Cleaning the snow off of the top of your car isn’t really for your benefit, but for the benefit of the drivers behind you. If you’re super-lazy and don’t care about other drivers, just take your car on the highway and let the wind blow the snow off for you.
Edit: I forgot something until some commenters pointed it out: if there is snow on the top of your car and you stop suddenly, it can slide to the front windshield and block your view.
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(Don’t be this guy. Nobody likes this guy.)
If you know it’s going to snow and/or get icy while your car is parked, you should lift the wipers off of the windshield. Otherwise they will stick to it and break when you turn on your wipers.
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(These people know what’s up…)
Door locks and power windows can and will freeze in the winter. Before you go through a drive-through on a winter’s day, you should confirm that your window will go down.
If your car has Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), it will go crazy on slick roads. It’s the same for an Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS). That’s how I know that I need to be more careful when I’m driving in the snow: those lights come on. Also, if you’ve never felt an ABS system kick in underneath you, it’s unnerving the first time it happens.
If the snow is really deep, while digging out your car, you should be extra careful to make sure that the tailpipe is clear. People have died from sitting in cars that were running while waiting for someone else to dig them out.
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(Anyone want to help this person dig out their car?)
Ice/slush will build in the wheel wells of cars that are being driven during the snow. It’s important to kick this off when you get a chance, particularly if it’s going to be cold for a long time. If you ignore it when it is fresh, it just freezes more solid and is a pain in the ass to get off then.
(If you see that around your tires, kick it off as soon as possible. Be careful that you kick with your heel, not your toes. It may be hard as a rock.)
There are “summer” and “winter” blends of windshield washer fluid. If you get the summer blend and forget to use it all before the winter, it will freeze in the tank and you won’t be able to clean your windshield while driving, which is important to do when it snows.
Pickup trucks with empty beds are the worst for handling snow. If you drive a pickup in a place where it snows in the winter, put something heavy in the back, just to put some weight on the back wheels.
Delusional Women In Denial As They Learn How Hard Men Work
Yes. My husband was dying of cancer and in home hospice with me taking care of him 24–7.
The night before he died, his son’s mother started texting me about how he’s dying, she needs to get into his apartment and go through it to see what she could sell because she hadn’t gotten child support in a couple months. He still had his apartment after we were married, because his son was nearing 18 and wanted to move away from his mother asap, and he hadn’t paid child support in two months, because he had just recovered from brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and then in the following two months, we found out it had metastasized to his liver and then spread to all his abdominal organs and died 10 days after being put on hospice. I kept my cool while she was texting me about the money he owed her the night before he died.
The day he died, right after he passed, I called his son to come to my house immediately, as well as my other children. His mother was the only one else aware that he had passed, so here I was with our three boys, sitting in our livingroom waiting for the hospice nurse to come back so she could pronounce him legally dead, and I was already getting phone calls and texts of condolences. My stepson’s mother had announced it on Facebook. I kept my cool, though that was probably more of me just being in shock and unable to function.
The days following his death, she convinced my stepson to rush to my husband’s apartment, because “rent would be due soon and he had alot of valuables in his bedroom at his Dad’s house”. I didn’t go, because she had been texting both me and my SIL about getting into my husband’s apartment asap to sell his things for money, and I was afraid of what I might do to her if I saw her in person. My SIL did go over when they went over, to make sure nothing really important disappeared.
My SIL later told me that in the two days my stepson’s mother had access to the apartment, my stepson’s mother went through every room, every drawer, read ever piece of paper she could get her hands on, including love notes, etc, took pictures of how “filthy” the house was so she could show her friends, and didn’t really keep anything to sell, because nothing had any value to her, so she just threw it to the curb for garbage day. The few sentimental things that my husband had made known to everyone he wanted my stepson to hold on to, she would not let my stepson keep “because they were in poor condition”.
It should be noted that I know I could have called the cops on her for theft and harassment, but I didn’t for three reasons… 1. Me, my stepson, my sister-in-law and my other two children were mourning a loss and I was trying to avoid further drama. 2. Everything of value had already been moved to my house months ago and most of the things left in my husband’s apartment was gonna be gotten rid of anyways. 3. The apartment WAS filthy, because for the past two months, nobody had been there except me 3 times a week to feed his cats and change their litterbox. Nobody else was willing or able to help me with the cats or my dying husband, and it was a mile walk one way to his apartment, meaning if I rushed, I’d be leaving a dying man who could barely stand up by himself (but kept trying, so had several close calls with almost falling) alone at least an hour and a half. I wasn’t lazy, I was stretched too thin with no help and doing the best I could.
But I kept my cool with the apartment drama.
My husband was a car guy, loved older cars, had three classic vehicles when he passed away. He had wanted me to take his favorite car, and his son could have the car he’d already been driving for two months since he got his license, and his prized van as well. The plan was for me to not turn the titles over to my stepson until he turned 18, because it was common knowledge that his mother assumed that their son would get all three vehicles and she had planned on selling all three. This was also a constant source of texts and harassment on how I need to turn the titles over to her immediately (before their son turned 18), like I wasn’t smart enough to figure out that she wouldn’t then sell them as she’d then be the legal owner. I still kept my cool.
Once I finally figured out how I was gonna pay for the funeral and was planning the funeral, I gave people a date, but not much more information, as the details were still being worked out. My stepson asked for the tentative information, which I gave him, and she posted on Facebook, tagging my husband of course, the date, time, place, little details, making it sound like she had planned it. I SNAPPED. I was ready to ask if the funeral home had and 2 for 1 deals. I absolutely ripped her a new one online, publicly pointing out exactly how she’d been behaving and what I thought of her. It got really, really vicious, on both ends, with her playing the victim. Not my finest hour, but I was absolutely DONE with her. Completely out of character for me, but if I had been in the same room with her, I’d be writing this from my jail cell right now.
The last conversation she had with my husband on the phone had been about how their son turned out to be such a great person because he had HER for a mother and how my husband had only had him on weekends, didn’t really contribute to raising my stepson. She knew darn well that my husband would have taken their son full time in a heartbeat, if she hadn’t done everything in her power to restrict his parenting. Near the end, she wouldn’t allow her 17 year old son to sleep over my house (in a spare bed) on the weekend to spend time with his Dad who clearly had limited time, because “it wasn’t his own bed at his Dad’s house” and when he did stop by my house to see his dying Dad, his mother started texting him to come home after about a half hour. And then online while announcing his funeral, she was making out like they had been such good friends, that’s what coparenting is all about, it’s all about her son, his REAL child (my husband had raised my two boys as his own for almost 8 years and loved all three very much), and if course, all about her, because she’s the mother of his child. The one and only time in my adult life I ever completely snapped. Not proud of myself at all, but she deserved it and she got off easy.
A few days ago, my boyfriend offered me a stick of chewing gum.
He unwrapped his and popped it into his mouth. I unwrapped mine and took a tiny bite off the tip.
A few minutes later, when that first bite had lost its flavor, I took another nibble. And once that one shed its sweetness, I took another.
Before long, I noticed my boyfriend shaking his head at me, his eyebrows raised so high they’d almost disappeared into his hair. “You’re so weird,” he said affectionately (at least, I’d like to think it was said affectionately.)
He’s right. It’s pretty weird that I consume my chewing gum one nibble at a time. But I’ve done it that way for as long as I can remember.
When I was growing up, chewing gum used to be a top item on my parents’ list of choking hazards. So naturally, it was also a top item on their children’s list of valuable contraband.
Most of the time, I only had access to this rare treat when my friends shared it with me at school. And every tiny, foil-wrapped stick of it was so precious to me that I’d ration it out slowly to make the flavor last, and then replay the memory of chewing it for days afterwards.
Honestly, as an adult, I don’t even like gum all that much. But the memory of how precious it used to feel has never quite left my mind.
Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country – Khitomer Battle
I had a soldier on a team I was commanding during advanced training called Zach.
Zach was the team clown, a hard worker and good soldier, but a complete goof ball.
He would find humor everywhere, and create it when it was needed. Most of the times, even though I wasn’t allowed, I would completely break soldier -commander distance and laugh at Zach’s punchlines. I would turn away from my soldiers so they wouldn’t see me laugh, even though it was hard to hide.
Two weeks before my soldiers completed their training, I was notified that I was being reassigned to a different team, and that my officer needed my final evaluation on Zach, since they were considering dropping him.
They claimed he was naive, and as much fun as it is listening to his jokes, our job was to train a team and make them combat ready.
Before I wrote up my evaluation, I took Zach for a conversation and told him exactly what my officer told me.
His smile faded immediately.
I told him that there are times for jokes, and time for work. I needed to be blunt, and said that his comic remarks have no place in the paratroopers training. We needed serious and professional fighters, not clowns.
I was a bit harsh, but truly wanted him to finish training.
Zach was one of my favorite soldiers, and it deeply hurt me to tell him to stop finding the funny moments in life, even when everything sucks. I felt like I was killing him softly.
During my final weeks with my team, Zach did not make a single funny remark. One of my soldiers asked to talk to me in private and suggested that Zach might have lost a family member, since he seemed depressed.
Eventually, Zach finished his training, and proceeded on to command school, but I always resented the fact that I was the one who took away the smile from his face.
In fact, the United States has played a four-step game in an attempt to sway the elections in Taiwan.
Firstly, it’s a classic case of ”the pot calling the kettle black”—the U.S. has been vocal about external forces keeping their hands off Taiwan’s 2024 elections, all the while being the first to meddle.
Secondly, the American Institute in Taiwan has echoed the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party’s stance on cross-Strait relations, suggesting that even if the DPP wins, China is unlikely to take immediate military action. This could lull Taiwanese voters into a false sense of security, effectively boosting the ”Lai-Xiao pairing” in the polls.
The third tactic involves the U.S. flexing its military muscle, with P-8A Poseidon aircraft patrolling the Taiwan Strait—a clear sign of America’s concern for Taiwan’s security and a potential promise of defense. There’s speculation that U.S. warships might even make a bold passage through the strait. This military posturing supports the DPP’s narrative, encouraging Taiwanese voters not to view the upcoming election as a choice between war and peace.
Fourthly, the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in the Western Pacific and equipping submarines with Tomahawk cruise missiles are moves that signal U.S. preparedness to intervene should Chinese mainland take military action against Taiwan.
China, of course, is keenly aware of these maneuvers. the spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense has hit back with a two-pronged rebuttal. Firstly, they’ve underscored the severe threat these U.S. actions pose to the security of the Asia-Pacific region and China itself. China has firmly opposed these moves and has vowed to respond with equal determination. Secondly, China has issued a stern warning to the United States: The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China, off-limits to any external meddling. The resolution of the Taiwan question is an unstoppable force, immune to interference by any person or power. Taiwanese voters must remain vigilant, not to be swayed by the U.S. and the DPP’s rhetoric. The 2024 elections in Taiwan are pivotal for the trajectory of the Taiwan Strait situation, and any missteps could lead to tumultuous waters. The mainland’s stance is clear: ”Taiwan independence” equates to war and is a dead-end street, so there’s no room for wishful thinking.
The U.S. has a long history of involvement in Taiwan’s elections, with a level of engagement that runs deep. This is evident from the way candidates scramble to ”audition” in the U.S. during every election season. Take the 2024 elections, for instance; Taiwanese candidates are making their pilgrimage to America, while the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, Mr. Rosenberg, has visited Taiwan three times in just two months, meeting with candidates from the blue, green, and white parties. The depth of U.S. involvement in Taiwan’s elections is such that a single, biased statement from the U.S. could instantly flip the fortunes of their preferred candidate.
My parents murdered me. They killed my ambition, separated me from the guy I love and got me married to a monster (unknowingly).
I was always a bright student. A topper in school and a gold medalist in my college. While in college, I met and fell in love with a man from a different state in India. Though it was not a huge difference like a North-South problem (we belonged to neighbouring states), it was huge for my parents who only had negative things to say about his community. The fact that he still needed time to settle only made him incapable in my parents’ eyes. They believed that I was their golden girl with too much talent to be given away as his wife. We fought for 2 years during which my mom stopped all communication with me. Finally, my parents weren’t willing to wait after I turned 25 as they believed that I will become “too old to be desirable by good guys”. They adopted all forms of emotional abuse and manipulation and broke us apart. I still cry to this day thinking about our breakup though it has been 8 years. I loved him and still do. If only we had remained together…
At about the same time, I wanted to change careers and become a teacher leaving my high paying job but my parents thought that only a fool would make that mistake. They prohibited me from doing what I liked and made me look after my dad’s company though I hated it. They believed that they were doing everything to protect my interests but never cared for my own feelings. I was too weak and timid to rebel and so I bore everything while breaking down mentally.
After this forced separation and being made to look after the company, I was put through the humiliating arranged marriage market where I was paraded around like a commodity. I hated every minute of it. Finally I was married off to this man who was good on paper. He came from a wealthy family, had two degrees from the most prestigious Universities in India and was settled in my own city. My parents couldn’t believe their luck and when all enquiries about him and his family didn’t turn up anything bad, they went ahead with it. All through this debacle, I was only a mute spectator.
What my parents did not know was, my husband was an egoist and a sadist. He HAD to be the best in everything and took joy in humiliating me and belittling my achievements. He was always fishing for compliments without which he couldn’t function. He could never take any form of criticism and would throw temper tantrums if things aren’t done his way. Even sex was a form of punishment for me where I was forced to do things I did not want and he would humiliate me. Every day and every night used to be the same. I put up with this for 2 years before letting anyone know because I foolishly thought that I did not deserve any happiness after breaking my boyfriend’s heart.
To the outside world I couldn’t have been happier. I had my dad’s company which was minting money and I did not have to work hard unlike people who start things from scratch, I had a husband who was very handsome, earned indecent amounts of money, came from a “good family background” and was even religious. But, inside closed doors I was living a nightmare.
The traditional traits looked for in arranged marriages – caste, wealth, education, family background and age were all perfect in mine but take it from me that none of these things matter more than an extent. It is only the love you share with the other person and your emotional compatibility and willingness to stand by them, that counts. This realization hit me like a wall of bricks when one day after a particularly nasty argument with my now ex-husband, I took my car for a drive. It was raining heavily and while I was waiting at a traffic signal, I saw a poor man on the pavement sharing a torn canvas cloth with his small family. They were laughing and were very happy with each other. Looking at this from my air conditioned “luxury” car, I realised that they had something that I did not – love and happiness. The divorce was painful where I did not have many people’s support – only my brother and father supported me.
It has been 4 years since the divorce. Where is the “golden girl” now? Meanwhile, the boyfriend whom I broke up with, went on to become successful and started his own consulting company which is doing extremely well. He got married two years after I got married when he still thought that I was happy. He called me before they finalized the girl, asking me how I am and that he is getting married. He told that he always wishes the best for me – I knew he also loved me the same way I loved him. After that we did not speak because it would be too painful.
It is not always true that parents love you the most. Sure, they wish the best for their child but sometimes they let their beliefs and bigotry cloud their eyes. Sometimes parents can be wrong – that does not mean that you shouldn’t take their well meaning advice, but the final decision should always be yours.
And sometimes, the person who loves you the most could be the guy whose heart you broke a long time ago, who still remembers your birthday every year and sends you a card with a coupon to your most favourite restaurant.
It is a bit more complicated than a Bradley decided to walk the dog on a T-90.
image 28
A Bradley IFV is designed to defeat enemy tanks. At very long rang using TOW missiles. Russian tanks are notoriously poor at surviving such missile attacks due to how their ammo is stored. Anything which gets through is likely to cook everything off… which is where you get those turret tossing videos.
In this encounter a pair of Bradleys more or less stumbled across a lone T-90 at would probably count as Danger Close range. The first engaged with its chain gun, scored a few hits, and then exited, probably trying to get to range so they could engage with a TOW. The second, not wanting to risk taking fire while moving away, decided to engage in hopes of essentially blinding and disabling the tank.
There is an interview with the two man crew of the Bradley in question and one point they both agree on… they were terrified. The one thing they didn’t want to run into at close range was an enemy tank. The crew couldn’t disengage safely, they had to stand and fight, and do so in such a manner that the T-90 couldn’t get its bearings and shot back.
Their training got them through this. The Bradley sticks and moves while the Bushmaster 25mm just peppers the T-90’s turret with hit after hit. The Russian tank crew, likely poorly trained, couldn’t see the Bradley to try and fire back. Attempts to back up saw them crash into a tree and get stuck.
Which is when the tank crew did the only thing they could think of… pop smoke and bail out of the tank. A wise decision as a drone strike destroyed the vehicle not very long after.
It isn’t unusual for a Bradley to score a tank kill. It is very unusual to do so in such a manner. Usually the 25mm autocannon is lighter vehicles, such as the BMP. Those the Bradley’s have been killing in droves. A tank is a much bigger foe to tackle.
In college, at the dorms there was a stinky girl who lived there. Everyone made fun of her and she was arrogant, yet all the same people were just rude. She was called “Hamburger “ or just plain “Stinky” by Everyone in the dorm. She wasn’t nice and was poor. Two of my roommates and I felt bad for her and used our bottle return money (we took discarded beer and soda cans from the dorm that we collected) and purchased the girl hygiene products from the dollar store. Our care package included a few bottles of VO5 Shampoo and conditioner, a few sticks of cheap lady speed stick deodorant, a brush and comb, razors, toothpaste, toothbrush, and I had a 12 pack of ivory soap I didn’t need, plus a bunch of menstrual pads and tampons. We put this stuff in a brown paper grocery bag stapled it and left it in front of her door. Nobody knew who it was from and we never told anyone. The girl wasn’t embarrassed and seemed happy someone cared enough to help her. The girl’s hygiene improved and people were nicer to her. My two roommates and I didn’t do it out of pity if someone might say that, we did this because we wanted to help her.
After X being pushed back the 4th time, I nodded along, stood up, and went to a job-posting website. I got 3 calls back the following week.
A little bit of background for the bonus check: Our department needed to have an app on the company iPad for the engineer to work effectively. They consult with an outside ios developer team about the idea. The developer team comes back with a contract that it would cost Y amount, with half required as a deposit upfront.
At the time, I thought they really overcharged for such a simple application. There were many unnecessary features to be priced. But it’s not my money paying out, so whatever.
My boss, being the department director, asked if I could make the app. Keep in mind that I’m not a software developer in my department. My job description does not include coding and my wage is far lower than those who code for a job. But people know that I program from time to time to automate most of my job (and other people’s jobs) and for fun. Never have I ever made myself a full-fledged app before that time.
I said I could give it a try. He agreed on half the amount of Y for my bonus, once the app is made and tested.
I went home. Borrowed a MacBook from my friend (I knew my boss would never buy me a Mac just for a single project). Locked myself in my room studying as many tutorials for beginners as I could.
10 days later, an app is made. I couldn’t be happier. I showed it to everyone around, got some feedback, made changes. My boss told me to push it onto the App Store for internal use. I did. About 75 devices installed.
I wrote an email to my boss about the bonus, alongside with the terms like I would maintain the app myself, and transfer the ownership to the company, etc. I also mentioned the possibility of promoting me to be Software Engineer so I can develop more apps for the company.
*Crickets* – no response.
I came up to him after a few days. He told me I will get it after the Deputy Director come back from his business trip to see if the app is working well. I said no big deal, I could wait for another week. The app needs more time for testing anyway.
But the Deputy Director came back and still no sign of the bonus. I asked a few more times and my boss is like running this loop: For X in excuses: Say(“You will have the bonus after \(X) event”)
It’s been more than a month since I published the app and still nothing. The last time I came up to him, I also asked about the possibility of a promotion, to which he rejected and said I should just focus on my own work and only do special projects like this if necessary.
I said ok. Came back to my desk and started applying to new jobs. Out of 4 jobs I applied for, 3 called back and scheduled an interview one week after. I brought the app with me to demo. Got 1 offer at one company for the position of Software Developer at twice the salary.
When I came to my boss to hand in my resignation, he still wondered if he did anything wrong…
1) Join the Massachusetts State Police. Make over 100K your first year, including overtime where you sleep in the cruiser most of the time. You will be incredibly wealthy and rich within 20 years. You can retire young and get a “getover” job as a college security police starting at 135,000 a year. Seriously, my brother is a State Cop and if I could live my life over again I would do this job. It’s hard to get through the Basic Training but once you’re on the job it is absolutely no work, lots of perks, impossible to get laid off… where else can you get paid 1000 dollars for sleeping in your car? I’m not joking! If you d3on’t want to be a State Cop then become a local cop but you might actually have to do something. Nevertheless the opportunity to make money as a cop in Massachusetts is unparalleled. The corrupt Police Union has made wages high and work virtually non-existent. This is the way to go.
2) Become a Fireman – this job is the biggest scam in Massachusetts. It’s GREAT money for doing next to nothing. Sure, there are lots of calls where you get to ride on the big red engine but mostly it’s for absolutely nothing. You stand around with a halligan tool and you coat open and a cigarette hanging from your mouth and then you go back to the station, eat something and watch television in a barcalounger then go to bed. You do this for two days, get a full week’s pay and then you become a contractor and double or even triple dip. You will be fucking rich in no time. Sometimes you might actually have to fight a fire but think of all the things you can slip into your boots or coat when you’re in someone’s smoky house – a wallet left on the dresser: it has your name on it. Expensive watch on the counter: you can easily sell that. All kinds of perks.
3) Become a Plumber. Believe me, these guys clean up. There aren’t enough plumbers and you can charge just about anything, especially in winter when people’s heat stops working. Yep, it’s hard work and you often have to deal with people’s stink and shit but usually you’re putting in new, clean pipe and the new Pex technology makes it fast and easy and you can clean up. If you have even half a brain within a couple of years you can get younger apprentice plumbers to work for you. Create a subsidiary business cleaning out drains. You can make up to 1000 dollars for a one hour visit. If you can get commercial accounts or city accounts, your future is assured. By the time you’re 35 you will be taking your wife and girlfriend to Turks and Caicos in the winter. Plumbers make HUGE coin.
4) Become an electrician – once again, it’s a tough apprenticeship but once you’re done you will never have a day off if you don’t want one. There just aren’t enough electricians. Had an electrician come to my house to replace a half dozen switches and plugs – cost me 750 bucks. You will really clean up. If you get attached to a building contractor you can start your own electrical company and hire a bunch of illegal immigrants to run wire through the new ant farms going up and you do the critical work of punching them down to the breaker box and you’re in like Flint. The sky is the limit.
5) Become a real estate broker – this is actually MUCH harder than it looks but the options for making a lot of money doing nothing at all are really good. To be a broker you have to be an agent for three years. That means sucking the asshole of another broker boss douche who is going to rip you off blind for three years. The first two years you won’t even make minimum wage but if you stick with it you will learn all the ins and outs and how to scam homebuyers which is every real estate agent’s job – Get the suckers to buy that termite trap as fast as possible and take your 2 percent commission and run. But once you’re a broker yourself than all those nose-picking wannabe agents will be sucking your asshole and they have to pay you 50 percent of their commission while you go deep sea fishing off the Keys in Florida. And they best part? The REAL money is in working with contractors or finding that great piece of property you can buy, rehab and sell for a huge profit. Yep, it takes time and effort and diligence but you can make millions a year in real estate if you’re willing to sell your soul to do it. I met the biggest agent in the area once, a woman who would sell her own daughter’s kidney for a profit if she could because to be REALLY GOOD as an agent or a broker requires you to have no conscience or soul.
Remember the 50-year-old man who gave his number to my sister at our family restaurant?
Well, he came back last night with a huge smirk on his face.
He entered the premise with his friend. They were both semi-drunk. Here is the conversation,
His friend: “Is this the girl you gave your number to?”
Him: “Shhh.”
I kept a straight face. My sister was clearly uncomfortable and wanted me to take over.
As I was taking his order, I caught him staring my sister up and down. I was so angry and disgusted. That’s my baby sister he was looking at lustfully.
I looked at him and said,
Me: “What do you think you’re doing?”
Him: “…uh…nothing. *Looks away*.
Me: “You know that’s my sister you’re looking at, right?”
Him: “I…uh…was looking at the chef…”*looks away*
Me: “Well, she’s 15-years-old and you’re incredibly inappropriate. She’s underage.”
He was in shock (or so it seemed).
He ordered his food and went to sit down.
He then said:
“My daughter is 15”, to which I replied, “how would you like it if a grown man stared at your daughter in the same manner?”
He walked out.
His friend looked at me in amazement.
“I’m proud of you for protecting your sister. We need more women like you in this world. My daughter is 31 and if a man did the same to her, I would be angry.”
I felt like a complete savage. He deserved it.
Leave American schools and go private or international
Maggy is one of the smoking moms, and she is not happy. She has been morbidly obese for most of her adult life, but now her problem was bound to be solved. It hasn’t.
“The doctor lied. It isn’t better at all.“
The smoking moms bring their kids to school, or wait at the gates for them, while smoking. It’s their every right, but it also is a little weird to see young moms smoking so nearby a school.
Maggy had a gastric bypass — a type of weight-loss surgery that involves creating a small pouch from the stomach and connecting the newly created pouch directly to the small intestine. It essentially shrinks the stomach, so that you should eat less. Should.
But Maggy did not really listen to the doctor lady, because the doctor lady clearly said to Maggy that her diet should be (heavily) adapted in order for the operation to be a success. Should.
She explains it to her smoking mom friends while she is smoking —
“My stomach really hurts when I eat a little snack like a burger or so. And I am gaining a lot of weight again. The doctor really lied to me.”
But the doctor did not lie at all — Maggy did not listen.
And she should have.
Should.
Can you join a cult without knowing it? Is The Latitude a game, business or something else?
Some twenty five years ago, while I was still in college,we had a maid . Let’s call her Lakshmi.
She came to plains from a village in mountains with her alcoholic husband. After her first daughter was born she started working.
She used to bring her daughter along, nurse her in between the chores and started her life.
After three years one more daughter came along and she decided two were enough . Here is what she did
Got a tubectomy done to avoid more kids.
She enrolled both of her daughters in a small school.
Since she could not afford costly food like almonds etc in winter , she used to feed her kids eggs in the breakfast.
Her daughters were always neat and clean.
She started depositing a tiny amount each month in the bank.
Slowly she bought the basics like a fridge, washing machine and a TV.
As time passed she bought a little house too on instalments and worked extremely hard to repay the loans she took from bank and a few people.
She realized that her elder daughter was a bit slow in learning so after high school she enrolled her for a beautician’s course. That girl now is happily married and has her own modest parlour.
The younger one was highly intelligent and won many scholarships. A family friend,who had their own engineering college, gave admission to her daughter in engineering and she is a software engineer today working in Chennai.
All her life Lakshmi remained completely honest and during my wedding, she even had the keys to my mother’s almirah.
Lakshmi was an honest,hard working woman who had dreams for her girls,the wisdom to plan and had the perseverance to execute those plans .
Lakshmi has never been to school and could barely write her name, but she was intelligent enough to understand what to do and how.
Intelligence has nothing do with the college, the degrees and the social strata of a person.
Itshines in the direction our life takes. It is visible in each and every decision we take.
Not me but my dad. My dad has this quick wit about him, he can come up with the snappiest comebacks, silliest one liners, and dad jokes I’ve ever heard. If my dad is tired he’s even funnier (don’t tell him I admitted this). At my uncle’s house with the hypocritical aunt, she made a comment about dad and I. A little context, my cousins (she has two boys and 1 girl) absolutely adore my dad. He would take then camping and hiking when we were growing up. He would swim with them at the lake, help them work on their cars (well the boys have cars, the girl doesn’t want one yet). And of course I’m first in dad’s life so I was right there with them the whole time. They were having a summer cookout on this day so the cousins are up and down, in and out. One boy wanted to show me something about his game system, other boy wanted to show me something he did to his car, and the girl was telling me about some funny videos. When I would stop by dad, he would kiss my hand and tell me to have fun, smiling the whole time. My aunt remarks something about treating his daughter so grossly affectionate. Dad says “Yeah it’s hard trying to please a beautiful woman all the time but somebody’s has to learn how.” His brother choked on his soda and had to go in the house. Girl cousin was laughing hysterically but looking at her phone (it was loading a video but not playing yet).
I lived in a remote Siberian town throughout their winter and the temperatures remained below -20C for most of the winter, and on very very cold days, it would go below -40C as well.
Layers upon Layers. If you can put in a thin shirt underneath your fur coats, you put it in.
There are no veggies to eat. There are no fruits. Those who can afford them, are usually the oligarchs who come to visit their mansions for fun. Canada might have, because it has world’s largest food producer just next to it. Fatty meats, milks fats, milk, and some roots and tubers. Some people also preserve and pickle all kinds of veggies during the summer.
Your lungs burn. The air is so dry, every breath you breathe out, will push water out of your body. The lungs can become dry, and then every breath burns. You might want to replenish the fluids in your body, even when you’re inside. Light alcohol, helps. Of course, then the legendary vodka. But once the alcohol effects are dimmed, you feel more cold. So you need to keep drinking.
In remote areas, nights can get dark. People will not have windows, and if anyone has they will fill it up with winters covers, which basically means putting several wood boards. Nights are dark. Pitch black dark if you get even about 100 meters away from the civilization. You can’t see your own hands or body. You need to have sufficient lighting. The more batteries the better.
You don’t have diesel stuff at all, unless it is specially designed. You should have gas generators, gas cars, gas everything. Diesel will gell up, diesel engines can’t start combustion, or there must be specially designed engines, which have spark plugs. You don’t shut off the car unless you get everything you need. You will sometimes need to heat up the car before starting it, because it just won’t start.
Meat. You don’t waste any body parts. You will clean off the large intestine of all the poop and eat whatever part is edible. You eat the heart, brains, and even break up the bones sometimes for the marrow. Of a horse or a reindeer out of a 100kg carcass, 20kg is the highest amount that should go waste. The skins, are used. The most expert folks will be able to reduce the wastage 16–18kg. The amazing thing is, eating up all the body parts, ensures that people are never ever deficient in any macro or micro nutrients.
Metal is no good. If the temperatures drop, the metal can become brittle. It doesn’t conserve heat. It conducts heat too well. Wood. Wood. Wood. Your body will stick to metal. Wood is the way to go. You can’ burn metal. You can burn wood.
You don’t keep fuel in your home. Fuel means wood. Butane and propane are cute. But you don’t have enough to stock up for the entire winter. Once winter starts, you can’t get more either. You can always go into the forests and get more wood.
You learn to kill and clean a carcass. Really. Deer, horse, and whatever animal you come across.
You don’t want to sweat. So you don’t heat your home too much. You sweat, you die. You want to work hard, okay. BUT DO NOT SWEAT. SWEAT = DEATH. Sweat will go into your clothes. Water is a good conductor of heat, way better than air. You will get cold. If you sweat too much, your clothes will freeze and stick to your skin. The sweat ice will kill you in a few hours. If you sweat, wipe it off, and if you’re in home and you sweat, open the door to cool down the home. YOU DON’T SWEAT.
Home. Home does not mean a 3 bedroom American suburban house. It means a 300 sqft wood cabin. A single room, with some walls strategically placed around the door, to not let the cold air in. More rooms means more wood to heat everything. Wood is not infinite. You need to go into the forest with a few people, where 60% will keep a watch, 20% will cut, and the remaining 20% will do the odd jobs and gathering, cutting up of the trees felled. You can also sweat while cutting wood. YOU DON’T want to go for wood in middle of the winter. So, a single room cabin.
Sex isn’t taboo. It’s the same as America was during the period of settlers moving west. You will probably see your parents going at it. No worries, you’re not the weird one. The weird one is who’s not seen sex.
There aren’t any jobs. Survival is your job.
If you’re from a city like Miami, or from California, where the temperature doesn’t go below 0C, and it’s hot and humid, you can’t live here, without climate acclimatization. You need to move north, slowly, spend a winter and then move further north. You can die from the cold, if you aren’t acclimatized.
That is the gist of what I was able to learn about living in extreme cold.
In 2022, when I went to Switzerland, I met a girl at a hostel[1].
During a long conversation, she told me that she preferred to travel on low-cost airlines across Europe, and it was cheaper than trains.
Like, she had spent only 15-Euros to travel from Berlin to Bern the previous day. The only requirement was that you luggage should be carry-on, the one that fit under the seat.
In 2023, when I went to Europe, I wanted to travel to Iceland from Italy. I found one low-cost airline, Wizz Air. The ticket cost 100 euros. I booked it immediately.
I kept getting notifications for e-check-in. Since, I never had the habit of doing e-check-in and always preferred to do it at the counter, I ignored them.
On the day of my trip, I went to the check-in counter. The lady checked all my details, luggage, and passport and said, ‘Everything is okay, but why haven’t you checked in already?’
‘Oh, I thought of doing it here.’
‘You have to pay printing charges if you want us to issue you boarding pass.’
‘Ah that’s okay. How much would it be?’
‘Four five.’
‘Four to five Euros.’ Quite expensive for a printout, but it is okay, I thought.
‘No. Forty-five Euros.’
I was aghast.
I quickly checked my phone to do web-check-in. But I couldn’t do it since it was 2 hr 30 min before the flight departure.
She noticed it. ‘Okay, let me see if I can do it from my side.’
Lady luck, I thought.
But
She sighed. ‘Sorry, sir, I am also not able to do it. The web check-in closes 3 hours before the flight departure. So you have to.. ‘
Thus, I paid 45 Euros to get the boarding pass for a 100-Euro flight.
‘Why you didn’t do it earlier, sir?’ she asked while handing over the pass.
‘In Singapore and India, there are no charges for printing boarding passes at the counter.’
‘It is different when it comes to low-cost airlines, sir. Nothing is free.’
You read job descriptions, but they all require you to know a tool such as Excel or another software program.
I can hear you thinking.
It doesn’t make sense.
Wasn’t college supposed to help me land a good job? I didn’t learn any of these things.
You start sweating.
You look behind you. You can almost see the fraternity parties and drunken nights fading into oblivion.
There’s nothing on your resume except a degree and involvement in college organizations.
No one’s hiring college graduates without skills. That means you.
You feel alone on a sandbar in the middle of the ocean.
I don’t even know what I like.
Wasn’t I supposed to learn what I enjoy doing in college?
Maybe I should just apply to every job I see online.
Even with all these doubts, you must move forward. You send out hundreds of applications before someone considers your resume. They ask you if you’re willing to start as an unpaid marketing intern.
You think about it. It’s been three months since graduating, and you haven’t taken a serious step towards a meaningful career. When people ask you where you work, you hesitate to tell them about your two waitressing gigs helping you pay off student loans.
Maybe you can balance waitressing and your internship. Maybe not.
You feel pressured from your parents to move out of the house. In turn, you ask the potential employer if there’s an opportunity to turn this unpaid marketing internship into a full-time position.
He says, “Yes.”
You work extra hours at your unpaid internship for four months before asking for pay.
“Hey, I was wondering if you have a chance to talk about a potential pay raise?”
“Sorry. We’re just not ready to bring you on full time.”
You cry after work.
You believed your employer. You trusted them.
It’s been seven months since you graduated college and you’re still waiting tables. Your parents sometimes make remarks about you acting lazy even though you work eighty-hour weeks. You know they don’t mean it. They thought once you graduated they’d finally have time to themselves.
You quit your unpaid internship.
You apply to different job positions. The only phone call you get back is for a receptionist position at a salon. It’s better than saying you work as a waitress, but it pays less. You feel a strong need for validation, so you take the job.
It’s at this point you ask the right questions:
Who will teach me how to make more money?
Who will teach me how to become happy?
From here, you research on the internet those who built themselves up from scratch. At first, you follow the wrong people and waste money on their $199 courses and scams.
After you get burned, you dig deeper and discover people making a real difference. You read what they’ve written and study their habits. Then, you implement their advice.
In time, you discover the paths out of the jail cell that college left you in.
It takes time. Many people never find a way out.
Don’t give up. With enough persistence, you can accomplish your goals.
I know what it’s like. I worked at nine startups before getting hired to head marketing at a 50-million-dollar venture capital firm.
I don’t know your son or his sense of responsibility but I can tell you what happened to me. I was 40 when I got a DUI. I had never been in any trouble before and haven’t since. I will spare you all the circumstances to cut to your question. My best friend bailed me out of jail but had to be paid back immediately. My dad drove to my town the next day and replaced the money. He said he had made that bad choice many times when he was younger and felt I was paying for his sin. I lost my license for 6 months. My son (who was very anti-alcohol for some unknown reason – none of the adults in his life had been drinkers, including myself) rearranged his schedule to drive me. He was 16. His response was that I had spent his whole life rearranging his schedule around me, it wouldn’t hurt him to do the same for me when I needed it. I told my boss. He told me not to drive the company car while I didn’t have a license – he picked me up for work a couple of times when I was in a bind. He also did not report the transgression up the chain. He said he wasn’t sure what the response would be and he didn’t want to risk it. He said not to worry. I had properly reported. Not going further would be on him. I’m saying all that to say this. The worst experience of my life served to show me how blessed I really am even when things are rough. I did not take advantage. I was not a drunk. I had a bad day and made a poor choice. I’m not excusing that. I am so grateful that it was a ticket and not an accident. But the shame I feel about that awful occasion is softened by the love I had around me.
The year before I started at my high school the administration allowed a writer to go undercover and pose as a student so that he could gather material for a book.
He wanted to write a sex, drugs, and hard partying expose full of scandalous true stories about the lives of real American teenagers.
The administration thought that he would be their ‘inside man’, and he would feed them all of the dirt about what the kids were up to.
It didn’t work.
Partially because my high school was really quite tame. All of the scandalousness the writer was hoping for and the admins suspected really only existed in their own fantasy lives. Partially because none of the kids were fooled, turns out the difference between an actual teenager and a grown man wearing makeup is quite evident despite what 21 Jump Street would have you believe. And partially because as word got out about what was going on there was a massive backlash from the parents.
Turns out that allowing a grown man unrestricted access to a student body of underage kids so that he can try to get invited to their parties and snoop on their sex lives is REALLY BAD.
The writer had to flee the scene in disgrace, the principal resigned in disgrace. There was just in general a huge amount of disgrace.
It was the winter of 1978 and I was bumming around Europe going to the train stations at night and using my rail pass instead of paying for a hotel room. This made for some strange side trips. Anyway, I had planned on arriving at Heathrow with no money and flying back home to California.
But the fates decided differently. There was a bad snow storm and some sort of a strike that shut things down for days. Did I mention that I was flying standby? As a side note the Iranian Revolution had driven out the Shah and the airport was packed with Iranians trying to get home.
Stuck in Heathrow with no money and no plane seat in sight. I decided to go into the city and see if I couldn’t rustle up some luck.
So I’m walking down the street and come across a bakery. Ah! Says I, day old bread might be cheap or even free.
I go in the shop and tell the girl behind the counter my story. She looks at me for a long second and says, “I know you, I’m Susan XX, we were in elementary school together.” Small world. Improbable is appropriate, I think. Got something to eat and a great memory. Those days and nights in Heathrow still make me laugh at all the weird, happy, lucky things that happened there.
In grade school there was a boy in our class who always smelled a bit funny. Kids were really cruel about that. They talked about “Danny’s” fleas, how he peed his pants and other really cruel things. To me he did not smell “bad” he smelled of something but it was not that strong.I do not have a strong sense of smell.
In first grade at Valentine’s Day we all made Valentines boxes and made cards to put in each other’s boxes. My mother told me that every child in my class should get a Valentine from me. I thought it was an odd thing to say because that was my plan. I thought it was everyones plan. On Valentines Day were got to open our boxes and see our cards. Some kids brought cookies and we had Kool Aid for our little party that day. Danny came to me afterwards and thanked me for the card I gave him. It turned out it was the only card he had in his box. This I just could not understand.
When Danny got a little older and in 5th grade he made a deal with the boys PE teacher that he and his little brother would come to school early twice a week and do the Gym laundry of towels and would include their clothing in the laundry. Maybe this originally came from the teacher. The smell was gone. Time went by and the teasing about the smell of Danny and is brother ended.
Danny was elected as president of our Graduating class.
After well over a year of child support and custody battles, allegations and counter allegations it was over. The last court visit was upon me.
Over a year ago we talked and said we would just go through arbitration. We agreed that would be best for all parties concerned. No sense in fighting, she didn’t want custody of the kids so the house would be mine. She could have anything in the house she wanted. Why drag ourselves through the muck? It isn’t like we had hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets.
I still remember that day. My oldest son was an emotional wreck, the youngest was just aloof, not saying much at all. The table we sat at while we had this last civil conversation as married people is still here, about 5 feet from me as I type this.
It was in fact the calmest conversation we had with each other in the months since she abruptly left to go live with her coworker and his friends.
After she had left we fought a lot. Not just because she left but because of how she left. We lived an old fashioned kind of marriage. We had a joint bank account and everything I made was deposited to it. She was supposed to take care of the bills.
Once she started her affair she stopped paying bills and I was clueless. I found out after she left that every utility bill was at least two or three months behind. A week after she left I got a foreclosure notice on the house, she hadn’t paid that in four months. As ridiculous as it sounds I had a 3K plus water bill. I still cant figure that one out. That has to be two years of water bills. If I miss two months they threaten to shut it off.
What she did with all the money I will never know. My brother claims he thought at the time she was doing drugs. Honestly though? Its a mystery that will never be solved.
It all seems so surreal now. But that one day at least a little sanity seemed like it would prevail.
I called the court that Monday and said I was OK for arbitration, I waited for the call back telling me that she had also called and the schedule of appointments we would have to make.
One day waiting turned in to two, then three, then four. On Friday I got a call from a lawyer saying he was representing my then wife and that she was suing for divorce.
I tried to call her to find out what was going on. She didn’t answer.
I got a lawyer. After a couple court dates the lawyer informed me that I would probably have to give her a portion of my pension. Now I understood why she did the abrupt turn around. Spousal support can go on forever if the receiving party doesn’t remarry and since the guy she ran off with was married that was not going to happen.
I told my lawyer that I was not giving her a chunk of my pension for the rest of her life as a reward for screwing me and the kids over. He calmly told me that this was common in NY state for marriages over 15 years and their was little he could do.
I fired him the next day and represented myself.
The court cases went on for about a year, she fought me on everything from custody of the kids that she didn’t want to some generic Kmart pictures that had been in the attic for years. Small arguments we had had years before suddenly became portrayed as huge shouting matches with always just a hint that I may have been abusive.
If you have ever watched any of the reality TV divorce shows it is pretty funny watching people tell obvious lies about each other. It is not as funny when it happens to you and it is real life.
When it started to be obvious things were not going her way the hint was removed with actual allegations. I didn’t just argue with her, now I threw her across a room and jumped on her chest with both feet. It was so ridiculous the judge stopped her, admonished her lawyer and told her no further unproven allegations would be admitted.
I didn’t realize it then but that did cause some damage, not in the way she probably expected though. A month after everything was over my oldest came upon the divorce papers in the house. I came home one day to him sitting on the couch looking as solemn as I have ever seen him. He asked me, “Dad have you ever hit Mom?”
That hurt more then anything she had said about me in court. The image of my own son looking at me like I was a monster will be forever seared in to my brain.
You asked how did it end? My ex sued for divorce, I counter sued. After all the drama the end was pretty anti-climatic.
The judge read the charges for my ex one by one and denied them one by one. She then read my counter-suit arguments one by one and approved them one by one.
All while this was going on my ex just stared at me while I focused my attention on the Judge. We were now two people that had become strangers in a room full of strangers. There were no tears, this had been going on for over a year and half and all the tears had dried up long ago.
That was it, we walked out and headed to the elevator. When she realized she might have to ride down with me she went in to the bathroom to wait until I was gone.
I rode the elevator down, walked outside and stopped at a hotdog stand. After the guy gave me my purchase I asked him what the date was.
It was one week from what would have been our twentieth anniversary.
That is how it ended.
Bakaliaros Pastos Me Kremmithia
Bakaliaros Pastos Me Kremmithia
Ingredients
3 pounds salt cod
Water as needed
Flour for dipping
1 1/2 cups oil
2 pounds onions, sliced
2 pounds tomatoes, peeled and strained
Pepper to taste
Instructions
Cut cod into small pieces. Skin it, and soak overnight in enough water to cover, changing 2 or 3 times. Remove from water; take out bones; rinse and dry fish well. Dip in flour, shaking off excess, and fry in hot oil until golden.
In same oil, sauté onions until they are soft but not brown. Put them in wide pot, together with oil from the pan and any of the 1 1/2 cups oil not used in the frying. Add tomatoes and pepper. Simmer for 30 – 45 minutes or until onions dissolve.
Add codfish (and /1/2 cup hot water if needed), cover the pot, and cook for 10 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and only the oil remains.
The Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima weighed 4.5 metric tons (9,000 pounds). This included the casing, aero-finns, fusing and safing equipment and batteries and particularly a large mass of conventional explosives.
The explosives were used to drive together a large, neutron-reflecting tamper and a critical mass of uranium weighing 64 kg (141 lbs). Naturally occurring uranium is almost entirely u-238, which is less prone to fission through thermal neutron capture, the type of neutrons produced in a nuclear explosion, so the bomb core had been enriched to an average of 80% U-235, and almost all the energy came from the U-235.
Of the 51 kg (113 lbs) of U-235, only about 1%, or 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) underwent fission, releasing very roughly 64 trillion joules of energy, about the same as 15,000 tons of TNT, or ten times the explosive power of the RAF’s famous thousand-plane raid on Cologne in May of 1945, in which 44 aircraft and hundreds of air crew were lost.
But Little Boy was not filled with anti-matter. Fission only converts a tiny fraction of an atom’s mass into energy, and in Little Boy, that added up to a grand total of roughly 7 grams (0.007 kg).
That, in fact, is the weight of about 10 large butterflies or 20 more typical ones, or 7 paperclips.
Addendum:
The bulk of the uranium that did not fission simply remained uranium, was turned to dust or molten specs, was carried up with the mushroom cloud, and settled out over the Pacific.
If you’re like too many people, that probably scares you, but it absolutely shouldn’t.
Earth’s oceans contain roughly 4.5 billion metric tons of naturally occurring uranium, enough that any randomly collected liter contains about 3.3 micrograms. If you haven’t gone to sleep thus far worrying about Earth’s radioactive oceans, there’s no reason to start. The whole planet is radioactive and always has been, and your bones are considerably more radioactive than seawater—and that’s from natural sources.
In 1983, Stephen Phillips was convicted of a string of rape/burglaries in the Dallas area. He was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison.
image 162
Phillips was married at the time to a woman named Traci. Phillips claims she rarely visited him, and she divorced him whilst he was still in prison.
In 2008, having served 25 years of his sentence, Phillips was exonerated by DNA evidence, it turns out the real perpetrator was a convicted sex offender who had since died.
Phillips was released and eventually secured a $6M settlement in compensation for the terrible miscarriage of justice he had suffered, he attempted to restart his life, presumably hoping to never see the inside of a courtroom again, but that wasn’t to be.
Traci, his ex-wife, read about his settlement in the papers, and decided to take him to court claiming she should get a slice of his compensation as part of her divorce settlement, despite the fact that the divorce happened decades prior and she had long since moved on with her life and remarried.
After a protracted legal battle, during which time Phillips also had to fight off a spurious $2M claim from his former lawyer, the court eventually threw it all out in 2014 and Phillips was finally allowed to attempt to enjoy what remained of his life without the involvement of the legal system for the first time in 31 straight years.
It takes a certain kind of person to look at the compensation someone gets for spending a quarter of a century behind bars for a serious sexual assault that they did not commit and think they will try and take a chunk of that for no good reason other than greed.
One day at the end of class, Miss Thomas asked her fourth graders to go home and come up with a true story with a moral. The following day she asked for the first volunteer to tell their story. Little Billy raised his hand. “My dad owns a farm and every Sunday we load the chicken eggs on the truck and drive into town to sell them at the market. Well, one Sunday we hit a big bump and all the eggs flew out of the basket and onto the road.” When asked by Miss Thomas for the moral of the story, Billy replied, “Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket.” “Very good, Billy.” Little Suzy went next and kept with the poultry theme. “My dad owns a farm too. Every weekend we take the chicken eggs and put them in the incubator. Last weekend only eight of the 12 eggs hatched.” Again, Miss Thomas asked for the moral of the story. Suzy replied, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” “Good moral, Suzy.” Next up was little Jimmy. “My Aunt Helen was a fighter pilot, and her plane was shot down over enemy territory. She jumped out before it crashed but could only take a bottle of whiskey, a machine gun and a machete. On the way down, she drank the whiskey. Then she landed right in the middle of about 100 enemy soldiers. She shot and killed about 70 with her machine gun, but then she ran out of ammo. So she pulled out her machete and killed over 20 more. Then the blade on the machete broke, so she had to kill the remaining combatants with her bare hands. Luckily she was rescued soon after.” A shocked Miss Thomas paused and said, “Good Lord, Jimmy, what’s the moral for that?!” Jimmy replied, “Don’t fuck with Aunt Helen when she’s been drinking.”
> Americans now find themselves living in an oligarchy administered day-to-day by institutional bureaucracies that move in lock-step with each other, enforcing a set of ideologically-driven top-down imperatives that seemingly change from week-to-week and cover nearly every subject under the sun. <
He represented a guy on a breaking and entering charge. When the police arrived at the store, the silent alarm was still sounding and the defendant was standing at the end of one of the aisles (it was a grocery store). He was arrested without incident and didn’t make any statements while in custody.
The defendant was about 40 and had a long record of burglaries. However, he hadn’t had one for about ten years. Here was the defense presented at trial:
The defendant testified that he was a master thief. He explained that he knew the store had a silent alarm because he was very familiar with those systems. He explained in detail how he could have disarmed it had he chosen to do so.
He had entered through the roof. There was some sort of service door that he accessed by climbing a drain pipe. When asked, he explained that he didn’t enter through a ground level door or window because it would have required him to break something. The service door was secured by a simple padlock. He had years of experience defeating those locks and explained in detail how he could do so.
So why was he in the store in the middle of the night?
He had been in the store a day earlier and noticed how badly the products were arranged on the shelves. The end caps were particularly unattractive. He needed a job but didn’t think he could get hired by the store via the standard process because of his record. So, he decided to break in and rearrange some of the shelves to demonstrate to the owner how he could be a beneficial employee. The police simply arrived faster than he had anticipated. Because he was such an experienced thief, he said he could have easily broken into the store and looted it without getting caught. How could he prove he was a successful thief? That’s why he didn’t have a record over the preceding 10 years. He had never gotten caught.
So, his defense was that if he was really planning on stealing from the store, he would have never gotten caught. He was there as part of an unorthodox attempt to get a job BC he wanted to stop being a criminal.
Back in the day, I would periodically use hydrogen peroxide to clean my ears out. This was done by my family doctor and he recommended it along with soaking my head in a bathtub of warm water.
You see, I had a problem with excessive earwax fabrication. Oh, not a common problem for certain, but I had to maintain this particular issue with my body.
So one day, my ear got stuffed up, and when I tried my hydrogen peroxide solution, it only seemed to make things worse. Instead it got more and more clogged up. Indeed, for an entire month, my ear was caked full of earwax and I was at a loss as to what to do… not so serious to go to the doctor, it’s earwax after all, but serious enough to be a real problem personally…
…enter a business trip. I went and interviewed at a hot water heater company in Tennessee. And after the interview and meal, I went to the hotel. I drew a tub full of hot water and lay down to soak in it.
I soaked for a good hour, and then I held my breath and tried to blow the water out. And then it happened!
An explosion of earwax released, and many it was a sight to behold. Where the heck was all this earwax from? I don’t know, but I must have had globs and globs of the stuff. It was amazing!
Of course it ended up falling apart in the hot water, but you could tell, it was like thick honey that turned to slimy powder. Quite the experience, I’ll tell you what.
Here’s a LEGO Millennium Falcon, retail price $100:
image 163
Here’s another LEGO Millennium Falcon, retail price $7:
image 163
Back in 2004, scammer Bill Swanberg realized that Target, Walmart, and other stores sold both of these sets. Here’s what he’d do:
First, he went into a store, and bought both sets. Totally legitimately. He took the smaller one, and scanned in the barcode. Next, he re-sized it so that it would be the same size as the barcode of the larger set— and printed out gobs of them on glossy sticker paper.
Next, he’d bring a few with him into an unsuspecting store. He’d find the LARGE version of the LEGO Millennium Falcon, and cover up the barcode with one of his stickers of the SMALL set’s barcode.
Then, he’d trot up to the register, and the associate would ring them up. “Woah, this big set only costs $7.00?” “Yeah, it must be on sale, that’s why I grabbed it, LOL!” “Wow, nice find!”
Then he’d leave, remove the stickers carefully, and sell them online at a “discounted price” of, say, $50. Everyone online was amazed at the great deal, and lined up to buy them. They expected he got a great deal on them, but 50% off didn’t seem like it was all that suspicious.
He did this for quite a while— but gradually the various stores became aware that their inventory wasn’t lining up. Target noticed the pattern in 5 different states, and eventually had a security guard stop him in a store in Portland, Oregon, after he bought 10 copies of the same Millennium Falcon set. In his car, he had over $6000 of LEGO, as well as a laptop denoting other stores in the area that he planned to visit (or had already visited).
Upon review, Target alone estimated that he had resold over $200,000 worth of their merchandise— and that he had sold over $600,000 online for the past couple of years (much of it likely being from similar scams).
Why is China so afraid of asking for help when there is a virulent virus outbreak?
In 2008, a Richter Scale 8.0 earthquake shook the mountainous Sichuan province in China. When the dust settled, ~ 70,000 people were dead. ~ 20,000 people were missing, presumably dead. ~ 375,000 people were injured. ~ 5 million people were left homeless. It’s one of the greatest natural disasters in the twenty first century. The disaster was so great, that China immediately asked for help from the rest of the world.
The US government gave ~ $4.5 million in aid, plus a guy to the Beijing Earthquake Center to look at their data. So that’s what, 80 cents for each affected person?
The rest of the world pooled together ~ $450 million, plus some emergency supplies. Most of it came from China’s immediate neighbors.
The Chinese people donated $1.5 billion within the first 2 days.
The Chinese government gave the earthquake-stricken area $130 billion. 98% was spent in the first 3 years. 100,000 PLA troops rushed into the earthquake area within 2 days to help.
This was back in 2008, when China’s GDP per capita was only about ~ $3,500 a year. Now it’s over $10,000.
So I don’t think China is “afraid” of asking for help. They are realistic. They simply don’t expect to get much help. Something symbolic, maybe, which will be much appreciated, but they must do the heavy lifting themselves. Big countries must stand on their own two feet, because you really can’t expect a bunny to lift up a fallen elephant! The elephant needs to get up on its own. Reactions to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake – Wikipedia
No normal country should count on foreign aid to solve their problems.
In the current Coronavirus outbreak, China is mostly helping other countries: It isolated and published the sequence of this new virus, developed diagnostic kits and diagnostic protocols, and shared all these with the WHO and the world. It has put in border controls aimed at keeping infected people from going abroad. It publishes treatment protocols and regular updates as doctors discover and develop their knowledge of this disease. It has put 50+million people under quarantine. It is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the global management of this novel disease.
PS: The US gave Haiti $12 billion in aid after Haiti earthquake. 2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti is right at America’s doorstep, and the American people are very generous towards Haiti. Today Haiti looks like this:
Turned out that a big chunk of that $12 billion was the US State Department writing checks to the US Department of Defense for sending 200 guys to Haiti to “provide security”. The rest mostly went to NGOs’ hotels, jeeps, salary, and “hardship pay”. It’s a legitimate question to ask if International Aid is really worth it, not only for the Chinese People, but also for the American People as well.
“USAID has spent about $1.5 billion since the earthquake,” Johnston told Goats & Soda. “Less than a penny of every dollar goes directly to a Haitian organization.”
Where I live anything that the courts could say was a trap was illegal. I had people cutting across my property to get to the river, the previous owner had just laid razor wire coils in the bush. If anyone had got hurt on it. I would have gone to jail. So I carefully pulled it all out and placed monster boulders everywhere. No one can say a boulder is a trap.
There was a guy who had a private road leading to his place. People kept tearing it up after it rained in their 4×4 , side x side, and atvs. He had no trespassing signs, and private road signs, and people ignored them. So he stretched a steel cable between two trees, with a padlock, so he could open it. He could only put up the cable where he had two big trees close enough to the road, to string it, and enough trees to stop them from driving around the make shift gate, so it was about 50 m up his road .
A teenage girl on an ATV drove by his private road and no trespassing signs, and got knocked off her quad by the rope. They sued the land owner and won. This is in Canada, rules might be different elsewhere.
A few years ago, when I was agonizing over my future career path, my dad told me to make a list of the things in life that make me happy.
Then, split the list into two categories.
The first category includes any type of happiness that you can feel instantaneously. Sipping hot chocolate on a chilly day. Hitting the snooze button to steal another five minutes of sleep. Binge-watching the new season of your favorite show.
The second category includes any type of happiness that takes a long time to appear and a long time to fade. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Mastering difficult skills. Building closer relationships with the people you love.
Some of the items in the first category, my dad explained, might clash with the items in the second. The more hot chocolate you consume, for example, the less nutritious your diet becomes.
But a few items in on your list, just a few, might actually fit into both categories. The best painters in the world obtain joy both from the instantaneous act of painting and from the ultimate goal of becoming a world-class artist. The best soccer players love being out on the field just as much as they love becoming better athletes.
Circle these items, these things that bring you both short-term happiness and long-term happiness.
These are the things that you can spend your life doing, and never feel like you’ve worked a day.
You ever been to a Mcdonalds where the manager is an ass and the employees have had enough of it?
I once went to a Mcdonalds that had a mass quit a few hours later. I went up to the counter and ordered a Mcchicken, a regular coke, a small fry and an ice cream cone.
They take my money and a few minutes later come back with my order, which is… heavier than normal. And my ice cream cone is a foot tall. And my coke is a large.
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(It looked like this)
“Woops.” says the cashier. “Looks like we accidentally supersized your order.” she says with a wink. I could tell from the sarcastic tone that there was no accident about it.
I returned to my table and sat down, and noticed that my McChicken wasn’t alone, there was also a chicken select sandwich in there. I was a really, really poor kid at the time. The Mcydee’s dollar menu was a rare treat for me, and getting one of the main menu items was just amazing!
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Definitely still my favorite Mcdubbers sandwich.
My ‘small fry’ took up an entire large fry box, and then there was about a large fry’s worth of loose fries in there. Like the entire bag was drowning in fried potato goodness.
So intentionally giving me a lot of extra food to spite your boss? That’s the strangest way my order’s ever been messed up. Part of me wished I had ordered more.
Edit: So Quora apparently thinks I need a credential to prove that I sometimes eat fast food and sometimes get my order messed up. This is what happens when you let an AI make decisions.
I knew my dad was a Bad Ass early in my youth. I didn’t realize how much of a Bad Ass he was until last spring. You see my father served in WWll with the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team in France and Italy. A segregated US Army regiment made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry from the US mainland and Hawaii. A large portion of these warriors came from “internment” (prison) camps from which their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and family were incarcerated. These guys had something to prove. We are AMERICANS! And prove it they did. For their valor the 100th Battalion/ 442nd Regimental Combat Team has been recognized as the most decorated unit in American history. The 100th Bn/ 442nd RCT earned more than 18,000 awards, including 9,500 Purple Hearts, 5,200 Bronze Star Medals, 588 Silver Stars, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 7 Distinguished Unit Citations, 21 Congressional Medal of Honor awards and the Congressional Gold Medal. Now that’s BAD ASS! My dad was gravely wounded in Italy and left to die on the battlefield as he was not believed to survive his wounds. When the burial detail came upon my father he was still alive and eventually recovered after a long convalescence. We know this story as it was told to my cousin by the soldier who found my father still alive. Unfortunately I never had the pleasure to meet his as he passed a few years ago. My father was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and other awards for his efforts. He was never better than 70% disabled and eventually upgraded to 100%. So I had the opportunity to travel to France and Italy last year on a tour that follows in the footsteps of these American heroes. I walked where they walked, saw the trenches whey they lay and climbed the slope’s and mountains that they climbed. But I did it in the daylight. They did it at night in the cover of darkness. These were the mountains near Carrara Italy. Impressive just to do this in daylight. Crazy to think it could be done at night! That’s when I knew how much of a BAD ASS my father and the Nisei warriors of the 100th Bn/ 442nd RCT were. I could not be more proud. R.I.P. dad. PFC Roy T. Tsutsui Co. F 442nd RCT
Whenever I was in public school, I had fairly good grades, I didn’t study much so it was crazy how good I was doing. This all lasted until 4th grade, whenever I got put in this horrible woman’s class. I was the kind of child to speak my mind and get SUPER excited about things. This woman (not calling her a teacher because she doesn’t DESERVE the title) did not LIKE that. She decided to target me specifically for her relentless bullying of literal infants. Anytime I would get excited about anything, she would tell me to flip my card (yknow, the stupid elementary punishment bullshit). Anytime I would do something that would be considered out of place in a classroom, she’d make me flip my card. She would rally my classmates to bully me too.
As the school year went on and the bullying from the woman and my classmates got worse, I started falling into a deeper pit of my own depression stemmed from the abandonment of my dad, over-protective (yet still somehow neglectful) mom, and the bullying I had to suffer at school. This made my grades drop HARD. Specifically in my math and science class, as I was not being properly taught by this woman.
Every time we would get to a new part of our science workbook, we would get given a science study guide that we had to fill out ourselves that she would then grade and fix whatever mistakes we had made. A month prior to the specific incident I’m about to tell you, my mom had noticed how bad my grades had dropped and made sure I studied (which did NOT help). She always made sure I had my study guides and stuff I got from school.
It was a regular school day for me, we had just gotten a new study guide that we were going to fill out. The woman decided to put us in pairs to do them so we could discuss the answers and stuff. She put me in a pair with the nicest girl in the class (picture the human incarnate of an excited golden retriever) and we began working on it. We finished around the same time the others did and submitted our papers. After we all finished, the woman started grading our papers. Whenever she had finished, she handed most of them out, but she held on to two of them, my friend and I’s. She waved them around in the air and said “THESE two don’t have any names… Oh well… Who wants to play 20 pickup?” and then ripped them to shreds and threw the remains on the floor. My friend and I were crushed (and fucking humiliated) as we both really needed those papers and here we were, watching our classmates pick up and fight over who could get the most pieces like it was some sort of game played at a birthday party.
A few minutes later, she picked up her copy of the study guide and said to us, “I’ve got one more left. I’m thinking of a number and whichever one of you can get closest to it wins the paper.”
I ended up winning and she gave it to me, which I instantly started working on. I figured she would want me to redo it as soon as she gave it to me. About a minute passed and she walked to my desk, swiped it from me and gave it to my friend saying that I “Wasn’t paying attention”. I felt like absolute shit the whole day.
My mom had asked me where my study guide was, and I told her what happened. She went on an absolute RAMPAGE.
Luckily the next parent-teacher conference was pretty soon after and she didn’t want to embarrass me by showing up to the school while my classmates were there. I don’t know exactly what happened during the meeting between her and my mom as I was sat outside the classroom. All that I know is that whenever the door opened, the woman looked pale and terrified and my mom had her classic murder look that she would get after laying heavily into someone.
She never told me what she had said or done, but that woman never dared to bother me again. She didn’t even like LOOKING at me. Anytime I did something she didn’t like, she would glare at me like I just killed her entire family and set her house on fire and reply something passive aggressive.
My mom ended up finding out that she had done this to other kids too at other schools. Pretty sure the bitch was on tenure though, so there wasn’t anything we could’ve really done.
I still see her around town though and she acts overly excited to see me. The first time I had seen her after I finished 4th grade, I was about 13 and was super socially anxious and had panic attacks whenever I was reminded of that experience, I was at the dollar store with my grandma and the woman came up to me and started talking, I of course was trying to keep my shit together and not start having a full blown panic attack so I was very quiet. She said “Aw, what’s wrong? Are you shy now?”, all of my fear was replaced with rage and I had to stop myself from giving her the sickest right hook of her life. I regret not doing it while I was still a kid and wouldn’t have had very many repercussions for it.
SO, I’m not going to name-drop her, as I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, but I will say that if you live in or are planning on moving to Sabine parish, LISTEN to your kids if they tell you about bullying from their classmates or any of the school staff. Hell, do that even if you DON’T live in this area.
Burkina Faso’s President Has Good News for Africa but Very Bad News for the West
My parents started middle class and worked their way to the 1%.
It isn’t this huge party. But there are some basic things you don’t worry about as much.
It is weird because I didn’t grow up wealthy at all. And had a strict-as-hell dad.
At some point after I left home, things really ramped up. My dad left the military and became a high ranking exec with SAP.
My mom started a vineyard at their farm. And sold off a lot of great real estate investments she’d made over the years.
But you would never know it if you bumped into them at the store or something. They have very humble personalities. If you went to their home however..
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When I wake up in the morning in their guest room I get to enjoy a view like this:
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When I visit they spend most of their time working around the house and on the farm. We don’t really sit still much. And even when we are it is because we are working on something. We are worker-bees.
Also, I think everyone has a misconception as to how wealthy the top 1% is. 10 years ago, even I had the impression that 1%ers don’t work hard and take 9 vacations a year. I think it is just different if you started small and got there in your middle age and have kids.
At that point, you are more concerned with managing everything and making sure your kids are doing OK.
(Maybe that it is .01 percenters that do all that laying around by the pool…)
Either way I love visiting my parents, but every time I get home here in Florida my house feels really really small! 🙂
My last name is Warehouse, just like the building. This has led to lots of interesting things, like getting calls at my work about finding things at our district warehouse or getting my account banned on Quora back when they cared if you used a fake name. It also means I get weird deliveries.
One day a big cardboard box showed up addressed to my wife, so I left it on the table without really looking at it. A few days later it was still untouched, so I asked her why she hadn’t opened it yet.
“That’s not mine, it’s got sports stuff all over it.”
And it did! Now that I looked, the box clearly had a Nike logo on it. And on closer inspection, its address tag was a mess. There was a weird poorly printed label that said “redirect” that had my wife’s name and our address in California on it, slapped over a very official looking original label that said the box was bound for a warehouse in New Jersey.
And that’s how I ended up with a bow of 24 pairs of XXL Nike football gloves meant for the New York giants.
In 1981 I worked as a computer operator for a company, then owned by Tex Schramm (owner of the Dallas Cowboys). There was a young woman, from a well to do family and graduate of Radford, working there. She was really into women’s lib.
There was also an older gentleman, long past the possible retirement age. One day I was in the lobby as the young woman, who I had recently begun dating, was ready to leave. The older gentleman was leaving, and held the door for her.
She lit into him. “Just because I’m a lady, you don’t have to hold the door for me.”
The response: “My dear Joanne, I do not hold the door for you because you are a lady. That would be presumptuous of me. I hold the door for you because I am a gentleman.”
In my second year at my current job, a lady was hired to replace my senior who had resigned.
The job was in a public office and for the most part was quite easy going. Somebody off the streets could learn the essentials in just a few hours.
The lady who came had seniority and several years more experience than me working at a different branch. I therefore expected her to have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with me.
‘How does this work again?’
‘Did I do this right?’
‘How about you be the one to do that? You’re so good at it.’
‘Can you show me how to do (such-and-such) again?’
The lady transferred from a location that had the exact same type of system and technology as mine yet she had not a clue how to do anything!
How was this woman in a senior position? She didn’t know anything about the job. Was she dumb?
A week of ‘training’ had passed and she didn’t really learn anything and had to be supervised at all times. Before I could find out how it was that she was so slow she suddenly vanished.
She stopped turning up at work and calls to her phone went unanswered. I sent an email to HR explaining that she had gone AWOL. They gave some half-assed reply. A few months later, after she had long been forgotten, I get a frantic letter from HR saying that they have been paying her salary and they’ve just become aware that she has not been turning up to work.
‘No shit,’ I say in my mind.
HR investigates and finds out that she had accepted another job elsewhere the entire time and was gladly accepting two salaries. HR demanded that she return the unearned salary. She said she would but she was going through financial distress at the moment.
She never returned a cent. HR washed their hands of the matter and kept it hush hush.
Turns out she wasn’t dumb at all.
So my answer to the question ‘what sets off red flags on an employee’s first day?’
When I was small, my parents sent me to my grandparents (who lived in a rural area) every summer so they could look after me when school was out.
My grandpa was born late 191x or early 192x – even he didn’t remember exactly.
When I was 6 years old, I started going to elementary school which started to have summer assignments. So, when my parents sent me to my grandparents for the “vacation”, I brought my textbooks and books with me to study. One day, I remember, I brought a book to my grandpa and asked him for some help with my summer homework. He smiled, “Oh, sweetie, I can’t help you with that!”. “Why?!?!”, I was surprised, he’d never said “No” to me. A second of hesitation, then he said, “I don’t know how to read”
It didn’t make sense to my 6-year-old me; but later, when I grew up, I knew, it was the result of war and poverty, my grandpa never went to school.
Anyway, “But you know EVERYTHING!”, the little me was shocked and questioned him. He stroked my hair, “Ah, I just don’t know how to read texts in the book. I can read other things. I can read leaves to know their trees. I can read the soil to know what I need to do to get more produces. I can read the river to know if it’s safe to go down and play. I can read the night sky to know if tomorrow it will be rain or shine”, he explained to me.
A light bulb went off in my head; he taught me to ‘read’ some of those things, why didn’t I teach him to read texts? So, I offered him, “Do you want to study with me, grandpa?”.
So, I started to be his ‘teacher’. I taught him a, b, c. He studied, then forgot everything in the next summer because he didn’t use it frequently enough; so I had to teach him again.
I taught him to read, every summer, until he passed away.
I have had a number of jobs in my time. I’ve been a framing carpenter, finish carpenter, furniture maker, the army, and being in the office in the construction industry as a project manager for the last 16 years.
Working in the trades can indeed be very lucrative, and I know a number of plumbers and welders that do significantly better than me financially, but from someone that has worked in the trades and in the corporate office, there are a lot of benefits of the office world that help pull people away from going into the trades.
The first is simply being warm when it’s cold, dry when it’s raining and cool when it is hot. It’s pretty tough going to work everyday to be freezing cold all day or burning up hot. Secondly, you can do stuff after work without needing to take a shower or change clothes first. Third, you don’t beat up your body so much working in an office. I’m 47 so still well short of retirement age and I really can’t imagine doing the type of work I did in my 20’s all day, every day. That was tough work and I got injured a lot and had to just suck it up and work through it. Injuries these days take a lot longer to heal too.
Occasionally I get all nostalgic about walking floor joists 30 feet up with a 16ft 2×8 on my shoulder, then I’ll have a flashback to what that actually feels like doing it every day and appreciate very much my AC and roof and clean clothes. My nostalgia forgets doing that same joist walk with feet numb from the cold, or sweat in my eyes or a lingering injury.
The trades are good, solid, well paying professions, but if you have any other alternatives they are definitely a young person’s game. The people I see my age still working in the trades (doing the work, not management like me) are physically beaten down for the most part with bad backs, bad knees, and a collection of scars that make anyone take notice.
The Duran: Neocons want WAR in Middle East and Israel, the US will LOSE Big
https://youtu.be/k8AHFfv-pA4
Serbian Skillet Pork (Muckalica — Yugoslavia)
Muckalica
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 medium onions, sliced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips
2 ounces feta cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Hot cooked rice
Instructions
Trim fat from pork. Cut pork into 1/2-inch slices; cut slices into 1/2-inch strips. Heat oil in skillet until hot. Cook and stir pork in oil over medium heat until brown, about 15 minutes; drain. Add water, onions, tomato, salt, paprika, pepper and red pepper. Cover and simmer until pork is tender, about 30 minutes, adding water if necessary.
Add green pepper. Cover and simmer until green pepper is crisp-tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Top with cheese.
When I was about 21 or 22, I worked for this remodeling contractor. My dad does remodels and has rental properties, and I’ve always been a DIY type of guy, so I learned young and had about 10 years of experience at the time. Anyway, one day I was at work, and the boss nor the crew lead could figure out how to solve a problem with some vinyl flooring and the customer was there watching them for a good half hour or so. I repeatedly tried to make suggestions but just kept getting ignored. Finally I just stepped up and tried something and it worked. The next day the owner told me that work was slow and he didn’t need me to come in. That same afternoon he called me and let me go due to “not having the quality of work that his company is known for”. I’m sure he was just upset that I made him look like an ass in front of a customer. Anyway, fast forward to a week later, this customer had a family member that was also gonna get some work done by the same company. The previous customer gave the family member my Facebook info and she contacted me and asked if I could do a job for her. About 3 days in, my old boss came and the look on his face when he saw me doing the job he came to bid for was priceless.
1. Don’t call someone more than twice continuously. If they don’t pick up your call that mean they have something more important to attend to.
2. When someone drops something on the floor by mistake or drops food from the plate or doesn’t know how to use a knife/fork don’t stare at them. The same goes to people sneezing, coughing or even an uncontrollable fart. It’s an involuntary reaction.
3. Always skip using the washroom beside the occupied one. It makes it uneasy for the person in the occupied washroom as well as yourself if you occupy the one right next to theirs.
4. If you’re talking to someone and notice any of the following, they’re trying to end the conversation:
Their eyes keep darting away.
They angle their body away from you.
They give you rapid one-word answers.
5. When someone you know has an obvious change in appearance, e.g., weight gain/loss, bald spot, acne. never comment on it until they talk about it to you, they already know what is happened to them.
6. If a colleague tells you they have a doctors appointment, don’t ask what it’s for, just say hope you’re ok. If they want to talk about it they will and you don’t put them in the uncomfortable position of having to tell you their personal illness.
7. Treat the cleaner with the same respect as the CEO. Nobody is impressed at how rudely you can treat someone below you but people will notice if you treat them with respect.
8. Do not make plans in front of those you are not involving.
9. When meeting someone after a long time, unless they want to talk about it, don’t ask them their age and salary.
10. When a friend/colleague offers you some food, you can politely say No. But, don’t do this after tasting or smelling it. It’s an insult to the one who has offered it to you.
This is John Eisenman. He lost his daughter to s-exual trafficking. She was sold for $1,000 in Seattle Washington. He did what a father should do and researched, investigated and found out about her abduction. He RESCUED her HIMSELF. He found out the person who sold her into trafficking was her 19 year old boyfriend. He met up with him, abducted him, bludgeoned and stabbed him to death in Nov, 2020. The authorities found him [dead AF boyfriend] in Oct 2021 in the trunk of the car he abandoned. John Eisenman sits in jail knowing his daughter is safe and growing up after he has already lived 60 years of his life. I bet you, he rests easy. Live your life to the fullest. He did his absolute best to make sure his child have the opportunity to do the same no matter what the sacrifice.
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My POV:- I think justice can’t be black or white, it’s a greyish territory. I’m not a supporter of taking revenge but rather law doing the job. Although, we all know how deeply fukced up is our law and order.
The decade of the 1950s was the time of my well-remembered childhood. Some of the memorable un-nice features follow:
Coal shuttles in basement windows to fill the coal bins for the furnace that kept you alive in subzero weather. The loud roaring rattle of the coal can never be forgotten. My wife grew up in destroyed Berlin where the kids snuck onto the train tracks to steal coal for cooking and winter heat, especially before 1950.
Ice trucks for the “ice box,” which was the refrigerator of the day. Great fun to persuade the iceman to chip you a sliver (possibly unsanitary) in the steaming summer.
Raking and burning leaves either in the curb or in our own home trash bin (a large ugly concrete “bathtub” for burning all wastes) beside the separated garage.
After we graduated from paying marbles on the sidewalks, the never-forgotten aroma of the lightly powdered flat bubble gum accompanying Topps baseball cards used for flip-card contests. Still remember the rules.
Friends and relatives died a lot. Lost a cousin to polio despite her father being chief of staff of the largest hospital in St. Louis. Lost two more to a house fire and others to asthma. I narrowly avoided rheumatic fever and a close call with total vision loss from measles. Number 1 brother developed Type 1 diabetes, but that was hereditary (skips a generation); lasted a LONG time.
Turning on the lights to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night and watching hundreds of roaches scurry across the floor into the corners and cracks.
Sticky asphalt from the tarred streets that would permanently ruin any carpet in a snooty home.
Kids (and adults) hitch-hiked. I hitch-hiked regularly many miles to high school and college and back rather than take buses with long cold/hot waits and transfers. Just after the 50s, noticed how remarkably easier it was to hitch a ride when in my ROTC uniform.
Teenagers still in school who had never worked had no vote in national elections.
No air conditioning. Vornado floor fans, window fans blowing over block of ice, or car rides with windows open down to “Cool Valley” (yes, a real town) a low-altitude area with much lower temperatures were our only options when temperatures soared far over 100 degrees and humidity was ~80%.
Construction sites were wonderful if dangerous playgrounds for kids. Unsafe, with nails sticking out, deep ditches and holes to avoid. Taught caution and the value of tetanus shots. Learned aromas like the smell of wet concrete, rebar, freshly cut wood; mountains of dirt for King of the Hill games, playing “war” with wooden toy 1904 Springfield rifles in literal miles of dug-up ground for the interstate highways.
Homes and office buildings were insulated with asbestos, long before attorneys and asbestos-removal firms became millionaires from it.
Local stenches were many and varied. Worst were from the fish processing plants and cattle/pig stockyards, with the “nicest” smells being chemical fumes from riverside plants.
Working on the USS Admiral, was required to check for “floaters” under the port paddlewheel every morning by opening the trash slot over the water.
Learned to water-ski on the turd-filled muddy Mississippi.
US Army chemical warfare testers sprayed my hometown with zinc cadmium sulfide, a fluorescent additive of some kind and a possibly radioactive agent to secretly study possible bio/chem weapon vectors … later explained “to protect us from potential Soviet attack”.
Nearby communities (Weldon Spring, West Lake and Berkeley … but not CA) were being contaminated by toxic waste buried by one of my future employers after they processed the uranium for the first nuclear weapons. Not done on my watch; however, as an adult I did work at a number of the other tainted sites: their original chemical plant and their radiological branch.
Cap guns: actual gunpowder explosives were loaded in a tight roll to be fired by your Lone Ranger or Cisco Kid cap gun. Bangs and sparks with gunpowder’s sulpuric stench …
Bows and arrows (with real points).
Jungle gyms were tall blocks of hard unadorned steel pipes over bare dirt dusty in summer and frozen in winter.
Complete and utter obedience to our family’s Commanding Officer who actually posted duty rosters for my 4 siblings (girl was exempted) which I was required to enforce as senior NCO.
Amused myself by playing war battle games with bottlecaps. Falstaff, Budweiser and a few Stag … strewn from the six-pack dad chugged every night. Didn’t realize he was a drunk until years later.
Black and white TV with the Indian-head test pattern after midnight when all stations went “off the air.”
TV showed stereotypical characters in every show like: the Howdy Doody Show; Kukla, Fran & Ollie; Texas Bruce’s Wranglers’ Club; Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, Zorro, etc.
Friday night fights: boxing matches every weekend.
Racism was acknowledged but not celebrated. Had black school/playmates (parochial school) and babysitters who all lived in a nearby section of the city.
Racial mockery was the basis of much TV/radio humor. Amos & Andy on the radio, Milton Berle’s burlesque schticks, Pat & Mike Irish insults, Sid Caesar’s fake Japanese babble, Jose Jimenez jibes at Mexicans on the Steve Allen Show … don’t remember German accents being considered “funny” until Hogan’s Heroes.
Classmate who later became a Japanese citizen used to play records advocating anti-Communism from John Birch (didn’t know of his Society then). Nothing mean or nasty that I remember from those lectures but quite un-PC now, I guess.
BB guns: never permitted in our home, with 4 boy, 1 girl; but vet dad built us an actual shooting range for my 13th birthday present, a .22 bolt-action Winchester … a literal deep sandbox at one end of the basement under a steel sheet canted at a 45 degree angle. Access controlled by dad, of course.
Joined my school’s rifle club in 1959 when they (not me) won the national championship with open sight .22s mounted on Garand 30–30 war surplus stocks. Kids shot rifles as a matter of indifference. Safely too, because safety was taught, responsibility was demanded … and disobedience was both unthinkable and unacceptable.
History will one day see how the U.S., its dog nations, the EU, its fellow colonialists and native slaughtering nations and its slave nations, treatment of China. Is a modern version of African slavery, Nazi Crimes, barbaric colonialism by the Europeans and the Savage rape and murder of Nanking!
How do they treat China and the Chinese race. Terrible, obnoxious and despicable. What more to say! Slurring at every turn, blindly accusing China without facts, evidence and proof calling them copy cats, stealing intellectual property, cheating, for being aggressive and threatening nations, genocide that never happen, causing Covid! All are no different from the Nazi blaming of the Jews!
Just backed by a pack of lies. And using coercion and bribery to get a dissident or two to cast doubt on China! If you are one of the group I single out please stop being a pawn or a parrot in these fake news. China won’t yield to these ludicrousness and shameful act of throwing shit!
To me you can accuse China of not bordering about its cosmetic cover up of its desire to ensure that the century of humiliation can never happen again and that it will do everything in its power to get back it’s rightful place in history. Remember how thousands of black people are wrongly accused by the white people for all sorts of thing and them lynch them!
History will show the truth that the U.S. and the west are doing the same to the Chinese. Sure without the lynching!
I owned a flying school and had a receptionist who was good with the customers.
One day I got a phone call at about 4PM from a student asking why we had shut early. I assured him we hadn’t as we had people flying till 7 that night. He told me he was standing outside and the doors were locked.
When I came in next day I checked CCTV and sure enough she had locked up at 3:30 whilst people were still flying. She returned at just before 5:30. I checked the day before and the same thing had happened. She locked up at 3:30 and returned at 5:30. It was near the end of the month so I waited till the end of the month to see what hours she had claimed for.
I also called a government employer hotline that is set up in the UK to give free help and advice. After explaining the situation they told me she was in breach of her contract, and it was gross misconduct which is a sackable offence. They said she was “stealing time” from me. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt so I decided to listen to her before I took action. The helpline advised that if her answers weren’t agreeable then I should suspend her on full pay whilst I investigated.
Sure enough she had claimed for her full allowance on her payslip so I called her into my office to explain herself. She claimed to have “forgotten” to take it off her hours worked. I was more concerned about leaving the building unattended whilst we had students still flying. What happened if we had an emergency? She refused to answer me so I was left with no option but to suspend her.
I studied the CCTV for previous 30 days and she had done it for almost 50% of her shifts! Despite this I didn’t want to lose her, the students loved her.
So I invited her back for a formal interview and offered to allow her to bring a witness. She declined the representation. I explained that the interview was being recorded and I had my solicitor on speaker phone to listen and ensure we both were acting within the law. It was to protect both of us.
I asked her for her reasons and she said that she had been visiting her boyfriend and having lunch together. He was an instructor pilot for me but had never left mid-shift. I then explained about why it was wrong to leave the premises whilst we still had aircraft in the air. She just shrugged her shoulders. I asked her to wait outside whilst I spoke to my legal adviser.
Truth be told I couldn’t afford to lose her. I had previously told the helpline that and they recommended “based on my explanation” that I give her a final written warning. This should be enough to make her realise it was wrong. I decided to go down this route.
After 5 minutes I invited her back into the room to give her the final written warning and a good explanation why this was happening. As I said to her “Thank you for your patience,” she replied, “Are you really doing this?”
“I am.”
Then she erupted! Quite a verbal assault against me! Then she pulled out an envelope and handed it to me saying, “I can’t believe you have blown this out of proportion, here is my 30 days notice, and as you owe me some holidays I will be taking them so I don’t have to work with you any more.”
I just calmly said, “Don’t worry about the 30 days notice, you won’t need it because I’m letting you go for gross misconduct!”
*screaming at me*“YOU CANT DO THAT!”
*a tiny voice on the telephone*”Yes he can, you stole from him and he is within his rights to terminate your contract with immediate effect and without compensation. Now if I was you I would leave quietly or Mr Savage could have the police involved for theft.”
A week later I received a letter asking for a reference as she had found a new job!
While writing this answer, I called my wife (I’m at work) and asked her to send me the photo of this knife from our kitchen. I hate using it, especially while cutting soft veggies. It is dull, useless and cheap-ass piece of cutlery. I bought it for $0.50.
With a kitchen knife exactly like this one shown in the picture.
I was going to work, when I came across a domestic street brawl. Men and women screaming, abusing and beating each other. I remember a wooden ladle in action too.
It was too awkward for me not to do something. I had no cellphone back then as it was too expensive and uncommon.
I tried calming them down with help of a few neighbors.
And during that peaceful effort… a young man out of nowhere attacked me with this kitchen knife. The swing was so swift and forceful that it scared me if this connects at all. I tried to grab his hand but the knife pierced my palm and popped out from back of my wrist.
Now I wish to stress couple of issues here.
A knife is a knife and it does not matter if it is big, small, sharp, dull, scary or funny looking. When used with intentions to inflict damage… it will damage the body inflicting stab and slash wounds, and might very well cause fatality.
And even more importantly…
This was quite a harmless bout, typical domestic quarrel between two neighboring families that usually just ends up with them receiving a bruise here and there, a noisy chest thumping exercise for the most part that goes around here over stupid disagreements.
Still…the moment I saw that guy approaching me with knife, his glowered and gloomy expressions alarmed me of imminent danger, I understood this is not just a warning… this guy wants to hurt me. To anyone else, he might not seem to be posing a palpable peril towards the cop but I as a cop perceived the incoming.
I was unarmed; I could not protect myself intelligently.
What if I was armed that day? To whom do I look up for the use of deadly force authorization?
That’s no one else’s but my decision to make.
It is my judgment call even if it is objective or weak in other’s opinion. If I have reasons to believe the person is a threat and warnings don’t serve the purpose, I have to neutralize the threat. I don’t want to hurt anyone; that’s the last and the most distasteful option for any cop in all sincerity. But at the same time, I want to protect myself and others with my best effort and ability.
I assure you, it could have been a fatal blow.
The department would have lost one of theirs, my mother would have gone crazy upon hearing of this news. All of this because of someone’s absurd, idiotic and senseless aggression.
I don’t deserve that.
No cop deserves that.
So in my opinion, if a knife-wielding person advances towards the cop and chooses to ignore the warnings – and sends an apprehension that he actually might attack the cop –
I’d consider that a legitimate threat.
And using deadly force to neutralize that threat is justifiable legally and morally.
We were married in Las Vegas over a weekend, never had a honeymoon, and it appears there wouldn’t be much romance or emotion, which appeared to suit both of us fine.
My life goals had always been to earn as many degrees as possible and to have a significant career. When my husband said he wanted to apply to law school, I stuck around to find out what would be happening.
On our fifth wedding anniversary, I was working on my masters’ degree and pregnant – not in my life goals, but I was accepting of the situation. We were both graduate students, living off student loans with no money for anything.
When I woke on our anniversary day, my husband presented me with a six page long poem he had been writing for days. He called it “FANGS for the memories.” The poem was written in the cadence of the song “Thanks for the memories” which would have been way too sentimental for either of us.
It’s been 45 years later and I still have not only that poem but also the poem he wrote on our 10th anniversary.
This past year we celebrated our 50th anniversary and not one celebration. But I do have two amazing sentimental and romantic poems to read and reread over and over – I will never forget those!
Once in China, I visited one of my students. he was a factory owner and we got along well. I was teaching him some English. And since my background is Engineering, we hit it off. So he came and picked my wife and I up and we spent the afternoon at his factory, had tea, and a good time.
He manufactured buttons. Particularly buttons for bluejeans.
Then came dinner, and it was nice… but… his wife really treated myself and my wife very poorly. In her mind I was “only” a teacher. Someone who you give a face-saving level of respect but who you consider to be beneath you… as they are unable to get “real work”.
She made many, perhaps ten “veiled” cut-downs, and almost-insults. Every word out of her mouth dripped with disdain. He made a big point of pointing out her nice bag, and their car, and the nice expensive restaurant. Very pretentious.
In her eyes… I was “only” a teacher.
My wife, who came from Wenzhou and who’s father was at one time a billionaire, was incensed, and vowed never to visit them again.
I mean it. NEVER. EVER.
I had a few classes with him and then cut it short, and I never saw him again. He was a good guy, and I liked him a lot. But the way his wife treated us was unforgivable.
…
People treat everyone as some one worthy. Take you time with them. Appreciate them exactly as they are.
He didn’t have much money, but he was such a trier. He didn’t just have a good work ethic; he wanted to give something back to the world and make a difference.
I loved spending time with him doing things that cost very little or nothing—walking around the city eating street food, reading to each other, wandering into art galleries, admiring the architecture. But mostly, I liked just being with him, talking. I enjoyed being with him in silence as well. What touched me the most is how courteously he treated those with less than him. He always had change for the homeless and never treated anyone as though they meant less than he did. he had genuine class, the kind of class that you’re just born with.
I never told him any of this, and that’s how I missed out, because that’s the type of woman he was looking for.
Years later, he told me that I came across as sweet, but ultimately shallow and absurdly spoiled. A debutante with a smashing wardrobe. I really blew it when I suggested that we take a trip to Belize together—he politely declined but again, much later, told me that he found that particularly audacious. It had never occurred to me that he didn’t have the money to take a vacation abroad, because actually, I was really spoiled. It had never occurred to me that most people couldn’t afford to take international vacations.
I probably overlooked a lot of men with his qualities. They wouldn’t have been him, though. He was unique. Unforgettable.
I would do everything over differently, given the chance. But missing out on the best thing ever is the big price you pay for being young and dumb.
This man was the most feared, and desired once upon a time
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He was an airline steward who had lovers in cities all over the world. Whenever he had a layover he spent it in a bathhouse. Over 50% of the first HIV positive men either had sex with him, or someone he was intimate with. He was known as patient zero. He knew he was infected, and had the kaposi sarcoma lesions all over his taut tan body. He had unprotected sex anyway. I knew him from Christopher street in the early 80s. He left a trail of destruction across the decade
The most important plane on the Ford or Nimitz class carriers isn’t the F18 or F35.
It is this:
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The E-2 Hawkeye.
There is no way to launch a 20–30-ton 10,000 HP turboprop off a carrier without catapults. And without the eye in the sky, there is no way to achieve operational parity with an American CBG.
The AEW system allows the admiral to detect threats at least 1,000 km away, and it is a prerequisite to establish air and sea superiority, if not dominance, within the sphere of sensor coverage.
And catobar was the original pursuit of the PLAN, except the program was staged, from a retrofitted foreign ski-jump cruiser, to an evolved indigenous ski-jump carrier, to a conventionally powered emals catobar flattop. The next two carriers will be a sister ship of the Fujian, conventionally powered, and China’s first nuclear powered flattop.
When I was in High School, I worked for my dad fixing computers. It was a great job for me as a teenager because I was making good money on commission.
When I was a senior in High School, right before I turned 18, he merged his company with one that my brother and another guy( Dave) started. My dad included me as an employee.
My dad and brother were both cool with me working service calls but Dave was a prick. Some rules that he came up with for me?
I wanted to take some time off for a school trip. My dad said yes. During the trip I ignored pages and phone calls from Dave during that time. New rule, I had to ask Dave for permission to take time off. Went over really well when I ignored him and went on a family cruise a few months later and didn’t clear it with him.
My niece was a baby. Dave’s sister was the receptionist/ babysitter. There was a day where I had no school and she had some place to be. My brother asked me to stay and watch my niece and answer phone calls. I decided to repair a couple of computers in the shop while babysitting my niece. I gave the invoices to my brother, who signed off on them with no issue. New Rule, If I was answering phone’s/babysitting my niece, I could not perform billable work AT ALL. Went out the window again.
When I was employed by my dad only, we used to tag faulty parts by placing them in the box the new part came in and taping it closed with masking tape. We would the write BAD (PART NAME) (WHY PART WAS BAD) on the tape. I changed out a bad power supply and did followed the procedure. He grabbed the power supply and tried using it. New Rule, We had to use tags instead of tape because he was too dumb to realize that there was a piece of tape closing the box stating what was wrong with the part.
Last, and for me the dumbest. I had to submit my resignation to him only. My dad and brother understood why I was resigning. I was shipping out for boot camp and I wanted to take a few weeks to pack and just relax before leaving. Just to spite him I typed up a nice resignation letter to my dad and my brother. I handed them each a copy then I looked at Dave. I told him I had two letters for him. I flipped him the bird and said “FU” My dad told me it was the funniest resignation he ever saw.
The addictive abilities of prescription painkillers.
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My sister was addicted to prescription painkillers. (And meth and probably other things as well.) She was so addicted that she was arrested for writing fake prescriptions and couldn’t attend my wedding because it was out of state and she was under house arrest. I figured that she and people like her were just weak-willed or depressed and looking for an escape.
I had little sympathy for people who were addicted to things that were legal. If it was really that addictive, it wouldn’t be legal, right? It’s not like it’s cocaine. They’re just painkillers.
I was wrong.
When I was 27, I pulled a muscle in my back. It was so painful that I couldn’t walk straight. I’m not entirely sure how I even made it to the doctor’s office, but as soon as I hobbled in, they said: “Pulled muscle, huh?” I suppose I had the tell-tale walk of a man who tried to lift too much without bending his knees.
Anyway, the doctor prescribed me two prescription drugs. I believe one was a muscle relaxer, and one was a painkiller.
I recognized the names as soon as he said them. I knew these were some of the things my sister was addicted to.
And within 30 minutes of getting home and taking the first pills, I could see why she was addicted to them. I didn’t judge her and anyone else who was addicted to them as “weak-willed” anymore.
I remember lying on my bed, after being in intense pain for a day, suddenly feeling great! Not just the muscle pain, but every physical and emotional pain I had seemed to disappear. The stress of work and bills and being a husband and father just went away. The bed felt like a cloud, and I felt like I was floating. I was so happy.
When the first round of pills started to wear off after a few hours, I started to get depressed. Not just because the physical pain was coming back, but because some of my emotional worries and stress started to creep back in to my mind. I started to think about how much income I would lose from taking a few days off for my back pain. I started to think about the cost of the pills. I started to think about the domestic chores I’d been neglecting during my prescription painkiller trip.
But mostly I was thinking about if it was safe to take the next round of pills yet. The doctor said every six hours, and it had only been four hours. Could my liver handle it? Did I care if it could or not?
Then it hit me: I need to stop this before it gets worse. I didn’t want to end up like my sister. I liked my stressful life just fine. I didn’t need to escape from it.
So I quit taking the prescription pills, and decided to go with over-the-counter painkillers, stretching, and patience instead.
When I got back to work after a few days, a coworker offered to buy the leftover pills from me. But I didn’t want to be “that guy.” I didn’t want ANYTHING to do with those things anymore. So I flushed them down the toilet.
But I had newfound sympathy for people who can’t quit them. I understand the attraction they have.
My sister ended up overdosing on morphine a few years later. When we cleaned out her house after her death, she had over 300 empty prescription pill bottles in her room. The worst part was that those were just the empty ones. Some of her addicted “friends” had already come into her room and got the full bottles before we got there.
I’m a current employee of my local ALDI in America and have been there for two months. Knowing that, let me tell you this: ALDI would give big-brother a run for their money.
I work part-time on weekends and so as a result, I am almost always the primary or backup cashier because so much foot traffic is going on in the store and let me tell you; everything you do at the register is timed. They want “efficiency” and if you do not meet the standards, you will be held accountable for it.
For example, ALDI wants at the most only two seconds between transactions. When I say between transactions, I mean the time when you end one transaction and begin another. They’ll let you get away with three seconds at the store I work for but if you hit four seconds, you are failing the standards.
Every item has multiple bar codes on it so you can ring it up from almost any angle, but this also means stuff can get scanned by accident very easily. Yet they do not want any void items on the ticket. Ten voids is not acceptable in a normal day of work (eight hours, expected foot traffic on the weekend) they want to them to be around zero to three.
And lastly, the ringing speed. For a minimum standard the company demands that the cashier be able to ring 1,200 items per hour. If you can be faster, they’ll push you for it. For my part, being that I’m a part-timer, I’ve managed to ring only 1,000 items per hour. My boss tells me that I’m too slow and “will have to be held accountable for my efficiency” as per the rules of ALDI.
So if it seems like the employees are rushing, trust me, they are. But it’s literally not their fault. It’s ALDI that has the crazy expectations that they are required to meet for fear of losing their job. You wonder why they pay so well? Because the physical demands of the job are insane. If you’re not ringing things up at the 1.2k speed, you’re on the floor, pulling items, stocking shelves or crushing boxes into bales. Injury risk is high as well, hence the benefits offered. So please, speaking as a customer service worker for this business, try not to be upset at the employees for the standards the higher up sets. It’s not their fault that they have to act like that, it’s ALDI’S.
Back in the early 90s, I was in a parking lot walking to a store. A woman was alone and walking about 15 yards ahead of me. Suddenly, a car pulls up next to her and a guy jumps out and grabs her by the hair to his car. She’s screaming for help as he’s yelling “Get in the car, bitch!”. She’s screaming for help as he’s spewing insults at her. She had her hands on the car pushing away as he’s trying to cram her through the driver’s door. I run up to the car yelling “police officer! STOP!” ALL of had was my wallet badge. I wasn’t carrying a gun at the time but I couldn’t let him try to abduct her. He hears me and turns around to see me holding my badge. He let’s go of her and jumps back in his car and takes off. Someone in one of the stores comes out saying they’ve called the police. I stay with the woman until the local police arrive.
The guy was the woman’s ex-boyfriend. I give the police my information and leave. I never heard anything about the situation again. That was also the day I started carrying off duty.
I was at Kohl’s with my sons and a stroller. I had my keys in the cup holder. This guy walked up and started talking to us. I thought he possibly worked there but then I realized he was just chatty. I then went to help my kids try clothes on, some of which they kept on, so I took the tags and we waited in line. Suddenly, the police stormed in and handcuffed me. My kids started crying and I was confused. I stated to them that I have the tags to all my items in my hands and I’d told the attendant lady I was doing it. I had assumed they thought I was trying to shoplift.
The police then said they didn’t care about that, they wanted to know who the man was. I was totally lost, not remembering the brief conversation with the strange man. They were very aggressively asking me questions and finally loss prevention came out with a picture and asked me “Who is this?”
I looked at the picture and told them I have no idea, he just was hitting on me or something, but I didn’t want to be outright rude, so I was polite and spoke with him a couple minutes before making it clear I wasn’t interested. The cop totally didn’t believe me and asked…
“Well then, if you don’t know him, why did he drive away in your car?”
I thought, “WHAT?!”
The cop looked a little puzzled, then said that after the man had spoken to me, I said goodbye and that he’d taken the keys from my stroller and when he went to leave, he’d shoplifted something. So when store clerks went to stop him, he assaulted loss prevention, an innocent bystander and a cop, before leading the police on a car chase where they lost him, but were currently searching for him.
After interviewing me and my kids, and then seeing that we didn’t actually arrive together, loss prevention and the police realized I wasn’t an accomplice, but actually another victim.
They gave us a ride home and then contacted me later to let me know they’d caught him but he wouldn’t tell them where my car was.
So I went to the jail and visited him hoping he’d tell me where my car was. He told me the street he’d left it on and where to find the keys- I had to go to a nearby restaurant, go to the women’s handicap stall, take the seat liners out, and I’d find the keys underneath them. This was a week later so I wasn’t sure they’d still be there, but sure enough, that’s where they were hidden. My car was just parked on a street, chillin’. The license plates had been changed with some rental car plates, but besides that, it was OK.
Kohl’s let me keep all of the items I was going to buy my kids for free, since I was humiliated and my kids were traumatized. The police were really nice after they saw that I wasn’t the guy’s friend.
“Sir. I’m not cut out for this. Thank you” I stood up and walked out of the interview hall and never looked back.
“Dad I don’t want to work a job right now. I just realized that once I start working, I’ll be doing this for the next 30+ years of my life and never get the opportunity to take a break like this. I’d like to take a year off and camp and travel and bird my way across India. Once I leave for my MS, we both know I’m never coming back. This is my last chance to do this.”
Dad looked at me for a whole minute before saying “Go for it. I’ve got your back”.
Convincing mom was a whole other ball game but she eventually came around. I spent the next year of my life in National parks and sanctuaries; sometimes alone, other times with friends but most of the times leading groups of students as an instructor. After 15 years of hard slogging as a student, I finally had a break.
Taking a year off after undergrad gave me the opportunity to recuperate. It kept me away from a job which a lot of my friends described as a horrendous experience and helped me turbo-charge for what was ahead. It gave me a chance to spend time with the people I loved. It was not an easy decision. A lot of people doubted me. Most people called me crazy and arrogant. A non-trivial number of people assumed that I was lying and I had basically failed my BE and didn’t get a job. After all, which sane person passes on a job to watch birds? My dad, being the devilish prankster that he is, fueled these rumors even more to mom’s annoyance. He would go around telling people “What can I say. Nobody wants to hire him. If you have a job in your company can I send him to you?” This was the quickest way to get rid of all the concerned “well wishers”.
By the end of the year, I was mentally recharged and ready to take on whatever life had to throw at me. When I got to grad school, I was willing to push myself harder than I ever thought possible. When I started at Amazon a week after I graduated, I was completely pumped and ready to go rock this whole “job” thing because I had never actually had one before so I had a clean slate to start with.
Taking a year off gave me a chance to put things into perspective. It gave me a chance to believe in myself more than the established system. It re-affirmed my belief that you can walk the path less trodden and still make it to the other end. It will always be the best decision I will ever have made; because without it I would not have a career, merely a job.
Sometimes, the most important roads in life, are the ones you don’t take.
About 90% of heart attack occur early in the morning and it can be reduced if one takes a glass or two of water before going to bed at night. We know water is important but never knew about the special times one has to drink it.
Put a sticker with a fake pin on your debit card. If someone tries to use it 3+ times, the atm will eat the card.
To remove chewing gum from clothes keep the cloth in the freezer for one hour.
Need to test a printer? A print the google homepage, it has all the colors and uses almost no ink.
To whiten white clothes soak white clothes in hot water with a slice of lemon for 10 minutes.
Confusing wikipedia article? Click “simple o english” on the left list of languages and it’ll whisk you to a simplified version.
Ants problem: ants hate cucumbers. Keep the skin of cucumbers near the place where they are or at ant hole.
If you drop an earring, ring or small screw, simply turn off the lights and look with a flashlight. They’ll light right away.
To get pure & clean ice boil water first before placing in the freezer.
You can clear a room full of cigarette smoke in about a minute simply by spinning a wet towel o around.
To give a shine to your hair vinegar add one teaspoon of vinegar to hair, then wash hair.
When you go to a zoo wear the same colors as the employees do. The animals will come right up to you.
To make the mirror shine clean with sprite.
You can predict your future adult height with almost 100% accuracy by doubling your height at age of two.
To get maximum juice out of lemons soak lemons in hot water for one hour, and then juice them.
Want to meet girls? Go outside when it’s raining with a huge umbrella and take your pick.
To avoid smell of cabbage while cooking keep a piece of bread on the cabbage in the vessel while cooking.
Want to know if someone has romantic feelings for you? Look at their eyes! People’s pupils expand by 45% when looking at a love interest.
To avoid tears while cutting onions use “chew gum”
Remove unpleasant odor in smelly shoes or gym bags by placing dry teac bags in them.
To boil potatoes quickly skin one potato from one side only before boiling.
To remove ink from clothes put toothpaste on the ink spots generously and let it dry completely, then wash.
To get rid of mice or rats sprinkle black pepper in places where you find mice & rats. They will run away.
Your personality has its own smell. People can guess characteristics of personality just by your smell, because the body emits hormones and pheromones that we can detect in sweat.
This was back in the 90s. This was in 7th grade. I had history directly after lunch, and the whole class would be waiting outside the locked classroom door by the time the teacher would show up. This guy was speed walking and sweating his ass off while apologizing. Then we get into class and take our seats. Every day he had an “educational video tape” and it was recorded on vhs from the history channel. He would put it on and then fall asleep at his desk. While sleeping one of us would go up to his desk and steal all the answers to his tests. Everybody in this class was passing with straight A’s, and we all heard he was being looked at for it, but that wasn’t the kicker. One day we were fucking around as usual and a kid decided to throw a book out the window. This teacher told him he better go outside and get the book and come right back in. We’re on the second floor and the exit is right below us, so we’re watching out the window for him to grab the book while the teacher is back at his desk not paying attention to a damn thing. The kid comes out the exit door, walks right past the book on the sidewalk, and just continues down the street until he is out of sight. Everybody is laughing but nobody wants to say why. All the tardiness with the straight A’s, even from the ones failing every other class, on top of a kid easily walking out of school and going who knows where, ended up with him being fired
The 3rd year of medical school in the US is traditionally when students finally break out of the classroom and into the clinical arena of “rotations.” You spend a month or two on each of the mandatory specialties, learning the basics and just soaking up the experience. Everyone HAS to do internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, ob-gyn and general surgery, among others.
You do have some limited say over the order of your rotations, however, so I decided to do internal medicine (what I thought I was going into) first, and surgery (which I absolutely dreaded) dead last.
One of my first patients on the internal medicine service was Mr. A, a man in his 40s with advanced liver cirrhosis. He lived in a nursing home and was readmitted to the hospital like clockwork every 2–3 weeks for worsening confusion and somnolence, termed “hepatic encephalopathy.” The liver is a “super-organ,” regulating to some degree pretty much every other organ system in the body. When the liver fails, everybody fails. Fix one thing, something else goes to shit. In Mr. A’s case, the toxic byproducts of protein digestion weren’t cleared by his liver, causing his coma. The medication to help clear the toxins from his bowel gave him spectacular diarrhea, and his blood pressure plummeted, causing his kidneys to fail. Kidneys didn’t clear the toxins they were supposed to, platelets no longer worked, and combined with the absence of clotting factors made by the liver, engorged veins backing up into the stomach ruptured and bled. The blood pressure dropped further. What’s worse— all that blood digesting in the gut, well, that was just another source of protein to fuel the hepatic encephalopathy.
I grew to dread seeing him every morning. The best I could hope to obtain was the status quo, which hardly seemed an acceptable quality of life. Still, I could make him comfortable for the most part. On the other hand, there was very little I could do for his fiancee. She was there every morning, 6 am, when I rounded, for the latest update. There were no updates. There were never any updates. I could offer little more than a hand to hold.
It was frustrating. As I progressed through my subsequent rotations, and tried to consider each as a career option with an open mind, I found myself ruminating obsessively over Mr. A and his fiancee. They needed doctors to care for them. But could I be that doctor? How long before I couldn’t take it anymore? I considered the words of a good mentor: “Being miserable doesn’t make you a better doctor.”
And then my surgery rotation rolled around. General surgery is PUNISHING. I mean, like, holy crap, man. Rounds at 4 am. Line up, present, know your facts, yes ma’am, no sir, run to the OR, operate for 12 hours. In-house call every 2–3 nights, just powering through. Eat when you can, sleep when you can. And we were still expected to pass our final at the end of the rotation. Really??? When exactly was I supposed to study?
The night before, apparently. 10 pm, nothing like the last minute, pounding Starbucks, staining entire textbooks highlighter yellow, and my pager goes off. I wasn’t on call, but it was my attending. Do I want to come in and do a case? Honestly, no, no I don’t, I want to learn this stuff and take that test and be done. But I knew better than to say that. “Yes, sir, I would love to.”
I don’t know to this day why that attending called a green 3rd year med student who wasn’t even going into surgery, to “help” him with a case. Because here’s the thing: when I got to the hospital, he had no residents waiting, no other attendings, just him and I. Oh, and a helicopter.
Yeah, so I pretty much lost my shit. I jumped in, blades whirling, and felt my head explode. Luckily, he couldn’t hear it over the motor. “Where are we going, sir?”
He smiled, and gestured for me to put on my headphones. “We’re gonna go get a liver.”
And that’s what we did. A 19 year old shooting victim donated his perfect, soft pink liver. I cradled it, let it slide into the cooler. You know, those red coolers that say “HUMAN ORGAN,” you see people grabbing and hauling ass into helicopters in the movies? Yup, that was me. I felt like sort of a badass.
And then we took it back to my home hospital.
And we put it in Mr A.
True story. 9 months after caring for him on my internal medicine rotation, I saw him next, on my surgery rotation, draped, beneath the OR lights. I didn’t even realize it was him until we finished the operation, and I went with my attending to talk with his family. His fiancee was there.
I gave her the update.
4 days later I talked to Mr A for the first time ever. His new liver let him wake-up. He left the hospital and married his fiancee. They had been engaged for 6 years.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There is no such thing as a quick fix. He still required a lot of help from my internist colleagues to keep that liver working. But he got BETTER. Like, astronomically better. Literally overnight. Surgery was a big part of that. I was a big part of that surgery.
And that’s why I’m a surgeon.
(Also, because I passed that final with honors. That helped.)
Athenian Salad (Salata Athenas)
Salata Athenas
Ingredients
1 medium head lettuce
1 bunch romaine
10 radishes, sliced
1 medium cucumber, sliced
6 scallions (with tops), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/3 cup wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
24 Greek or ripe green olives
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 (2 ounce) can rolled anchovies with capers, drained
Instructions
Tear lettuce and romaine into bite-size pieces. Place lettuce, romaine, radishes, cucumber and scallions in large plastic bag. Close bag tightly and refrigerate. Shake oil, vinegar, salt and oregano in tightly covered jar; refrigerate.
Just before serving, shake dressing. Add dressing and olives to vegetables in bag. Close bag tightly and shake until ingredients are well coated. Pour salad into large bowl; top with cheese and anchovies.
Yields 8 servings.
Side gigs
Braised Chicken in Aromatic Tomato Sauce (Pastitsatha)
This dish is one that evolved from Corfu to stretch scant supplies of meat. Consisting of chicken, turkey, beef or veal braised in tomato sauce fragrant with spices, it is served over thick tubular pasta from Corfu called “perciatellli” (if you can’t find it, use spaghetti). Kefalotyri is a nutty tasting hard cheese similar to Parmesan. It is available at Greek markets.
Freshly grated kefalotyri cheese or Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch.
Place chicken on platter. Add onions to Dutch oven; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spices; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and their juices and water. Return chicken to Dutch oven. Cover; simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is very tender, about 35 minutes.
Transfer chicken to platter. Tent with foil. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar, tomato paste and sugar to Dutch oven. Simmer until thickened to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and more vinegar, if desired. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer pasta to platter. Top with chicken, sauce and cheese.
DO NOT Pay On The FIRST DATE! (300 IQ STRATEGY)
China and Russia test ‘hack-proof’ quantum communication link for Brics countries
•Scientists in Russia and China establish quantum communication encrypted with the help of secure keys transmitted by Mozi satellite
•‘All countries that are interested in technological leadership know that without quantum technology they won’t succeed’: quantum researcher
Scientists in Russia and China have established quantum communication encrypted with the help of secure keys transmitted by China’s quantum satellite, showing that a Brics quantum communication network may be technically feasible.
The scientists were able to span 3,800km (2,360 miles) between a ground station close to Moscow and another near Urumqi in China’s western Xinjiang region to send two encoded images secured by quantum keys.
The first “full cycle” quantum communication test between the two countries was successfully conducted last year, said Alexey Fedorov, of Russia’s National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) and the Russian Quantum Centre (RQC), Russia’s leading institution in charge of creating a quantum computer, on December 14.
Bridging the vast distance is possible with the help of China’s quantum satellite Mozi, which has opened pathways to develop national and international quantum communication networks.
With the advent of advanced supercomputers and quantum computing, there were now more avenues for information systems to be attacked, the researchers at RQC, Moscow-based QSpace Technologies and MISIS University wrote in a paper published on the open-access online archive arxiv.org in October.
Quantum communication – a form of quantum physics-based information transfer that uses cryptography to encode data in single photons – offers a way to transfer information that hackers cannot eavesdrop on, according to the paper.
Encrypted data is transferred in the form of ones and zeros along with a quantum key that is used to decrypt the data.
Quantum keys, or strings of random bits, “are secret parameters that we use to encode useful information”, making it inaccessible to unauthorised individuals, Fedorov said.
Using quantum key distribution can allow for security that was “guaranteed by the law of physics”, the researchers wrote in their paper.
While there has been major progress in the development of quantum key distribution, ground-based transfer at reasonable speeds using optical fibre cables is limited to around 1,000km because of a loss of photons over long distances, according to the paper.
With this limitation, researchers in different countries and continents, or even on opposite sides of Russia, could not effectively transfer quantum keys, Fedorov said.
To overcome this hurdle, China launched Mozi, the world’s first quantum communication satellite in 2016, to begin long-distance quantum transmission.
Using the satellite, China has been able to develop a national quantum network of ground stations spanning thousands of kilometres.
In 2020, the Russian team began working with the Mozi team, who helped them set up systems to begin conducting experiments with the satellite, Fedorov said.
A ground station was set up at the Zvenigorod observatory just outside Moscow, equipped with telescopes and cameras to track the satellite. Various experiments were conducted between the Zvenigorod ground station and China’s Nanshan ground station near Urumqi, the paper said.
On March 1 last year, a full quantum communication experiment was conducted between the two stations.
A secret key was distributed between Zvenigorod and Mozi, which orbited between 600km and 1,100km above the ground station. Once the Chinese side received the shared key from the satellite, a secret key was established between two stations nearly 4,000km apart, the paper said.
Two coded messages were transferred between the teams that were decrypted with the help of two keys – a quote from Chinese philosopher Mozi and an equation from the late Soviet physicist Lev Landau – according to the team.
It was the first successful full-cycle quantum communication experiment between China and Russia. Fedorov said a secure quantum call had been established in 2017 between Austria and China using Mozi.
The paper released by the Russian team in October highlighted a major aspect of their research with Mozi and quantum key distribution.
To transfer quantum keys between long-distance ground stations, both stations must have detectors that pick up signals from a satellite. These devices “are not always working ideally”, Fedorov said.
Slight differences in the detectors could leave the system open to potential security attacks, he said.
The researchers said this detection efficiency mismatch was not taken into account in the decoy state quantum protocol – which is the most widely used quantum key distribution protocol. To further improve the security of the system, the team modified the security analysis protocol to take the mismatch into account.
“Our results pave the way to the considerations of realistic imperfection of the QKD [quantum key distribution] systems, which are important in the context of their practical security,” the paper said.
We live in an information age, where a lot of what we do “is tied to protected information”, making quantum keys a “useful tool” to protect strategic and sensitive information, Fedorov said.
While quantum communications networks could have many uses, Fedorov said that for now quantum systems would ideally be suited to scientific research, with more research needed before the technology could be commercialised.
He said the finance sector was interested in quantum technology, with banks storing “a massive amount of critical, important information”.
In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow he planned to develop Russia into an economy where quantum technology had an important role in digital infrastructure.
“Technically, it’s absolutely possible” to build a quantum communication network between the Brics nations, Fedorov said.
But while there was “scientific, technical and commercial potential for these kinds of systems”, a unifying project was needed to push development forward, he said.
There would also need to be shared standards between nations regarding the exchange of data and safety measures.
Fedorov said that to commercialise quantum networks, development was heading towards expanding infrastructure through launching mini quantum satellites and building ground stations, along with forging protocols to exchange information.
In June, Russia released its own quantum microsatellite prototype, and had begun experimenting with the aim of launching its own quantum satellite, according to Fedorov.
The team hoped to develop its own quantum technology to become a resource to help other nations conduct quantum experiments as China had helped the Russians, he said.
Beyond quantum communication, countries across the world are researching various technologies, including quantum computing, which the Russian team would soon use to solve minor tasks.
“All countries that are interested in technological leadership know that without quantum technology they won’t succeed,” Fedorov said.
They had shared everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.
“When we were to be married,” she said, “my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.”
The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.
“Honey,” he said “that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?”
“Oh, that?” she said. “That’s the money I made from selling the dolls.””
Do not sell. You have already paid for two years. First contact your lender and ask for them to pause your loan for 3 months. Then for three months you will have no payment (time to save as much money as possible). Use that time to get your income level back up to where you need it to make the house payment. Look for a new job or another part time job. If you have a good car, do a delivery job like Uber or Door Dash. Eliminate any monthly paid services like movie channels, even internet. Just keep the electric, water, gas, and trash. NEVER eat any place that is NOT your house – unless it’s like free food at work. Fast food, Starbucks, restaurants, and eating outside the house is what breaks people. If you go to Costco you can get a whole chicken for $5 and you can get 12 croissants for $6. You can also get 50 little bags of chips for $13. You can get a case of 35 cans of Coke for $25 (one can a day for a month). A chicken sandwich on a croissant with a bag of chips and a Coke sounds like a good lunch. You spent $50 but you got 12 lunches and maybe more lunches and you still have lots of chips and cans of Coke for the rest of the month. Fast food restaurants will cost you about $15 for one lunch (sometimes more). So you decide 3 lunches at fast food or 12–15 lunches at home for the same price. Stay hungry, only eat when you must and drink a big glass of water before you eat. Potatoes are only $1 per pound and they are the most filling food you can eat. I remember in college, I always bought a big jar of peanut butter and jelly. A PB&J sandwich will really save you from throwing your money away on fast food and the PB&J goes great with the chips. Eating at home costs 1/10th the price of eating outside the home. If you cut down all your outgoing money and get more incoming money, you should have the ability to save your house. Renting might just be more than your house payment. Consider renting out one of the bedrooms. If you rent out the master bedroom you’ll get more money than one of the other bedrooms. Maybe a neighbor will want to rent a parking space at your house or rent your garage for storing their stuff. If your house has a lot of land, maybe someone will want to rent some space to park their RV until they need to travel. Look at the items you own, that item that you have not used for over a year – sell it on eBay. Have a garage sale to get rid of old clothing you no longer wear, old shoes, old dishes, old knifes and forks. Sell those collections and sell anything you can to keep your house. Your house is the most important investment most people make during their entire life. Don’t let this house slip out of your hands because when this happens most people never get another house. Use the least amount of heat and lighting as you can. More blankets. But no space or plug in heaters and NO CANDLES (they cause house fires and insurance doesn’t cover that). If you are not in the room turn off the LED lights, television, radio, etc. I didn’t own a television until I was in my 30’s. If you are spending all you free time trying to make money and spending almost nothing to live, you can save your house. You will be successful, you can do it. Stay hungry get out there and make some money however you can. You can do it! I believe in you! If you found my post interesting or helpful, please upvote, share, and follow. Thank you!
I hated it. It’s an awful way for a child to grow up. I know that my brothers hated it too, but eventually my oldest brother went into “the business,” went to jail a couple times, got out, now he’s currently in jail again. My other brother and I both ran away from home once we were old enough and we don’t talk to the rest of our family much now.
First, some background: most “criminal families” aren’t like the mafia. It’s not a glamorous life. It is not like the Sopranos or the Godfather. It is not dark wood paneling and fine liquor. Every time I hear one of my sheltered school friends talk about organized crime or something it makes me want to puke. People go into crime because they are poor and they don’t know any better. They are not good people and they often don’t have a good sense of basic right and wrong. This means they are unlikely to be good parents. You know those pictures you see every so often on the internet with some woman turning a trick and her baby is in the background? That was how I grew up, but with drugs and guns and stabbing instruments lying around like toys. When my brothers and I were growing up, we constantly had strange people coming and going from our house at all hours, often engaging in loud altercations with both my mom and dad (I suppose I should give thanks that my parents were “together?”) inside the house or outside on the front lawn. Drugs and paraphernalia and firearms were pretty much everywhere. It’s fortunate that the trigger pull needed to set off a handgun is more than a small child can muster, at least until he or she is old enough to understand that guns kill people for real, and that yes, once when one of daddy’s friends was carried back to the house screaming and bleeding and couldn’t be taken to the hospital that that was because someone shot a gun at him! That’s how I learned about firearms safety – my mom just matter-of-factly said to my brothers and me, “That’s what happens when you point a gun at someone and pull the trigger” while stubbing out her cigarette watching my father and his gang try to staunch the bleeding and perform first aid. We did not play with the guns on the table after that. By the way, first aid is something you learn pretty early on, by the way, because there are a lot of ways to get injured in a “criminal family.” My parents were not (too) abusive, they loved us in a strange sort of way. But there were always weapons (of the sharp variety) or a lot of times broken bottles and other broken shit left lying around that my brothers and I got good at avoiding or when we were playing, we’d use them as fake weapons which, of course, since they were real and we were stupid, typically resulted in us getting to practice the first aid techniques my dad’s friend (“Doctor” Terry) had helpfully taught us. This was entirely normal to us – loud nightly commotion, a general tenseness around the house at all times, mostly sleeping during the day unless we bothered to get up to attend school, and a lot of injuries. I know now that regular childhood is full of little injuries, but we were always around blood and getting scratched up and scraped and gouged and bruised, just because the environment was dangerous. To this day I don’t know how we survived except that we picked up the instincts that people who live with weapons and sharp objects lying casually anywhere just happen to develop. No, we did not have shoes. At least not for the kids.
Once I was old enough to understand what was going on I learned that my family – not just my mom and dad but several “uncles” and their girlfriends were a minor part of a drug distribution network. Oddly enough we kids were not conscripted to be a part of it, not until my oldest brother decided on his own he wanted into the lifestyle. It seemed like my parents were doing it mostly because it was all they knew and after we were born they tried to protect us and provide for us in the only way they knew how. Strangely we never had any police trouble (at least at the house) because I think we were pretty far from the front lines and were considered a safe house of sorts where money was counted, weapons were traded and stored (for those who don’t know, guns are considered more secure currency because they can both be traded and used for intimidation), and “product” was moved back and forth. Maybe they were doing this to keep us safe(r), I don’t know. But I do know it was still a chaotic and very scary environment to grow up in as a child.
You probably want to know how I got out of it. Unfortunately that end of the story isn’t too interesting. We had television in the house, my brother and I would watch it, and sort of see (or at least get the idea) that not everyone lived like this. Television is full of happy middle-class families. And we wanted to get out of there. So one day (daytime! when everyone is sleeping!) we grabbed one of the bundles of cash lying around, stuck it in a bag with a change of clothes and took a bus out of town. 800 miles out of town. For awhile we were worried someone would come looking for us but it didn’t happen. Eventually I did call my mom and she was angry but it was clear she was worried and just happy we were alive. We didn’t talk much more than that, she just said, “Well take care of your brother.” My brother and I live in another city now and I have completed a GED and now I go to a state school. Hope that helps clear up some misconceptions.
Nobody is your friend, not even the guys you eat lunch with every day
Nobody is indispensable. Anybody can be laid off any day.
Never waste time listening to management podcasts, attending town-halls or post work self-funded drink parties as they dont have any impact on your salary, promotion or job security.
Try to attend as many technical trainings as you can which are paid for by your employer.
Never send emails late night or over the weekends thinking that people will get impressed. There are already people in your team who have seen it and done it all and only fools work overtime.
Become awesome at the work you do. Focus on learning the latest skills applicable to your field. That will save your life when you are laid off or want to change employer.
Dont waste time on feedbacks or year end assessments and dont take them seriously. No matter how hard you work or the value you add, you will always be made to feel below average.
Fight hard to get a raise by constantly raising your compensation issue with senior managers in private meetings. No company wants to pay more and one needs to snatch his share of goodies.
Never share your family or any other problem/weakness with anybody at work.
Make a genuine effort to help others who need some help from you specific to your knowledge or skill. The cycle of Karma will enable you to get the same help when you need the same.
Never use capital case or offensive words in any written communication that can be used as an evidence of your unprofessional behavior and be used against you.
I am a remote employee and I keep a company inventory, recently I completed an inventory of my stock. I received word when the higher-ups were reconciling my count that I was missing 5 high dollar items and was questioned, did I “loose” them or did I not count them, it was a significant sum, and I could have lost my job or been held financially responsible for these items. without a reasonable explanation, the boss was pissed as hell at me.
The thing was that just a few months ago, I was requested by the asset manager to send these 5 items across the country to another remote employee and I had an email with the item numbers and serial numbers along with the FedEx tracking numbers to prove they were sent and delivered. The asset manager was responsible for transferring these items into that other inventory.
I found the email and it only took me a few minutes to find it. I was off the hook and the asset manager or more likely one of his staff was in hot water now!
I had been job searching for quite some time at this point. I had gotten a job to come in for an interview. For this job, I had interviewed 2 other times for it, so, I was going to be interviewing for a 3rd time. In my mind, I thought, “Maybe they really liked me each time (as I qualified for the job) but they just kept getting really good candidates with more experience then me and so they would just go for the other person” Alas, I went into the interview hopeful and feeling very prepared.
I had arrived promptly for the interview, but the interviewer was extremely late. The interview was for 9am, but they didn’t call me until about 9:40am. I thought, “Maybe they just got really busy?” But, when the interviewer came out to greet me, they offered no sort of apology for being almost an hour late.
Alas, I greeted the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake. When it was time to interview, they asked me to introduce myself and tell them a little about myself. The interviewer just looked like she was trying not to laugh for some reason. I continued the interview, and for one question, I think it was like “Tell me why we should hire you” and then she literally laughed. She busted out laughing and then tried to compose herself. I have honestly no idea why she did that. There were other interviewers in the room as well, but only she was acting like that. Weirdly enough, I ended up being offered the job, but I declined. Between the interviewer being late, laughing at my answers, and being sarcastic, it just left an “unprofessional” taste in my mouth. I really wanted the job (hence why I interviewed 3 times for it). But if that person was going to be one of my supervisors/ higher ups, I didn’t want to be apart of that company.
China will say thank you very much for vacating valuable (and often choice) factory premises. Local companies will jump at the chance to acquire the sites, because these are often prime land with the best infrastructure and utilities.
China rolled out the red carpet for MNCs and the local government often offered the best preferentially to foreigners.
The problem with the de-shoring narrative is the utter impracticality, because it is nigh impossible to find another country with the set of conditions the mainland offers. China is no longer cheap, and competition is incredible. Factories that remain and prosper are ENABLED by the set of advantages the mainland provides.
The companies that find it attractive to relocate are chasing lower wages, and mostly unaffected by poorer skill, infrastructure and the lack of symbiotic ecosystems.
When someone doesn’t understand how everyday mainstream culture works.
I went to college in a town with extreme wealth, but was relatively poor myself so worked at the nearby Burger King for, you know — money.
Occasionally, a wealthy type person would come in and seem totally clueless as to how a Burger King worked. The menu board was overwhelming to them. They’d order their burger “medium rare” or “well-done,” not realizing the burgers simply ran through a machine and they all came out the same.
They usually had unbranded shirts and pants that looked as if they had never been worn before.
Everything was a curiosity to them. I remember one was staring at the straw dispenser, wondering how the straw comes out. I leaned over and pressed the button and out rolled a straw. He seemed giddy about how this invention worked.
Essentially, they are space aliens on Earth for the first time.
Yesterday, I saw a young 20 year old married girl in my clinic, who was brought in by her mother in law for surgery for ‘ hole in the heart’
She was suffering from atrial septal defect (ASD) wherin you are born with a hole between two chambers of the heart. The surgical correction when done early on ( before 20–25 years) is very simply and almost risk free. But unfortunately this girl had a large hole and became very very sick. She also developed certain complications making her ASD inoperable.
She was found to have ASD at around 10 years of age but her parents did not get her treated as the stigma of heart surgery will make her ineligible for marriage. So they hid her disease and married her off. Her in laws who discovered her problem about one year back ignored it and now that she is sick, brought her for treatment. They are more concerned that she will be unable to bear children.
The poor young girl is screwed both by her parents and her husband for no fault of hers. Her parents only wanted to get rid of her while her inlaws / husband only want her as child bearing machine.Sad.
Edit: The surgery here in Hyderabad is free for poor patients in the best of private hospitals also ( Govt Aarogyasree scheme). The sad part is due to this delay the heart is irreparably damaged and it is now inoperable .
I still remember my first year at Campbell Soup Company in 1985. I started on Jan 2 as Assistant Manager of Accounts Payable. I was a glorified clerk who should have been eligible for overtime, but Manager in my title made me exempt.
We were not required to turn in time cards unless we missed work which I didn’t do as I was the new kid. At my six months review I received all high marks except that my boss marked me down for never working overtime. I averaged 10 to 20 hours of overtime a week.
To clue my boss in, I started turning in my time cards every week. A couple of months later the payroll clerk called me to the side and asked me if I wanted my meal money. There were several envelopes for me in the safe.
“What meal money?” I asked. She explained that anyone exempt who worked two hours past quitting time received $2 meal money. I laughed and asked her how long it had been since they had raised the amount. She said it had been that way as long as she had been there, or over 25 years.
At the end of the year, I received my first Christmas bonus, a $5 check. I had worked the year before as a part-time bookkeeper for my parents’ little dress shop and received a $50 bonus check. They paid their sales clerks a $250 bonus.
I framed my $5 check as a reminder that policies should always be reviewed and scrapped or updated as the case may be. It cost more for the company to process those tiny payments than it was worth to the recipients. If you are going to do something do it right or don’t do it at all.
When I was in college I moved into an old house that had been converted into apartments. Perfect location for me and within the first couple days I had met all the neighbors around me. All seemed normal, until the next door neighbors kid stopped by with the kid who lived across the street from us. The kid may have been 13 or 14 at the time, but he made the hair on my neck stand up. He looked like Malachi, from Children of the Corn, and that was his nick name. He never said anything to me or did anything crazy around me but I always had that spooked feeling around him. I moved a couple years later. One evening I was checking out the news and the headline that day was a body was found in a crawl space. When they showed the house and then the picture came up on the screen I was shocked to see it was the kid across the street from me. He admitted to another killing out of state a few days later. As time went on he confessed to a few more that he had killed. Before any future investigation was done, he took the easy way out via suicide in jail. He was a confirmed serial killer.
Argentina JUST *Flipped* to the US Dollar | -54% CRASH [President Milei FIRST Move!]
Back in 2011, the State of California reported that over 8.3 billion recyclable cans had been recycled that year.
This meant that California’s recycling rate was just under 100 percent; implying that nearly every single can in the state had been recycled.
image 24
Now, in an ideal world, such high recycling would be a good thing, and reflect incredible levels of environmental responsibility in California.
But unfortunately, this statistic was too good to be true.
Recycling Fraud…Surprisingly, It’s A Crime
As it turned out, California’s astonishing recycling rates were not the result of widespread environmental awareness. The real reason for this statistic was much more sinister…fraud.
Apart from Oregon, California is the only state with a container return program on the west coast. Due to financial incentive and a lack of regulation, several ‘recycling fraud rings’ popped up, defrauding the program by redeeming millions of ineligible cans.
In 2012, government officials reported that the State of California lost over $40 million every year to fraud. To combat these losses, the Justice Department created “recycling fraud units” to stop “recycling fraud rings”.
image 23
This initiative proved to be quite effective in stopping fraud. In late 2018, two Arizona men were arrested for over $16 million worth of recycling fraud. Under the guise of a trucking company, a man named Miguel Bustillos smuggled millions of cans into California for the purpose of defrauding the state government.
[1] If convicted of ‘felony recycling fraud’, Bustillos and his associated could face up to three years behind bars.
“So what are you in for?”
“Recycling fraud…”
I can’t imagine that would net you much respect in a prison setting. This whole thing just seems so surreal to me.
When most people get depressed, they tend to start adding things to their life thinking that something will “make them happy”.
This isn’t how it works.
Here are 3 things you should cut out of your life when you’re depressed — based on personal experience.
Alcohol. Nowadays, I enjoy a beer or a glass of wine on the weekend. Maybe 2 if I’m feeling frisky. It’s become a sort of hobby — I like trying a new beer or wine to celebrate getting through a tough week of work or training. However, when I was severely depressed, I cut the stuff out completely. Alcohol tended to amplify whatever I was already feeling, meaning when I was sad, it made me really fucking sad.
Most romantic partners. I’ve dealt with depression on many occasions in my life. I’ve been in relationships during my depression at times, and I’ve been single during my depression at times as well. I’ve only had one partner ever who has been truly supportive during my periods of intense depression and anxiety — the one I’m with now. If a partner isn’t helpful for your mental health, it’s not that they’re bad, but the relationship will struggle.
Crappy diet/exercise habits. For a lot of people, there’s a dietary component to depression. For myself, I know that fried foods, too much food, and too much inactivity can set me off and send me spiraling. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of trial and error in this, but it’s relatively easy to learn to eat better. If something makes you feel bad, stop eating it.
Be careful what you say. My first day of teaching at one district was almost my last.
We were told to have the students put their name, etc on a 3 by 5 card with something about themself. One boy said he was in a gang.
Later that week we had a big meeting about Gangs. Out of thousands and thousands of students 250 were identified as Gang members. Based on my location, the kiddie candy gang.
I had taught in another district where real gang activity existed. Before that I practiced law for 30 years. I had represented one gang in court as a lawyer. I quit criminal law when I got a gang member off and two days later he murdered an 8 year old. I knew Gangs well. I said to the teacher next to me, “ Two hundred and fifty. I got one of them. At my last district there were less than 250 non gang members”. The teacher asked how I knew. I said he wrote it on his card.
The next day the admin appeared and wanted the card. I refused ( although I knew I had no legal ground) and they told me I was fired and searched my room and found it. They then told me I was not really fired.
The boy was expelled. A week later, during school hours, he drove his car into a brick wall and died. 15 years later I still mourn. I never had the chance to find out if his life could be turned around.
Anything you say or write to a teacher is subject to the admin. You have No Privacy. Say your name. Tell them you like sunshine and lollipops.
Some might say this is bad advice. I think kids are lulled into thinking they have a private relationship with a teacher. You don’t.
Late 70s on an early Sunday afternoon flight from LAX to Toronto on a wide body. I was sitting in the middle row which had 5 across, and a hippie couple sat in front of me with only one other passenger in their row. As soon as the fasten seatbelt light went off they started to get it off, laying across the 4 seats with just a blanket over them. The flight attendant came by and looked at them and did nothing. Shortly after she came back with the pilot and another flight attendant they conferenced then left without doing anything. So I just sat there and watched them go at it for three hours, they would take a short break then go at it again in different positions. I felt sorry for the poor guy in the end seat as their legs would sometimes end up in his lap. I really think they did it for the shock value. To top it all off some guy in a robe was sitting cross legged in the middle of the aisle burning incense. The flight attendants stopped that real fast. I used to fly 200k miles a year and this by far was the most entertaining one I was ever on.
I once had my apartment broken into while I was gone. The thief harmed my dog, and they stole about $12,000 dollars worth of a certain green substance that people enjoy setting on fire for recreational purposes. I had a pretty good idea who did it, and later I was able to confirm my suspicions.
Keep in mind that I am not some big bad criminal type, but I was counting on the money from the items stolen to pay my rent, utilities, college tuition, and books. So, I made one of the worst decisions of my life, and I went over to this person’s apartment which was in the same complex as mine.
I knocked on the door. He answered.
I walked past him without saying a word, and I turned around and shut the door. I then produced a handgun that had been covered by my shirt. I looked at him, and I very calmly but sternly told him that I knew he was the one who broke into my apartment and that he had about 30 seconds to produce every last bit of what he stole.
He complied, and I placed the items into a gym bag I brought with me.
I told him that he was dead to me, and that I didn’t ever want to see him again. That I was aware that his lease was up at the end of the following month, and that I strongly suggested he not renew it. I then told him that this was for my dog, and I punched him in the nose.
I re-holstered my weapon, and I walked back to my apartment. I was incredibly calm the entire time I was there, but now I was a bit worried that he might be dumb enough to call the cops despite the fact that he had committed multiple serious felonies himself.
I decided to bring the bag and the weapon over to a friend’s apartment that was just next door, and I left it there for the rest of the day. I went back home, and just went about my day. I cooked dinner for myself and my girlfriend, and fortunately the police never showed up.
I never saw the guy again, and he apparently moved out the following month. It wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but without the money from the items he stole I wouldn’t have been able to pay my bills or my tuition.
Now, I’m an attorney with an MBA in Finance. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else do what I did. I could have gone to prison for 10 years or more. At the time I was desperate though, and I couldn’t exactly call the cops to have them retrieve my stolen property in this case.
Desperation will make people do desperate things. Fortunately for me things worked out well. They could have easily gone badly.
I once convinced one scammer that I was the curator of a major museum in Fort Worth and if he wanted for me to give him money so he could start a similar museum that he would have to send me a birthday present. He asked me what I wanted and told him two billfolds would do. Several weeks later the wallets, very nice ones. arrived from London. The Nigerian scanner was calling long distance. Naturally he did not know that I knew that he was trying to scam our museum. I finally told him to take a hike or I was going to call in federal law enforcement. Textless to say he was madder than hell that I scammed him. After 20 years I still use both of those expensive walkers As far as J know Jam the only potential victim that has ever scanned the scammer
A few years ago I was coming out of my local bank when I saw a couple standing near their car looking a bit distressed. I approached them and asked what was wrong. The guy said his battery had died and he couldn’t get the car started. He asked if I would help to push start it.
So I got behind the car with his girlfriend and we started pushing. He popped the clutch and the engine turned over a few times but didn’t start. I told the guy this wasn’t going to work, he needed jumpercables. I only lived 5 min from the bank so I told him I would drive home to get the cables and be right back. The look on his face was a “sure buddy, never going to see you again” expression. I didn’t mind. Got into my car, drove home, got the cables from the garage and drove back.
Whem they saw me arrive they had a surprised look on their faces. I pulled my car up to his and popped the bonnet. Less then a minute later his car was running again. They were both thanking me profusely and wanted to offer me money for the help.
I told him to keep the money and “next time you see somebody needing help, spend a few minutes and help them”.
I hope they did and asked the same of the person they helped.
Very simple, because the stupid people in power were forcibly removed and filtered from the system continuously. Don’t get me wrong, China has statistically some of the most comedic and stupid people in the world because of its large population, they are just kept down and not allowed to harm the country.
Back then during the warlord era (軍閥時代), there was this absolute menace who shared my surname and was called Zhang Zong Chang (張宗昌) who governed the province of Shandong (山東省). He was a massive hedonist who gambled excessively and married 21 women from different countries.
During his rule, he brutally repressed workers rights (see 青島慘案), conscripted an unsustainable large military, wrote some of the most vulgar pseudo-tang poetry (despite being almost illiterate) and basically caused enormous suffering.
He was so intellectually stunted that he not only didnt know how many wives he had, but he also didnt know his own military power or finances (三不知將軍).
image 22
Zhang Zongchang once said to his subordinates: “Communism means sharing wives. Sharing wives is of course good, but communism is wrong. Things that can be taken are yours, and things that cannot be taken are not yours! Sharing wives is different. It’s okay to sleep with someone else if you can’t sleep with a woman.”
This is why the elite hate communism, and to some extent all result oriented systems. It removes their ability to loot and plunder to maintain their privileges because the playing field has been leveled.
On September 3, 1932, Zhang zongchang was assassinated on a train station using a pistol. No one picked up his body and left it to rot for three whole days. After hearing the news, all the people of Shandong province celebrated and welcomed troops from the Republic of China with open arms.
image 21
___
Modern China’s success is because “Communist” China is a meritocracy. This means that those who are given authority are those with skill and experience (or in other words, merit) and not their wealth, smooth talking skills, paramilitary criminal force or dick size. Doctors are qualified only because they pass 6 years of medical school with good grades before they can cure humans, because it involves life and death. Why shouldnt a similar filtering mechanism be installed for political leaders, who control the life and death of many?
image 20image 142
This is reflected not only among politburo or chairman poliics, but daily life of people like me. The national pre university exam – 高考 – is based on pure grades, not race or extracurriculars or reference letters.
My husband was the perfect boyfriend. Once we were married, things drastically changed. I realized it about 5 minutes we were pronounced ““husband and wife.” We got in the limo to be taken to the reception site, and 100% of his attention was on the driver. I couldn’t believe it, but let it go. I knew, however that I had just made a huge mistake. About 2 months into the marriage, when there was no more dating, dancing or flowers, I brought it up to him, and his answer was ““That part of our relationship is over.” What? Really? He then went on to tell me that he “married me,” so he “didn’t have to court” me anymore. Wow! I tried to talk to him, and explained that I fell in love with him because of the way he treated me and that I really wanted “that man back.” He looked at me and told me that that man never existed. He was right. For many years, I sought therapy, thinking there was something wrong with me because this marriage wasn’t working. My history and life made me believe that it must be my fault. I changed who I was way too many times, to the point that I don’t know who I am. The dude’s a freaking narcissist. My idea of what made a narcissist was way off point. Yeah, I’m still married to him, but I protect my heart from him. He’s caused a lot of pain, so we live as roommates, and it works.
Please don’t ask why I stayed, only people that have endured abuse would understand, and I’ve written enough already.
I just wish I wasn’t so weak and vulnerable when I met him. He knew I was the perfect mark. So if you can, and have friends and family to support you, run if you see this kind of behavior. Me? My mother and father were abusive and I had just got out of a 15 year extremely abusive relationship 5 months before I met him. So yeah, I was truly alone.
Interesting story. The Currywurst was invented by Hertha Heuwer who operated a bratwurst and fast food stand in Berlin-Charlottenburg in September 1949. Hertha’s husband worked with American officers and noticed that they put huge amounts of ketchup on their steaks and told his wife.
Once, on a rainy day, when she had no custumors, Hertha cut a bratwurst in slices and played around with sauces and spices, however without much success. But the butcher Frank Friedrich who delivered bratwursts without casings to Hertha helped her to improve the sauce which finally was made up from tomato paste, bell pepper, paprika powder, spices and especially curry powder. Hence, the wurst was named Currywurst.
image 140
In the post-war era, this “exotic” version of traditional bratwurst was a huge success. Hertha’s recipe was immediately imitated by other operators of bratwurst stands and quickly Currywurst was sold all over Germany.
There are variations how to make the sauce. The simplest version is to take just commercial ketchup and curry powder. More elaborate versions use onions, fresh tomatoes and fruit to make the sauce.
The typical Berlin-style Currywurst uses a bratwurst without casing. After the war, casings were in short supply, and Frank Friedrich’s partner had developed a procedure to make sausages without casings. In other parts of Germany, however, ordinary bratwursts with casings are used for Currywurst.
The recipe is simple: Just take a bratwurst, sear or grill it, cut it into pieces and put the sauce on it. Sprinkle with curry powder. Recently, some wurst stand operators have started to add ultra-hot chili sauces. One operator in my hometown boasts that he makes “the world’s hottest Currywurst” because, for his number ten, he uses pure capsaicin. But this is a different story.
So, Currywurst is a kind of fusion. The sausage is traditional German. The curry powder came from England, with roots in Indian masala. The tomato-based sauce was inspired by American ketchup.
Dough: Dissolve yeast in about 2 teaspoons sugar and 1/2 cup warm water; let stand until it bubbles.
Sift flour in large bowl and add salt and 1/2 cup sugar.
In another bowl beat 3 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and sour cream; add yeast; add scalded milk and sweet butter which was added to the milk and cooled. Add this to the flour bowl and knead to a soft silky dough, not sticky. Let rise in a greased bowl until double in bulk. Make sure the dough is soft as it has to stretch.
On floured cloth roll dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness; stretch gently so it won’t break. Stretch oblong about 30 x 20 inches (use rolling pin if necessary) and fill with following filling.
Filling: Scald milk with butter.
In bowl add ground nuts, honey, vanilla extract, sugar and pinch of salt, then add scalded milk with butter. Mix, then add stiffly beaten egg whites. If thick, add a little more milk. Spread on dough like you would for nut roll and roll like a jellyroll (make as sweet as desired).
Grease roasting pan 4 to 6 inches in depth and fill pan; start at one edge of pan; make a “U” shape. Do not cut if roll is longer; turn again. Brush with milk. Prick with knife on top for air bubbles. Let stand 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and brush with butter. Let cool, then flop it on a cloth and place it on a rack to cool.
Source: Anne Price – Our Favorite Recipes – St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church
Air heat pumps barely function below minus 20 C, propane gels at minus 40, that most electric cars can not be charged below minus 40. Below minus 40, you can throw water in the air, and it won’t be liquid when it hits the ground. Depending on the metal, but metals get brittle at low temperatures, and below minus 40 they can snap at a much lower pressure than normal. If you are running heavy equipment, don’t even bother to try and use it below minus 30, because something will break., and starting a cold engine is very hard, and the oil is so thick, it will take time to flow through the transmission and engine. Most likely hydraulic lines will burst, but you can snap a thick piece of steel.
Flesh freezes in minutes. A friend was working outside in minus 50, and he had to remove a mitten to adjust a crescent wrench, and he didn’t put the mitten back on while he tightened the bolt. The bolt or nut snapped, and his hand hit the aluminum tower, it split wide open, in the fleshy part between the thumb and index finger. It didn’t bleed. He had to go the hospital. He could have lost his hand if he kept working in that cold.
You always wear mitts, not gloves, gloves don’t provide enough protection.
Wolverine guard hairs dont frost up, so are used on parka fringes.
Hard liquor, vodka, rum, rye, gin freezes at about minus 34.
I’m constantly considered to be an uncouth, unwashed plebeian. Particularly at restaurants. I guess I give off that ‘air’. Wait-staff constantly try to help me with my “mistakes”.
Examples:
I order seared ahi tuna. Waiter: “Sir, I just wanted to make sure you understand that the fish is mostly raw”.
Different restaurant, I order a calamari appetizer. Waitress: “You understand those aren’t onion rings sir, right?”
Even my wife calls me “peasant” sometimes (but I admit — I married above my station — she’s awesome and a hell of a sense of humor).
It’s become the family joke. My kids make bets to see how unsophisticated some new place is going to assume I am.
It must be the way I talk. I work in IT and while I have some very high-level responsibilities (a few applications I’ve written and maintain for my corporates overlords and maintain a few server farms in two states) I’m located smack-dab in the middle of Los Angeles — and I’m the only IT guy within 100 miles. We have way too many locations in LA for *just* me. Hope that changes soon. Anyway, sometimes I need to crawl under desks and field some “try turning it off and back on” type stuff that our help desk failed to filter properly.
My boss is constantly getting feed back about me from our non-IT remote staff on how I’m a “breath of fresh air” and that I don’t make them feel like they are dumb. I use simple language to describe what I’m doing, not techno-jargon. I’m not a fan of silence, so while I’m fixing something remotely, I explain what I’m doing or I explain why I’m asking them to do something. Again, in plain English. No alphabet acronyms.
Maybe when it’s time to retire, I’ll transfer to the helpdesk…
It is often termed “constructive dismissal” or “creating a hostile work environment.” Legally, such behavior can be categorized as workplace harassment or bullying, involving deliberate actions with the intention of making an employee’s job challenging in the hope that they will voluntarily resign. I strongly recommend discussing the issue with your manager to understand the reasons behind their actions. Alternatively, you can reach out to the HR department, if available in your company, to address and resolve the situation. You may also suggest implementing productivity tools such as Connecteam or Trello to streamline work tasks and proactively prevent similar issues in the future.
More horrifying than humiliating. I lost track of my 3 year old grand daughter. She was playing on the playscape. I wrongfully answered a call on my phone.
After the call, my girl was gone. I climbed. through the playscape. I checked the bathrooms. I was nuts. I started screaming. The manager came and locked the doors except the emergency exit and he had a worker standing there. I was running around screaming her name. I told them to call the police.
Everyone was looking at me like I was the worst person alive. I was. Suddenly I heard a little voice say “ Nama” I looked around and did not see her. But I heard “Nama” again and caught some movement at a table.
At the table were the two most grotesque “women” I have ever seen. I don’t think they were female nor were they trans or cross dressers. They were in horrid disguise. They had a little girl with black hair, my grand was a red head. I got closer and could tell the child had black eyebrow pencil on and dark make up smeared on.
I got closer to the table. The child said “Nama, I pay make up” The two grotesque things said nothing but were looking at the door.
I reached over and pulled the black wig off the child… and grabbed my grand daughter and ran. I ran out the emergency door setting off an alarm. I threw her in the car, seat belt be damned and took off
As I turned out of the McDs I saw a car sitting there with the engine running with only one man in it. I screeched back and saw the license plate was mudded over. So I drove. I drove for 30 minutes making sure no one was following.
Then I cried for another 30.
McDs was very cooperative but the way their cameras were set, that was the only table not seen. Evidently the two grotesque things ran out the emergency door after me.
They were clearly in disguise.
They were never identified.
Of course I was humiliated. I neglected my duty as my grand’s care giver. But humiliation was deserved and I was horrified.
I still have nightmares.
Watch the kids The call will wait!!!
Ok folks. I don’t want one more virtue mongerer to chastise me that I should have waited for the police.
Exactly who do you think was going to hold them there until the police arrived?
You think they were going to sit and have a coke until the police got there to arrest them? Do you think the McDonalds manager was going to jump in and hold them down and end up potentially liable, after they beat the crap out of the manager getting out?
Maybe I should have made a citizen’s arrest and ordered them to wait while I cuffed them with straws or ketchup packets?
What makes you think they would not have just decked me and took her back and out the door.
I was almost 70 and on chemo. I wasn’t a 30 year old cop. Such virtue mongering by people who think kidnappers just hang around to be arrested and who have clearly never been in such a situation. But they sure think they would save the day. Pathetic.
Drain artichoke hearts, reserving marinade; set marinade aside.
Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add artichoke hearts, 1/2 cup cheese and garlic. Pulse 4 times or until artichoke hearts are finely chopped. Set aside.
Place 1 phyllo sheet on wax paper (keep remaining phyllo covered). Lightly brush phyllo sheet with oil portion of reserved marinade; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of remaining cheese. Top with another phyllo sheet; brush lightly with oil portion of reserved marinade. Cut phyllo sheet in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into thirds, making 6 sections, each measuring approximately 6 x 5 inches. Place a heaping teaspoon of artichoke mixture in center of each phyllo section. Gather corners of phyllo over filling, and gently twist to close. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining phyllo sheets, marinade, cheese and artichoke mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 14 minutes or until golden.
US failed to take over Afghanistan, failed to take over Iraq, failed to take over Vietnam. Each time the US tried with small weak countries it found that the people kept fighting them and so basically the US never controlled the population. Really expect that if the US could not take over those small countries it could succeed in a country that is almost as large as the United States in area and four times the population. It cost $7 trillion for the wars in the Middle East. Extrapolation says that it will cost 10 times as much to attempt the same with China. However, the US has a huge roadblock to overcome to invade Russia and that is that its ships cannot close on the Chinese coast without being sunk it could not land or supply units on the coast of China
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US military leaders have admitted that China controls the seas within something like a 1000 kilometers of China, and every simulation of of conflict between China and the US in the region ends up with the US losing badly. Let us assume that the US can land on the coast of China, it will need a lot more men than it currently has in the military, like a factor of 40. China has 1.4 billion people while Afghanistan and Iraq had something like 40 million, and China is massive compared to those countries. Keep having your wet dreams because that is all they are.
Relaxing To Purring Cats And Cozy Fireplace for Peaceful Night 🔥 Deep Sleep, Relax, Study
When I lived in Indiana, my wife and myself took private dance lessons. We studied ballroom dancing. And we were pretty good at it. Bronze and silver level for certain, and we were studying gold level for Foxtrot and Tango. Which is really very good.
We were top level amateur.
I have many stories from this time, and about this situation. But today I want to relate a funny aspect of that situation…
We lived in a mobile home park, and our trailer was pretty small. Aside from the studio or our dance club, there really wasn’t any place to practice our dancing. That was… until one day.
We found a nice secluded area in the countryside. It was a cemetery at the side of a rural road, and there was a nice flat cement area on one of the cemetery slabs. Indeed, YES… we were dancing on the graves of the people in the cemetery.
So yeah. That well explains why cars would slow down and watch us dancing on the graves of the newly deceased. LOL. I guess I spent much of my time in Indiana dancing on the graves of the people that lived there.
A few years ago, I was in line at a cash register waiting to pay for my purchase at a dollar store. I was waiting behind a little girl who was about 8 or 9 years old. She was alone and I was watching her as she meticulously laid out all of her purchases on the conveyor belt. I thought she was so cute.
Then, the cashier asked her if she was sure she had enough money. She nodded her head that she did. The cashier proceeded to ring up her purchases and she told her what the total was. The little girl took out a handful of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. She started to count the coins slowly and carefully. I was actually enjoying watching her do this!
Then, the cashier informed her that she was missing about 60 cents. She said that the girl would have to put some things back. She was hesitating as she was trying to decide what to remove. I looked at the cashier and I told her that I would pay the difference. The cashier took my money and put her purchases in a bag. Then, the little girl left. (I think she thanked me.)
At this point, the cashier told me that this young child came into the store and pulled this con game every week! The unsuspecting customers behind her ALWAYS paid for the remainder of her purchases! This child was extremely convincing – she really pulled the wool over my eyes! I told the cashier that I wish she would have told me before I paid because I would have wanted to say something to this girl.
I would have told her that what she was doing was wrong because she was tricking people (conning them) into paying for her purchases. I wish I could have told her that I thought she was very smart, that she should work hard in school and that she would do well in sales, marketing or acting!
Take a long hard look at a map and you will notice where China is situated. Nowhere near the US right?
Now look at all the US.bases so very far from the shores of the US but situated close to Asia and close to China. Why is the US there and not back home ready to defend their shores which is exactly what China is doing.
The provocative actions of the US is setting the world on a path of destruction.
China doesn’t talk of war but the US is constantly brainwashing the masses into thinking black is whit and white is black.
The US is constantly provoking wars.
The only two things the US sells is weapons and bullshit, so much bullshit.
The US is far from being a guardian angel but a god of war. Enough.
Pinjur (Macedonia)
This is a traditional Macedonian dish, and it is found on tables everywhere in Macedonia.
ajvar lutenitsa pinjur harissa with bread plate 147689 321
Ingredients
Eggplant
1 large eggplant
2 to 6 cloves garlic
Salt (enough to lightly cover the garlic)
Handful roughly chopped walnuts
Optional Ingredients
Olive oil
Fresh lemon
Fresh cilantro
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash eggplant. Poke holes into eggplant randomly with a fork. Place eggplant on a cookie sheet which has been covered with aluminum foil. Roast the eggplant until it is thoroughly cooked and collapses (about 30 to 40 minutes).
While the eggplant is roasting, mash garlic and salt with mortar and pestle until it becomes pasty.
To cool eggplant quickly, slice in half, and leave draining in the sink in a colander. When cool, peel the skin off. Chop eggplant into medium-size chunks.
In bowl, combine eggplant and garlic, mashing eggplant and stirring the garlic throughout. When it is consistently mushy, throw in a handful of chopped walnuts to add crunch and texture. You can add olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and even cilantro if desired.
Vladimir Putin showed up at Branch No 2 of the National Medical Research Centre of High Medical Technologies – Vishnevsky Central Military Clinical Hospital of the Russian Federation Defence Ministry this week and sat down for a chat with Russian military personnel who had been wounded during the special military operation. Can you imagine Joe Biden doing this with a group of American military personnel? I can’t.
I am posting this because I think it is important that people, especially Americans, have the opportunity to read Putin’s comments. If you are wondering how Putin views the United States, NATO and Ukraine, you need only read the following. There is no nuance. Putin is refreshingly candid.
His concern for the welfare of the soldiers comes across as genuine, sincere. But that is not the news. He makes it very clear that the Western countries are the enemy, not Ukraine. He also vowed to step up attacks on Ukrainian military targets and foreign mercenaries. Putin minces no words in noting that Western hopes of bamboozling him into negotiations for a ceasefire are in vain. Ain’t going to happen
.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Hello, guys! Glad to see you. I would like to congratulate you on the New Year.
How is your treatment here going?
Remark: Excellent.
Vladimir Putin: I walked around here, from what I have seen the equipment looks solid, this is clear of course. But, first and foremost, it must be used effectively. I hope, it does.
Remarks: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: You know, of course, I wanted to come here and congratulate you on the New Year, but there was also something I wanted to see. You might have seen me on Direct Line
, at least some of it; it is impossible to watch it in its entirety, four hours, it is crazy just how long it is. But there were things that concerned the Armed Forces and you directly: for example, people asked whether you really had to return to your units after your wounds and treatment and even rehabilitation to obtain the corresponding medical certificates there and even be cleared by military medical commissions. The Defence Ministry denies this, saying it does not happen, at least, not now. Moreover, they said – as I requested some time ago – that housing issues are being resolved during treatment and our service personnel undergo additional training to be able to continue serving, if they want, even those who sustained severe injuries, at military enlistment offices and so forth.
I wanted to hear from you what is really going on, if this is so, if you need to go somewhere else to obtain the necessary documents and certificates. No? So, do you get everything here? The military medical commission examination, all the documents – everything is done here, right?
Remarks: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: Are housing issues being resolved too?
Remarks: Yes.
Remark: Already been resolved.
Vladimir Putin: Ok, I see. They have been resolved for you and they are being resolved for our other fighters. At least, the system for resolving housing issues has been created and it is working, that is the most important thing, right?
And you are also receiving some additional professional training to allow those willing to continue their service in the Armed Forces but in different positions, health permitting. Is that so? Is that the reality?
Remark: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you. So, how is it going?
Remark: Good.
Vladimir Putin: This is one of the best medical institutions of the Defence Ministry. Not all of them are so well-equipped, so shiny, so to speak. But gradually the Ministry will bring everything up to the standard, to this level in terms of quality.
Any questions you want to ask me, guys? Don’t be shy.
Alexander Dublyanin: Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief,
During the special military operation we are liberating Russian territory. How do you feel about Western countries helping our enemy?
Vladimir Putin: The point is not that they are helping our enemy. They are our enemy. They are solving their own problems with their hands. That is what it is all about. This has been the case for centuries, unfortunately, and continues to be the case today.
Ukraine itself is not our enemy whereas those who want to destroy Russian statehood and to achieve, as they say, a strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield, are mainly in the West, but still, there are different people there. There are people who sympathise with us and who are with us at heart. But there are the elites who think the existence of Russia (at least in its current state and size) is unacceptable. They want to disintegrate it. As a matter of fact, you are young people, some have read about this, perhaps: they do not hide it. They speak and write about this publicly, and have been doing it for decades, if we are talking about contemporary history. For decades, they have simply been writing frankly about it: divide Russia into five parts, one is too much. I can talk about this till morning, but it is obvious.
Therefore, they have been nurturing the Kiev regime for quite a long time, precisely to create this conflict. Unfortunately for us, they have achieved this: they started this conflict and are trying to achieve their objective, namely the task of fighting Russia, with the help of Ukrainians.
You probably see on the battlefield that they are gradually losing their zest. When a projectile flies, it is difficult to understand whether they are losing it or not, but in general you probably know that the situation on the battlefield is changing. This is despite the fact that the entire “civilised” West is fighting us.
You, too, have probably heard many times: the Ukrainian army expends 5,000–6,000 155-calibre shells there per day of combat operations, and the United States produces 14,000 per month. Per month! And they use 5,000 per day. Yes, they are planning to increase it during 2024, but still, they produced 14,000–15,000, they will produce up to 20,000. But if you use 5,000 a day, then the supply depletes quite quickly. It is close to that now. And we are building up and will continue to, exponentially at that. They were supplied with more than 400 tanks (450 or whatever it is), and in a year we will produce and overhaul 1,600. This is not a state secret; in fact, there will be probably more. It is like this almost across the board. Therefore, though it has been their goal to deal with Russia from time immemorial, we will deal with them faster, it seems.
And the most important thing we have is, of course, what I have spoken about repeatedly: the unity of our people and society, because there is an understanding of how important the job you are doing on the battlefield is in the armed struggle for our country and our future. That is what’s most important. The point is not that we do not like that they are supplying Ukraine, that’s not the core of the problem. The problem is not with Ukraine, but with those who are trying to destroy Russia using Ukraine. That is the problem. But they will fail: it is simply out of the question, absolutely out of the question.
I think that the realisation is starting to dawn on them, and the rhetoric is changing: those who were talking just yesterday about the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia are now looking for the right words on how to quickly end the conflict. We also want to end the conflict, as quickly as possible, but only on our terms. We have no desire to fight endlessly, but we are not going to cede our positions either. You fought there, you were wounded there; are we going to surrender everything now? The cameras are on, otherwise I would make a certain gesture here now; you all know what kind of gesture it is. So, it is not going to happen.
I am Sergeant Shamalyuk. I have a question. From the very beginning of the special operation, our enemies have been constantly and regularly shelling the territories near the border, killing civilians and children, destroying villages and cities. I have the following question for you. Do you think it is possible and necessary to take tougher measures against the adversary so that the thought does not even cross their minds to commit these atrocities?
in Belgorod is of course a terrorist attack. Why? Because of what they have done under the cover of two missiles – I think it was Olkha: they fired from multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS). You, as military people, know what MLRS is. This weapon is not selective, it hits areas. This weapon struck right in the centre of the city, where people were walking before the New Year. It was a targeted strike on the civilian population. Of course, this is a terrorist attack; there is no other way to describe it.
Should we respond in kind? Of course, we can hit squares in Kiev or any other city. But Denis, there are children walking there, mothers with strollers. I understand, because I am quite angry, too, but I want to ask you: do we need to do this, target the squares?
Denis Shamalyuk: No, I am not saying that it should [be] against the civilian population, but specifically against military infrastructure…
Vladimir Putin: That is what we are doing.
Denis Shamalyuk: So that they will not be able to come round and respond.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, but that is exactly what we are doing. We strike with high-precision weapons at locations where they make decisions, where military personnel and mercenaries gather, at other similar centres, and at military facilities, above all. These blows can really be felt. We will continue to do this. You probably noticed that the very next day after these attacks were carried out. I think they are continuing today, and tomorrow, too.
Do you know why they are doing it? They want to intimidate us and to create some uncertainty within our country. For our part, we will increase the strikes that I have mentioned. Of course, not a single crime like that, and this is certainly a crime against the civilian population, will go unpunished, this is for sure, there can be no doubt.
Denis Shamalyuk: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Please.
Ivan Shushakov: May I?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, please.
Ivan Shushakov: Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief,
Major Shushakov.
For two years now, our country has been fighting for its future. Please tell me, how do you assess the progress of the special military operation?
Vladimir Putin: I have already said this, I can repeat, but you can feel this yourselves. Our Armed Forces are getting more capable and prepared to use advanced weapons than any other army in the world.
First, we have weapons that are not available in any army in the world, and second, we can use everything that is being developed and produced. Third, everything that is being developed is being produced and supplied rather fast. I know, there is probably not enough on the front lines, and they would like more of all the latest stuff there, such as drones, as well as more means of suppressing enemy drones, which are flying over you like flies. I understand everything, but still, what is being produced appears quickly enough.
You know what else is rather important? Modern means of warfare and their effectiveness depend on how quickly an army can find out what is the most important thing at this moment and respond in terms of producing and introducing that in combat as quickly as possible.
We are doing this better and better, probably better than anywhere else. And these are very huge advantages that our Armed Forces are gaining. I think that no one else could do the same today. And these capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces are constantly increasing, multiple times over. So, in general, you are already a senior officer, so you know, we try not to give high marks…
Ivan Shushakov: Exactly.
Vladimir Putin: Satisfactory.
Please.
Alexander Davydov: Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief, may I ask a question, sir?
We can see that you are very busy. How do you manage to maintain such high performance?
Vladimir Putin: Meeting you gives me strength. I am not joking. I am being honest. When I meet people like you, it gives me extra strength and confidence that we are doing the right thing.
Alexander Davydov: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: This is a very important element. In fact, I am not being ironic, this is an important element, for me, at least.
My question is, what are the results of the past year and what are the real plans for this year? What should everyone, not just the Armed Forces and military personnel, be prepared for?
Vladimir Putin: The country in general, right?
Yevgeny Korsun: Yes. Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: You know, as far as the results of last year are concerned, I spoke about this on Direct Line, what can I say. The most important thing is that you keep everything tight at the front and, moreover, the practical strategic initiative is in our hands today. Senior commanders have learned to act carefully instead of carrying out combat missions at any cost. At least that is what they report to me. I always insist that everything must be done and any offensive operations carried out after the adversary has sustained heavy fire. This is what concerns the battlefield.
Talking about the country as a whole, of course, the fundamental thing is not only that we preserved the country’s economy, we did not allow it to be destroyed, which is what the enemy was counting on – this is also in response to your question. It was not Ukraine that hoped to destroy our economy; it is not capable of doing it. It has already been completely destroyed itself; there is nothing left there, it lives entirely on handouts. All its leaders travel around with hat in hand, begging for an extra million dollars.
Our situation is completely different. In 2022, our economy contracted by 2.1 percent. But recently, the Government has reported to me – the calculations are ongoing, and new data appear – the latest data are that it declined not 2.1 but 1.2 percent. This is of essence. In 2023 year, the economy grew 3.5 percent. Gross domestic product (GDP), the main economic indicator, is how much the country has produced. You can use money to calculate how much you produced, plus 3.5 percent. And the decline was 1.2 percent. We made up for the decline and moved forward. This is an absolutely fundamental matter. This is the first point, and it is a very important one.
This shows that the economy is stable. Inflation has gone up a little, which means prices have risen, but we are keeping everything under control. You know, we have never seen anything like this. We have always noted with sadness that our main revenues come from oil and gas. For the first time in many years, the growth of processing industries in our economic structure far exceeds revenues from oil and gas. I think that oil and gas revenues grew three percent, while the processing industry has yielded many times more. This has never happened before. This indicates that we are undergoing structural changes in the economy. It is very important.
And why is that? When Western companies left our market, they apparently expected that everything would collapse overnight: businesses would shutter and thousands of people would be left without work. And, in the best-case scenario for the adversary in the broad sense of the word: for the opponents of Russia in general, and not just on the battlefield, people will take to the streets and demand bread and work.
We have the lowest unemployment rate in the history of Russia: 2.9 percent, which has never happened before. And real incomes of the population have grown (there is such a thing as real disposable income of the population) and real wages have grown, and quite significantly. All this suggests that we have a stable economy and stable financial system.
Russia was disconnected from the international payment system known as SWIFT. Apparently, they hoped that everything would collapse here too. We supply our traditional export goods, but what about the settlements? However, everything works.
Everyone thought that enterprises would stop because they stopped supplying us with components, but it turns out that everything is possible. Yes, there are problems, but nevertheless they are being addressed.
Small and medium-sized businesses are also working effectively. Some foreign enterprises have left, but our businesses have taken their place. Firstly, there are highly qualified personnel who have not left; there are good production managers in a variety of sectors both in industry and in the services sector, and everything works. This is the most important thing: the stability of the country’s economy and financial system because this is the foundation for everything.
And, of course, as I have already said, the number of weapons produced in Russia has increased multiple times over, including when I talk about the growth of industrial production, but not only: one third of the growth was achieved in civilian production branches, which is very important. So, the stability of the financial and economic system and the real sector of the economy is probably the most important thing.
In addition to this, we are implementing all our previously planned projects. In terms of infrastructure, as you understand, this means trillions, and we are building roads and opening new routes every week. This is very important, because it is not just to take one ride there and back. A road means life, and economic life too begins with it: small and medium-sized businesses appear immediately, because there was no other way to get there, but now it is possible. A completely different picture of the world emerges.
Despite the difficulties involved, housing issues are gradually being resolved in the country. Social issues are also very important. Many of you have families and children, right? And there is maternity capital, which no one is shutting down. The country continues to meet all social commitments in full. Moreover, we have created quite a powerful and balanced system of support for families with children (this is very important for the future of the country), starting from the woman’s pregnancy until the child is 18 years old. This is important for real people, and therefore for the country as a whole.
So, strange as it may seem, despite the fact that we are in a state of armed conflict, all the main indicators of the country’s viability and effectiveness have gone up. And this is probably the most important indicator of Russia’s situation.
Yevgeny Korsun: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: What else? Is that all?
Happy New Year to you. All the best. Best wishes. Get well!
My dad and I were on our epic father-daughter trip in the Galapagos. A few months earlier, he had shattered his ‘tibial plateau’ (basically his whole knee area), and been on no-weight bearing for months. So he wasn’t his usual athletic self, in that we needed to walk slower. Especially since on that island, there were no sidewalks or even paths, just uneven rocks everywhere. Anyway, some other guy gets impatient and pushes my dad out of the way to catch up to the naturalist. It only got him about 30 seconds of ‘shortcut’. When we got to the next ‘stop’ with the naturalist, that guy was in the front row. . . and a bird pooped while swerving and covered the whole front of just him and nobody else. I didn’t see it, but I heard my dad laughing and he said he would explain it later. Because that guy was MAD. LOL. Instant karma.
Returning from a service call in Honolulu, the lady in front of me at the TSA line had serious trouble lifting her (obviously very heavy) carry-on onto the x-ray conveyor. It set off all sorts of alarms when it went through, and the TSA guy did a manual inspection as a result. When he opened it up, the suitcase’s contents were revealed: it was completely full of cans of Spam (the processed meat product). I was absolutely convinced that they actually contained something more nefarious and that she’d likely be arrested, but the TSA guy simply zipped the case back up and sent her on her way.
I was next in line, and, noticing the puzzled look on my face, the TSA guy explained that Spam is considered a gourmet delicacy in Japan, where it sells for around 3–4x what it does in Hawaii. As a result, there is a steady flow of Japanese tourists to the islands, who pretty much pay for their vacations by doing what she did. I was born and raised in the UK, where Spam has a reputation for being gross and disgusting, and something you would only eat if you can’t afford any nicer form of protein.
I’m a computer consultant and only take contract work. A few years ago I was contacted by a recruiter for a contract with a company that makes Lasik machines. While I was going to visit the company a few times, the work would be done remotely in my office. I had already worked with a sister company and had experience with their software. The OS was somewhat rare so my 30+ years of experience with it made me a good choice. I negotiated the hourly wage with the recruiter and things seemed to be going well.
The recruiter called me and told me we were all set to go. All I had to do was take the drug test. Huh? I’ve never been asked to take a drug test in my life. I wasn’t worried about passing it, just taken aback. I don’t drive a bus or a cab or an airplane, I write software. What was their concern, that I’d get high while programming and let bugs creep in? This seemed like a red flag. After 30+ years of consulting and having been burned a couple of times I’ve learned to look out for these.
I asked the recruiter why. His response was, it was company policy. He offered to talk to the company but I was done. A red flag is a red flag. A software/engineering company that requires everyone to take a drug test is trying to give themselves an out if they want to get rid of someone. I don’t know what that would have to do with me since you can let a contractor go at any time.
I passed the job onto a friend of mine who was fine with the drug test. He worked for them for a week and then quit. My intuition was right.
First, yes, you have to pay the taxes. They follow the property, not the owner. If you don’t pay the taxes, the municipality can arrange a tax sale.
Second, your lawyer screwed up. It’s real estate law 101 you check to see if there are any outstanding taxes before you close the transaction. It’s a standard clause in most real estate purchase contracts that any outstanding taxes get paid out of the purchase price. Consult your lawyer and if their E&O doesn’t cover it, find another lawyer to sue them.
Third, if you have title insurance, they may be on the hook for this, and they obviously screwed up big time if you bought insurance and they forgot to check tax arrears because that’s insurance law 101. If you have it, contact them immediately.
Fourth, did you use a broker? Again, this is Real Estate Broker 101. If they didn’t know about it, they screwed up. Speak to them as their commission may be reduced by the tax amount and they obviously didn’t earn it. If they won’t help, get a lawyer again.
Fifth, see a lawyer about suing the previous owner. I don’t have your purchase and sale contract. You can’t sue them unless it’s clear from the contract that the sale price included a property free from taxes.
Sixth, your mortgage lender screwed up, because it’s Banking 101 that you don’t give a person a mortgage on a property that has tax arrears. You better tell them because those taxes have priority over their mortgage.
Please note that the municipality doesn’t have to wait for you to recover money from someone else. You may not be personally responsible for those taxes (i.e. you can’t be sued for them) but they’re still a charge on the property.
If you did this without a lawyer, broker or title insurance, consider this a life lesson in trying to save money. If you didn’t even have a lawyer review the purchase offer, double shame on you.
Wife Has MELTDOWN After Husband Wants Nothing To Do With Her After Discovering The Truth About Her
This is MY experience. It does not reflect on the many, many docs I’ve never met.
I cannot stand Orthopedic surgeons. Neurosurgeons and Spine surgeons are not far behind.
These guys make a gazillion dollars and don’t know the first thing about caring for patients. I am convinced that they look up from the knee they just replaced and are stunned to see a person attached to it.
We used to roll our eyes at the whole orthopedic floor, 6 west. The ortho docs would breeze through and leave the bulk of the post-op care to PAs. If a patient got into trouble they would disappear.
So who got called to take care of the poor patient that is now in diabetic or cardiac or pulmonary trouble? Well, it sure wasn’t them. The poor nurses on 6 West would be frantic. They would frequently page overhead…
“ANY INTERNAL MEDICINE DOCTOR TO SIX WEST, STAT!”
“Oh no, we got us a FOOBA.” we would say as we bounded up the stairs to see what problem, that likely could have been anticipated and avoided, was awaiting us.
What’s a FOOBA?
It means Found On Ortho Barely Alive.
We called that unit The Killing Fields.
We used to smirk, “The good thing about 6 West is it’s close to a hospital.”
The orthopedic surgeons would do surgery on anyone! Ninety years old and demented with multiple medical problems, needs a new hip.
I had an orthopod tell me. “It’s my job to replace his knee. It’s your job to keep him alive afterwards.” This after the poor patient, with end stage emphysema, who could not survive a haircut, much less surgery, crashed and went straight to the ICU after this wahoo was done with him.
I used to joke that he was part of the No Joint Left Behind program.
I had another surgeon, who could not remember that he had met me numerous times, ask me repeatedly who I was. I wanted to answer, “I’m the woman who has saved your sorry carcass more times than I can count.”
This guy was discharging a patient when I just happened by.
The poor guy was breathless and grabbing his chest as the orthopod gave him discharge instructions.
I jumped between them.
“Sir, are you having pressure in your chest?”
He nodded, too breathless to speak.
(Yelling) “I need help in here. EKG, O2, aspirin, nitro, beta blocker….NOW!”
We get the patient stabilized, the ortho doc had disappeared.
His note in the chart? Two lines; “Wound clean, dry and intact. Discharged home.”
Next time I saw the surgeon, he introduced himself to me, AGAIN. He had no idea who I was.
Ok, I feel better getting that off my chest.
Wife Accuses Husband Of Cheating And Gets The Shock Of A Lifetime!
There’s a cold spell in Russia and that means broken hot water mains and frozen apartment front doors. My friend reports that in northwestern Moscow region towns Solnechnegorsk and Skhodnya people are left without central heating.
A pipe with boiling water burst in the Moscow Theater of the Moon during a ballet performance of “The Nutcracker.”
Spectators first believed that the sharp explosive sounds were made by the ballet dancer cracking walnuts, when the performance was stopped and more than 300 people were evacuated from the building.
image 89
Residents of another town near Moscow, Podolsk, have not had access to heating for more than 2 days due to a break in the heating main.
Ice appeared on the windows. Indoor toilets turned into outdoor outhouses. This causes another problem. As greedy municipal services deliberately provide heating with less pressure than temperatures required, people turn on home heaters and air conditioner to heat apartments and overburden electric stations causing cascading blackouts.
Entire neighborhoods lose access to electricity on top of lack of access to central heating. Dark and cold like in the Middle Ages when conservative values reigned supreme.
Some residents said they would like to make a fire in the living room but afraid that fire engines won’t be able to extinguish it if it gets out of control because there are no fire escapes and there’s not ladder that can reach 20th floor.
The day before, local residents went out to picket and got detained because it’s illegal to protest in Russia.
image 88
Emergency situation announced in Podolsk over hearing mains breakdown that couldn’t be fixed during night. When I was a kid , “pipes breakdown” happened every winter no exception at our school and we missed one or two weeks of classes.
The Moon is really the worst place where we could set up a colony.
It’s not so bad as to be utterly impossible – but it’s not as good as Mars.
The Moon’s biggest negatives are:
It’s “day” length is 28 days – so you get 14 days of continuous nighttime – and then 14 days of continuous sunlight. This means that all human activities will need artificial light – and a lot of radiation protection. Solar power is pretty much useless unless you have 14+ days of energy storage for everything.
Air and water have to come from ice deposits that can be found only in deep craters near the lunar poles – places where the sun has not shone for a billion years. There isn’t a whole lot of ice there – and if we start getting excited about making fuel for rockets and providing air and water for an entire colony of thousands of people – then it’s going to run out pretty fast – and it’s an irreplaceable resource – once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
The Moon’s gravity is very weak – it’s possible that it’s enough for humans to thrive there – but it’s also possible that it’ll be no better than zero’g – which would make colonization impossible.
Moon dust is incredibly nasty stuff – under the microscope, each grain of sand looks a lot like a stone-age axe-head with razor-sharp edges. It gets all over everything – and breathing it is very dangerous. Keeping dust out of our habitats and out of every moving part of every vehicle – i s paramount – but because it sticks to everything – that’s going to be a challenge.
The main positive for the moon is close to Earth – just a few days flight time.
Compared to Mars:
Mars’ day length is just 20 minutes longer than Earth – it’s easy for us to adapt so a comfortable day/night cycle is available. Solar panels work well. Radiation is still an issue – but nowhere near as bad as on the Moon.
Air and water also has to come from ice deposits – but we find ice just under the Martian surface almost everywhere. It’s unlikely that we’d ever run out.
Mars gravity is also weaker than on Earth – but about twice that of the Moon – so the odds of it being enough for long term human habitation are much better.
Mars dust is also nasty stuff – it’s toxic – it’s rougher than Earth dust – but not as bad as Moon dust.
Mars has abundant CO2 – which can be used as a starting point for making methane and both hydrocarbons and carbohydrates.
The main disadvantage (compared to the Moon) is that it takes 6 months to get there – and you can really only fly once every 26 months.
My husband was dying of cancer and had less than two weeks to live. I knew this, however, he was in denial. He was a classic car enthusiast and wanted so bad to drive his older van, just for a little bit, however, by that time, he was too weak to stand unassisted, so I told him that he’s very sick at the moment, because he just got out of the hospital and needed to rest, and maybe after he got a little stronger, and we could go for a drive. I knew he’d never get stronger, but it did ease his mind a bit and in his last couple days, he did hallucinate that he was driving his van, so in a way, I turned out to be right.
A couple days later, I lied again, for the second time in our marriage- when he was actively dying, I told him it was okay to go, I’d be okay. Tomorrow will be a month since he passed- I’m not okay that he passed away, but I am okay with knowing that I did everything I could possibly do to ease his worries when he was dying.
I worked at an office job for 5 years in Beverly Hills, for a doctor who did a type of cosmetic electoral surgery for the stars. He was a smart guy who made countless millions but he treated his employees like second class citizens and was all about the Benjamins rather than helping people.
After a couple quarters where new patient numbers had started to go down, the doctor and office manager decided they could cut costs by culling the office of some of the staff in order to bring in new workers for lower pay. Now I had already been planning to leave that hostile environment for awhile anyway, and even had my resignation letter written in my desk drawer so it wasn’t a terrible tragedy when the manager brought me in to tell me I’d be let go. In fact it was better as I wanted to take some time off to travel and this would allow me to claim benefits for a couple months whereas I wouldn’t get anything if I had just quit. But what did get me really perturbed was how the manager made a point to follow me around and sit beside me watching my computer as I went about closing out my workbooks and getting any personal items i didn’t want to leave behind because she thought I might sabotage the files or something in a fit of rage. Well, when she got up for a minute to check her office I decided I would do a little something for myself since I wasn’t even getting to say goodbye to my coworker friends and they were treating me like a criminal. I put a password lock on the databases of doctor names that I had put together and spent years building relationships with and were a vital part of the office. I didn’t say anything and it was a month later my manager called up sounding very sweet, wondering if I might know how to access those filles since she couldn’t find the password. I would’ve gladly given it were it not that they actually fought to try and keep me from getting benefits (unsuccessfully) and so I told her sorry, I seem to have forgotten, and hung up.
SUPERGIRL 2 but is 1920 |Unreleased Fan Made| Alternate Timeline
I am on my forth marriage, 17 years now, and how the first three ended:
My first marriage, 4 years and no children, ended tragically. My wife and I were to meet at our local hangout, which was one block from where I worked, after I got out of work. I was running about 30 minutes late, had to stay over, and when I arrived where we were to meet I was told her was taken to the hospital without being told the reason why. I rushed to the hospital were an officer told me my wife was stabbed by a patron whom she had slapped, I found out later she slapped him for being ‘free’ with his hands in a very inappropriate manner. Three days later she succumbed to her wound, she was stabbed in the heart and the damage was to server (open heart surgery was in its infancy then).
My second marriage, 6 years and three daughters, was great up to the time our third daughter was born. After we brought our daughter home my wife would become very aggressive when I got home from work, she would start right off when I walked in and I allowed her to use me as a ‘punching bag’; I thought better me than the girls, I know that she never hurt the girls as I would have seen any physical evidence (bruises or other signs) on the girls.
Then one day she demanded that I give her $200.00 so she and her mother could go play bingo, and when I refused she grabbed an 8” carving knife and attacked me; in self-defense I slapped the knife out of her hand and punched her (first and only time in my life I ever struck a woman) breaking her nose (out of instinct due to my military training). Yes the police were called and even when she admitted she attacked my with the knife I was forced to leave the home by the police; they left the girls alone with this ‘crazy’ woman (being polite on how I view her). Contacted a lawyer that very next day and started divorce proceedings with desire of full custody. In the end I got my divorce but in the State of New York the father never got full custody of the children (not sure if that is true today) even if proven that the mother is actually an unfit parent. My ‘X’ passed away back in 2016 from over self-medication, my daughters and I have a wonderful relationship.
My third marriage, 22 years with one Son and two Daughters, ended on December 20, 2000 which was the day she walked out , and two weeks later I received the divorce papers from the court, no trial or arbitration, just a divorce decree that the marriage was terminated (no reason was mentioned in the divorce papers). I guess she just got tired of being a married woman, she did wait until our children were grown and out on their own. As far as I knew we had a normal married life, we had our arguments, disagreements, ups and downs, she was not perfect and neither was I. I was 9 years her senior but age was never an issue between us. And even though we have been divorced for 21 years now, I still have contact with her on a very friendly way; I have even gone to her home to repair her vehicles and my present wife and I have even had a holiday meal with my ex-wife and her husband. I know it is a strange situation or relationship, but after all she is the mother of my children and my present wife understands that and encourages the positive relationship between me and my ex-wife – in other words my present wife trusts me.
As for my forth marriage, 17 years and only children is from past marriages, all I can say is we haven’t killed each other yet 😁 I am 70 and she is 69 and neither one of us want to fight for custody of our fur-babies 😂 (our running joke), seriously we are just as much in love as the day we first got married 🥰
Several years ago, maybe 5 or 6, I took $1000.00 to the bank to pay down my credit card bill. There was quite a line and the banks assistant manager suggested to save time to use the atm next to the teller windows. I told him I was using cash and he said fine, no problem, it takes cash. Great! I like to save time and I still had a 1 1/2 drive home. So, as usual, I insert my credit card, select pay statement, tell it how much, and insert my money, listen to the machine whir, and then nothing! No receipt, just a blank screen. Uhg!
That nice gentleman was sitting at his desk, so I stepped over to him and told him the machine ate my money. He asked how much and went to uselessly poke buttons on that ATM. He didn’t know what to say or do. I asked how this would be rectified, he didn’t know, but he had someone to call.
This is where a series of calls were made to IT, help desk and a few others that didn’t have answers. Now, I didn’t want to leave the bank without some clue as to how this would be resolved and some sort of documentation of what happened.
Well, it turns out, the bank main office (or wherever he called) had no policy on how to handle this. They expected me to walk out the door like nothing happened. That was not going to happen. This gentleman bank employee completely agreed with me, that I was entitled to some sort of documentation. The main office left me hanging and after a hour of phone calls it came down to, we will audit the machine at the end of the day, then, if we find a discrepancy, we will credit you. But nothing for me to take home. They did verbally agree to note on my account that I wasn’t to be charged late fee or interest IF they found the money. The main office really left me with a bad taste in my mouth by their lack of ability to give me some sort of documentation.
Those calls ended in a stalemate, they had my money, they wouldn’t or couldn’t find a way to make me feel comfortable about leaving the bank without the money, a receipt, or some sort of trouble ticket.
That gentleman in the bank, spoke to the branch manager and the two of them worked up a description of the situation, basically a statement of facts for me to take home. They agreed completely that they too would not have just left and excepted that it would magically be fixed. They were great, the main office or whatever was not great.
The resolution ended up being a letter in the mail saying my account was credited $1000.00. No explanation, no apology, no acknowledgment that there was a problem.
As I recall, I wrote the corporate offices and got no reply there either. I will no longer use an atm to deposit cash.
The summer of 1990, I backpacked across Europe with my two sisters. We were all very athletic back then. I was a gym rat and avid cyclist, my sister Mary walked a ton and bussed tables at the Space Needle restaurant in the evenings, and Joanne was an accomplished high school athlete.
Though we all spoke a little German, at the time I was semi-fluent, thanks to a knack for languages and a mother who spoke it at home. Anyhoo, in the backpacker circles we traveled, there were a ton of German tourists. So it came as no surprise that I was able to eavesdrop on a few conversations.
Most of them were innocuous, and to be honest I had to really concentrate to mentally translate what was being said. But I’ll never forget what I overheard when we ventured out for our first-in-our-lives visit to a topless beach. (Or as the Europeans would call it, a beach.)
My sisters and I were laying on the sand in our bikinis, tops still on, when Mary and Joanne decided to cool off by getting in the water. As they were walking toward the surf, two German dudes (I will call them Rolf and Jurgen) started talking:
Rolf: Look at those girls. They’re cute, but …
Jurgen: … big muscles.
Rolf: Yes, they would be very pretty if it weren’t for the muscles. What’s the deal, I wonder?
Jurgen: They’re American. Americans like girls with muscles.
Rolf: What makes you think they’re American?
Jurgen: They’re covering their breasts.
I didn’t say anything, but when it came MY turn to go into the water, I waited for them to look, then flexed, Popeye-style, and winked.
My ex-mother in law was a real doozy. I married her youngest son and she did NOT approve. She went out of the way to disrupt our wedding as much as possible. We had hired a classical guitar duet for music at the reception. She didn’t like that and showed up that day with her record player and a stack of records. She talked to the Priest and changed our vows. Decided that we (who paid for everything ourselves) did not have enough food for the reception so she ordered several hundred dollars of fried chicken. Luckily I was able to cancel it. She called the bakery and cut our cake order in half. Managed to fix that, too. Called the church and cancelled our use of the kitchen attached to the reception hall. I managed to fix that too. It was very stressful and she never stopped. We ended up moving 1,000 miles away and limiting contact.
To understand these, let’s see the sanctions and how they play :-
Sanction 1 :-
Embargo on Technology Imports from the West
The Problem was this Embargo was passed on 28/2/22 but was effective only from 1/6/22 and later postponed to 1/7/22
So Russia exported massively these imports from 1/3/22 to 30/6/22
Enough for 2 years almost through Turkey and Central Asian Nations like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
That gave them until 30/6/2024 to find substitutes
They seem to have found substitutes for most of these Imports from China & their own Domestic production
This extension was to give UK and others a chance to fill their coffers with Russian Oil and Gas and have good reserves
Sanction 2
Withdrawal of Western Businesses from Russia causing Capital Flight
The Plan was to cause $ 80 Billion of Capital Flight and force a temporary panic
Putin was ready though and immediately got every single business taken over by Russian Entities and took over the equivalent of 560 Billion Rubles ($ 68 Billion) of wealth from these companies
The Swift reaction of Putin prevented these companies from being able to get away with their assets
The Readiness of Russian entities and Chinese entities to take over these assets was another major blow
Sanctions 3
Removal of Russian Banks from Swift
The Problem was that of the 158 Banks connected to Swiss, almost 19 Banks still are connected to SWIFT even today
So these 19 Banks can get all the money it wants and transfer them to the remaining 139 Banks
It’s like keeping SBI connected to Swift but removing Bank of India and Dhanalaxmi Bank
The use of CIPS and alternate systems further ensured Russian Stability of Inflows especially in RMB
These 19 Banks are mandatory because the West wants Russian Fertilizers and Gas and Oil even today, through third parties
Sanctions 4:-
Mastercard and Visa were removed from the Russian Settlement Systems overseas
Again the Local systems of settlement continued because had MasterCard or Visa threatened to cut off their local settlement network, every nation would be kicking them out permanently
This allowed enough time to set up Mir Pay plus get Wechat and other payment gateways including Union Pay from China
Mir quickly established a presence in 39 countries very fast indicating that Putin was prepared for this
Sanctions 5:-
Russia’s Asset Freeze
Problem was Russia had Oil and Gas and it’s own Food
It thus had customers willing to trade in Rubles like China and India and Middle East and Central Asia and Turkey
Thus Russias asset freeze meant zilch
Sanctions 6
Embargo on Russian Oil and Gas
Russia sold to India and India resold to Europe at 30% profit
Europe needed Russian Energy and had no alternate and was helpless
Putin forced them to pay in Rubles so that meant they couldn’t control the money needed
So the Sanctions were weak to begin with and imposed by people who didn’t know their heads from the a**es
They were slowly imposed and more of playing to the gallery than any realistic sanctions
Russia was also very well prepared this time unlike in 2014
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Putin and Elvira did superbly while Biden and his team of clowns were no match
I was a deputy sheriff working in a small town. They had their fair and it was packed. Some guy is very impatient leaving the fair parking. He starts honking—long long blasts at the car in front of him that had stopped. That car is trying to load in an elderly passenger.
The driver of this car remains impatient even though everyone can clearly see the elderly person needs help getting in that car. He finally cuts his wheels to go around the car in front. He then steps on the gas and revs the motor, honks his horn, and then starts to accelerate rapidly while flipping the bird at the other car.
he ran into the gate to exit and does major damage to his driver’s side front fender and the entire driver’s side of his car. It was a nice new car. I walk over snd zi am smiling. He is pissed and wants to think he can intimidate me. Oh hell no. I was just going to cite him for losing traction and driving unsafely. However he wouldn’t shut up and decided to yell in my face.
he smelled of an alcoholic beverage. I decided he needed to perform the drunk driving tests. He failed. I guess he had a little to much beer inside the fair. I arrested him. I towed his vehicle. I figure his impatience cost him a ton of money.
Car damage probably $2000+
DUI (back then) $4,000 (and probation fees)
Attorney fees $8,000
Gate $1,000
tow and storage fees $250
Getting all that because you are rude, impatient and intoxicated? Priceless.
Oh, the people in the car he was honking at left right after I got that jerk out of his car. The circled around snd came back by while i was giving the Jack wagon his DUI tests. They waved, smiled and gave thumbs up!
You may not recognize him today — he looks a lot different from the way he did in 1967, when at the age of 20 he became the founder and frontman for what would become one of the most successful and enduring acts in music history.
But when the band he created was selling millions of albums and playing to packed arenas, Green was long gone — destitute, homeless, and quite mad.
Peter Green had been a rising star in Britain’s blues revival of the 1960s. His guitar playing caught the attention of Bluesbreakers frontman John Mayall, who let the teenage Green sit in with the band when lead guitarist Eric Clapton was unavailable. When Clapton eventually left to form Cream, Mayall gave the job to Green, predicting that within a few years he would eclipse Clapton as England’s greatest blues guitarist.
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After a year with Mayall, Green was eager to front his own band. He poached two of his Bluesbreakers bandmates, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, enticing them to join by naming the band Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac.
The band, which played a mix of blues standards and original compositions by Green, enjoyed overnight success. Behind Green’s soulful voice and raw, authentic guitar playing, their debut self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac, spent 37 weeks on the UK charts, and was the fourth best-selling album of the year. Green would quickly mature as a songwriter, charting with such compositions as Black Magic Woman (later a major hit for Santana) and the instrumental Albatross, which shot to No. 1.
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As their fame and popularity increased, Green’s bandmates began to notice changes in his behavior. On a tour of Europe in 1970, Green abruptly left for several weeks to join a German commune where he ingested large quantities of LSD. His erratic behavior had intensified; he grew a beard and began wearing long robes and crucifixes, and spoke of his desire for the band to give away the money they’d earned. His compositions around this time became increasingly darker, as evidenced in his song The Green Manalishi (with the Two Prong Crown):
Now, when the day goes to sleep and the full moon looks The night is so black that the darkness cooks Don’t you come creepin’ around – makin’ me do things I don’t want to
Can’t believe that you need my love so bad Come sneakin’ around tryin’ to drive me mad Bustin’ in on my dreams – making me see things I don’t wanna see
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Two months after his stay at the German commune, Green left Fleetwood Mac. He released a solo album the following year as well as sessions with B.B. King, and then faded into obscurity.
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Broke and unable to care for himself, he moved into the home of his brother and sister-in-law, who encouraged him to seek psychiatric treatment. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the late 70s and began a long road to recovery. He was given anti-psychotic drugs which managed his symptoms, but according to Green, caused a complete loss of interest in music. So for the next several decades he went on and off the medication, a struggle which lasts to the present day.
He formed the Peter Green Splinter Group in 1997. The band released nine albums over the next eight years until Green abruptly disbanded the group.
He lives today in comfortable retirement in the south of England, looked after by close friends. Mick Fleetwood visited him several years ago and described the bittersweet day: “He’s still warm and kind, but otherwise he’s not the man I knew, clearly.”
It’s unclear whether the LSD Green took triggered his underlying schizophrenia or merely exacerbated it, but one thing seems clear: had he remained healthy, Peter Green would likely have become one of the most influential recording artists of all time.
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Sadly, many people who read this post have probably never heard of him
it was the worst year of my life. We had moved into a brand new dream home with a pool. The boys swam 2–3 times a day. My wife and I talked everyday about how happy we were. My wife got a promotion and we were sitting pretty good.
I went to work and i was severely injured. My employer refused to let me come back to work and retired me. Then the county I worked for started dragging their feet. It took 2 years to get retired.
My wife was diagnosed with cancer and the cancer had already spread. She had a surgery to remove the tumor. Then chemotherapy. That was followed by internal radiation. After 6 months of treatment the doctor pronounced her cancer free. However she got early menopause due to the surgery and radiation.
After a few months she started to plane out and resume her life. We had a couple of more months of happiness. Our middle son had been complaining of stomach/lower abdomen pain. So much so we took him to the emergency room and his GP. Nothing, just his diet we were told.
I got up one June morning and was preparing to enjoy the early summer day in June. I was off because I had taken a job teaching and we had plenty of money so we decided i would stay at home with the kids until school resumed for me. My son got up and told me he felt sick. I thought he was just trying to stay at home so I asked him to go to school and promised I would pick him up if he didn’t feel good.
Our little man of 12 years went to school. A couple hours later i went to get him, he was in the nurse’s office complaining of pain to his right side. We had thought it might be appendicitis. I took him to the emergency room. A test showed it wasn’t appendicitis. A CT scan showed he had a tumor above his large bowel. He was taken by ambulance to Valley Childrrns hospital. After a biopsy by surgery we were told he had Desmo Plastic Small Round Cell Tumor. His diagnosis was terminal. He had a surgery, and after recovery They started chemo. after 5 weeks my son told me he wanted to stop. I asked him to just go a little longer as the round of chemo was almost over. I promised him that if he didn’t get to feeling better I would agree with him to stop taking the chemo. He made it through. After a couple of more rounds of chemo he was sent to Stanford. At the Children’s Hospital there they harvested his stem cells, then chemo to kill all of what remained as well as starting a new chemo therapy plan. After several months he came home. My wife had been with him the entire time while I worked. We had lots of oroblems crop up and started fighting. Eventually we divorced. It hurt our kids. My little man stayed alive. A diagnosis of 6–8 weeks turned into 8.5 years. My wife asked me at the end to tell him he could pass now. He was so skinny, in so much pain. I told him. Nope, he wasn’t having it. He still wanted to live.. When he passed my wife and I finally apologized to eachother. We remarried. Now we have two kids who are married and 2 grand children.that was incredibly hard for me. I lost mycareerr (found another) and went through two major cases of cancer. I miss our son. What did I do to get through it? I finally pulled my head out of my ass realuzedad i want to be with the woman I loved and have our family together—and so did she.
There’s an internally-famous award that the White House gives—I can’t recall the name—but it is named after a guy who fell asleep during a meeting with the president.
I know of it because my dad almost got the award—he had a reputation of getting sleepy-eyed during meetings. But only because he works crazy hours.
In most offices, falling asleep at your desk—it will get you in trouble. Do it enough times—you’ll find yourself creating an account on Indeed (job site).
There are places for sleep—work is not that place.
But in Japan.
They actually see falling asleep at your desk as a sign of good diligence and work ethic.
“Wow—he must be working long hours.”
Some offices have even integrated nap times and nap rooms for workers. (Source: Napping in Public? In Japan, That’s a Sign of Diligence. NY Times. Rousseau, Bryant)
Inemuri (napping) is a permissible practice. You can even sleep in meetings where the president is present. They see you as still being in attendence.
Japan is a very different culture, though. They are among the hardest working people on the planet, with 23% working 80-hour weeks back to back. And 12% working 100+ hour weeks. (Source: Why Sleeping at Work in Japan is Actually a Good Thing. Samson, Carl)
But if you work 40 hours 5 minutes, don’t expect a promotion for your naps at your desk. Directions to the front door are more likely.
Note: I’ve only been to Dubai though – more of a city state.
It is almost entirely “style over content” in that it caters to Sun, service and visual stimulus only. There are no stories, anecdotes, historical perspectives, local colouring or human or philosophical insights to be gained whatsoever.
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You absolutely cannot wander (too hot to be outside for long) down an ancient (everything is new) alleyway (there are none) to a local (nothing is “local”) bistro (none) to eat local fish (no local fish) paired with a local wine (all alcohol is served in either hotels or designated bars in malls) whilst watching the sunset (all alcohol is served inside so others cannot see it) and making friends with the locals (locals don’t speak and everyone else is transient).
You can go to largely empty sumptuous restaurants in hotels where you feel like a King, get driven there in a golf buggy by concierge alongside a candlelit stretch of water filled with lilies, eat great world cuisine and only have to slightly raise an eyebrow in the direction of a servant (sorry – waiter) to get their immediate serfdom (sorry – attention).
The whole place is like a mega shopping mall.
Dubai is both intellectually and creatively bankrupt.
My local farmer’s market has more sophistication.
Every single person I’ve met who liked it was low-IQ or very young but had somehow lucked into a job that paid enough for them to spend time there or someone else paid (although Dubai is not as expensive as popular myth would have you believe, you still need a decent wedge of cash/job to go there).
I have had more fun, authenticity and mind/soul expanding experiences on trips to Greece costing a fifth of the price.
Well, ask Dias Costa of Argentina. His home was invaded by a band of armed thugs who beat him to the ground. The 49-year-old man panicked when they dragged his wife into another room. He yanked a decorative samurai sword off the wall and started slicing. The men, armed with guns of various types, fled the house, and police were able to locate them by following the blood trail.
The car crashed a short distance later.
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All four needed a LOT of stitches. For an untrained man with a decorative sword, he was pretty effective. I suspect this outcome would be pretty common when dealing with common thugs: Slice into the first one, and the rest will panic. Of course, the real point is that he was fully committed to the fight. He would have been effective with any weapon.
Just imagine what might have happened if he actually knew what he was doing?
A sword is a very effective weapon against unarmored targets.
Now, if you’re talking about using a sword to defend yourself against another guy with a sword, that’s a different story. That takes a lot of practice to do effectively (and not end up looking like one of the guys above).
For the medical student, first year is bad; the palpable frustration of trying to mug up hundreds of unpronounceable Latin names in anatomy, wasted effort to remember the ‘millisecond’ timings of a cardiac-cycle in physiology and the ‘spider-web’ structures of biochemistry make most students think if this was all worth it.
But at the start of clinical years, things change. I suppose the charm of ‘white coat’ is much more durable than the ego of the NEET rank.
Then on, mugging matters less, clinical skill starts separating students into categories. During teaching rounds, the guy who picks up the heart-murmur first or suspects the hint of finger clubbing or palpable spleen, that even the consultant did not pick up, is considered a hero of sorts. Most students want to pick up findings and be in the lime-light of tutors.
She was an average hard-working student all through but in the clinic, that suddenly seemed to change, especially during the medicine posting. While for most of us, the stethoscope was a piece of flaunting style; she would put the stethoscope on the patient’s chest, concentrate for a minute, smile and say ‘there is a systolic murmur; I can hear it clearly’
This frustrated most of us.
Most often even the consultants agreed. She was quickly known as ‘Ms. Murmur’ among the students.
For those uninitiated to medical terms, the heart produces two sounds called ‘lubb’ and ‘dup’; a ‘whosshhh’ kind of sound in between is called a murmur. A murmur occurs if a heart has a hole by-birth; or a valve is narrowed or leaking; and can range from super-soft to quite loud. While loud murmurs are picked up by the dumbest student, soft ones are a challenge.
But after a while, it started looking like a scam. Almost every patient she would claim to hear a murmur. Eventually, everyone started making fun of her. One day, after a harsh comment by a senior, she stopped announcing, but somehow, deep inside, I had a feeling that she was not telling a lie.
‘When I hear a murmur I say I hear. I don’t bluff’ she said softly.
One day in clinics, a new tutor was teaching us how to auscultate (listen with stethoscope) for murmurs over organs other than heart (abdomen, skull). In a normal patient, he showed us the areas where we need to place our stethoscope to pick up such murmurs (bruit).
Ms. Murmur placed her stethoscope on the abdomen of the patient, listened intently and her face lit up.
‘Yes sir I can hear the murmur’
‘But this case doesn’t have a murmur’ announced the tutor.
‘Sorry sir, I thought I heard it’ she mumbled, amidst laughter from the rest of our batch.
I felt bad.
Few days later I was reading an article on a rare condition called ‘arterio-venous malformations’ (AVM) in the brain. One clinical feature is, the patient can hear a bruitthemselves, when they close both ears, with the palm of their hand.
A stethoscope closes both our ears. It is possible that she herself has an …
Next morning, I told her to talk to our tutor.
Tutor to Professor, medicine to neurosurgery, X-ray skull to contrast CT scan; things moved fast. It was indeed an AVM. Her parents took her to Mumbai and got trans-catheter closure of AVM done.
No more murmurs, no more taunts.
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(pic – CT scan of a large AVM – Google)
(AVMs are by-birth connection between arteries and veins and tend to grow like a tumour. They have a huge amount of blood flow through them. Common symptoms are headache and fainting. Because of continuous blood flow, they may hear a murmur if both their ears are physically blocked. They can be cured by injecting special material that clog the feeding arteries.)
Researchers did a landmark study on self-awareness using, of all things, a shopping cart.
They took a small cart and attached a blanket to the bottom of it. Then, mothers came in with their infants.
Researchers had infants stand behind the cart. Then, mothers urged their children to push the cart to them.
The infants grew frustrated as the blanket invariably stopped them from moving forward:
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Some threw tantrums. Others looked around trying to figure out what was wrong. One infant even climbed into the cart out of frustration.
Some infants solved it.
One rolled the blanket up and pushed. Another got in front of the cart and pulled it to his mother.
Every infant who solved the problem had one thing in common: they were 16 months or older. Researchers discovered this is the point we first develop self-awareness.
From here, self-awareness is supposed to make our lives easier and more efficient — and it does. But it also becomes a source of immense pain and regret.
This is due to the Self-Absorption Paradox: as we become more self-aware, we make fewer social mistakes, but torture ourselves more over past mistakes.
Higher self-awareness is proven to cause greater psychological distress.
It even hurts our ability to socialize. We foresee mistakes before they happen and avoid interacting altogether.
I was fourteen years old, and I had just lost my virginity to gang rape. I went to my youth pastor for help, because I didn’t even know how to begin addressing my massive new trauma, and was suicidal.
He used a lot of flowery biblical language to blame me for having “gotten myself into that situation” (!!!), expressed his disappointment in me, and wanted me to “repent my sinful ways and get my heart right with God” so that God could love me as much as He loved all my virginal peers who hadn’t “chosen” to get gang raped.
I sat like a lump of clay through that day’s youth sermon, which consisted of the youth pastor exhorting every teen to be willing to sacrifice everything we owned for God, down to the clothes on our backs. And he meant literally, that we should all be prepared to go home and sack up everything we owned to be given away.
And when he went around the circle asking each of us if we were ready to “give it all away for Christ”, I couldn’t say yes like all the other “good” Christian kids, who hadn’t just suffered gang rape. The very thought of packing up my stuffed animals, which had helped me survive the previous night without ending my life, and having no comforts left to me except the comfort of a God who had ignored the men raping me and ignored my prayers to make them stop, was more than I could bear.
I said no, I wasn’t prepared to give up everything I owned for God. The youth pastor gave me a pitying look and said, “until you get your heart right with God, until you can be willing to sacrifice everything for Him, you are at risk of Hell. If you died today, with your soul unwilling to give it all away for Christ, you’d go to Hell.”
So much for salvation being unconditional and eternal, eh?
Many years ago, as in the late 1980s, I was off for the weekend and was about 350km from home when I collapsed with the most agonising pain a bloke can get.
Kidney stones.
My girlfriend drove me to hospital, where I was admitted. Doctors scratching their heads, but the floor coordinator (charge nurse) saw me as I staggered in, and said I had Kidney stones.
She was right. I was in strife allright, the one on the right was blocking the ureter, and urine was backing up AND the ureter was stretching.
This was a serious situation as my right kidney was under severe threat. The rock in the left kidney was still IN the kidney thankfully.
This was Saturday evening… so the next morning, my GF rang my work – my workpkace was seven days a week, and my boss worked Sundays.
She filled him in, and said I was slated for surgery Monday, and would be out of action for a week.
He was okay with that.
Monday comes, I go into theatre, and he rings the hospital demanding to know why I had failed to turn up for work, and would I be coming in tomorrow.
Needless to say, my GF had briefed staff about him, so they politely put him back in his box.
I never knew about it for a few days as I was too whacked out on painkillers.
He rang every day, mot to ask if I was okay, but to know when I was coming back, and they gave him the same answer: He will be back when he is fit to return.
When I did go back, he said he thought I was faking it to have a week off.
Twardy. You are a cretin. A soul less cretin.
America Signals The Unthinkable As US Debt Hits Record $34 TRILLION Dollars
Kind of……. A coworker was dating a girl in HR. He was trying to get me to start a business with him, but I simply had a bad vibe and did not trust him, so I put him off.
He comes to me one day, during a time when rumors of a layoff were circulating and told me I was on the layoff list, his GF had seen it and told him.
WTF?? So I go steaming into a managers office, after my immediate manager told me he knew nothing about this, ready for an unpleasant discussion.
He looks at me, “You are not on any list, where did you get this? I explained it to him. I expected my coworker and the HR girl to get pulled into the managers office and dressed down. Instead they put a 24 hour watch on the HR girls computer. Brainiac that she was, while having lunch with her BF, opened the personnel file of the CEO. Her manager and security were at her desk within minutes to escort both of them off the premises.
The rumors were true, the layoff dropped a couple weeks later. Best part, the coworker turned out to be the only casualty in our department. He actually tried a couple more time to get me to quit and work with him.
Piragi
Piragi are traditional Latvian filled mini-buns, commonly served at special occasions and holidays. They’re wonderful as an hors d’oeuvre, or with soup; serve at room temperature, or warm from the oven.
Piragi
Ingredients
Dough
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast or 2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon Lora Brody Dough Relaxer (optional, but very helpful)
5 to 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Filling
4 slices bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound fully cooked ham steak, diced in 1/4-inch cubes (2 cups)
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Glaze
1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1/2 cup of the water. Set aside. (If you’re using instant yeast, skip this step; add the yeast along with the flour.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining sugar, salt, and 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
Cut in the butter, then add the yeast mixture. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface until it’s smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Place the dough in a large greased bowl, turning to grease the top, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Prepare the filling while the dough is rising.
Filling: In a small pan over medium heat, cook the bacon. Drain it, chop, and set aside.
Sauté the onion in the butter until soft but not brown.
Add the ham, stirring until it’s combined with the onions. Stir in the caraway, pepper and bacon, and remove from the heat.
Assembly: Punch the dough down, and divide it into four pieces. Working with one piece at a time (cover the remaining pieces with plastic wrap), roll each piece of dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle. If the dough “fights back” (the dough relaxer helps prevent this), give it a 5-minute rest, and resume rolling.
Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into 2 3/4-inch rounds. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling mixture into the center of each round, fold in half (to make a half-moon shape), and pinch the edges closed.
Place the piragi on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Shape them into crescents, and brush with the egg wash.
Bake the piragi in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove them from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.
My mother-in-law was a terrific cook and she taught her son to be a terrific cook.
I am a decent cook, not fancy but you get full if I feed you.
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Anyhoodle.
My mother-in-law was tired of my boring fare. When I was at work, she decided to ‘help’ and cook dinner. At this time her vision wasn’t wonderful, she was on dialysis, and tired very easily.
More than once I came home to find all four burners on and dried, burned food in the pans.
I didn’t care about the food or how long the burners may have been on (usually hours), I was worried about HER. What if a fire had started? What if she put her hand down on the hot burner?
In the end, I took off the knobs on the stovetop every morning. Every evening, when she was up to it, I got cooking lessons. I will never reach her level of expertise. It was actually a nice way for us to bond.
Getting China Wrong: The U.S Would Lose the War with China
Driving home with my wife after grocery shopping in the late evening, I suddenly see police car lights flash on behind me and the inevitable ‘WHOOP WHOOP!’
“Oh God, what now,” I said. I pulled over and waited. I saw the officer get out and slowly start walking up to my car. Other cars are slowly going by, drivers looking at me. I looked at my wife and shrugged.
I put the window down and the cop bent down, leaned on the window ledge and looked in. It was my brother in law.
“Hi,” he smiled, “don’t you feel stupid?” Then he laughed. I didn’t feel stupid but greatly relieved.
“Hi Leigh, is this fellow looking after you?” he said looking at his sister..
“Hi Brucie,” said she, “yes, he always does,” she said smiling.
“He looked at me and asked if I was going to be home the next day. I said yes. He said he was going to pop in for a visit and said he had a load of firewood he was going to drop off for me. Bruce lived out in the country and had lots of trees on his lot. He always brought firewood in for me, maple mostly, which was nice of him.
“I’ll have the scotch ready Bruce,” I said.
So that was funny. I thought I was going to get a ticket for something and it was my brother in law the cop. Big dude. I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.
My wife’s father was a District Fire Chief and he’d get chauffeured around in a fire department vehicle. He’d often stop at our house and pop in to say high or if my boys were playing soccer he’d stop off and watch a bit.
About 15 years ago, I was the owner, operator, and sole employee of a mobile repair business. I mostly fixed lawn and garden equipment – lawn mowers, weed whackers, chain saws, and whatnot – but would fix just about anything when asked to.
I can’t tell you how many times I went to someone’s house to fix a push mower that had “just quit working” for no apparent reason. Very often the no apparent reason was that the customer had run over some object, be it a tree stump or surveyor’s stake, the customer never knew somehow, they just knew the mower suddenly stopped.
The manufacturers of these machines knew that hitting a solid object with the blade can do great damage, so they designed said machines with a weak point – a flywheel key that would shear off under extreme shock, preventing serious damage. Sometimes, but not always, the blade would be bent too, but usually they had just sheared the flywheel key. This was such a common occurrence that I carried about 25 flywheel keys in the van at all times.
I would always tell the customer that they had hit something with their mower, and that for a total of $30, including tax, I would replace the key and their mower would be as good as new in about 30 minutes.
I can’t tell you how many times the following conversation happened:
Oh, I don’t know. Could you just haul it off for me?
I promise you, this machine will be as good as it was before this happened. They’re made this way to protect the machine.
No, I think I’ll just buy a new one.
I can haul it away, but are you sure? There’s nothing really wrong with it that a three dollar part and 30 minutes won’t take care of.
No, I think I just want it gone.
Okay, if you’re sure.
They would go spend $250 or more on a new mower, and I would spend 50 cents (my cost for the part) and sell the mower to someone for $50.
When I had the repair service, I made more money in this scenario than almost any other. There’s a big market for used lawn mowers.
A couple of decades ago, I landed at LAX and took the shuttle to the rental car office. It was pretty late at night, and there was only one other customer ahead of me in line.
The guy in front of me was making a scene, complaining about not getting the specific car model and color he wanted and demanding a free upgrade. He even went so far as to insult the rental agent personally. Despite the rude behavior, the rental agent remained remarkably patient and eventually convinced the customer to accept what he had originally reserved. The disgruntled customer stormed out, leaving behind a tense atmosphere.
When it was my turn, I immediately apologized for the unpleasant behavior of the previous customer. I acknowledged that there was no excuse for such rudeness, and the rental agent thanked me for my understanding. He checked his computer screen, confirmed my reservation for a simple small sedan, and then paused.
After a moment of thought, he asked, “Would you prefer a minivan for the same price?” (Minivans were relatively new at that time.)
I declined, explaining that it was just me, and I didn’t need that much space. The rental agent clicked a few more keys and then asked, “How about a hybrid?” (Another new technology at the time.)
I chuckled and said, “Thanks, but after 16 hours of flying, I’m not ready for any new technology.”
Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he looked straight at me and asked, “How about a Mustang convertible?”
Within ten minutes, I found myself cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway in a brand-new red convertible with black leather seats, only 63 miles on the odometer, the top down, the moon shining, my own CDs playing in the stereo—all at the cost of a small Toyota. In that moment, I couldn’t help but think, “Damn! I like this world!”
“I investigated the UFO event in Peru and what I found SHOCKED me” Timothy Alberino | Redacted
In the nineties, once I flew from Moscow to Delhi in Aeroflot, the Russian National Airlines.
Could be my fourth or fifth flight in life.
My ears ached due to the cabin pressure as the flight took off.
After a while, it hurted a lot, and I requested the Ruski airhostess to help me.
She smiled, went to the galley, and returned with half a glass of cold sparkling Sprite.
I was upset, and cried ‘Look Miss, I am in pain. It hurts really bad. I was expecting some tablet or ear drops. Here you come with a glass of Sprite as if I asked a mix for Vodka’.
She hushed me and told me, ‘Davai Davai, prostho dhrink’.
I took a few sips reluctantly, and ‘hufff’ went my ears, cleared of pressure and pain, instantaneously!!
I could not control my blush, and thanked her many times, ‘You are a genius. Spaciba Dharagoi’
Wherever she is, God continue to bless her, and the thousands of other angels flying in skies, to keep us in comfort and safety while flying!
The very first time was when I was four years old.
I found out I was something I hated.
My parents got pregnant with my older sister, and then married, at fifteen. I was their second child, conceived at sixteen. (Ahh, the excesses of youth!)
My father found a way to join the military when my Mom was pregnant with me; I was born stateside but within months we were stationed in Hawaii.
They were seventeen, and the lowest rank and poorest. My father worked two full time jobs, my mother was a full time waitress. The place we lived was actually in the poorest part of Hawaii, amongst native Hawaiians. In this neighborhood, kids ran about, in and out of houses, cared for by Tutu wahines, “grandmothers”. If you got hurt, got hungry, had to go to the bathroom, just go into the nearest house and Tutu will take care of you.
I was bilingual then, I spoke fluent Hawaiian like all my friends. One day, in a tutu’s house, she was giving us four of us kids sliced fruit, and the radio was on. I don’t know what it said, but Tutu said, “I hate haoles.” [pronounced ‘howlie’].
Now I had learned by osmosis that the Haole were the white men without breath, meaning they were liars and cheats. They stole our islands.
I said, “I hate haoles too!”
Tutu laughed and hugged me, she said, in Hawaiian, “I’m sorry child, you ARE a Haole. I should not have said that.”
For four year old me, that was just mind-spinning. I told my father, and asked him if it were true. Weren’t we Hawaiians? Because I didn’t lie or cheat or steal anything.
But he told me yes, it was true, we were white, like the evil men that stole Hawaii, but that did not mean we had to be evil like them. That even if people thought we might be evil like those men, because we are white like them, we still had to choose to be good people.
My seventh-grade English teacher was pregnant. She burst into tears one day because being seventh-graders, we were being little idiots and paying no attention to her. It was the first time I had seen a teacher cry, which was probably true for most of the students.
She was clearly embarrassed, even while sobbing her eyes out. Some kids went up and hugged her and/or apologized. I didn’t. I don’t remember why. She then wiped her eyes and went on with the lesson. I might add that despite being idiots, we were decent kids, on the whole, and she had no more trouble from us for the rest of the year.
My eighth-grade year was equal parts wonderful and just batshit insane. I saw two of my favorite teachers cry.
For background, my eighth-grade English teacher was borderline obsessed with Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird (and as far as I know still is). She’s one of the reasons I love the novel.
On February 19th, 2016, a student walked into her class very casually and said, “Hey, did you know that Harper Lee died today?” Then he took a look at her face and left.
She sat down and just kind of overflowed. Her co-teacher, who had been placed in our class for reasons that would be a whole other answer, tried to console her. It was hopeless. We didn’t get anything else done that day.
In this last example, she didn’t actually cry, but I think it still counts.
My Algebra 1 teacher is one of the most incredible women I have ever met. She’s almost six feet tall and rather intimidating, but also an inspiring, capable teacher and a sweet, wonderful person.
This particular incident happened on a Friday. We were the last block of the day, and were working on an assignment. I was in the front row, done, and rather bored.
The teacher got a text. She glanced at her phone, looked away, did a double take and looked back at the text, then picked up the phone and read it.
The color literally drained from her face. I didn’t know that was a thing outside of books until then.
She then stuffed the phone into her purse and stood up abruptly. She started talking about the assignment, but her voice was all wrong – cracking and breathy.
Finally someone spoke for us all and asked her if she was all right.
“No,” she said. “But I will be, and you guys need to learn this, so pay attention.”
She finished the lesson. She told us, mind you, that six squared is thirty-eight and that eight by nine is seventy-five. But she finished the lesson.
We found out on Monday that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She was sixty years old at the time.
“Oh, honey, there’s no point in crying,” she told me later. “It doesn’t fix anything, and it just tires you out.”
She did recover eventually, but that, again, is a story for another time.
I used to work on grocery store systems about 20 years ago, and we had a non-contract time/materials customer call us about his store server, which had crashed in a bad way. I drove out, and I recognized the server model as one we were selling/installing about 5 years prior, before I was with the company. It would be a two-drive mirrored proprietary RAID and a cartridge tape backup.
When I tried to boot it, it rolled through cmos and then complained about a missing driver. So, I booted off a diagnostic diskette, and there…. one drive corrupted beyond repair, other drive missing entirely.
I opened the case, knowing now I was going to be replacing hardware. Yeah… second drive was completely disconnected, no power, no data cables. I plugged it back in out of curiosity and powered it up and shut it down again 5 seconds later. There was a reason why the drive was disconnected, it was screaming bloody murder… loud!
The store owner had been watching me like a hawk because… time and materials… and he remembered, another tech had been there a few years earlier for the noise and convinced the owner he didn’t need RAID because he had a tape drive.
Sh!t. That meant two new drives, which I had with me, and a cold reload from diskettes far enough for an OS and the tape drive drivers. And many many prayers that at one of his backups was valid. Those little tape cartridges were not reliable in a good environment. A server sitting under a desk for years with no maintenance? Of course all the tapes were bad.
I won’t go through the rest, there was a way to retrieve and convert some data from a register, and we pieced enough together for him to do his end-of-day processes… it being night now and everything. The rest he would have to hand-key, so his night was just getting started.
He and our manager went back and forth about the bill a few weeks later. The tech that told him it would be ok was from our shop but long gone now. If memory serves, he ended up paying for the drives and half of the labor.
Techs these days have no idea how easy it is now with such reliable hardware.
The Phantom Planet (1961) Science-Fiction | Full movie
Yesterday, out of the blue at dinner time, a delivery man came to our door with a bouquet of lilies. Not for me. Not for the kids. Not for the wife. Mistake, I guess. But the address was exactly our address.
Strange.
A lily flower has different significance in China than it does in the USA. In the USA, lilies are associated with death and funerals.
So obviously, I looked at the delivery guy with a big exclamation point and question mark over his head. Wouldn’t you? Especially since I was in MAJ. Things that make you go hum…
Anyways…
I asked the Domain Commander about this.
DC told me that it was a real accident and not to worry. Sure there are elements in the world that would like me to die and collapse in a most horrible way, but they are far removed from me, and that I am protected. That I should not let my fears grasp my emotions.
The funny thing is, I hadn’t met girls or women who I’d consider shallow until I began my PhD. Most of the girls and women in my life were strong, independent, no nonsense girls, who took their lives on by the horns.
However, once I started my PhD, it was as though I was overcompensated for what I had missed out all along. There was a flurry of girls and women I kept bumping into, who made me question their true worth and leave me in total disgust.
Well, without much ado, here’s introducing the creme de la creme
A top woman scientist who told me to do an MBA after my PhD because girls only marry men with fat wallets because sex is not everything
A PhD research scholar who intends to marry a man who earns at least ₹500000 (~$8000) a month so that he could spend at least half of that on her
Another PhD scholar who plans to quit working after she got married because it was her husband’s duty to take care of her
A research scholar who blows up about ₹25,000 a month on partying, clothes, and weekend holidays and then takes another ₹10,000 from home because she’s the only daughter and it was “her right” to be pampered
Research scholars who even in their 3rd year of research do not possess fundamental concepts of their research because, “we’re not nerds like you!”
A research scholar who called her roommate’s mother a whore just for speaking to a guy outside their apartment. Her roomie’s mother had passed away a few months back to cancer
Another PhD scholar who said “I’m a Lingayat,” when I asked her if she was non-vegetarian. Lingayat, turns out, is a caste quite popular in Karnataka and I had no idea until she laughed when I asked her what that was
Another research scholar who’d draw a stipend from her supervisor’s project and yet work entirely for someone else because she had the support of a lot of higher ups
A research scholar who threatened a guy who kept asking her a genuine scientific doubt during one of her presentations. She wasn’t able to answer the question properly and was subsequently cross questioned. Frustrated, she said “I’ll file a harassment charge with the police. I’m a girl and my father has money. Let’s see who they believe.”
Wow! I just realized I could keep going at this. It’s crazy the number of PhD’s who think and speak this way.
What’s the use of having an education when you’re not one bit educated!
I see so much in this kitten that reminds me of my deceased dog
Spareribs and Cabbage (Zeberka Wieprzowena z Kapusta — Poland)
Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes.
zeberka z kapusta przepis 1778 4 3
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 1/2 pounds fresh pork spareribs, cut into 6 pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar
1 small head green cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
Freshly-ground pepper
Instructions
Heat oil in Dutch oven until hot. Cook pork spareribs, a few pieces at a time, over medium heat until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes; drain fat.
Add onion, carrot, bouillon, salt, caraway seed, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the bay leaf.
Pour water and vinegar over pork mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
Add cabbage; sprinkle with pepper. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 45 minutes.
Remove bay leaf.
Arrange spareribs and vegetables on serving platter.
Garnish with minced parsley if desired.
Waiting to Be Put to Sleep, She Sat Crying Silently in Her Cage At the Shelter
A large company you have heard of needed to lay some people off. There was this one guy who always came in, went to his office, did who knows what all day, then went home. Nobody really knew what he did. His manager had been replaced with a new guy who was still figuring out which way is up. He had to lay off X number of people from his group. He laid off this guy.
Then they found out what he did, because it wasn’t being done anymore. Turns out he was providing exclusive customized support to a very large customer on a very lucrative contract.
The customer was not happy. They were no longer getting the support they were paying for.
I know other people who work at the same company. Management knows what they do, so their jobs are secure. It’s amazing how your job security depends on the right people knowing what you do.
2) Someone I know worked for a company that provides services to the military. The company was bought by another company, which put in management that had college degrees but no knowledge or experience in that field. The existing management, which had specific knowledge and experience, was laid off because they did not have college degrees.
That company was known by the military to be able to complete contracts that other companies had failed to complete.
With the team of experts gone, they could no longer complete contracts or train new hires. They had laid off their key people.
Meanwhile, the experts got jobs with competing companies, who were now able to complete contracts.
As contractor pay has stagnated, companies have been sold, and management has been unable to pay decently. A welder or electrician can make 400% more working anywhere else.
The team of experts has bounced from company to company. Whichever company they’re with is able to complete contracts.
How does this story end? That remains to be seen.
In the meantime, we have a navy ship that has been in for repairs for over two years, for work that should have taken only six months.
50% is terrible odds
16 mind-blowing psychology facts you should know:
Hearing your name when on one is calling you, is actually a sign of a healthy brian.
Sleep directly after studying, you will remember what you have learned better.
Don’t argue through text messages. The lack of tone decreases the meaning of the words.
People are more honest when physically tired. This is why most people confess things during late night conversations.
Those who look outside, dream. Those who look inside, awaken.
Cherophobia: the fear of happiness. People with this cherophobia believe that every time they feel happy, something bad will happen and ruin it.
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
The most powerful way to win an argument is by asking questions. It can make people see the flaws in their logic.
It’s possible to die from a broken heart. It’s called Stress Cardiomypathy.
Being forgetful can be a sign of a higher intelligence.
Athazagoraphobia: the fear of being forgotten or ignored by someone who you strongly care about.
When ignored by someone who means a lot to you, the reaction in your brain is similar to physical pain.
Boys are actually more emotionally affected by relationship troubles than girls. They just know how to hide it well.
You’re more likely to be easily attracted to someone you have no chance with.
The average man gets bored of shopping after 26 minutes.
If you want someone to listen to you, start the conversation with” I shouldn’t be telling you this”
The Most Paranormal Place On Earth – What’s Happening on Mount Shasta?
This happened a week back exactly and it’s been running on my mind ever since then. I never thought something like this would happen to me, don’t know why.
Last week, I was on a business trip to Berlin and I went to Amsterdam for the weekend, for a short vacation. My return flight to India was from Berlin and so I took a bus from Amsterdam to Berlin Tegel airport (bus because it was cheaper!). I had to switch buses at a place called Hamburg and I had a layover of almost 3 hours.
These 3 hours were the most tiring 3 hours of my life because it was from 10–1 in the night and it was freezing cold outside. And, I was standing alone for so long. Finally the bus came at 12.45 and I was the last one to board the bus. The bus was full and all the seats were taken in the lower deck. The upper deck had only 3 seats.
Super exhausted, I politely ask this girl if I can take the vacant seat next to her and this is how the conversation goes –
Me – Hi, can I please sit here?
Girl – No
Me – I’m sorry, excuse me?
Girl – I want to sit alone. Find another place
I ask the girl in the front seat if I can sit next to her and she was like, “this seat is taken”
Me, again to the girl from before –
Me – There’s no other seat. Can I sit here?
Girl – Go see if there are any seats down
*She was getting on to my nerves*
Me – I’m coming from down, there’s no seat. I’m sorry
Girl – Ask the girl in the front
Me – I just asked her, she said it’s taken. If you want, go ahead and ask her
*By now, people were already looking at me and I was feeling embarrassed. I ignored her and took the seat*
Girl (after 5 mins) – Actually, I don’t feel comfortable about you sitting next to me
Me (I was shocked) – Sorry?
Girl – I feel very uncomfortable about you sitting next to me. Please understand. Don’t sit here, go away!
Me (I lost it) – You know what? There’s no other place. Shut the fuck up and sit! Don’t irritate the fuck out of me!
I don’t think I have ever been this rude to anyone in my life. But, I don’t feel bad about saying it and I never will. I said it, I was rude to her, like she was rude to me. But, I was shocked even after that, my eyes welled up.
For the entire 3 hours, she was giving all these reactions and making faces like she was sitting next to someone disgusting.
And the worst part was, the vacant seat in the front, itwas taken by none.
I don’t know if this is racism and if this happened to me because I’m brown and not white. But, this same female was okay with another white girl sitting next to her. While I was walking towards the seat, another white girl was going to sit there but she found another seat.
When I told this incident to a colleague of mine, he told me that I’m jumping into a conclusion that this is racism.
I don’t know if it could be anything else. Because I was dressed up well. I’m someone who gives importance to getting dressed up. This picture below is from the same day morning. I was in the same attire, maybe with a coat on top of it –
A girl I graduated high school with got a full scholarship to The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. That’s the big UNC… The world-renowned UNC… The one that most of my graduating class was trying to get into. She not only got in, but had a free ride thanks to a combination of cheerleading scholarships and needs-based grants.
She drank and partied her way to failure her first semester, was put on academic probation, didn’t recover, and was back home living with her parents and working as a waitress by the time she was 20.
She was still smoking hott* though, and it all worked out for her. “It” tends to work out for women like her… Women with model-quality looks and bubbly personalities. She married a lawyer and is now a stay-at-home (a beach house, no less) mother who, judging from what she posts on Facebook, lives an enviable life.
As for me, I have one huge wasted opportunity that I know about.
When I was 23, I’d already spent years working for families with special needs children in the wealthy suburbs of Chicago. I ended up with a job as a special needs assistant for the local school district… a very desirable school district for teachers. Also one of the hardest school districts in which to get hired for any position. I only got hired as an aide because one of the parents on the school board knew me because I sometimes took care of his special-needs kid.
Most of the other aides were teachers-in-training. I hadn’t considered going back to school to be a teacher at that point in my life. An opportunity to go to work for a friend in the auto parts business and make slightly more money presented itself, and I quit my job with the school district mid-year.
That’s a huge no-no in education. You never quit mid-year. I burned that bridge to the ground. I lost contact with all of the people I knew in the district. Dozens of networking opportunities squandered, all for about $100 extra dollars per month.
Years later, I finally went back to college and got my teaching certificate. I was 30 by then, and I struggled to find a teaching job. It was all about who you knew that could get your resume in front of the principals, and I didn’t know anyone who could do that anymore.
Had I been patient and stayed on as an aide for a few more years, I would have been first in line for an open teaching position in that district when they became available.
If this were my 10th year of teaching in that district, I’d be making three times what I make now, and have a lot more perks.
Oh well. Youthful impatience has done a lot worse to other people.
Chimps are not monogamous. In fact, they gang-rape each female. The females do this so that no male knows who the father is, preventing the infant from being killed. Just because animals do it doesn’t mean we should.
Gorillas have harems. Most males never mate, those that do dominate a group of females and have exclusive rights to them. This precludes equal rights for females. Go to a harem model, and you’ve just undone the basic premise for women’s rights.
Monogamy and systematic encouragement of it forced men to treat their only sexual partner with decency and respect for their quality of life. This is why only the Christian West gave women equal legal rights to men across the board. If men can have sex outside of marriage, whether sex slaves or prostitutes, the woman’s social status goes down.
Society has a vested interest in monogamy. Single mothers are even in the rich West at greater odds of poverty. Even worse is the three to four times greater odds of bad life outcomes for their kids. From drug addiction to joining a gang to not finishing school to committing suicide to being a single teen mother, the odds are 3–4 times greater if raised by a single mother.
If society wants to reduce criminal behavior, reliance on welfare (if it exists) and dependent adults, it has to encourage monogamy. The group cannot afford to encourage the breakdown of the family. You don’t get happy hippie communes; you get violent inner cities with stubborn inter-generational poverty in communities that used to have declining poverty rates.
Yes, humanity is biologically transitioning from “harem/free sex” to “monogamous”, so we have conflicting impulses. But we’ve been moving toward monogamy for literally millions of years. We know that because women are only 20% smaller than men versus half the size of a male as occurs in gorillas. It is driven by our higher intelligence and the longer dependent period of human infants.
Monogamy is in our best interest as individuals, as parents and as a society. And that’s why we encourage it.
I had eye surgery in winter 2019, and had to wear dark glasses (the ones in my pic) for a bit.
My eyesight is terrible anyway, but for a couple of months l could barely see.
One evening, as usual, I was taking a long walk in London – couldn’t run, I’d have been running in to street furniture- for exercise. Earbuds in, listening to music.
A beggar stepped in front if me & said something about money. I put my hand in my pocket, handed him a quid.
He said something about wanting more, l couldn’t really hear him too well over Black Grape, but this pissed me off.
“Fuck off”, I said, “you can have a quid and like it”
“Gimme more. I want all your money”
“You cheeky cunt. Fuck off or I’ll take the quid back and kick your arse” l said.
He made angry gestures and stormed off.
A bloke came up beside me…. “…mate, are you ok?” he said.
“Yeah… why?”
“He had a knife”.
Oh. Not beggar; mugger. I hadn’t seen the knife.
The mugger must have thought I was like Chuck Norris, fronting him out like that.
New Upgrade: China J-35 Fighter JET To Fly From Aircraft Carrier
Not a General (or Admiral in this case, since I served in the Navy), but a Captain (equivalent of a full bird Colonel in the other services).
I joined on the delayed entry program when I was still a senior in high school. Toward the end of my senior year, I was awarded a scholarship to state university. There was a banquet to honor all the scholarship recipients.
Even though I knew I couldn’t accept the scholarship because I was already set to go into the Navy, I thought it would be fun and interesting to attend a banquet that was being held partly in my honor.
At the banquet, I met and made small talk with a Navy Captain. I told him about how I wouldn’t be able to use the scholarship because I had already enlisted via the delayed entry program. I never got his name and never heard from, nor spoke with, him ever again after that night.
So technically, I don’t know with any certainty that he was the one who did anything for me. But 30+ years later, it’s still the only explanation that makes any sense.
A week or two after the banquet, I got a phone call from the recruiting office. They wanted me to come in and sign some paperwork. When I arrived, they had two “identical” enlistment packets sitting on a table. The recruiter explained to me that they were going to let me out of my enlistment contract and go into the reserves instead so that I could go to college.
Even at 17 years old, I knew that the government never just lets anyone cancel a legal and binding contract. This was a really huge deal. Somebody pulled some serious strings.
I have told this story before, but I got married young at 24. We were in med school. We did not have a honeymoon, and it was a major fight to get the weekend off and permission to take an exam a day early. Then in residency we both worked 100 + hours per week for years. YEARS. We were not guaranteed to get vacation on the same week. We were not guaranteed a single day off in the month, including weekends. One of my fellow residents gave birth to premature twins. The babies were in an ICU in another STATE so her parents could be in the hospital because there was no family leave. I was repeatedly told not to get pregnant, which would be hard to do if you never sleep, let alone sleep in the same room on the same night as your partner.
Fast forward to maybe age 30. I saw a TV commercial about “the best part of waking up” and it showed a couple on their porch watching the sun rise and drinking some brand of coffee. I started to cry because I had never sat with my husband on my porch or had coffee in the morning together. That was kind of the moment I realized exactly what I had signed up for.
I think things are getting much better for young doctors but for us it was not great. People have NO IDEA what some of us have gone through to be “rich doctors.” Especially if you started out poor and had no outside help or support from family.
I worked for a ‘charity’ in Wakefield, England. A miserable place with many dubious business practices, run by a egotistical idiot. One day most of my team – conspicuously all those of a particular ethnicity – was pulled into his office and told we would probably be losing our jobs and would have to reapply for them. Given the decisive nature of who had been picked, it was obvious we wouldn’t get them when we ‘reapplied’: the company is notorious for their nepotism and they no doubt had replacements – friends and family – already lined up. Needless to say, the mood turned sour in the room. Then the kicker – the absolute collosal utter bellend of a boss legitimately couldn’t tell why we were angry. His exact words: “Come on guys, why are you so down? Let’s have a good day. Big smiles guys, big smiles.”
Had a stressful month looking for work afterward, but now in a great job and glad to see the back of that dump. And of course the people he lined up to fill our posts made a right mess of it (though sadly the company survived).
Can US citizens do 4 times better than Chinese citizens?
Think about this from 1980 to 2020 alone, China grew 30 times in 40 years in real income! What will happen between 2020 to 2060? Say it just grow 10 times that of 2020! It will leave the US trailing miles away!
Chinese people are innovating more, Chinese produce more STEM engineers a year more that the entire U.S. STEM sector! Chinese works twice as hard as American’s, they are highly intelligent and very productive and discipline. Every years China’s savings alone is as big as the entire UK economy! It already has the best infrastructure amongst major economies.
For China to stay still is never going to happen. Period. To me China will grow to 5–6 times the U.S. in real economy!
Expert REVEALS Evidence of Super ADVANCED LOST Ancient Technology!
It didn’t happen right away, but a year or so later, I met her again, and after some standard comical clumsiness, I asked her out.
Knowing based on what she did for a living that she was science nerdy like me, I planned a date to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science
. (Note to guys, this is a BRILLIANT idea. It’s not just that you’re showing respect for her intellect, it also gives you several hours to walk around, have a TON of stimulating things to talk about, and get to know each other.)
Day of the date arrives, her Dad’s in the hospital, so we agree to meet there, so I can visit him too. Hilarious side story, as we’re about to leave, she says, Ok, Dad, see you later, do you want me to turn off your light? “No,” Dad says, “Chris can turn it off when he leaves.” Uh, Bob?” I replied “….(Extended awkward pause….) I’m going with her….”
So we decide to leave her car in the Hospital parking lot and take my car to the museum. Get in the car, turn it on, doors lock, car goes into drive and starts rolling and I say:
“So you know I’m still married, right?”
Have you ever heard that metaphorical record scratch in real life?
Well. I QUICKLY explained to her that we had been separated for about 8 years, that the upcoming law called “The Affordable Care Act” would make it so that she could get insurance despite her pre-existing neuro-vascular disease, and that the only reason we were still married was so that she could stay on my corporate health insurance until that was the case. (In other words, I QUICKLY demonstrated that “I’m a VERY nice guy.”)
It calmed the fire down to the point where we were able to have a VERY nice date…didnt’ QUITE get together just then… a few breaks…not the right time…I was seeing someone else…then she was…and then…
The Stars Aligned.
Yup. I married the Girl who listened to me drop the WORST line you could possibly drop on a first date.
C’est l’amour, no?
Sanctioning China? US is as stupid as the Qing Dynasty Emperor
When you sign up for anything online, put the website’s name as your middle name. That way when you receive spam/advert email, you will know who sold your information.
If you’re on a first date and aren’t connecting with the other person or feel they’re dull, ask them what job they’d choose if money wasn’t an issue. It initiates a talk about one’s passions, which are rarely dull and are simple to connect.
Do not try to be the man your father would want you to be. Be the man you would like your son to be be. It more clearly defines your own convictions, desires, goals, and motivates you to be your best.
Pay Attention to the smell of your home when you come back from a trip – that’s what it smells like to guests all the time, you just get used to it.
When a friend is upset, ask them one simple question before saying anything else: ‘Do you want to talk about it or do you want to be distracted from it?’
No matter how much your workplace pushes “team building” and “family culture” – remember, they’re not your friends and it’s still a workplace.
If you’re stuck on an annoying call, put your phone on airplane mode instead of just hanging up. The other person will see “call failed” instead of “call ended”.
If you want to learn a new language, figure out the 100 most frequently used words and start with them. Those words make up about 50% of everyday speech, and should be a very solid basis.
The Circleville Letters Mystery | Why can’t we solve this?
Pork Sausage Loaf (Hungary)
Pork Sausage Loaf Hungary
Ingredients
1 cup diced mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
1 pound fresh bulk pork sausage
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
Melt butter in a skillet and add mushrooms. Sauté.
Combine sausage, mushrooms, egg and crumbs and shape into a loaf. Sprinkle with paprika. Place in a small roaster; cover.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1/2 hour.
Uncover, return to oven, and bake 30 more minutes.
Serves 4
10+ Mind-Blowing Psychological Tricks & Facts That Everyone Should Know
Here are 17 psychological tricks to be more likable and 16 psychology facts you should know:
Posture matters: If you stand up straight and make an eye contact while talking to the people you are attracted to, will make you more confident and attractive.
Have a strong sense of humor: It is thought to be a sign of intelligence. this is why, when assessing a potential partnepsyr, we tend to be more attracted to those who are funny.
Start the conversation first: Women are automatically attracted to guys who start the conversation, take initiative, and make them laugh.
…and always be the one to pull away from the conversation: It shows that you value your time and have other stuff to do. If you cut short your conversation, the other person always wants more of it. It creates attraction.
Deeper voice: Men with deeper voices are more likely to make a lasting impression on women than men with higher voices.
Create sexual tension without touching: It is done subtly, and by flirting. It creates instant attraction if you do it correctly.
7. Never approach women from behind or from her sides. It looks sneaky. Approach her face-to-face. It displays more confidence.
8. Wear red: People subconsciously believe that women who wear red are more attractive and sexy, in 2010, Eliot confirmed that people will sit closer to women who wear red dresses.
9. Let others talk about themselves – it’s as rewarding as sex: If you want to make your conversation partner feel good, get them talking about themselves and their interests. Which will make people feel valued and they will be more impressed by you
10. If you’re a woman, a man will like you if you can make him feel masculine. No instructions, no advice and give him ample space.
11. If you’re a man, a woman will like you if you can make her feel beautiful, not just sexy. A high emotional quotient is also critical for a woman.
12. Do not speak badly about others as this creates distrust.
13. Do not spread false rumors and do not make accusations.
14. When with a group of people, including everyone in the conversation. Never leave anybody out.
15. Share the little you have with those who have nothing.
16. Become a happy person and wear a smile always.
17. Laugh with all. Don’t discriminate. Be gender sensitive.
US Heartbreak: Mexico Chooses China for Auto Future – Is It the End?
When I worked at the local university bar there was this guy called Mick. He was a down to earth guy who spoke in a working class accent. He always said that his dad was a miner. We socialised quite a bit over the three years that he studied for his degree. Then when it was his graduation I was invited and I met and sat with his parents. Obviously well off by the clothes that they wore. Anyhow, Mick’s mother was chatting to me and aske me who I was I told her that I was her son’s barman for the past three years. She asked “did he tell you that his father owns six mines in Yorkshire?”
I replied “no”. She said, “He’s such an inverted snob, How did you find him?”
I replied that I found him sociable, down to earth and a decent guy. I got a hug for that and an invitation to their home in the summer break.
It was like a bloody castle with footmen and butlers.
But, yes they were such a lovely, nice, down to earth family.
I’m standing by my Dad as I am casually playing on my phone.
Suddenly, he reaches over and snatches my phone out of my hands, eyeing the screen.
“Dad what are you doing?” I ask, surprised.
“Just checking” he replies, handing it back over to me.
“I’m so sick of dealing with Amy.
I wish I could just dump her at the doctors so they can take care of her.”
I’m frozen in place as I overhear my Mum talking to my Dad. I run back to my room and I find myself having a panic attack.
I’m laying in bed, “asleep”, when I hear my Dad walk up beside my bed. I peek out of my eye slightly, and see the light of my phone screen illuminate the room.
My Dad is standing there, looking at my notifications.
I start to wake up, and he quickly covers himself, saying he was just “seeing if it needed charging for tomorrow”.
These happened a long time ago, and to this day they continue to prove to me that they can’t be trusted and that they lie to me all the time.
They tell me I can trust them. They tell me that they will always support me. They tell me that they’ll always have my side. They have even told me that they will give me privacy.
But actions speak louder than words.
The Cat Knew That They Had Come to Put Him to Sleep! So Be It, For the Mistress Was Gone!
Today I visited Quora, and saw a post written by my half-sister. She is my father’s daughter with his second wife. And it was a tribute to my dad.
I hadn’t talked to her since my dad died, and she lives in Erie, and I have long forgotten about her. I left a comment to her… telling thank-you for her tribute to our mutual father. Nine sentences.
I do not want to open up dialog with her, as I have long since given up on my old family back in the states, but I did get something nice out of it. I got a picture of my father when he was in the Air Force in his 20’s.
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I will still stay away. I have ZERO interest in any continuing dialog for any reason. But in regards to this, let me show you all my father… handsome man.
Years ago my son was working as a tow truck driver. He was sound asleep at 2 AM when he got a call. He jumped up finishing getting dressed as he was running out the door. The call was for a car on the freeway so those are a priority. He drove to the car and found the guy had gotten out on the side of the freeway and locked himself out of his car. It was not hard to figure out he’d probably been drinking a little and stopped to urinate. So my son got there and quickly opened up the car and told the man the fee is $185. That is the standard fee for a call to the freeway. The man flipped out and told my son that was ridiculous and he was NOT paying that kind of money. My son explained that was the standard fee of all the towing companies for a call out to a freeway. My son was polite and professional the entire time but this man said: “That took you two seconds and I’m not paying $185 for that!!”. My son finally just looked at him and said “You’re not? Ok then” and my son walked over to the car, tossed the keys on the seat, locked the door and walked to his tow truck and got in and drove away. I guess that man didn’t understand that while it took my son 2 seconds because he’s good that my son had already worked all day and was sound asleep at 2 AM. My son doesn’t make any $185 for that call but instead was making $15 an hr. He could have not answered the phone at all at that hour but he’s a good person. He gets up and goes out. I sure hope that the next car that came by was not a CHP and that guy ended up with a DUI. If he did then he was wishing he paid $185. He had to pay it anyway when the next truck came from some other company.
My boss asked me to deliver a lamp to a photographer at Condé Nast publications in New York City. They are the publishers of glossy magazines such as Vogue, W, Glamour, Allure, Self, Teen Vogue, Lucky. Their offices and studios are absolutely stuffed with gorgeous women; some for photo-shoots, but also many models who retired into the fashion- magazine business.
I got into an elevator which was immediately packed with a crowd of stunningly beautiful young women headed to various photo studios. I inhaled the intoxicating perfume and slyly whispered to the elevator operator, “Now THIS is the happiest place on Earth.” He chuckled knowingly.
I delivered the lamp, and caught the down elevator. When we got to the main floor, the elevator emptied, and I asked the operator, half-kidding, “How does one get a job like this?”
I was surprised when he responded, “You just apply at the front desk in the lobby. The pay is really great, full benefits, AND since most of the models are lonely and from out-of-town, you can date all the hot supermodels you could possible want. So make sure you pick up an application on your way out…then take the bus to Cleveland.”
“Cleveland?” I asked.
“Well,” he grinned, “That’s where the back of the line is.”
Gulyas (Hungary)
“Gulyas” means cattle- or sheep-herder in Hungarian. This hearty soup has traditional roots in the foods prepared by rustic herders, long ago. Serve the soup in bowls topped with sour cream.
Wipe beef with damp cloth; cut into 1-inch cubes. Place oil in Dutch oven. Add beef; brown well on all sides. Remove from pan with slotted spoon; set aside.
Add onions and garlic to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add paprika, cayenne, stock, the 2 cups water, caraway, marjoram, salt, pepper and meat. Stir well. Bring to boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat to low; cook, covered, 45 minutes.
Add tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and peppers. Stir well; return to boil. Cover; cook 30 minutes.
Combine flour and the 2 tablespoons water; stir to form smooth paste. Add slowly to soup, stirring well. Cook over low heat, stirring until thickened. Drop Csipetke (noodle/dumplings) into soup before serving, if desired.
I have a friend from my graduate days. A quiet, gentle, unassuming guy, with a permanent smile on his face. I never saw him agitated. Or elated. He took everything as it came – the good and the bad.
Being academically average, the both of us started our MBA prep in the third year. Attended the same classes in our fourth. During the mid of the year, I relocated to Bangalore for a 6 month internship, he stayed back at campus. He always aced his mock tests, but, unfortunately, just a few months prior to D-Day, his father passed away. He didn’t do as well in the actual exam as he could have. Consequently, he couldn’t make it to a good college.
Now being the sole earner in the family, he took up the best offer at hand. A mass recruiter paying around 3–3.25 lpa and resumed prep for the next year’s exam. He didn’t make it this time either. Not one to get disheartened, he tried again the following year. They say “third time’s a charm”, and it was for him.
He got into one of the best MBA colleges in the country, worked hard for another 2 years, and graduated with honors (top 5% of the batch). Landed himself a cushy job with a boutique trading firm making 10x of what he was.
During all of these years, I never heard him rant about his rotten luck. Or bitch about his problems. Or complain about the unfair advantage that the rich and powerful have. He just kept his head down and kept working with what he had (talent) and what was handed to him (luck).
So, “what is the single most underrated trait a person can have”?
Freshman year I was living in the dorms. I was living in the cheapest dorms on campus, so it was me and a roommate living with 30 other girls with two communal bathrooms on the 11th floor.
I was on that unlimited meal plan flow, and the freshman 15 had become a reality. I decided it was time to go on a health kick.
I had an (illegal) crockpot in my dorm. One of these bad boys.
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I bought myself some fish (I think it was tilapia), rice, and broccoli.
I threw it all in that crockpot with some vegetable broth, turned it on, and went to the gym.
I stayed at the gym for 3 hours, then got some food afterwards for a total of four hours.
I returned to my dorm and got on the elevator.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, a stench of fish attacked my nostrils. It permeated every corner of the 11th floor.
I knew immediately I had made a big mistake.
My RA was searching every inch of our floor for the source of the smell. Girls were out in the halls spraying Febreze. People were speculating that some girl on our floor was having major lady problems.
I waited until my RA was no longer in sight of my room. I opened my door. The stench of fish almost made me pass out, it was so strong.
I ran and turned my crockpot off and bagged all the fish up and put it in my refrigerator. No one could know it was me.
I was lucky that my roommate went out of town that weekend so she didn’t have to know about it.
Since I didn’t have a sink in my room, I’d have to wash the Crockpot out in the public bathroom, which was a high risk situation of me getting caught.
I first decided to soak it with dish soap and water which I carried in a water bottle from the sink to my room.
Then, when it had soaked, I took it to the shower so I could wash it behind a curtain to lower the risk of anyone seeing me.
I disposed of all of the evidence before my roommate came back.
Our entire floor smelled like fish for four days. It was bad.
By the time my roommate came back, I had done my best to air out our room and febreze everything.
However, every fabric held a slight smell of fish. All of her and my clothes, our bedspreads, and our carpet had a small stench.
She would notice that her clothes smelled like fish every once in a while and she’d say “How did this happen? Do your clothes smell like fish too?”
I’d be like “Yeah, that is so weird. It’s probably the water here.”
I was successful, no one ever found out that the source of the fish stench was me and my crockpot until years later, when I willingly told some of my friends. (Which they now never let me forget)
But I learned an important lesson that day, one that all college freshman should follow:
My first husband passed away in January, 2001. My daughter was 16 at the time, in 10th grade. I permitted her to take a week and a half off to grieve, but getting homework assignments from her teachers.. When she returned to school, her history teacher told her that she had a report due that day. She had not been made aware of the assignment, as the teacher had only given it a week prior. The teacher told her. “ Well, you should have been here when it was assigned. “ She told her that her father’s death was not a good enough excuse for missing class. She came home in tears. I called the school the next day and spoke with the principal. He agreed that the teacher had been out of line. The teacher was made to apologise to her in front of the class, and was written up for being insensitive. I asked the principal if I could schedule a grief instructional seminar for the staff, and he agreed. The seminars still happen every year. I also spearheaded a grief counseling group, headed by a wonderful hospice nurse. It still exists today in that school. Not really policy changes, but changes nevertheless.
I am not a surgeon but a Trauma Nurse. But I did have an interesting case.
One night shift an elderly man, 80’s, comes in complaining of abdominal pain. We started an IV, sent blood to the lab to see if he had an elevated white cell count which would point to appendicitis.
On physical examination he had a scar from a previous appendectomy, a soft abdomen, no reflex on palpitation, but a hard, firm mass about the level of his navel to pubis. So we sent him off for an X-Ray of his abdomen.
On return from X-Ray the tech put the films on the viewer and left without a word. When I looked up there, as big as life was a 1 liter Thermos sitting just past his rectum in his large intestine.
I informed him that he was going to be admitted for removal of a foreign object when the OR opened the next day. He asked if I would call his wife to tell her he was being admitted.
When I informed her that we needed to keep him overnight she stated, “Not that thermose again is it? Well you tell him he can take a taxi home because I ain’t picking him up again.”
I had always worn el cheapo suits, just something to look professional at work. But my girlfriend thought I should get a once in a life time, show off suit, as I was in the fittest shape of my life. So we went to Holt Renfrew to buy a suit, I was thinking Armani because it sounds impressive, but really I just wanted a suit that made me look good. No one was rude or anything, but no one approached me as I was browsing. I just got the vibe, that I wasn’t welcome.
I went next door to Harry Rosen, and as soon as I started browsing, I was approached, and asked if I would like a cappuccino while we picked out a suit. I was hooked, it might be a gimmick, but it made me feel special. They showed me that a Canali looked better on me, than the Armani, and suited my physique better. They asked if I wanted the name, or the look. Because no one would know that it was an Armani if I didn’t name drop.
I took the Canali. After it was fitted and adjusted, I went back to Holt Renfrew to compare prices, while wearing my new suit, shirt, tie and shoes.
I had someone asking if they could help me in seconds.
Maybe the first time everyone was busy at Holt Renfrew, but after that I bought a lot at Harry Rosens. Nothing as expensive as that suit, but nice clothes.
It will speed up China’s ascendency and swiftly destroy the U.S. economy. Over time the U.S. will implode and break up into 5–6 different nation. It will start a class war in the U.S. and polarise the U.S. as never before.
But heck, ignore my advise and do it anyway! Trump is very smart he will say all what you and for, but do 1% and fool all of you while he enjoys popularity! Biden is not too clever he will do 10% and screwed up the U.S. and spend the rest of his term negotiating with China! He get screwed from left and right.
Chinese will do precisely what the U.S. do but it hurts you ten times harder!
This happened to my wife. She interviewed for a position, she nailed a software testing interview to a point where some interviewers in the interview panel said after the interview, it would be a crime if this company did not pick her.
She was obviously over joyed and waiting for the offer. The offer did come 2 days later; she stated her current compensation and they agreed they would give at least 5 K more.
2 days later the company came back with close to 20K less than her current compensation saying that the company’s CEO said that the job and the person who interviewed for the job did not deserve such a high compensation and that since the office locality was already closer to her place the company was doing her a huge favor already.
My wife politely declined the offer saying she was happy with her current job( which she was except for the commute) and she said she would join the company if they offer her the same compensation. The recruiter went back to the CEO and after 2 days of serious discussions with CEO, the recruiter came back excitedly and said the company was willing to offer 5 K more than their previous offer( which was still 15K lesser than the previous offer ). My wife was amused by the recruiter’s excitement and said it was lesser than her current compensation and declined the offer.
At this moment the recruiter should have left it like that and moved on. But she suggested that my wife was lying about her total compensation and that the position did not entail such an high pay in the current job market. This came after the recruiter accepted my wife’s initial proposition and after one of the interview panelist stated that my wife had done the interview really well.
Till this moment we were actually in a dilemma because the commute was really frustrating( 2 hours one way commute), after this discussion my wife made her mind to stick with her current job and try for a different job later.
My wife got a better paying job 1 month later within 5 mile radius. One of the panelist in that interview became family friend and said they were still looking for someone to fill that position( after close to two months) and that the CEO suggested that he would actually reach out to my wife again with a better TC.
The Confederacy was a midget taking on a giant. It trailed the Union in population, manufacturing, economic might, transportation networks and available capital. It was a miracle it held on as long as it did.
Let’s start with population. At the start of the war, the population of the Union states was about 22 million. The entire population of the Confederacy was about 9 million, but 3.5 million of those were slaves. As a result, during the war, the Union raised 2 million troops. The Confederacy raised fewer than 1 million.
Similarly, the GNP of the Union states was about three times that of the Confederate states, and most of the Union GNP was manufactured goods even though the Union had triple the arable land. The Union had five times as many factories as the Confederacy, and most Confederate factories were focused on agricultural processing.
The Union had two and a half times more railway mileage than the South, and it was better connected. Most southern railways just ran to the coast.
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Not long into the war, the Confederacy had practically no gold, and thanks to Union blockades, had trouble exporting goods to raise more. Both sides printed currency, and although the Union currency wasn’t popular, the Confederate currency pretty much quickly became worthless.
The Confederacy knew it couldn’t defeat the Union. It’s only hope was that the Union would tire of the war and sue for peace. However, the Confederacy, despite a couple of really competent generals, couldn’t form a strategy that would force the Union to the bargaining table. Yes, Union attacks at the heart of the Confederacy were generally unsuccessful, but on the Mississippi the Union pretty much won every battle and managed to stop Confederate trade dead in its tracks.
Well not many besides people I went to school with and my parents know this story but I figure what the hell! It’s a long one just a warning. I was bullied all through out my grade school and middle school years. I was a chubby over weight girl and far bigger then most of my fellow school mates.
It started with the usual name calling and pushes in the hallway, but it eventually got much much worse. My worst experience would have to be in 8th grade, when one of the boys I had a crush on pretty much the most popular boy in the school, was coaxed by a group of girls to “Ask me out”. Me being the dumb kid I was thought he was being genuine.
He asked if I would go to the school year end dance with him. I was excited I made my mom buy me a new outfit and I had my hair professionally done basically went all out. Well (now this is where it gets hard for me to talk about) I got to the dance and hooked up with a few friend waiting for my “date” to arrive I was so happy and excited.
He showed up and asked me if I wanted to dance. We danced not to a slow song or anything but danced together. Then the girls showed up. These girls were some of the meanest bitches on earth I swear. They came to the dance floor and well they were being nice.
Complimenting me on my outfit and hair saying how lucky I was to snag the hottest guy in school. Well my date then asked if I wanted to go sit on the bleachers for awhile and talk. I went sat down and we started talking and it was like everyone melted away. He then asked to be excused and one of the girls came up and asked if I would go with her to the washroom so we could “fix our make-up”. I walked into the washroom and there were at least 8 girls in there.
They grabbed my hair and ripped me down to the ground they literally ripped all my clothing off. I mean everything and dragged me by my hair out of the washroom one of the three girls stood by the back entrance so I couldn’t get out that way and one other girl locked the bathroom door from the inside so I couldn’t run there. Then my “date” came around the corner said I was a disgusting whale and he would never date someone like me he then grabbed my hair and two other girls grabbed my arms and they dragged me out into the gym dropped me and took off as teachers came running. Two other girls snapped pictures before taking off as well.
so there I was on the gym floor in front of 150 students..teachers and parents…naked..beaten up and crying. If that wasn’t enough one of the girls who snapped a picture of me. Had it developed and used a photo copier and posted the pictures all over the school on the last day. None of the kids involved were ever punished as the princible said ” It’s the end of the year none of these kids will be coming back here anyways”, What they did to me was wrong but I grew from it and I swore come high school I was not going to be some victim.
I joined the football team the first day as the first female linebacker ever and I kicked ass for 3 seasons. I was pretty popular I had tones of friends and even though I was popular I NEVER EVER put anyone else down.
Oh and over the summer I ran into my “date” I went up to him called him a fucking loser and kicked him as hard as I could in the balls.
He moved away…Two of the head girls who did me the most damage I went to high school with….as popular as they were in middle school they were shit in high school one is now a meth head..The other is on welfare with 4 kids!
Our daughter has taken after her mother in that regard.
My daughter was on her way to her office after a lunch with me, waiting for the elevator and a man (30–40s) came along. Made a bit of small talk, and then out of nowhere, he said and I quote what my daughter said “You don’t really have to work. Just show off those knockers to a rich daddy who’ll take care of you and those things”.
When he cleared three interviews (technical, informal, different teams + hiring manager), he was face to face with my daughter, who was the HR boss. She just played the video she got from security from the elevator.
He had to be escorted off, coz he wouldn’t stop accusing her of torpedoing him and turn to begging and than back to accusing.
Needless to say, his career in consulting for retail isn’t going anywhere and my daughter made sure every big employer in the narrow field knows about that man.
I was a proud daddy that week, and you couldn’t do anything to take off the smile off my face.
But the western world will seek the extermination of Chinese.
The western world already wants to exterminate us. Note how the Chinese exclusion acts are being made law in the US right now. Not just Chinese citizens. US born Chinese. Most westerners welcome such laws.
But the Chinese economy will COLLAPSE
But isn’t the Chinese economy ALREADY collapsing?
If anything a massive super heavy casualty war is desirable. Taipei turned into Gaza is desirable… what’s that? Ah yes you’re already sanctioning and accusing us of genocide. So what you gonna do? Sanction us again?
In short anything you can do to us, you’ve already done.
What’s a rule your employer implemented that backfired terribly?
I was eight seconds late getting back from my break. I got wrote up for being late. EIGHT SECONDS.
I usually worked through my breaks and part of my lunch because I just liked doing what I was doing without interruption. (My bosses knew this, too.) But for some reason, on that day, I did take my allotted break, and was late.
After being disciplined for my tardiness, I took every single break, every single time. Right down to the last second. I didn’t work nearly as “hard” as I did previously, either. (I like the t’s crossed, and the i’s dotted. That evaporated. My work was still accurate, but I didn’t go the extra mile.) My employer lost a lot for that eight seconds. However, the most valuable thing that was lost was the respect I used to have for my job and boss.
I was a big and athletic kid but I also moved a lot when I was in elementary school. Each time we moved I had to prove myself all over again.
Being the “new kid” meant that I was bullied by all sorts of kids from all sorts of groups, at least until I fought back.
And I learned to fight back pretty quickly. You don’t really have to win all your fights, you just have to prove that you’re willing to fight. That’s the key. And that you won’t back down.
I particularly had a tough time moving from St. Pete, Florida, to a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1980 between 6th and 7th grade.
St. Pete was awesome. We lived on the water in a great community. We had power boats and sail boats and I had lived there for a couple of years so I had a bunch of friends (Little League and Pop Warner).
No offense intended but the suburbs west of St. Louis sucked in comparison.
Anyhow, as a 7th grader I went to South Senior High School which had grades 7 through 12. My first week there I got into a scrap with some kid and did pretty good. The problem was that he had an older brother, a freshman, who later cornered me when I wasn’t expecting it and gave me a bit of a whooping.
I was so disappointed in myself that I decided to fight the older brother again. So the next day I ran up and basically tackled him in front of all of his friends and fought him until teachers broke it up. I didn’t win but I sure as hell didn’t lose.
But that was enough. Nobody messed with me the rest of that year. Attacking a high school kid got me a lot of street cred with the kids in 7th grade. I was suspended for a couple of days but my Dad was old school so he was proud of me for sticking up for myself.
But then we moved from St. Louis to the East Bay of San Francisco between 7th and 8th grade and I had to do the same thing all over again.
I had a business trip to Las Vegas some years ago. I was traveling with a friend, who frequented LV to gamble several times a year. He suggested we play craps and gave me a book on how it is played.
When we got to the tables, he carefully selected a table, based on the laughing and sport the players were having. His comment: play with people who are having fun. I was next to a guy who had at least $5K in chips. I had my measly $200. As play progressed, my slot had increased to about $400 and I felt great. The guy beside me had at least $25K in his. Then, we all crapped out. I was down to about $300 total, with $100 more than I started with. My friend insisted we leave the table and go for a walk and get a cup of coffee.
We took a walk, had a coffee, etc. My friend told me we’d stop by that table in about an hour and find the same $25K guy playing. We did come back and he had less than $2K in his slot. He had lost over $20K while we walked. My friend told me that many people gamble and do not stop until they lose everything they brought. This was an interesting lesson for me. Gambling can be fun, but one must limit the loss.
Every living creature has an anus: Ants, horses, eagles . . . And us. While most creatures’ anuses do their jobs with little fuss, not so with human beings. The design of our anus is Providence’s little joke to keep us humble.
Consider, for example, the horse. We live across from a horse breeding establishment so I’ve had ample opportunity to observe these estimable animals in action. While they shit copiously they never get any on their hair (when was the last time you saw a horse’s behind fouled by its own waste?). The reason for this lies in the design of the horse anus. It is an extensible device that, when a BM is about to pass, protrudes a few critical inches, allowing the manure to drop straight to the ground without mussing a single hair. To further forfend fouling, there is no hair in the immediate vicinity of the horse’s anus, nor on the extensible process itself. What a remarkable design.
Not so with us. Our small orifice is buried deep in a meaty cleft, the margins of which have to be spread to their limit if there is to be any chance the thicket of long, nasty hair in the cleft will not be fouled by the passing of stool — a vain exercise in 99 cases out of 100. Moreover, while the horse can defaecate while standing, just let a human being try that! No we must squat. But not only squat, we must go through all sorts of contortions to minimize the amount of feces that will cling to the surrounding parts — which, as we all know, is another futile exercise.
To accommodate our flawed design, we are taught from birth to use wads of paper, magazine pages, dried corncobs and even stones, to wipe our filthy behinds. And this we must do! If we did not wipe, we would reek of dung from the cake of dingleberries between our cheeks and our pants, skirts, caftans and burkas, would be fouled with nicotine stains and clouds of flies would follow us down the street like goslings.
I worked in a high tech company and moved up the ladder from bottom level CSR to a business manager overseeing a 60 million dollar product line by the age of 30. I was the best in the world at what I did but I had two huge strikes against me. One was my absolutely shitty attitude. I have written about attitude before. You must always have a great attitude, even if you have to fake it. No single thing is more important to your success in life than your attitude. But mine sucked. The second thing that worked against me was that in many companies, no matter where you are or how good you are, many people will see the guy who started at the bottom. In the eyes of Management, I was the customer support lackey who fixed broken things for them, not the guy making them 60 million dollars a year. There was a distinct lack of respect and that contributed to my bad attitude.
A new manager was hired for the department. He was an angry, mean jerk whose approach to everything was “shoot first ask questions maybe – they don’t deserve your consideration anyway.” I could no longer take the contempt and I quit.
A few months after I left the company began to realize its loss. I am not bragging about myself here. I did good work and I was the best at what I did. I designed the products. I knew absolutely everything about them. I was the sales troubleshooter who went on hundreds of sales calls per year. I knew every weak link in the competition. I knew how to present the product in the best light. I could give stellar presentations to huge audiences. I was making them a lot of money.
So they approached me at my new job and said they wanted me to come back. Everyone wanted me to come back except for that new asshole who had been, and would be my manager. He had been tasked with bringing me back but he didn’t want me back. I outshone him at every level. I could do his job in my sleep. But he was the guy they tasked with bringing me back. So he asked me to dinner.
When you’re going to bring someone back and you ask them to dinner you don’t take them to McDonald’s to make your pitch. We were suit and tie guys and wearing a suit and tie at McDonald’s was a surreal experience. I let it go. I wanted to hear the offer.
And so Greg made the offer. They offered me the exact same money I was making at my new company and that was it. No bonus. No extra stock. No retained seniority or vacation time. He was going through the motions because he was told to go through the motions. But his entire attitude was resentment and anger. For a few minutes I thought I was misunderstanding him; the offer was so lame as to be not even worth the time at McDonald’s. I had to ask for clarification.
He looked at me with contempt and said, “That company you’re at now is going down. We can offer you any terms we want and you’ll take it because you don’t want to be part of a sinking ship.” I might add that my old company that was trying to get me back was also doing a fair imitation of the Titanic at the time, too. I was absolutely stunned when he said it. I couldn’t believe it. So I laughed a little bit, got up and left.
That was a slap in the face offer.
I told a few old friends at my old company what had happened and it got back to the President. He called me personally on the phone and invited me to dinner. It was at a four star restaurant. When I got there he asked me what happened. I told him. He apologized. He said if I came back they would make it worth my while. I asked him if that guy would be my boss. He said yes, there was not much he could do about that. So I thanked him and said no. We ate and talked and then I left.
Two years later my old company was being sold to Compaq Computer on the back of a product I had designed years earlier. Even though I had been gone for two years, I was credited in a speech by the President for the work that made them successful in the sale. By then I was the senior manager in the department of my new company making much, much more money than I ever dreamed possible. I attribute my success in the new company to my new and improved attitude because attitude is everything.
I was in the infantry in 1969, we were at a small, one-company firebase in the Mekong Delta. The Army did not “allow” drug use among its soldiers but it happened anyway. A guy who bunked across from me openly shot heroin. This obviously wasn’t sanctioned by the military. One night when we had set up a standard L-shaped ambush, this fellow decided he wanted to go home and walked right out into the middle of the ambush. Fortunately, nobody clicked a Claymore handle and he was retrieved safely. But the safety of an entire platoon had been compromised.
The very next night two VC walked right through the middle of our ambush site and nobody opened fire or set off a Claymore. We weren’t certain it wasn’t our drug-addicted soldier trying to head home again.
As for alcohol, all we had was beer when the little beer window was open. Pabst, aka rat piss, was 25¢ and the much-preferred Black Label was 35¢, and we sometimes had Bud. There was no hard liquor because there was no PX from which to purchase it. I never saw marijuana use but I’m sure it was widespread in other companies. Heroin was the problem.
So I suspect the next question would be: Why wasn’t this reported to the higher ups? Well, soldiers learned to be remarkably tolerant of their fellow GI’s. There was no upside to creating problems in the platoon, too many opportunities to become a victim of “friendly fire” on a dark night in the boonies. One soldier, on rare stand down days, played “Black Pearl, Precious Little Girl” endlessly on a 45 rpm player and nobody complained.
In summary, the Army allowed drinking because soldiers have consumed alcohol since, well, forever. Drug use was not allowed but it happened anyway, and this was well before the advent of drug testing. Everyone was trying to figure out his own way to get back home safely and the solutions were never that simple.
I worked for my best friend and he got into a bad motorcycle accident he was in coma and had to learn to walk and talk again so I took over doing everything for the company I worked 16 hr days 7 days a week for a year never asked for anything just wanted my friend to have everything he has before the accident. so after a little more than year he was back at work so I asked for a day off he said no he wife didn’t stick up for me or anyone in his family and they all knew what I did for him so I told him I quit he said fine so I went to our 3 big company’s we did work for and asked them if they wanted to learn what we did for them and I told them what my boss did that night we went out bought 3 trucks and I trained them how to do what we did my boss lost over a 1,000,000 because of losing those company’s work and then list his wife and everything he owned because what I did by taking those company’s away
My high school crush was a beautiful girl named Adrian, a year behind me, and it seems I was the only person in the school who had ever seen Rocky and got the ‘Adriaaaaaaaaaaaaaan’ joke she kept making.
She was maybe 5 foot 4, adorable, and had a propensity for sitting in my lap in the lunchroom and stealing my food (I made my own lunch through most of high school).
She also ended up dating a guy who was, to be fair, scum. He had that ‘bad boy’ charm that young women seem to enjoy, I suppose, but he was borderline retarded and generally violent.
One day in 2014, I was sitting around bored and decided to reconnect with people from high school. Would not recommend.
I found her Facebook page, and noticed that literally nothing had been done to it in years.
Then I found her obituary, and his about a month later.
I talked to someone from her circle of close friends in high school, and it sounded like when she graduated, they moved in together. She was bound for great things, musically and mathematically talented, and he was bound to wind up in the gutter.
Sadly, it sounds like he dragged her down, talked her into ‘experimenting’ with drugs, and both died of heroin overdoses.
A Student at Tsinghua asked Ren Zhengfei of Huawei this question
Everyone says China steals from the west. What should we do when someone says that
Zhengfei replied
Keep Innovating. Only the day you become more innovative than them and beat the West on their own terms, would you be in a position to convince yourself that you did not copy from anyone.
That’s your answer
Stealing can only take you so far
So wait and see how China does and then we decide whether China steals or innovates
Unless of course you are the fox who finds the grapes sour
Debate many westerners for a short period of time, what happens? Many of them will turn to racism and dehumanisation when they start losing the debate.
Yesterday for instance somebody posted a comment on the atrocities of Britain against India. He called the atrocities fiction.
I provided counter evidence and he started to dehumanise me and said it was all CCP propaganda.
Except I had been using WESTERN SOURCES.
He couldn’t respond to that so continued to make racist comments at me. They of course don’t see this as racist, much like war crimes against brown people are considered OK because they’re not really people!
You see television and culture of western countries makes them usually white people think they are the master race, that’s why there’s so many self hating Asians in the western world. They’re taught conditioned and trained that whiteness is GODLINESS and many of the people there run with it, as such they feel they can do no wrong, they are the BEST and only humans possible!
I’m in my second week of at home suspension for striking a teacher. He locked me in a classroom and attempted to assault me when I wouldn’t consent to his advances on 14 year old me. The knock on the door was a deputy that served legal papers in our little town. The papers he served me was a summons to court for legal action pertaining to expenses incurred from point there after. I’m being sued by this teacher. My dad exploded, that jerk has bigger problems than money, just wait I don’t care if he’s in a courtroom. OMG I was saying daddy calm down a lot, I only call my dad “daddy” when I need him to calm down and focus on me so he doesn’t get into trouble or worse. The day of court arrived and there stands Mr Smug in his neck brace, bandaged nose, and black eye. I am holding my dad by both hands, telling him to look at me, please I don’t want you in jail dad. It doesn’t help that I’m shaking and I’m sure dad can feel it. Then the judge starts reading the case notes, Mr Smug is suing one Miss Key for medical expenses incurred during an altercation that resulted in a fractured nose, two chipped teeth, severe painful swelling in the groin, blurry vision, slight concussion, and upper neck pain. So young lady how do you plead? I asked the judge if I could present my papers (please don’t laugh we couldn’t afford a lawyer). He accepts my papers which are the affidavits from the custodian, vice principal and teacher (the witnesses that pulled me off of Mr Smug), the arresting deputy, and the school nurse that treated me before my dad arrived. His whole demeanor changed. WTH?! You mean to tell me that you are suing this girl because she kicked your but during an assault? His lawyer started trying to make an argument about me being malicious, and over bearing about defending myself. The judge told him to shut up, in what world does a 30 year old man believe he has a case against a 14 year old child that he is attempting to assault? Lawyer sets in with that is just allegations and hear-say, there’s no proof. I didn’t ask you lawyer I asked your client because as it stands this is the stupidest case I’ve ever heard of. In fact it’s so stupid that I’m dismissing it without prejudice, on grounds of incomprehension and competence. And might I extend my gratitude to you Mr Key for raising an able and resourceful young lady.
Hunter’s Stew (Bigos — Poland)
bigos
Ingredients
6 pounds canned sauerkraut
1/4 pound bacon or salt pork, diced
3 large onions, chopped
3 tart apples, peeled and chopped
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sherry or dry red wine
Salt, pepper, sugar, to taste
3 pounds smoked sausage, sliced
1 bay leaf
Instructions
Rinse sauerkraut in cold water and squeeze out juice well, reserving some of the juice. Put sauerkraut in large kettle over low heat.
Meanwhile, render the bacon or salt pork. Add bacon bits to sauerkraut.
Sauté onions in bacon fat until golden; add chopped apples and cook until slightly browned. Add all to the kettle. Add sausage. Add enough beef broth, bay leaf, salt, pepper, a little sugar and some of the sauerkraut juice for tartness. Simmer slowly for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Add wine and let stew bubble up. Cover and let stand until ready to use.
I went on an interview for a job I was grossly overqualified for, but I was unemployed (to finish my degree, which required internships), then the sequester hit when I graduated, and I needed ANY job so I could find one that was a better fit.
The boss told me the job paid $28 to $30. I was shocked, because that was extremely low, but they hired desperate people and they could smell it.
I then went through the interview process with the team lead and the office manager. Everything went well, and I headed home. It was a long drive, but that’s where business opportunity was.
While driving, I took a call from the office manager. She has been authorized to offer me the job at $10/hour. I did not laugh. I said “that is significantly lower than (boss) indicated the position paid.” Manager says, ‘you didn’t think $28 to $30 meant per hour, I’m sure? (Of course not, but the position SHOULD have paid much closer to that). $10/hour is the same as $28 to $30 thousand.’
I’m driving down the highway at 75 miles per hour, and very calmly said, no, I knew that was the annual salary. But $10/hour is $400 per week, at 52 weeks per year is $20,800 per year. and I did NOT say “if i can do the math in my head while driving, i’m pretty sure you can do it at your desk with a calculator at your disposal!”
Manager says “I can go check with (boss) to confirm – do you want to hold?”
I said “no, you were going to send me an offer letter? Why don’t you tell me about the benefits you mentioned, and when you send the letter you can make sure the figure is correct.”
An offer letter was not one this company typically provided because they liked to bait and switch – pay $8/hour when they’d offered $12, because you had no proof. I learned this later, and was SO glad I’d gotten a letter. When it came in, it was for the $28k figure.
My three-month review never happened, and at five months I had a nice offer from a much better company and I’m still there 5 years later. Making what I’m worth.
Sometimes you have to accept a slap in the face, but don’t let them step on your neck while they’re doing it.
Def-Con 4 (1985)
I remember this one. A cheesy B-grade movie, but I well remember enjoying it. You all have fun.
It is strange that the contemporaneous things going on today Geo-politically is much worse than what is described in this movie. Ugh!
Full Movie! Please watch the first 25 minutes. It’s all gold.
When I was in 8th grade, a classmate along with my sister tore up a painting that I had spent three months working on.
Her name was Rita.
High School / Middle School head games.
But it was cruel. I spent a long time to make that artwork so that it would be displayed in a art fair. And then with pride, the day before the event, I proudly saw it hung on the wall in the fair… located in the High School gym.
But that night, they came in from Cheerleader practice. Got in the gym. Took my picture off the wall. And then carried to school the next day.
My picture wasn’t entered in the fair. It was missing.
When I went into my “home room” the next day, Rita and my sister came up to me, and the class and right before me tore my precious artwork into a million pieces and threw them in my face. Like confetti.
I was in shock.
The class laughed.
The teacher did nothing.
And (later on when I was at home) my mother told me that I “shouldn’t get angry over it”. Just move on she argued. While my father told me “you are the oldest … you have to take the hits”.
…
Who in the fuck convinced me to accept this God Damn life? What the Hell?
The other countries are sanction and embargo proof their economies. From keeping it’s reserves in non western banks to digitising their currencies, to trading via currency swap arrangement, or paying by other currencies than the dollar and U.S. cronies currencies. Sanctions will be totally a thing of the past within a decade at most.
The world is already broken into 2 groups now. One are US, it’s slave vassal nations, the U.S. fellow native slaughterers, the U.S. fellow despicable colonial masters, the few tiny nations around Europe that has be coerce to do shit for the west. This group is less than 2 dozen nation or you can say the minority group. It’s GDP as a group is also coming to 40% and falling fast of the world and in population less than 13%.
The majority group is call the Global South. It include most of Asia, Latin America and Oceania, and all of Middle East, Central Asia and the Caribbean. These nations add up to. At least 175 out of the world’s 195 nations. Or 87% of the world, 60% of the world’s GDP and growing fast and probably 90% or real purchasing power PPP on planet earth.
The first group either has no choice or succumbed to threat by the U.S to support and defend the western so call rules base international order. And sink and swim in it. The second group through the BRICS and SCO will successfully withdraw from the rules based international order but by bit.
Try to imagine a balloon. If you prick it with a pin the balloon will burst and if flies off and the air inside the balloon is gone for good. Now try imagining that the air is the wealth and reserves trapped in side the balloon. This 2nd group is sucking up its air but by bit, little by little till what is left belongs to the 1st group. By that time in a decade or so what will be left is a balloon that is at least half its size.
So within a decade U.S. dollars, SWIFT, Western Institutions, Western Systems, western rating agencies, western exchanges, world bank, IMF and many others that together represent the world order will still be there but only serve the west. The U.S. wants decoupling, the U.S. is getting it. The world is decoupling from the west.
Welcome to the new world.
Mind Virus
Women want Leaders. But the current 20-something group of women do not want to take the follower role. Thus they can never fit with the men that they desire.
I remember a lovely patient who had a very swollen abdomen due to ascites, a complication of cirrhosis of the liver.
Every day in the hospital, I would hang a bag of albumin and chat as I drained fluid from the swollen belly. This was in the day when liver transplants were rare and not for people who had developed cirrhosis from alcohol use.
When it was time for the patient to leave, I was given a very expensive bottle of red wine. I think it came from the patient’s extensive collection of wines. The family was wealthy. We both knew that the cirrhosis was not cureable. I wondered if all the wine was given away before the patient passed. The patient had a wistful smile and explained a bit about the wine that could never again be tasted. I was young and did not know anything about fine wines.
My husband and I shared the wine on our anniversary when we were interns.
Sometimes it is the things we love the most that cause us the greatest pain.
I am a welder with a specific set of specialized skills as an ironworker. I earned about $35 an hour on the lower end with my last job in the union. Im the guy walking on ibeams on skyscrappers hanging off the side welding moment welds. One company wanted to pay me less than McDonald’s to weld.
Recently, however, I have quit this line of work to make time for college. In doing so I was searching for lower paying but more reasonable hours and location. Going to work at the same place for 40 hours a week was my plan. I was having trouble doing this since most companies are wanting me to work lots of overtime.
One day I had scheduled an interview for a job which said I wouldn’t be asked to work over 40 hours a week and it was relatively close to my home. Inquiring about the pay they just said it depended on my skills but it would be very good. I didn’t press further for detsils. On interview weld test day I accidentally left much too early. Realizing I would be 45 minutes early I decided to stop for lunch at a McDonald’s. When I was there I noticed they were offering $22/hour for a maintenance position. I spoke with the manager about it but told them I could probably make more money welding in a shop.
I went to my interview and was asked to take a weld test that took about 2 hours. At the end of the weld test one of the managers took me to a table in the office and saw I was asking for $28 an hour, really I was hoping for closer to $30. He told me the most he would be able to pay was 19 or maybe 20.
“I don’t appreciate all of my time you’ve wasted here, sir. The McDonald’s down the road pays better than this.”
I was quite pissed that I had just wasted well over 2 hours of my time with the drive there, back, and other things I did to prepare for that interview.
The shop welding jobs are paying an average of $25 an hour around here, so I’ll be working at McDonald’s until these cheap asses pay what it’s worth to weld. Why should I do a skilled job when McDonald’s pays nearly the same? I wish more welders would refuse to work for peanuts and maybe we could get some decent wages.
Of course, China have slavery like the US in … errr … emmm … yep … about 3,000 years ago, after Zhou Dynasty established in 1046 BC, Chinese slavery was ended.
Slaves made a great contributions in the war of Zhou rebels to overthrow the Shang Dynasty. In return, the first monarch of the Zhou Dynasty ordered the permanent abolition of slavery, and this order was maintain by all following Chinese dynasties, because that monarch is seen as saint and model of a virtuous ruler for all Chinese rulers, including barbarian born Chinese rulers. Even Mongolian emperors in Yuan dynasty would go to his tomb to worship him in every years, no need to mention others.
In the following 3000 years, although there were several barbarian born monarchs reintroducing slavery into China, but none of their regimes could survive over more than 50 years.
And strictly speaking, the Qing Dynasty had slavery, but their slavery was somewhat distorted because it only existed among the Manchus. The Manchu Eight Banners Army was actually a slave army, with soldiers and officers were actually slaves belongs to the banner lord. They fought in banner lords’ commanding for generations.
But the Manchus seem to regard this slave status as an honor, so you can see that when Manchus write letters to the emperor or their banner lord, they would call themselves something like “a humble slave greeting to my dear lord” in the beginning.
And when some Han favored officials of certain emperors also write like this, the emperor will directly reply to him, saying, “Please call yourself a vassal, you are my Han vassal, not my slaves in banner”.
So, for the Qing Dynasty, slaves in the Manchu system were more like hereditary family of attendants, who established a generational contract. Becoming slaves to the banner lord was not shameful for the Manchus, but rather an honor accepted and protected by banner lords, and all banner lords are royal members.
It was a letter from governer of Hu province and Guang province (This is a very big official position, ruling lands almost over two modern France), a Han official Yang ZongRen, to the YongZheng Emperor of Qing Dynasty, those black writting was Yang’s original writting, red one were the reply of the Emperor.
image 55
In this letter, Yang called himself “the slave”, and Yongzheng Emperor strike out that word, and changed it to “vassal”, and noted that “claiming to be a vassal” is more appropriate.
Of course, this is actually just a Han governor in flattering the emperor. The emperor himself was very happy on that, but still remembered to correct it for him, because it’s not appropriate.
oh … btw, about this letter, except the stroke and note in the right, the left red paragh is:
I am fine (reply the greeting of Yang), although you just arrived in this official position for no long, what you reported and what you did, has already pleased my wish, you are worthy of being a high-ranking governer, so today I leading civil service officials and military officials decided to award you xxxxxx (I don’t know how to translate this, you can think it’s some kind of medal), to recognize your excellent work.
Just let the person know politely. If they refuse to move or try to get you to do a seat swap, and if you don’t want, simply say no, I.dont want to trade seats, please get up. If the person won’t move, push the call button for the flight attendant. Do not move, or let anyone behind you get to their seat. The flight attendant will take care of it more quickly, if the boarding process, is at a stand still.
Happened to me once. I was treating myself to First Class. The First Class section had to rows on the left, but only onecrow on the right. Meaning, those seats were a window/aisle/and had no seat mate. I also, had, the last seat in the row so, nobody behind me. This group of six traveling together, got on first, and all wanted to sit together, took my seat.
The person in my seat redirected me to, a seat on the otherside of the plane, someone had the window seat already. I said, no, I’d like my seat please. They group looked at eachother, the guy in my seat, acted like he wasn’t budging. I didn’t let the people behind me go around me. The flight attendant immediately asked if everything was ok. I said, just waiting for him to get out of my seat, I asked nicely once already. She told him to move, and that he was holding up the boarding process.
You don’t have close friends just friends. Most of the people you are around, are only there because of circumstances not really related to you in anyway.
The sooner you start focusing and planning on your life goals the easier it will be achieving them.
One of the most important thing you can teach yourself during your 20’s is self discipline. This is the first thing we should learn and crave to achieve.
Life moves very fast, do things you enjoy at the moment cause our situations tend to also change as fast then we later feel like we missed out on somethings.
The more you expose yourself to the world around you, the more you expand your thinking horizons. Travel, socialize and live life don’t lock yourself out of these important things.
Learn to cook a variety of menu’s of proper home meals. Cooking is a very important skills much more as an adult.
You start using drugs as curiosity soon it becomes for fun later it becomes a dependency. The transition is so fast you barely realize it.
Learn about proper workout routines you can do to energize your body. You don’t have to do hard excercise even if its just yoga. Its more about something you can commit to that benefits you.
Reading and getting creative are ways to keep your brain sharp and generate new ideas. Make sure you read novels and try out the different forms of art around you.
Don’t be selfish in your 20’s, most of the things we hold on to are barely important in our 30’s. Stuff like money, food, material possessions. Learn to share cause these memories are the ones that we keep. Be real with every real person around you.
This takes me back a few years. The Philadelphia DA felt he caught “Streets” workers at extreme wage theft.
The city had gone through a series of bad snow storms requiring both city employees and contractors running snowplow on the streets for over a week.
A few months later the DA holds a press conference that a particular employee is being charged with felonies related to false time sheets (getting paid for time not worked). It might have been the soft kick-off to their campaign for mayor or governor — showing how they could fix problems like this.
In next day or two the employee is arraigned in court with lawyers from the union. The DA (usually an assistant associate low level attorney handles these hearings) give a speech about how it was not humanly possible for the employee to have worked the hours claimed (from memory: between 120 and 160 hours in a week) so they had to be sleeping on the job — “stealing from the taxpayers of our fine city, this just shows how the union abuses the city.”
Union attorney gets to say their piece. A few flowery words about clueless wealthy elected officials overreaching. Then the attorney drops the appropriate section of the contract (again: from old memory so not exact quote) “so long as any contractor truck is on the road performing snow removal and an employee is *available* for work, they shall be paid.”
This was exactly the situation covered by the contract. It was written that way so the city could bring in help for emergency-level snows but not outsource the employees.
A bit of evidence how the employee *worked* a lot of hours and then slept “on-site” (where they would normally pick up their truck) so they were clearly “available”.
The criminal case was thrown out. There may have been a $ settlement to the employee for false arrest and the DA’s political career petered out.
Beef and Mushroom Stew with Caraway Dumplings
Browning meat in the oven reduces the amount of fat needed for cooking. Serve with julienne parsnips and carrots.
mushroom beef blog
Ingredients
Stew
1 1/2 pounds round or blade steak
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Bouquet Garni*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (if necessary)
1/2 pound small mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
* Tie together with kitchen twine 1 celery stalk with leaves, 3 or 4 sprigs parsley, 1 bay leaf and small sprig of thyme
Dumplings
1 cup soft fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup melted margarine or butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 egg white
Instructions
Stew: Cut steak into 1 1/2 inch cubes. In a bag, combine flour, pepper and salt. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat with flour mixture. Shake off excess and place meat on wire rack in flameproof casserole. Bake in 350 degree F oven for about 25 minutes or until browned. Meanwhile, prepare Bouquet Garni.
Set meat aside on platter.
Place casserole over medium heat. Only if necessary add all or part of the oil. Add mushrooms, cap side down, and cook until golden, transferring to platter as they brown.
Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is transparent. Add stock, wine and tomato paste; bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping bottom of casserole with wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits.
Return meat to pan; add Bouquet Garni. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Meanwhile prepare dumplings.
Dumplings: In a bowl, toss bread crumbs and melted margarine together with a fork. Combine flour, baking powder, caraway seeds and salt. Mix lightly into crumb mixture. Beat together egg and egg white; add to crumb mixture and mix lightly (mixture will be soft) shape into 8 balls of even size.
Remove Bouquet Garni and discard. While stew is simmering, add dumplings, cover and cook, without removing lid, for 18 minutes.
I had a scheduled interview for an OFFICE job! Up to that point I had been doing piecework sewing, processing chickens, and guarding slabs of foam rubber… This was a HUGE step up!
During the night before the interview, it snowed 4 inches in Baltimore. Now this is not that big a deal… except in Baltimore, it IS. Public transport did not run. Traffic was pretty sparse first thing in the work day… I decided to walk the 3 miles to the interview. I got there in plenty of time, changed my hiking boots for heels in the ladies’ room, and went to the office where the interview was to be held.
Nobody home.
A guy showed up and asked what I was doing standing in the hall. I explained I was there to interview as an accountant’s assistant. He asked how I got there. When I said I walked, he looked dubiously at my heels. He said, “In THOSE shoes?” I admitted my boots were in the ladies’ room. He asked to see the boots, so I went and got them. As soon as he saw that I really did have boots I was hired. I had not yet even entered the offices.
I always field strip my cigarettes and stick butts in my pocket. Yes, it smells disgusting.
I have a P38 on my keychain. This is a tiny can opener used to open cans of C-rations. It even gets used once in a while.
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5. Take my hat off when going indoors. Because of this, I rarely wear a hat.
6. When a passenger in a vehicle, I act as “assistant driver.” I let driver know if it is clear or not on my side.
7. I act as a ground guide for people backing up. I will often ask people to ground guide me when I am backing up, often to their puzzlement. Of course, they do not know the correct hand signs to use and those I am helping often don’t understand the signs I give them.
8. I scan the side of roads more than necessary in the US. Not too many IEDs on our roads.
9. I say, “I got your back” or “Do you have my six?” too much.
10. I use the military phonetic alphabet. D is for Delta, not Dog.
11. I use the word “task” a lot.
12. I tend to try to help people with what the military calls hip pocket training. Many people find this annoying and would prefer to screw something up than get some quick pointers.
13. Finally, I learned to never put more than eight words on a power point slide because the Army puts hundreds of words on one slide. Along with this, I also learned to NEVER ask someone to read a power point slide with hundreds of words on it.
China would be burning a lot of bridges if they do and China is hesitant to do that
The West knows it’s dying and is thus ready to inflict every horror on it’s population
They are prepared to subject their population to everything from inflation to starvation knowing that they have tamed their population sufficiently through propaganda
They can cause China to lose quite a bit of money if they invade Taiwan and that could make a lot of Chinese unhappy and cause some strife within the country
Plus more importantly, China believe Taiwanese are their brothers and killing them is a no no because at least 30% Mainlanders have family in Taiwan
So that’s what’s stopping China
Otherwise if China decide that they don’t care, China can pulverize and decimate Taiwan into a graveyard overnight and nobody can do a thing to stop them without risking WWIII
Yep, my brother fell out of a Huey. He was in Nam and the radio went wild, with troops needing to be evacuated from a hot zone. He jumped in as the M-60 machine gunner. It was the first time he flew into a hot zone. His adrenaline was high. Because of that, he forgot to strap in. The Huey headed out over the paddies and couldn’t land because there was a nest of Charlies that needed to be taken out first. The pilot banked to the left super hard so my brother could shoot the 60 down at Charlie’s nest. The pilot banked too hard and my brother fell out right on top of two Charlies. The wind was knocked out of all three of them. My brother was the first to come to his senses, and realized he didn’t have a weapon. He looked around and found one of the Charlie’s AK and as they started to get up he blasted them both. Killed them dead, he did. The chopper picked the GIs up and then came back and rescued my brother. When he got back to the base, the pilot said, “That is the bravest thing I have ever seen, jumping unarmed out of a Huey, kill two gooks, and saved a squad. Boy I am going to put you in for a Silver Star.” My brother told him, “I fell out and was just trying to save my ass.” He still got the Star. Analyse and improvise. A motto to live by!
The first time a European owned company announced a round of layoffs in a month. I was the new guy in the group and figured I was disposable. The day of the announced layoffs I went into work wearing my “Gone With The Wind” tie.
When I was summoned to the boss’ office, my desk had been cleared of all personal effects. My pulled out a paper and made to read it. I stopped him and said, “I know I’m being laid off. What are the details?” Boss was rather startled and we started talking about it.
I told him that he had a good old boys club where engineers from headquarters would rotate in then return for a raise & promotion. U.S. employees were treated as second rate. Thanks for the layoff. I was pretty disappointed in the company.
When he asked how I knew that I would be laid off, I told him that the company had announced the layoffs a month earlier. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that I was one of the newest people in the group and not part of the “club”. Of course I was the easiest to lay off.
I also told him that it was pretty stupid to announce the layoffs a month previous. Everyone quits working and it encourages mischief. Oh they hadn’t thought of that.
The bosses were gone within 3 months.
The other was a company where I was the entire engineering department. My boss & I were always at odds. He wanted to get rid of the product line. I’m sure the fact that his brother worked for a competitor had nothing to do with his decision.
The company staged an ambush layoff on January 2nd. Oh well, at least they didn’t screw up the holidays.
Although they offered $10k, I refused to sign their termination agreement and collected unemployment all through the covid lunacy. Made out like a bandit.
Why sex is important.
Men know this instinctively. Modern 20-something, 30-something women, are having trouble with this.
I was at home, having broken my foot in a stupid accident, when the head of HR was “in the area” and wanted to see me. After the pleasantries, she told me that I was being made redundant and my job no longer existed.
In the UK, firing someone is not easy or cheap. A company can find itself in court and it can all get a bit grubby. So a more usual tactic is to say that the employees job is no longer needed. Employers like this, because it saves it all getting public, legal and unpleasant, and employees like it because the employer has to pay to make it all go away.
So we negotiated a redundancy fee and the next day a car came with my personal things from my office. I trousered the (generous) cheque and picked up the phone.
The irony was that I had just had an exceptional year. I had won a load of creative awards (I was a creative director at Saatchi and Saatchi) including a Cannes Gold. I have no idea why they wanted me out. To this day I don’t know.
Two weeks later I signed a contract with a rival company for a bigger salary.
The local supermarket includes a hot table where they sell hot cooked chickens for $10.99 It’s a good deal – I’ll get one occasionally. It looks like this; if this is unfamiliar in your area:
image 570
The pack includes a cardboard handle for easy carrying.
One day, I noticed that whoever had labeled the latest batch of chickens had made a mistake. Instead of $10.99, they were labeled as $0.99. Cool! Cheap chicken! lol. Not really – I like the folks there and quickly let the lady in the meat line know. The chickens had only just come out; no loss to anyone.
Except – I was not the only one that had found it. A woman of – how do I say this – limited intelligence saw it and began screeching at the top of her lungs “Chicken for a buck! CHICKEN FOR A BUUUUUCK!!!” and began loading her cart.
The manager arrived right at that moment, apologized and began to correct the matter.
The woman went ballistic; screaming, shouting bloody blue murder, accusing him of stealing, of trying to starve her to death, etc. etc. etc. The price was 99 cents dammit, she deserved chicken for 99 cents!
The manager, in an effort to ease the situation, agreed. He told her that alright; she had ‘found’ the error; she could have a chicken for 99 cents.
There was a long pause as the woman looked dumbfounded. Then she launched herself at the table, screeching, trying to grab every chicken she could possibly get her hands on. Chickens were falling everywhere; spilling onto the floor. The manager tried to intervene but no help – she was grabbing, stuffing, howling; it was a disgusting display of a complete lack of dignity.
She was taken out of the store in handcuffs; without her 99 cent chicken. The entire batch of roast chicken was destroyed.
Of course I agree with you absolutely, and any person could see it unless you are in denial or made brain dead by the western media.
They offer consistency and continuity in their policies to investors and business yet the protect their citizens against the ills of raw capitalism. In other words Socialism with Chinese characteristics takes the best of both worlds and rejects the flaws of both systems.
Hence the growth of both economies of China and Vietnam both grow phenomenally and consistently. For decades and now generations through ups and downs of the economic cycle. Westerners scream democratic and freedom but ignores the fallacy of this costly, inefficient and mostly corrupt system that put their people at the mercy raw capitalism.
If you look at the U.S. for example, 1% have more money than they ever need, 10% are wasteful and selfish but can afford to live comfortably , while 70% are poorer than most advance economies and in fact are like the majority of Chinese except that the Americans has to bear the burden of it’s weaker purchasing power in their country. The majority of Chinese has high disposable income. And while Chinese cut out the destitute poor in the past 10 years, the U.S. raw capitalism allowed the 19% in Americans to have to worry where their next meal is coming from and they barely have 500 dollars to their name!
A government role in a society is surely to bring prosperity, peace and harmony and healthy living for everyone. From that count the Chinese population enjoys that. Western liberal democracy allows the rich to get richer and the poor to be destitute. But because they wrongly thinks they need to overlord the entire world, they barely have enough money left to pay for infrastructure, college education or healthcare. So they fail the poor and pamper the rich!
Are you surprised that according to western surveys, 91% of Chinese favour their government and 36% of Americans favour their government! I am not! Are you?
My son was given a car for his birthday. We bought it. It was nice little car that had been wrecked and was repaired and had a salvage title. That meant that a previous insurance carrier had totalled it following the wreck, and it had been repaired and state certified to be safe.
Anyway, he had been driving it for several months to school and to work after school. This one day he was in his way to work and came to a stop sign. Stopped, insured the traffic was clear and went to make a left turn. Older lady than him (he was 17, she was 36) had stopped at the opposite stop sign and gunned it, hitting my son’s car in the back quarter panel and rear door on the passenger side. He called me and I went to the scene. The accident was on state highway, inside city limits. I had the option to have the highway patrol called to work the accident, however I decided to just let the local police work it. I spoke with the lady and she was all apologetic and saying she’d take off it…yeah, right…
She took care it alright. She whines and said that it wasn’t her fault, that kid just stomped on the gas and caused the accident. They took her word for it. Even though you could about tell from my son’s damage that she caused the accident.
So the next day, my son is home in bed sick. I’ve medicated him and he’s sleeping. The phone rings, it’s the insurance adjuster from her insurance. Absolutely demands to speak with my son. I tell him no, that my son is sick, had been medicated and it’s sleeping, and that I won’t wake him. Adjuster didn’t like that and was insistent. Well he woke Mama Bear…I told him that my son was 17, still a minor, and that he (the adjuster) would wait until I said that my son could talk with him, then I hung up.
Could days go by. Another phone call from someone else in that company. Says that my son was assigned 50% blame (no fault state here) because he turned into a four lane road and didn’t stay in the closest lane. I laughed and asked what town did your adjuster go to? My town has zero four lane roads, only part of the highway with a center turn lane, that ended 2 blocks before the intersection where the accident happened. They wouldn’t budge, so I said fine whatever, just cut me a check. BTW, they wouldn’t pay for a rental since my son wasn’t 21, and wouldn’t get one for me so I could let my son have my car, since I wasn’t in the accident… we only had liability insurance on my son’s car as it was so expensive, so they couldn’t do anything.
So I took pictures and sent them to the insurance adjuster and asked him to show me where the four lanes were. He tried to say the wide shoulder was a lane, yeah.. No.
Get another call, they do they’ll cut a check for less than half what we paid for the car, since it had a previous salvage title. Even with the salvage title, this care was with 4 times what they offered and twice what I paid. I only wanted them to pay what I had bought the car for. They refused, so I told them I’d let my attorney handle it from there on out. That gal said, “go ahead, we hear that all the time”. I said that fine, but do you hear this “I’m the biggest bitch in the state and I mean what I say”. She started spluttering and I just hung up.
We engage our attorney. The vehicle was towed to an indoor storage facility (the window was busted and the interior would have been exposed to weather). In the meantime, my son graduates high school and joined the army. After several months our attorney calls and says that the insurance company wants me to release the car to them as it’s racking up a huge bill. I asked if they were giving me what I wanted, he said no, they’d only come up to about 3/4 of my demands. I laughed and said no.
Another few months go by. Now my son has graduated basic and is almost finished with his advanced training and is days away from getting married. Insurance is whining about the storage fees again. Again they don’t want to pay. Of course once I hired our attorney, the suit included the insurance paying my attorney as well as the storage fees and the original cost of the car. So again I say no. I got a call from the storage facility. The was a tow truck there for the car. I drove there and told the driver nope, you can’t have it. He tried to say that he had orders to impound it… I laughed at I called my attorney.
So now it’s been over 2 years since the accident. My son and his wife are in Germany. I get a call from my attorney. He’s laughing his ass off. Said he had a check for me, $500 more than I asked for and all storage fees and his fees as well. Said the person he had been dealing with was whining about how hard I was to deal with and that I should have compromised sooner. Attorney told him that had I been given what I asked for at the get go, it would have been a hell of a lot cheaper. Was told that since hardly anyone actually engages an attorney, it’s the risk they take, and since their attorneys were on staff, they didn’t cost anything extra.
So because they wouldn’t pay out a measly $5400…it finally cost them almost $30,000.
I kept the extra $500 and sent the $5400 to my son.
So it might not have hurt the insurance company to shell out that $30k, but to me it was the principal. They thought because he was 17 that they could take advantage of him. They didn’t count on me.
I see a couple of answers that are good but don’t answer the whole question. Manufacturing is important but it is more than just that, but they are good at manufacturing.
1 – SpaceX has a strong bias toward action. Elon wants it done tomorrow and he expects you to work all night if you have to in order to make it. They definitely push action now. (Blue Origin started before them and still hasn’t made it to orbit. SpaceX did in 2008).
2 – SpaceX has a willingness to learn. They test early and often to learn about basic design flaws early. An example is the Starhopper. It was the simplest version you could ever build of a Starship. It was a tin can (actually fuel tanks) with an engine and a flight computer. They tested the engine and the control algorithm using that.
image 54
3 – SpaceX has a bias toward simplicity. One of Elon’s favorite sayings is “The best part if no part”. In other words they always look for ways to eliminate whole systems. Starship and the “catch” is an example of that. They eliminated landing gear and a few thousand pounds of structure to support it.
4 – SpaceX is willing to dream big and innovate. In 2010 when Elon said they would land boosters on the Falcon 9 and reuse them people laughed at him. That is impossible! They lost a couple figuring it out but they have now landed 239 of them as of 12/19/2023 according to their website. I assume that is updated for last night’s launch. (They launch a couple of times a week). For Starship they will catch the rocket during a controlled descent!
5 – SpaceX understands where the real cost of space travel comes from and avoid it. They try not to drop millions of dollars of flight hardware in the ocean. They also launch often to avoid accumulating costs (salaries) without income (launches) and are moving to improve both with Starship.
6 – They avoid silly costs like buying multi-million dollar NASA certified flight components. Instead they usually build their own from off-the-shelf commercial components and save millions.
The end result is they are doing things no one else can or will ever do. Next stop Mars!
My wife and I were visiting friends, and we’d all been joking around for a couple of hours. Some of the jokes were “mean” in the “I’m just busting your balls” sense, but I didn’t think there was any genuine meanness going on.
On the way home, my wife got really quiet. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, “You really don’t know, do you?” She then told me I’d seriously hurt her feelings.
My heart sank. That’s the one thing I never, ever want to do. She’s my best friend, and causing her pain is unforgivable. But, no, I didn’t know what I did. I had no idea what she was referring to.
She found this hard to believe, because, from her point of view, I embarrassed her in front of our friends by, out of the blue, accusing her of being “bad” in a very specific way (which I won’t go into here, because I’d hate to humiliate her, again).
Immediately, I remembered saying it, but … but … it had been a joke! We’d all been joking around, in a cutting sort of way, and I’d just joined in.
My wife said, “It didn’t sound like a joke!”
“But why would I purposefully want to hurt you?”
“I don’t know. I was flabbergasted when you said it. I guess you must resent me.”
I apologized. I hate it when people make excuses for themselves while apologizing (“I really, really meant it as a joke!”), so I didn’t. I said “I’m very sorry. I should never hurt you. That’s terrible. I love you.”
She gradually got over it—or pretended to—but I didn’t. I realized this has happened to me before, and, a few days later, I discussed this with my wife, being careful not to make anything sound like an excuse.
“I think sometimes, when I’m joking, I don’t signal the fact with an ‘I’m just kidding’ voice. Would you say that’s true?”
“Yes,” she said. “You have a very dry sense of humor. It’s often hard to tell if you’re joking or not. Sometimes I have to explain to people that you’re joking.”
I’m autistic, and though (after decades of work), my social skills are mostly indistinguishable from a non-autistic person, that’s one way I screw up. When joking, I have a totally flat affect. I don’t realize it at the time. I don’t feel like I have a dry sense of humor. In my head, I’m goofy, not dry, but the goofiness doesn’t always translate.
Once, at work, when, at the end of a meeting, my boss asked “What will you be working on tomorrow?”
I said, “I don’t plan on coming to work tomorrow. I think I’ve worked enough for one lifetime. I’m going to stay home from now on. That sounds like more fun.”
There was a long pause. Everyone stared at me. Finally, in a really quiet voice, someone asked “Are you joking?”
To me, it was obvious I was joking. But I was in a minority of one. And this wasn’t in a stodgy, conservative office. This was a partying crowd. (Part of the problem is that I tend to joke when I feel like it. I don’t wait until there’s a general “we’re joking now” vibe. This mistake isn’t terribly conscious on my part, but I’m vaguely aware that I do it.)
In addition to being autistic, I come from a part of the midwest where people naturally have a flat affect. I grew up around folks who sounded a little bit robotic, and I inherited their tendency to talk without much vocal music. (If you’ve heard Martin Starr’s voice on “Silicon Valley,” you know what I’m talking about.)
I thought more about that night, with my wife and our friends, and realized I’d been trying to impress them. Once the jokes got started, I wanted to out-joke everyone else, and I stopped caring about who I trampled on. While I hadn’t purposefully hurt my wife’s feelings, I had used her to get a cheap laugh.
And then I thought some more about it. The thing I’d “jokingly” accused her of was something about her that irritated me at times. Had I acted out, in a passive-aggressive way, instead of talking to her, directly? I can’t discount that possibility. If that’s what I did, I was an asshole.
I went camping with my dog. We arrived at night and ended up in a remote area. I managed to get the tent up, get a fire going, plopped myself down with my dog at my side on a leash.
Suddenly she jumped and barked at something, I then smelled this weird smell, it was a grassy metallic smell that stung my nostrils. In that second i didn’t realize it was fresh skunk odor. My dog startled and lunged at the skunk and sprayed my girl right in the face, her eyes were slammed shut.
I had to take her to the water pump and wash her eyes out and wash her face and head as best as I could late at night.
Then I had another problem, where would my dog sleep ? I couldn’t leave her tied up outside due to the skunk and/or bears. If I left her in my car I would never get the smell out. So she slept in the tent and stunk the tent up.
I stuck it out, gave her several baths of dish soap,.hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Still took,.weeks for the smell to go away.
She has a thick coat and for months I brushed or.petted her the skunk smell would drift out of her coat.
I never forgot that grassy metallic smell of fresh skunk odor and I hate skunk smell.
I’m originally from Edinburgh, Scotland but now live in Perth, Australia. I had decided one day to visit AQUA which is Perth’s aquarium and was using a bus instead of driving. When we arrived at the stop for AQUA a young male and female were getting off too and asked the driver how to get to the aquarium ( it’s at the far end of a complex with shops, cafes, beachside etc) so I said I was going there too and would show them the way.
On walking we chatted and I realised the girl was Scottish and asked whether she was here on holiday. They both were and we discussed where she was from ..it was St Andrews. Further conversation re courses at Uni etc and she said she was studying Physics and Space Science at Edinburgh University. That was a coincidence as my niece had done a very similar course at Leicester Uni as Edinburgh didn’t have that course when my niece was at Uni. I told her my niece had done the course at Leicester and she said a friend of hers had also gone to Leicester. I mentioned my niece by Christian name and was asked what her surname was. The friend was my niece. Then I remembered my sister and her OH had friends who lived in St Andrews. This girl was the friend’s daughter and was only in Perth for a few days as she and her b/f were having a tour round Australia.
This girl’s father had been my sister and her OH’s best man at their wedding. If I hadn’t been on that bus on that particular day or if I hadn’t overheard them ask exactly where the aquarium was we would never have known the connection. Quite the coincidence.
If war means China going to the U.S. to fight America, then you are right. But it is a not factor. China does not want to do that unless the U.S. hit China. China won’t be the first to lay its hands by
If war means China fighting off U.S. in China which include Taiwan, China then let me make it super clear. China is super duper ready now to give the U.S. such a hiding it will collapse the U.S. financially, economically, politically and militarily that the U.S. will never be the same again. Don’t even think about it. Your media, your politician and say what you like but if we have to sink all you dozen aircraft carriers we will in the defence of the motherland.
I think the U.S. knows that, that is why it won’t dare. But god help the U.S. if move beyond talking shit.
The research company I worked for was downsizing. My previous boss had already been let go and my new boss kept sending his employees to learn everything in my department. Well one fave employee thought she was better at my job and kept trying to change our protocols. She never actually did any work, just made our lives miserable.
Then the day came where new boss walked in and started handing out moving boxes. He didn’t even say a word, just passed out the boxes. We all packed up and left. Now my lab was a resource lab that did a ton of work for the other labs. Suddenly me and all my staff were let go and the new boss handed it over to his people.
Guess what? They had never done these procedures, used the high tech equipment or even understood the complicated algorithms to process the data. First week I get 9 phone calls asking for help. That was met with a big NOPE. Then I get a call that the favorite employee had mishandled one of the very expensive robot units and it was out of order. They wanted ME to come in and reprogram it and get them back up and running. Oh heck no! I never went back and never helped.
Lesson of my story is don’t play favorites and make sure you have the staff to accomplish the job.
It was in the 90’s on an international flight. There was a middle aged lady with a Gameboy playing a game at full volume after the lights went out and most of the passengers were sleeping.
People were asking her, then telling her, to shut off the sound. It appeared as though she did not speak English. So one guy rang the flight attendant, who came quickly, but could not communicate with the lady. She got another flight attendant who spoke the woman’s language, who seemingly asked her very politely to turn off the sound. Sorry, I don’t know what language it was. And if I did I wouldn’t say.
As soon as the flight attendant walked away, she started another game. Beep, beep, boing.
Angry passengers were yelling at her. Her husband got up to defend her. Someone rang the flight attendant again. You could tell by the exasperated sigh of the flight attendant that she knew what was going on.
She scolded the woman (assuming from her tone), who pretended to be hurt. It just kept getting stranger and stranger.
The woman shut off the Gameboy and put it away. But as soon as the flight attended walked away, she pulled it out and started another game. Beep, beep, boing. Here we go again.
Finally, a big burly man walked over, put his big hand on the husband’s shoulder and warned him, “I have no problem with you, but you better sit down if you know what’s good for you.” The husband might not have spoken English, but he sat down.
The big man pulled the Gameboy out of the woman’s hands, pulled off the back, took the batteries out, and gave it back to her. She was now screaming in a language I did not understand.
“You’ll get the batteries back when we land. If you had just turned down the sound this wouldn’t have happened.” He was raising his voice, partially because he was angry, but partially because he thought she didn’t speak English.
Finally, as he went back to his seat, she stood up and yelled in perfect English, “F**K YOU!!! IT’S NOT AS FUN WITHOUT THE SOUND!!!”
I once offered $5,000 toward state-of-the-art proton beam radiotherapy to a very good friend of mine. After speaking with his mother, he told me no, because she had advised him that, when he was unable to pay me back, I would sue him.
I, in fact, never made this $5,000 loan. — That he turned it down made him, in a way, a stranger to me; it’s almost impossible to go from a state of literally talking about everything little thing of the day with your buddy to … in all likelihood, slowly, he is dying of cancer; he probably won’t be here in five years.
I hope he’ll be here in 20. — For a cancer that is only responsive to surgery yet located in a place that barely tolerates any surgery, much less surgical resection, — for a cancer that has no effective chemotherapy treatments, curative or palliative; that, even for proton beam therapy, it’s probably not going to work.
And, you only get one shot (pretty much). — Getting the proton beam therapy twice carries about the same risk of catching another fatal cancer, so the utility-maximizing function aspect of this changes.
The part of my brain that is finance-oriented — that manifold — expects a forecast of a certain result, and deviation from that result, whether up or down, is necessarily bad.
If you forecast profits of $0, and in reality, you received $100,000, then great, but it’s still a problem from a risk perspective.
People do small things now. They will choose not to homestead their homes. I don’t know why; always reason. Perhaps… not planning on staying here all that long. Yes, but the money you’d save in taxes would… pay for the radiotherapy.
Do you see where this is going?
The whole new-money/old-money part of the film, Titanic, is interesting in how correct it is, and how misleading it is.
Rose is everything great about old money with none. Jack, of course, is fictional.
—
Jack woulda lost the best. Jack woulda died under the bridge.
Jack would’ve been of a mindset that you could not trust him with a blue diamond necklace but for if he were even accused of stealing it, he would never see the light of day again. — William Blake writes of circumstances like this (see: end of Auguries of Innocence).
This person and his mother are not crazy. There is no reason to think they would not be able to understand that you cannot sue someone for return of a gift.
But, it would take someone, for lack of a better term — like me —, to explain this to him/them, and they don’t want to believe it. I don’t know.
Maybe $5,000 was never enough. — Or, maybe we should not second-guess people. I know what they said.
Hungarian Stew with Noodles
Hungarian Stew with Noodles
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large garlic clove
5 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium onions, sliced
3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (16 ounce) package bow tie macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
Instructions
In an 8-quart Dutch oven over medium heat in hot oil, cook garlic 1 minute (discard), add stew meat and onions. Cook until meat is lightly browned.
Stir in tomato paste, water, paprika, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours or until fork-tender, stirring often.
Cook noodles, drain and toss with butter and parsley.
To serve, sprinkle stew with lemon peel and caraway seed.
You need to be able to read through English and dissect what CNN says
In most of the Media propaganda, they generally don’t lie about the content, they mislead people through the Headline and the Conclusion
For instance, they say Chinas Economic Growth will decline
It will
China grew at 7.41% from 2013–2023 and now will grow at around a worst case of 3.93% from 2023–2033
That is a decline in growth by 47%
Any non economist who reads this will say the same thing
However let’s look at 2003–2013
Chinas average growth was 11.21% from 2003–2013
Thus Chinas growth rate ALSO declined from 2003–2013 to 2013–2023 by 34%
Now let’s see another thing
How much population growth contributed to GDP growth in each decade
2003–2013 – it was 4.9%
2013–2023 – it is 0.8%
2023–2033 – it is going to be 0%
How much Government spending contributed to GDP each decade?
2003–2013 – It was 13.90%
2013–2023 – It is 6.30%
2023–2033 – It’s going to be 3%
How much will Real Estate contribute to GDP growth each decade?
2003–2013 – It was 15.75%
2013–2023 – It is 10.77%
2023–2033 – It will be 0%
What do you see here?
You see that the GDP Growth for China from 2023–2033 will be entirely from solid areas instead of paper growth
High Technology Manufacture & Domestic Consumption which accounted for 1% in 2003–2013, 3.1% in 2013–2023 will account for 14% of Chinas GDP Growth in 2023–2033
So Chinas 3.93% will almost entirely build it’s foundation economy and not it perceptionary economy
By 2033, China will have an immensely strong economy and resilient one
I had a classmate who must have married a rich guy. I didn’t even try to keep in touch with her after high school. But we ended up friends on Facebook. That was the time I just accepted every friend request from everybody I’d ever met in life.
After a while, she started to get on my nerves. She constantly complained about her upper class problems.
I don’t think I have time to get the cabin ready for summer. All the linens I ordered haven’t come in yet. I want to kids to sleep on new sheets, not last year’s garbage.
Paris was great, but now we don’t have enough time to get the boat ready for the lake.
I just hope the new furniture arrives at the cabin on time.
The painters came on the wrong day. They were supposed to come before the new carpet, and before the furniture arrived. So we had to put our new living room furniture in the theater room. It’s so inconvenient.
Can somebody teach me how to use the navigation system in my new Mercedes S Class? I miss my BMW 740i. I just can’t learn a new navigation system every year like this.
Just got back from Hawaii for Christmas. Now I have to supervise these caterers for the New Year party.
I later found out that they had a second mortgage on the house, credit card debt, and they were a month away from foreclosure. That didn’t make me happy, but it explained why she was always complaining about her problems. She was trying to make people that she hadn’t seen in a decade think that she was doing fine.
I was given a notice that I was going to be let go and a slap-in-the-face job offer from the same employer in the same week! let me explain….
I had been working for the same employer for years (on and off) and my group was getting a little light on work, although there was a lot more work on the horizon. One day, I was pulled into the Manager’s office and was notified that I would be laid off in 2 weeks. I wasn’t really shocked, as I could see the writing on the wall due to light workload. I was offered 2 months severance at my current salary and would be paid out my remaining vacation time. Considering that I was being fired, the severance package offered was pretty good. I signed on the dotted line!
With my impending unemployment looming in the distance, I began working my network for a new gig. After about a week, I had a few interesting local prospects. It was then that a supervisor in another part of the company that I was being let go from contacted me. He said that they would like to retain me and rip up my forced resignation letter, but only if I would agree to a 20% pay cut and a relocation. I had 5 days to decide, which was pretty stressful, considering that I had a family to support and potentially uproot.
I was slightly insulted and my soon to be former co-workers thought it was a big slap-in-the-face, considering that I had been slated for a lot of future work at my current salary. Come to find out, the company had realized that I was needed, but wanted to make some extra coin off me by paying me less and billing me at my previous higher rate to clients. After all my years of service, commendations, and happy clients, the company I had worked weekends for, neglected my friends and family for, and sacrificed my time with my kids for, was trying to take advantage of me by trying to put me in a bind and forcing me to decide quickly on a bad offer.
Anyhow, a direct competitor was interested in my services and immediately offered me a slightly better salary than I was currently making with better benefits. They wanted to scoop me up before I accepted the bad deal. I turned down the 20% pay cut offer, accepted my resignation and 2 months severance package and took a wonderful 1 month vacation. After a month, I began working for my new employer, which happened to be across the street from my former employer. Within a year, my former employer was bought by a huge international company and a lot of people quit or were fired. I am very happy with my new employer.
I worked in admin with only men in my departement in a company that worked at airplane propellor⁹ services, a very strickt environment. I needed a better chair and some cabinets. The head of the supply departement, a gorilla type man, accompanied me to a shack on the premesis. We went inside and he locked the door with a padlock. I acted like I hadn’t noticed. I babbled along about what I thought was suitable, testing some chairs, opening cabinets, heart pounding! Meanwhile he laid out some flat cartboard boxes on the floor. I knew if he’d assault me I could never win. Again I pretended not to notice and asked about his kids who were back in school after the summer holidays. That made him snap out of it. I asked him to load up a few items and he did. He opened the padlock and we went back into the main building. I went straight to HR. I told the shocked woman over there I wanted him to be warned because he had a family but never let him be alone with a woman again! He was mad at me for making him look bad ‘because nothing had happened’. My direct supervisor let everybody know what happened and all the men took my side. He was not fired (my request, everybody needs a second chance) but they added a black page in his file.
My husband and I were coming home from Puerto Rico, flying into Pittsburgh that night. A small, stereotypical family sat in front of us: attractive father, beautiful young mother, and two adorable kids, one still an infant and the other a toddler. We’re minding our own business when, out of the corner of my eye, I see the toddler looking at me from the openings between the seats.
“Hi!”
I smiled and said hello, and she took that as an opportunity to tell me literally everything about her life. Her mom kept giving me this patronizing look (like, “God, I’m so sorry she’s talking to you; if I could get her to shut up I totally would”) and saying “Maggie, let’s leave them alone and sit in our seats, OK?”
She told me her name was Maggie and she likes pink, blue, and black. She’s 3 years old, and how old are we? “You’re 22? And he (my husband, Joe) is 24? So you’re both 22. OK!” Maggie lives in Ithaca, New York, and loves flowers like the ones I have on my arms (tattoos) but “you shouldn’t draw on yourself with markers so much Miss Katie!” While she was in PR she “did some bad but also cool things,” and she’s going home to see Uncle Mark, who’s sick right now, so she isn’t going to hug him. “Who’s that guy with you? Joe? So Mr. Joe is your son, right? Miss Katie, can you tell your son to wake up? I’d like to talk to him.”
This carried on for the entirety of the two and a half hour flight we were on. I loved her, but my husband wasn’t so fond: she really liked him for some reason or another, and he wanted to sleep. Maggie’s mom kept telling her to turn around because, as Maggie had already put it, “the sun was going into the water so it’s almost bedtime for my brother. Do you want to see my brother? He’s a baby still.” At which point she proceeded to pull her infant brother’s foot over to the side of the plane by the window and show him to me through the cracks of the seats. I cackled.
Joe kept trying to sleep. He had headphones on, and she told him that she liked his earmuffs, but hers were nicer because they’re pink and black but she only wears them in the winter. As my husband drifted off to sleep, she yelled, “Wake up Joe!” I cackled some more, and she kept playing with him, poking him and saying that she “got him,” and asking Mr. Joe questions about his games and what movies he likes.
Meanwhile, her parents were asking the entire time for her to leave us alone, stop bothering them, “Maggie, do you want to color? Maybe if you’re quiet and color you can show them a picture when you’re done!” and all sorts of other mom things. Once, Maggie left for a few minutes and distracted herself with a game, but came back after a bit and said over the top of the seat, “I know I left, but I came back because I like you guys. You’re very fun!”
I loved Maggie. She kinda grew on my husband towards the end there, and I think he actually liked the attention. After the flight, her parents turned to us and introduced themselves, and apologized for her bothering us the whole flight. I said it was fine, not to worry about it, and that she certainly wasn’t bothering us. They thanked me for being so nice to her, and her mom said, “Yeah, but I want you to know that now, you both will be members of our household for the next two months. She’s going to go to bed every night and say, ‘Momma, do you remember Mr. Joe and Miss Katie? Can you tell me a bedtime story about them?’”
I think about Maggie often and hope that one day her mom tells her about Mr. Joe and Miss Katie from the flight back from Puerto Rico. I miss her sometimes, especially since she was better at waking my husband up than I am.
Ambush | Full Movie (action Movie with Nicolas Cage)
When I was a young boy, I reckon somewhere around 7 years old, we were living in Monroe Connecticut. It was (at that time) a growing middle class neighborhood, and my father bought a plot there and was building a house.
(Later on, it became a wealthy suburb, and our house that we sold at a loss in 1965, became worth many, many millions of dollars. Sigh).
I used to explore the woods around the home.
And one Easter, my father woke us up with our baskets of chocolate, and Easter eggs, and a live white rabbit.
And us kids… being kids… well, we spent all day feeding the rabbit chocolate. And that is what happened all during Easter.
Well…
The very next day, we woke up to find the rabbit dead.
Yup.
Chocolate ends up killing animals like rabbits, dogs and cats.
Sheech! We didn’t know!
So that morning, once we all got our clothes on, we filed in a line… a procession… and carried the rabbit to the swamp and trees behind our property.
And there, my dad dug a hole, and we buried the rabbit.
We all threw some dirt on the cardboard shoe-box, and said goodbye to our short-lived friend.
Sometimes, the best intentions… due to ignorance… can be lethal.
Napoleon Bonaparte, who became Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, is the most famous self-made man in history. The other great men with whom Napoleon is compared, such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, began their careers with tremendous advantages. Alexander was already king of Macedonia when he conquered the Persian Empire and earned the title “the Great.” Caesar was born into the aristocratic patrician class, and was governor of Spain before he conquered Gaul and became dictator of Rome.
Napoleon was born in Corsica, a backwater province of France, and through his father’s efforts attended military schools in France. At any other time, he might have simply served as a career officer in the king’s army, perhaps with some distinction. Instead of this fate, the chaos and violence of the French Revolution provided opportunities for ambitious men. Like hundreds of other French military men and politicians, Napoleon was literally the right age, at the right time in history, in exactly the right place to exploit fortune.
Through a combination of talent, ability, patronage, boundless energy, and great luck, Napoleon circumvented potential rivals and rose rapidly to prominence and power. By 1807, fourteen years after his first success at Toulon in 1793, Napoleon had created an empire unlike anything Europe had seen since Ancient Rome. He was 38 years old.
From the siege of Toulon to the battle of Waterloo twenty-two years later, Napoleon fought more battles than Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar combined. However, this era was far more than just the sum of his military exploits. The transition period between the 18th and 19th centuries was the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. People listened to the new, powerful sounds of Beethoven’s music, were inspired by the Rights of Man to overthrow the rule of kings by divine right, were appalled by the beheading of thousands during the Reign of Terror, were awed by the discovery of an ancient civilization in Egypt, and read the first works of the Romantics like Byron, Kant, and Goethe.
Gifted military commander, innovative administrator, and ruler of an empire, Napoleon seemed to influence everything and everyone. His enemies were so impressed with his genius and abilities that Prince Metternich, Austrian Minister and Chancellor, named the period the “Age of Napoleon” shortly after the French Emperor’s death.
Napoleon Bonaparte rose from obscurity on a small island to become the most powerful man in Europe, then lost it all to die in exile on another small island. It is one of the most incredible stories in history.
We got scam calls alot at our office…always an India accent. One Tuesday a call comes while I was on lunch break and frankly bored. I listen to the spiel. An American stranded desperately needs our help to get to the embassy. Why he/she had an Indian call would have been a good question, but I’m in this for the fun. So I loudly relay to my co-worker what they’re telling me…”Oh my gosh! Sarah you’re not going to believe what’s happened to this poor woman!” Making a long story shorter, we strung them along all week on lunch break having them email and call back while we tried to figure out how to make this $5k transfer. Friday rolls around and they call with wire #’s so I can send the cash on my lunch break. We wait about 20 minutes and they call back. I very innocently explain that I couldn’t send the money because my bank said they’re scammers, but not to worry…I gave the bank their phone number, wire numbers, and email address so the bank can verify they’re legit. Lot of cussing in the background and they hung up. It was quite satisfying and we got no more calls.
A young immigrant taxi chauffeur had raped a girl who was 14 at the time. Oh well, sexual crimes happen and often the perpetrators come from cultures where the woman’s value is somewhere between cows and furniture. The Swedish law is rather jovial and lenient, also on what comes to sexual crimes.
The girl’s boyfriend had gotten furious, and had decided to avenge. He had called his brothers, and together with the girl, they had ambushed the chauffeur. They had assaulted him, tied him, kicked him and finally hanged him on a tree in a nature reservate.
The chauffeur’s colleagues had gotten worried as he had not arrived to work, and they found him hanged on the tree a week later.
The gang of five was caught on basis of the mobile phone data. They are charged of murder. But since they are all underagers (under 18), they cannot be tried and sentenced as adults.
It is easy to see the girl was a native Swede, as the boyfriend and his brothers killed the assailant to avenge the rape. If she had been an immigrant, the boyfriend and his brothers would have killed her as a honour murder.
All in all, I am not amused of this case. It is a direct slap upon the Sweden’s collective face. First, this whole case would have not happened if rapists were punished severely enough in Sweden. Second, vigilantism is a sign that the official crime investigation and punishing machinery is not working as it should. Third, because murdering a rapist is not an eye for an eye – murder is a far more grave crime than rape itself. And fourth, because the murderers are all underagers. It is utterly unlikely adults would have taken the law on their own hands and murdered the rapist, but underagers with too much testosterone and too little consideration can commit crimes like this.
He asked him, “don’t you feel cold being outside, and not wearing any coat?” The old man replied, “l don’t have it but I got used to that.” The billionaire replied, “Wait for me. I will enter my house now and bring you one. ‘ The poor man got so happy and said he will wait for him.The billionaire entered his house and got busy there and forgot the poor man.
In the morning he remembered that poor old man and he went out to search for him but he found him dead because of cold, but he left a NOTE, “When I didn’t have any warm clothes, I had the power to fight the cold because I was used to that. But when you promised me to help me, I got attached to your promise and that took my power of resisting.
MORAL: Don’t promise anything if you can’t keep your promise. It might not mean anything to you, But it could mean everything to someone else.”
Only the British will know the “Slaughtered Lamb’s” most famous extra.
If you drink ten pints, your body will GPS itself towards a Kebab shop.
Only the British will know what Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson and Robert Lindsay have in common.
Only the British will know that Roger Moore nearly appeared in an Andrew Lloyd-Weber musical.
Only the British will know why the bowler was holding the batsman’s willy.
We know which part of Spain the rain mainly falls on.
It’s not a great idea to look the guy at the next urinal in the eye and smile!
Men know that five shakes and more, is getting ‘iffy.’
Only the British know what “Dogger” means when I say radio four.
Only the British knew about ENIGMA
Only the British will know about the use of inflatable tanks in WW2.
Only the British will know what an Anderson shelter was.
There’s always going to be one fat bridesmaid.
That part of the wedding where the vicar says, “Does any man or woman know why this man and this woman should not be wed?” – that’s the bit where Brits start playing in their head, what the outcome would be if someone says yes.
Only British drivers can navigate a double traffic island, with traffic lights and live.
Only British people know that a 747 over London actually STOPS, mid-air, then proceeds to land at Heathrow, while barely moving.
Only British people standing on the beach of Dover know that on a clear day you can see France, and that no bugger has yet seen France.
Only British people that the only thing that the City of London was designed for, is lunch.
Only the British know that the USA has NEVER lost a war in which donkeys were used.
Only the British will think that American history is an oxymoron.
Only the British know that the difference between burned toast and the US Army, is that you can still make soldiers out of burned toast.
Only the British know that the sea at Southport is only half true.
The French call it an outside cafe. The British equivalent of tables and chairs outside is called an eviction.
It is horrible to be forced to keep a brain dead 16 year old on massive machines because the mother knows God will do a mighty healing and threatens legal action and calling me a murderer. By the way I am a Christian Doctor and I do pray with my patients and families. Two Neurologists declared this man brain dead. All the protocols were done proper . She refused any organ donation from her son. She had all the pastors and elders praying for this miracle. She glared at me horribly. I had prayed with her. She called me a murderer. I felt overwhelmed and miserable and helpless. I did not dare “ unplug “ this young son of hers. Very very depressing and sad . I consulted with the neurologist who said from his long experience to just stop trying to fight mom. He said the patient will “ die “ within a week even with full tubes and support. Forget the ethics and all the money lost and wasted that could have gone to better use. Just let it happen.
This helped me a lot.
After a week the patient went into total heart failure and no rhythm and was declared heart dead finally and the mother gave up. She was satisfied all was done and God took her son home.
Who gets to win even when the family are flat out wrong by science ? Who gets to pay all these bills? Who just eats it? We could build a whole school for what this all cost. And this sad game plays out all the time.
Olaf Scholz and Annalena Baerbock and that group have single handedly performed Harakiri on their Industries and People
By tacitly cooperating with the destruction of Nordstream and by getting access to Cheap Gas and Oil taken away, they have subjected their people to inflation of almost 9% and forced their industries to pay between 57% –117% more for energy
image 531
Joe Biden, Blinken and that group have single handedly forced a level of de dollarization never seen before even in the 2008 Global Crisis
They have forced inflation on their Citizens
They have ignored Financial Struggles back home
image 530
Boris Johnson and Sunak and that group have done the same
Kept Europe in a state of war, Kept Oil and Gas impossible to buy for Europe or UK Without paying a 20% premium on the price to 40% premium
Plus knowing their actions have caused double digit inflation of 11% across the last two years
Are these really Democracies??????
Are they doing a SINGLE THING for their people?
In the US, more people have been cut off from Healthcare in the last two years
Anything being done?
Nopes
The US has been flooded with more illegal migrants in the past four years than under any other presidency
Anything being done?
Nopes
The Politicians of these Countries are being elected to power on the basis of deluding their voters by mass media and social media every time and once elected, commit every act of atrocity against the people
The exact opposite is happening in these AUTOCRACIES
In China, the focus is Food Security, Energy Security, Technological Independence, removing poverty, increasing healthcare participants
In Russia, for the first time Putin is focused on ensuring his people have enough to eat, work and the ability to buy homes at lower prices
In Saudi Arabia, MBS has made life much easier for women, more education, cheaper prices and a return to free healthcare for its citizens
Not to mention moving away from religious dogma
Even in India
Our Government never talks of Food or Energy Security or Water Security or Agricultural Security or Healthcare or Education
It’s always :-
Fifth largest economy
Third Largest economy by 20XX
In China meanwhile it’s always :-
So much Poverty gone by 20XX
So much energy dependence removed by 20XX
Own Soybean Production increased
I believe the very system of DEMOCRACY is collapsing across the world
Every Democracy now reveals a fatal flaw of how much more dangerous a Democracy can become for its people when it’s leadership becomes poor like the case of most democracies today
Xi and Putin have nothing to do with it
They didn’t sponsor Maidan in 2014
They didn’t blow up Nordstream
They don’t Publish lies about other countries
All they have done is REACT to unfair decisions taken by democracies and in the process caused greater damage to the same democracies
My daughter was 2 years old when I considered returning to school for my masters. I called Millersville University and requested a catalog be mailed to me.
After I called, I had misgivings. Should I wait until Lauren was a little older? The easy way out is always so attractive, so tempting.
The catalog arrived while Lauren was napping. I made myself a fortifying cup of coffee, sat down at the kitchen table, and perused this ominous looking catalog for, by now, that’s how I came to view the situation. Having consumed my coffee, I decided waiting was the better decision.
Two days later, the mailman delivered another catalog. I placed that on my desk beside the first one. Things began to look a little sticky when day five produced yet another catalog. Was Someone trying to tell me something?
Instead of placing the catalog beside two of its fellow conspirators, I took this into the kitchen, made myself a cup of coffee, and read the requirements.
Dad’s graduation photo.
Having finished the catalog and my coffee, a memory arose. It was of my father. I remembered walking through the kitchen on my way to bed. He sat at the kitchen table with the light shining on his textbooks, pencil in hand, working the problems his professor at The University of Dayton had assigned.
Dad worked full time at Delco Products in Kettering then attended night school to finish the degree he’d started years before. His studies had been interrupted when Pearl Harbor was bombed. At 40, he returned to college to complete his degree.
If Dad could do this, so could I. I put my feeble excuses aside, and spent the next three years completing my MEd and reading specialist certification. It felt good and my parents were quietly proud of me.
This is a very old Welsh recipe. The word “Bara” is the Welsh word for bread and “brith” is the Welsh word for speckled.
bara brith
Ingredients
1 pound mixed dried fruit, chopped
1 1/4 cups freshly-brewed tea
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten to blend
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
Place fruit in large bowl. Pour tea over fruit.
Add brown sugar and mix well.
Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Add flour, milk, egg, marmalade and cinnamon to soaked fruit mixture. Stir until combined.
Spoon dough into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until bread is brown and crusty and wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, about 2 hours.
Cool slightly. (Can be prepared up to 4 days ahead. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature.)
Makiwnyk (Poppyseed Loaf)
Here is the recipe for the makiwnyk, poppyseed loaf. This recipe was written down by me when I was about 15 years old as my mother was making it. The paper is old and falling apart, so bear with me. Don’t let this scare you from making it. I just found it and haven’t had a chance to re-do it.
2023 12 30 12 10
Ingredients
Loaves
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled until lukewarm in mixing bowl
3 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 cups flour
6 to 6 1/2 cups flour, divided
Poppyseed or Nut Filling
1 pound poppy seeds or ground nuts (I think she used walnuts)
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup hot milk
1 to 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
Instructions
Loaves: Dissolve the 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in lukewarm water (100 degrees F). Sprinkle active dry yeast into water/sugar mixture and let stand for 10 minutes.
Stir briskly with a fork. Add softened yeast to lukewarm milk and stir. Beat in the 3 cups flour. Cover bowl and let sit in a warm place until light and full of bubbles, approximately 1 hour.
Stir in the 1 cup granulated sugar, salt, melted butter and lemon rind. Beat just until mixed.
In a small bowl, beat with a fork the eggs and egg yolks. Stir into the batter. Add 2 cups flour and beat vigorously. Add another 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour working it in with a rotating motion of your hand. Turn dough over on a lightly floured surface and knead 8 to 10 minutes.
Shape into a smooth ball and place in a greased bowl turning the dough once. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, approximately.
Poppyseed or Nut Filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until totally incorporated, set aside.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Punch down dough and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll each into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Spread with poppyseed filling or nut filling and roll up each rectangle in a jellyroll fashion. Pinch seams to make edges secure and turn under loaf. Place on greased baking sheets and cover and let rise until doubled in size. Brush tops with butter and bake in oven for 1 hour.
Makes 3 loaves.
* I just go out to the supermarket and purchase the Solo poppyseed or nut paste and use that – it’s quicker.
I’ve had two similar circumstances. In one, they had fired me and later discovered the program I had written that tracked orders in the company required an extensive update. They wanted to bring me back at my old pay level to fix it. I counter offered with a contractor based fee. They laughed and declined. I found out later it cost them ten times my offer to get it updated. The contractor they hired wouldn’t work on the old hardware they had been too cheap to update, wasn’t familiar with the legacy format of the database file involved, would only work during business hours, stretching out the job over many days, etc. I had offered to have it done over a weekend for $5k. It took over a week and cost $47k. I was told they inquired into suing me for damages. Since they had not fired me for cause, and because I had made a reasonable offer, I was told they were advised not to pursue it.
in the second circumstance I had left the company voluntarily six months prior. My replacement had been given all the passwords with instructions to change them on my departure. Six months after my departure I received a phone call from my old bosses’ lawyer – on a holiday weekend, no less. They wanted to know the password for a critical piece of hardware and threatened me with a lawsuit if I did not provide it. I said I would not even talk to them without my old boss conferenced in. She was on the line in ten seconds, leading me to believe she had been listening in all along. I reminded her that I gave my replacement all the passwords, including the one requested, with instructions to change them. She said he abruptly left and they are locked out. They were trying to make it my problem. I expressed my sympathy, said there was nothing I could do, wished them well, and hung up.
In general, unless you did something nefarious, the location of their files is not your responsibility after they fired you.
I’d like to define “honeytrap” for others first before answering…
A honeytrap occurs when a person, political organization, etc. use sexual favors or romantic relationships to gather information. It’s also known as “sexpionage”. This was used quite ofted during the cold war.
In WWII it would be used more for spying on others rather than gathering information in a prison camp by using sexual favors. I really can’t think of anytime that prison camps did this, certainly not the Japanese who looked down upon those who surrendered.
Claire Phillip’s set up a famous honey trap. Claire was a U.S. citizen who escaped Manila when it it fell to the Japanese. She spent a number of months caring for other guerrilla figthers in the hills of Bataan. She was eventually convinced to go back to Manilla and spy on the Japanese. Phillips ran the Tsubaki Club which was a nightclub eventually most frequented by the Japanese soldiers (really the officers).
“Madame Tsubaki” would sing and socialize with Japanese businessman and officers along with girls she trained to flirt with them in order to get information. Her girls were able to gain information pertaining to troop units, troop movements, and important goings-on by flirting (and sometimes more outside the club in the nearby hotels). The next day, Phillips would gather the information gleened from that night by her and her girls and smuggle it by courier to the guerrillas.
She also helped smuggle food and notes into nearby prisoner of war camps. Her luck eventually ran out and she was captured by the Japanese police in 1944 after one of her couriers that had been captured (who had been brutally tortured and eventually killed) gave her up.
She was sent to one of the worst prisons on the island and was put in solitary confinement. The Japanese had plans to execute her, but instead commuted her sentence to hard labor. She was freed when her prison camp was liberated.
image 565
For her brave acts, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1951 upon the recommendation of Douglass MacArthur.
For further reading, I’d recommend – MacArthur’s Spies: The Soldier, the Singer, and the Spymaster who Defied the Japanese in World War II by Eisner, Peter (2017).
I’d also look up the story of this woman:
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Betty Pack was an American-born British spy nicknamed “Victoria” who worked for the famous MI6. She was the one who first discovered that the Poles had broken the German Enigma code.
I’d recommend The Last Goodnight by Howard Bloom (2016), to read more about her in detail.
I was a Critical Care Transport Paramedic for one of the largest prison systems.
I was picking up a 65+ year old “Lifer” who was suffering chest pains from our unit Infirmary, to transport him to the main prison hospital…
A young CO was putting the Old Guy (“OG”) in the required Full restraints while OG was laying on my ambulance cot, with a mile of wires, IV tubes, oxygen tube and sensor cables running everywhere….
Since OG had a high security rating, the rules required handcuffs with a “Lock Box”, belly chain, leg irons and a “trip chain”…
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The kid was fumbling everything…
Finally the OG, told the CO… “Dammit Kid…!! I ain’t got enough heartbeats left to wait on your ass….! YA DO IT LIKE THIS….”
….and Old Guy proceeded to direct Young CO in how to properly restrain a High Security Prisoner, quoting the Procedure Manual chapter and verse.
And the OG did a darned fine job of it…
When the young CO finished he told his LT he was going to write the inmate up, the LT told him to STFU and learn…
We had an uneventful ride to the hospital, and OG survived that and several more cardiac events before he finished his sentence… so to speak…
I liked OG…
He was respectful with the Medical Staff and COs tho hard as nails and well respected by the other inmates…
I was working for an independent Mercedes repair shop in Richmond Virginia. A customer had moved to Richmond from West Africa and had his Mercedes shipped by boat to Newport News and then flat- bedded directly to our shop to get it checked out and get a state inspection. The boss told me to drive it to another shop a few blocks away that did engine cleaning. When I got there we popped the hood and the guy proceeds to turn an industrial-sized pressure washer onto the engine. Out pops the biggest rat I’ve ever seen, maybe the size of a small dog, and we watched it run across the road and behind the nearest building. If that’s the kind of rats they have in West Africa I’m definitely steering clear of that place.
A semi-friend in high school days had a lot of connections where we worked part time. As a result, he believed he could do (or not) anything. He had been right for a year running. If he wanted Friday night off for a date — granted — something none of the rest of us got. If he wanted to come in later on Saturday morning, granted.
He’d “volunteer” to straighten up shelves, etc. and in reality he’d goof off. Sometimes he’d hang out in the stock room, other times in the break room. Sometimes he’d leave the store for as long as 20 minutes. The manager, who “knew,” nevertheless never went looking. He also knew that if he caught the kid, then what? He couldn’t fire him (connections) and yet he’d now officially know he was goofing off.
What if one of the rest of the staff complained. Even worse, what if one of the staff filed a complaint with the Dept of Labor or something like that? So he maintained his “deniability” by never going to look.
Then one day, one bagger was at lunch and the second was on break. The store had been empty but all of a sudden, there was someone at the check out. The rules of the store were that that the cashier never bagged … that was the bagger’s job.
The manager knew Jon was somewhere in one of the aisles goofing off, so he paged him to the front. No response. Paged again, no response. Finally, Jon comes wandering up, the manager points to the checkout line and Jon erupts.
“Go do it yourself you Effing lazy <religious slur name>. I bet you think that just because I have pull downtown that I’m in your <religious slur> religion but I’m not. So if you want to bag that b&tch’s groceries, get up off your lazy <backside> and do it. I’m going out for a smoke …”.
The manager said (very quietly I was told), “No, you’re fired.”
Jon started to laugh and the manager once again said, “You’re fired. Get out of this store right now.”
Jon: “Yeah right you little piece of <religious slur> <word for crap>. You’ll be the one fired when this is over.”
The manager stood his ground and told the woman in the courtesy booth to call the local PD. To Jon: you’ve got until they get here to get out or you will be arrested and I will press charges. I assume that the store will also back up any charges the cashier and the customer might want to level at you.
Then he hears the siren … he sees the cop car coming toward the store. With that, he tore through the store and ran out the back emergency exit and to his car. Not long after, he’s on the phone to his grandfather, who was his connection downtown.
But the grandfather had already heard the story so when Jon went off again, Granddad let him rant and then said “as your manger said, you’re fired. Is that all you called me about?”
I heard the story from coworkers and from him and both sides agreed on all the essential details. This was very possibly the first time anyone had ever told him no and made it stick.
In 1976 I was in college, and one afternoon a girl was screaming on the balcony of my dorm. So I went out there, and saw a student lying on his back, very pale, barely conscious, with blood coming out his mouth. Another student was kneeling over him, and said “if he dies I’ll kill myself, but he shouldn’t have messed with me”. A rifle lay on the balcony between them.
They were both freshmen, and had been on campus for only two weeks. The victim apparently was a bit of an asshole who had pranked the perp the previous week, destroying some of his property. On this day, he had been at it again, locking a different student in a bathroom and walking away. That was his last prank.
It was a small town, which did not have “911” service yet. I think there was some confusion about who was calling the ambulance – most of us were teenagers at that point. We should have carried him into the parking lot and put him in a pickup; the hospital was only a half-mile away. Finally the ambulance arrived; I think I saw his hand move as they loaded him in, but he was dead upon arrival.
The perpetrator surrendered without resistance. Apparently he had a history of mental illness, so he was found insane and was transferred to a mental institution. The rifle did not belong to him.
We can’t control the past. Wasting time to worry about it is lost time.
Sadly, we don’t get what we give. Don’t expect people to always give back. Not everyone has as giving a heart as you.
Good things usually don’t come easily. And if you think about it, great accomplishments take time too. Don’t expect rewards instantly.
Not everyone will support your dream. Haters, doubters, and pessimists will sabotage every move you make. To overcome this, follow your gut and forget them.
You are responsible for the problems you encounter, regardless of who caused them. So instead of blaming others, find a way to get out of situation.
Our words have the power to hurt. Cruel remarks wound others for life. Use your words to inspire and to liberate instead.
Failure quickly gets to our hearts, but success goes to our heads. Our character is revealed at our highest and lows. Be humble at the top. Be faithful in the valleys.
Our assumptions about what happiness should be are what makes us unhappy. Let go of your expectations about what would make you happy.
We judge ourselves by our ideas and others by their actions. Be a person who others want to meet and be around.
We all will die. No one will live forever. Start living a purposeful life and try to mend broken relationships, because you never know when life will end.
Hating oneself starts with breaking one’s promises. Once done, it feels terrible. When it becomes a habit, you hate yourself more.
Sometimes we have to ditch toxic friends from our lives and surroundings.
My first jury trial my client was accused of knowingly applying for Oregon resident hunting licenses and tags without qualifying for residency. My client owned about 40 acres of land in Oregon and had a trailer home and a large shop on the property and had utility bills for that property. He had one pickup truck registered in Oregon and one in California, where he taught at a community college, but his witnesses testified he spent summer and sabbaticals and holidays in Oregon and did not own a residence or have a permanent address in California. He paid state income tax to California and not to Oregon and had a California license, and a resentful Oregon neighbor had turned him in to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). ODFW regulations required proof of residence by any 3 of a long list of documents, including a utility bill, a Passport, and a Social Security Card.
At trial, the arresting state trooper took the stand and on cross examination I handed him the booklet of regulations, which was 20 or 30 pages of fine print and was, at the time, distributed to every place that sold licenses, and asked him to turn to the page that described the residency requirements where my client could have found the requirements when he purchased his licenses and tags. I expected the trooper to turn right to that page and I planned to establish that all my client had to do was show a utility bill with an Oregon address, his social security card and passport (which have no addresses) in order to establish Oregon residence to the satisfaction of the vender.
To my great amusement, the trooper could not find the page. He fumbled through the pamphlet, back and forth. I enjoyed that for a few minutes, and finally told him the page number. He went to that page and scanned it and said “no, it’s not there” and went back to flipping through the the booklet. I let him do that for a minute more and said “look at page _ at the last paragraph set out with darker highlighting” and he then found the part and I went on with my questioning. At the end of the trial in my closing argument I hammered on that: My client is supposed to be able to read these rules while standing in line for his license and he is supposed to understand how they apply and the trooper can’t even find the rules when I tell him what page to look on . . . “
The jury acquitted my client on all counts. I cannot say for sure, but I believe that cross examination was the best moment in the trial for me and my client. My client was found not to have “knowingly” violated the law. And my brilliant cross examination was not planned or even anticipated. I assumed the trooper would be familiar with the regulations and would turn right to the page. The witness did it to himself.
My father-in-law looked me in the eye and angrily laid a curse on me by saying: “You’re going to die a miserable old man all by yourself.” With that, he got out of his chair and stalked away.
The circumstances were I was divorcing his daughter. Understand that his daughter had had several affairs, had made my life hell for several years, and truly didn’t want me in her life. She only claimed she wanted to stay married to save face and for the Machiavellian goal of making me look like the “bad guy” because I was the one filing for the divorce.
The lead up to the above talk was my then father-in-law had called me up to come by and talk to me. I of course said yes. I had always had a good relationship with him.
I spent the first half hour listening to him about how the Christian thing to do was to not get divorced. I made sure to fully listen to him. I mirrored back to him what he was saying to make sure I understood. I didn’t interject with my counter thoughts.
When he had finished I only got about 30 seconds into what I had to say in response. He cut me off. Said I wasn’t listening to him (because I wasn’t agreeing with him) and then he laid the curse on me per the quote above.
That was the last time I talked with him some 20 years ago. As I write this I’m sitting here with my wonderful wife of 10 years enjoying a scenic overlook from the back deck of our house.
Hot Dog Sizzler, an Auto Oven Cooks Hot Dogs From the 1950s
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Want a hot dog on the road? Just plug this heater into your car’s electrical system. This 12 volt electric cooker could cook two wieners at the same time in three to five minutes in your car!
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It was called the Hot Dog Siezzler and was made by the Thomas Manufacturing Co., of Chicago sometime in the 1950s while drive-in’s were around. This was thought up has an alternative to what they saw has an expensive meal at a White Castle or McDonalds or even Carols. It only makes sense because after all who wouldn’t rather have a hot dog instead of a hamburger?
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Priced at $3.95 in the 1950s. And it also comes in a 115-volt version for the home.
Keep in mind that this is my opinion so you may/may not agree with me.
Spanish Donkey
This was a torture method that was used during the Spanish Inquisition (period of forced conversions to Christianity, killings, prosecutions and torturing). It was mostly used on women (but it was common to use on men as well) when they were stripped naked, put on the Donkey, weights were added on their legs and the point of the Donkey was to pressure the woman’s genital area and if the weights were heavy enough, it would split the victim in half. Weights were added to prevent the victim from falling off the device and to increase the agony.
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Judas Cradle
Similar to the Donkey, Judas Cradle was a torture method used to punish criminals mostly. It was a pyramid shaped seat on which the victim was put slowly to make them suffer more. The victim was tied with ropes above the Cradle and then slowly lowered to the top of the device. Men were impaled through their anus and women through the vagina. The device would leave victims in agony and if those that were torturing wanted to make the whole process worse than it already was, they would add weights to the victim’s legs. If the victim didn’t die from the pain and exhaustion (as the device was known as “the wake” as it prevented victims from falling asleep) they would die from infections as the Cradle wasn’t cleaned.
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The Brazen Bull
This torture method first appeared in Ancient Greece. The victim was placed inside a bull and fire was set under the bull causing the metal to change it’s colour to yellow as it was heated. The victim was roasted to death in the bull while the bull itself was designed in such a way that the screams coming from the victim sounded like the bellowing of a bull.
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Scaphism
This was a Persian torture method. The victim was placed in a boat and covered with one more and then forced to ingest large amounts of honey and milk. Diarrhea occured as a consequence and the smell would attract various insects to the victim. Additional amounts of honey were poured on the victim to attract more insects as he/she was left to float in a pond on the sun. The insects would burrow through the victim’s skin destroying everything on their path. It was a long-lasting torture method so the victim was in agony for days.
Back a few years ago, I had a class with a lot of kids who hated going to Phys. Ed. The teacher wouldn’t let them participate without sneakers on, so they would (accidentally on purpose) “forget” their sneakers on Gym Days. I hit up the stores and bought sneakers (on clearance) in a variety of sizes so that no one would miss their Phys. Ed. time again. One day, “Josie” wanted to wear the pink sneakers, but “Susie” was already wearing them. She cried for a minute, then got over it. That evening the principal came to me and said that “Josie’s” mother had called an insisted on a conference with both of us. When he suggested that she just talk with me first, she said that what I had done was so awful, she needed him to be there to back her up. He asked me what I had done to this child. I had forgotten the sneaker business (It was a tiny part of a very busy day) and I couldn’t think of a thing. She was a complaining mother, and I was pretty sure nothing big or important had happened. He didn’t believe me. He was sure it was something really awful. Well, the mother comes in the next day, and her huge complaint was that her daughter had wanted to use my pink sneakers the day before, and I hadn’t let her wear them. The principal gave me a look, and I gave him a look reminding him that I told it wasn’t anything big. I explained to the mother why “Josie” didn’t get to wear the pink sneakers. She was still angry and said I should have taken them off of “Susie’s” feet and let “Josie” wear them. Happily for me, the principal told the mother that if her daughter needed pink sneakers that much, she should buy them and send them to school with her. We had a good laugh after the mother left.
I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to tell you my story.
I was that 8 year old child once.
My father was an alcoholic, my mother severely depressed. I raised my sister and provided her with the emotional support when our parents were too immature and abusive to give that to us.
I would get beat up, thrown against the wall, kicked, punched repeatedly on the head by my father, his rage would shake my soul. My sister and I would drown ourselves in books, homework and play as quietly so we wouldn’t anger our father. Our mother was verbally abusive, she would break everything in our home.
My father would tell us to get lost, to get out of his way, to shut up, leave him alone, brain dead kids.
He hated us.
One day my sister and I went to the neighbors house and asked them if they had candy.
It was an elderly lady and her husband. They giggled and came out with candy for us and told us to have a good day.
A few days passed and we knocked to ask them again. This time they pulled out some chairs and sat down with us. We talked for a few hours. We told them about our hobbies, favorite books, favorite everything. They gave us candy and told us to go home and not be out so late.
The next day we visited the elderly couple and they played the piano for us. We were so amazed by their warm atmosphere, love and kindness.
Some days we would go visit and they would just sit on the front porch showing them our sweet rock or toy collections, our art and we would even sing classical songs with them.
With time they began to tell us they were busy, then they didn’t open the door anymore.
We wanted to do something nice for them and picked out flowers for them and left them at their doorstep.
I still look back and I’m thankful to have met such a sweet couple. I strive to be like them one day as an old lady with my husband.
You have no obligation, but for me those strangers meant something worth remembering in my rough childhood.
When I was in my 30s and moved into my first house (as a couple). I waited to re-paint, decorate and have locks changed and things fixed and restored, then I had a party/BBQ in my new house and invited some relatives. The party was on the patio with access to the guest bathroom and I placed sticky plastic runners on the new rugs. A couple of the relatives (the younger ones) brought some friends with them (rude to not clear it with me first) and a good thing that I have a tendency to cook way more food than I need (Nana taught me well). I was a little hyper aware of everyone’s comfort and whereabouts when I notice that two female friends of friends were missing. I knew that only one person at a time would use the bathroom so I went into the house. They were both trying the door to my bedroom (“Maybe it’s stuck”) which I had locked along with the two guest rooms and I went casually behind them and asked softly what they were doing.
They both whipped around startled. One of the women said “The door’s locked.” I actually did that because I didn’t want one of the kids to accidentally let my cats out. I didn’t say anything and they exchanged a look then asked why I had the door locked. I drew in a breath and asked them “Why do you need to go into my bedroom?”
“oh we just wanted to look at the house.”
“I think you’ve seen enough, now go outside or leave.”
They went outside…to complain. Why are there doors locked, why is there plastic runners all over the house, did you know there’s nothing in the medicine cabinet and the only thing in the vanity is an extra roll of paper (I did that on purpose).
I cleared my throat and said, “The why is because of people like you.” Their friends (Our relatives) just chuckled and kept their heads down.
Chase Explains Why Women SUCK At Picking Men And She Got UPSET
“I’m 70 y/o and this has been the case for many of the women I have known. Horrible in their choice of men. It’s on you girls, wise up.”
Sigh. Yes, completely unexpectedly. This past Friday night, my girl was actively dying from liver failure. She was within hours of death and I was staying with her to help comfort her. There were no vets to call to help ease her passing at that time of night, so I was doing my best to comfort her through it as best as I could. I was lying on the floor with her and softly petting her, telling her I was there, she would be OK, that we all loved her, she was the BEST friend I ever had, but that I knew she was very sick and when she was ready go it was OK to go, and see her mama who had passed several years ago. I was trying my best to stay calm (because me being upset always concerned her) but at one point I broke down and cried a little. My dying cat made a huge effort to stand up, rub along my side and then lay down facing me. She looked me in the eye, and put her paw on my hand and purred. This is what she did after I came home from the hospital with my baby years ago and was suffering from postpartum depression, and after I had had gallbladder surgery and was sitting in pain on the couch for days, after my mother in law passed away and any other time I was distraught in the twelve years she knew me. She was always wonderful, and even when she was dying herself she was still thinking of me. Good lord, I’m missing her!
Dong Jun 董军 was named as defense minister, taking the position formerly held by Li Shangfu.
For the first time, a Navy veteran was named to the senior defense minister position. This likely means that the Chinese government believes that, for the first time, its major challenges will come from the sea, which includes South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. If conflict breaks out in any of these areas, the navy, air force and rocket forces will play a more important role than the army.
In terms of defense spending, this likely means a steady increase in budget for the navy, which is now building two more Chinese aircraft carriers.
If there is a major conflict with the US in the western Pacific, the navy, air force and rocket forces will form the tip of the Chinese spear.
This is what Xi is preparing China for, just in case.
I think by “train without wheels” you may be referring to it
In July 2021, the 600 kilometers per hour high-speed maglev transportation system developed by CRRC was mass-produced in Qingdao. This is the world’s first high-speed maglev transportation system with a design speed of 600 kilometers per hour.
In 2022, this maglev train will be exhibited at the German International Rail Transit Technology Exhibition.
In 2023, this maglev train will be displayed at the World Manufacturing Conference.
It is not a new thing, at least it has been around for 2 years.
It is a complete solution and requires a dedicated track to operate. This means that it is not a “train” that can run on ordinary rails.
It has no wheels and is suspended on the track by magnetic levitation. There is no resistance from the track. The propulsion power comes from each carriage. Technically, it’s flying in the air, just a few centimeters above the orbital surface.
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The forward power of the maglev train comes from the conversion of the electromagnet polarity between the track and the carriage. S and N are alternately converted to push the train forward.
When it needs to reverse, the control system changes the conversion sequence of each magnet, and the vehicle can drive in reverse. Since there is no need for a gearbox and complex transmission mechanism, its reversing becomes very simple.
Why Men Are NO LONGER Approaching Women!
“I’m reminded of the BLIND guy that a chick said was staring at her in the gym. The guy’s defense was obviously “I’m blind, I can’t stare at anymore” the gym still kicked him out.”
A few times people have asked me very intimate questions about my sex life; I just looked at them and cussed them out.
A hairy but non-intimate question that has been asked of me a few times: Why won’t you have a Christmas tree? Why? Because I’m not Christian, I am Jewish, and although there are some Jews who do put up and decorate Christmas trees, I don’t.
I had a friend from high school who grew more heavily Christian, and she peppered me with questions about this. One time on the phone (perhaps the last time we spoke) she asked me why I wouldn’t consider putting up a tree for the holiday. I asked her if she would consider setting up a Hanukkah menorah with candles for the holiday. When she said no, I laughed drily.
I told her this was offensive to me and she couldn’t understand why. I think that people who are of the “dominant” religion sometimes forget that not everyone is of their belief. And yes, it is offensive to me to be pestered about this. Ask once, and if I say I don’t, accept that. Otherwise, you’re going to get a jawing from me.
Maturity does not come with is age it comes from experiences it’s damn true because you can find a kid in 30 year old person and a wise person in 12 year old kid .
Some people come in our lives just for some time and then they leave us as if they never met.
Money is really important in life and It can solve at least 99% problems of our life .
No one is permanent in your life, one day everyone is going to leave you and We all know this but it’s takes guts to accept this fact .
No one can love you more than your parents, maybe at one point of life you will think that someone loves you more than them but it will be just illusion for fraction of time, which will get over with time.
Looks matter, Good looking people do get some benefits over others but of course it’s what others can do but we should always love ourselves the way we are.
Don’t give too much importance to someone or don’t do too much care because one day they will get bored of this.
There is nothing like BFF (best friend forever) because one day that forever gets replaced by never.
There is some problem in everyone’s life, so don’t compare your life with anyone; No one is really happy all the time.
We all have someone who extremely love us but only some lucky people have someone in their life who can understand them too.
I was around 30 and went through a phase where my right foot was much heavier than my left foot. I got pulled over for doing something like 80-85 in a 60 in an area about an hour from where I lived. When I went to court, the conversation between me and the judge went something like this…
Judge: This is your 4th speeding violation within the last 12 months. Do you realize this carries up to a $10,000 fine and up to six months in jail?
Me (suddenly feeling very dizzy because I actually did not realize that): Yes sir.
Judge: I assume you paid a fine each time before this one.
Me: Yes sir
Judge: It seems that taking your money isn’t getting through to you. How do I get through to you?
Me (on the verge of a breakdown): I don’t know sir.
Judge: I’m sentencing you to 6 months in jail, suspended. I’m also sentencing you to a $10,000 fine, suspended. You’re going to come back here in 3 months and we’re going to look at your driving record. If there’s nothing on it, you’ll go home. If there’s anything on it, your sentence will be carried out. Then we’re going to do that again 3 months after that, again 3 months after that, and again 3 months after that. In other words, I’m going to inconvenience you to drive back here every 3 months over the next year so we can look at your driving record. Does that sound fair to you?
Me (barely able to speak due to a throat like the Mojave desert): Yes sir.
Judge: I thought you might think so. I’ll see you in 3 months.
I walked out of there not believing my good fortune. Instead of just throwing the book at me and moving on, the Judge took mercy on me and pretty much made me walk the line. I went back every 3 months and he congratulated me each time for not having any other traffic violations.
If we’re only talking about sheer intensity (and not effectiveness) then the Soviet bombardment signalling the start of their Berlin offensive at the end of World War 2 is the clear winner.
According to Cornelius Ryan’s book “The last battle”, Soviet guns were lined up for mile after mile and stepped back caliber by caliber. The mortars were in front. Behind them were tanks, their long main guns elevated. Next came self-propelled guns and, following these, batteries of light and heavy artillery. Along the rear were 400 Katyusha multiple-rocket launchers. In all, over 20,000 guns took part in this bombardment.
At exactly 3 AM on the 16th of April 1945, three green flares soared into the sky and the huge collection of guns roared into life. In merely 35 minutes, half a million shells of all types and calibers were let loose. Many soldiers on both sides were battle-hardened veterans of the Eastern front, yet even they didn’t expect the true intensity of this barrage.
The noise was terrible. Gunners had to keep their mouths open to equalize the pressure on their ears, otherwise their eardrums would rupture. One experienced Soviet battery commander even warned his crews to not only open their mouths but also scream at the top of their lungs. The crew did exactly that but blood still ran from their ears. The most fearsome sound of all came from the Katyushas. The rocket projectiles whooshed off the launchers in fiery batches and screeched through the night, making terrifying noise like “huge blocks of steel grinding together”.
Everyone on both the German and Soviet sides suffered from some degree of deafness and could not hear very well at least for a while. In Marshal Zhukov’s command bunker, only when the bombardment was over could the staff barely hear their telephones ringing. Even residents of the eastern districts of Berlin, some 55 kilometers away from the target area, could hear the bombardment like distant thunder.
Also according to Cornelius Ryan: The German countryside beyond the western Kustrin bridgehead seemed to disappear before a rolling wall of bursting shells. Whole villages disintegrated. Earth, concrete, steel, parts of trees spewed into the air and in the distance forests began to blaze. Years later German survivors would vividly recall the strange hot wind that suddenly sprang up and howled through the forests, bending saplings and whipping dust and debris into the air.
Antony Beevor’s book “The fall of Berlin” cited Gerd Wagner in the German 27th Parachute Regiment: “In a matter of a few seconds all my ten comrades were dead.” When Wagner recovered consciousness, he found himself lying wounded in a smoking shell crater. He was only just able to struggle back to the second line. Few escaped alive from the artillery barrage which smashed trenches and buried their occupants, both alive and dead. Bodies are still being discovered well over half a century later.
The massive barrage also produced strange concussion effects. Troops and equipment alike shook uncontrollably from the shock. In houses closer to the front, pictures fell off walls, windows and mirrors shattered. In Muncheberg, a cross tumbled from the church spire. In the police station at Mahlsdorf books fell off their shelves and telephones rang for no reason. Lights dimmed and flickered in many areas. In Dahlwitz-Hoppegarten an air raid siren suddenly went berserk and no one could switch it off. Along the edges of Weissensee and Lichtenberg a sudden wind caused curtains to whip and flap with ghostly abandon, and in Erkner some inhabitants of air raid shelters were jolted out of sleep, not by noise but by a sickening vibration of the earth.
The world had never seen such a massive artillery bombardment like that before, it has never seen anything like that since.
Brian KICKS OUT PSYCHO Obnoxious Feminist!
“I genuinely don’t think she’s trolling, I think she’s literally just crazy. She has no idea how crazy she really is.”
John W. Campbell got his engineering degree in 1930. In 1970, he wrote about what would happen if an SR-71 Blackbird was magically time-traveled to 1930.
It was clearly from the future. But how far in the future?
Electronics: not a single vacuum tube. Just little plastic cases with pins sticking out. They decide to sacrifice one to understand it. It appears as if the circuit diagrams are drawn on the chip. They can’t be sure, because much of the drawing is below the resolution the optical microscopes of the day allow. They do a spectroscopic analysis of the material. It is 100% pure silicon. Turns out the spectroscopes of 1930 cannot detect the parts-per-billion of the dopants that create the semiconductors.
Power: they’ve never seen a jet engine. There does not seem to be any way for the engine to operate. They try to run it. The fuel does not burn. Turns out the special fuel (if I recall, something called J6) can only be ignited by throwing some hypergolic igniter in on the ground. If it flamed out while running, it could not be restarted.
Radio: the circuitry is more magic drawings on silicon. They can’t figure out how any of it works. Turns out it runs at a higher frequency than anything they know how to detect.
Radar: They have no idea what that horn in the nose does. It seems to emit some kind of energy, because a tech got his hand in front of it an experienced some heating. So they tried using infrared detectors but saw nothing. Centimeter radar was beyond anything they knew about, and they had no way to detect frequencies that high, beyond anything they could even imagine.
Construction: it is made of pure titanium. More titanium than exists in the entire world! Extruded into thin sheets. And welded! Everyone they checked with said that it was impossible to weld titanium because it would essentially “catch fire” and it would start oxidizing and would all burn away.
So how far in the future did it come from? They got all kinds of people together, scientists , engineers, scientifiction authors. Where did this come from? Or, when did this come from? Consensus: maybe 400 years in the future.
No, it was 40 years.
So if we can’t reverse engineer something of human technology from 40 years in the future, do you think we have any chance whatsoever of reverse-engineering something from an alien planet?
When I became a programmer in 1963, if you added up all of the bits of memory in all the computers in the world, you would have at most a few megabits of memory. I am typing this on my iPhone, which has 128 gigabytes of memory, that is, one terabit of information. Plus a GPS, Internet access, three cameras, and a telephone that can allow me to talk to anyone who has a telephone anywhere in the world in seconds. That’s a bit longer than 40 years, but not that much longer. This thing I’m holding in my hand is at a minimum 100,000 times more powerful than the supercomputer of 1963, and could be construed as a million times more powerful along some measures. It has more RAM than our mainframe of 1983 had disk space to support 30 programmers. If I walk a block in any direction I will probably pass 20 phones equally powerful. And I live in a neighborhood of single-family homes
So we probably won’t be able to do anything with that alien spaceship. It might use quantum computers that compare to our quantum computers like my iPhone compares to an IBM 704 vacuum tube computer.
When I was working in the arctic we had a mass mutiny after the boss cut our paid hours from 12 to 8, while we were down for repairs. Which was about 5 days. Those extra hours were all over time, so it almost cut our pay in half. We had signed up for 12 hour days, and just because we couldn’t work more than 8 hour days, we didn’t see that as our problem.
Our boss refused to budge, and at least 5 people submitted resignations, and said that they wanted tickets home, because the company wasn’t meeting the terms of employment.
The next day, a new boss showed up and took over, and pay was reinstated retroactively. The people who had quit ,hadn’t flown out yet, and they all returned to work.
Its hard to find qualified help in the Arctic. Cutting pay for five days, would have meant that we were shut down for at least another ten days before they could have flown in new qualified people. They wouldn’t have flown in for an eight hour day.
The old boss was transferred somewhere else, where he could do less damage. He wasn’t fired.
Back in Fort Bragg I stopped to get gasoline while I was wearing my fatigues. That was during a time when gasoline was being withheld by the producers claiming a gasoline shortage. There was a long line leading to the cashier.
To make a long story shorter, four young men came into the store and one of them came to members in the line making demands of them. I thought it was a prank on friends of the young men until he came to me. He demanded a coke I had in my hand intending to purchase when I paid for my gasoline.
I offered to buy the gy a coke and told him to go to the cooler and bring it back. He said that he was perticulaary fond of the coke in my hand. I refused to give it to him. He told me “we’ll see you outside”.
They were gone when I left the store, so I pulled up to the pump as was pumping gas into my car, when their car screeched up to mine and all existed the car. The same guy walked up to me and demanded the coke. I did not know him or his buddies and I was alone. He shouted “give me my coke”. I hit him across the head and face with the coke which was in a bottle. The bottle broke ! The broken glass sliced his head and face from above his left temple down to his lower right jaw.
He fell bleeding profusely. His buddies asked if they could pick him up without me cutting them. I told them to get him.
Skipping a bunch of details, I ended upon in court before a magistrate to be charged for assault on a minor. The boy’s father was in the courtroom and drunk as a a skunk. When he saw me walk in in handcuffs, he shouted pretty loudly “There’s the Son of a Bitch who hurt my son”.
The Judge admonished him telling him that was drunk and that he would not tolerate causing and such in his courtroom.
He man looked up at me and loudly said “Tell that son of a bitch (the Judge) that I’m not drunk”.
It turned out that the four young men were terrorizing local stores and people doing this same stuff over and over. I was released based upon defending myself.
The kid and I later became decent friends with him crediting me with saving his life. He has a scar across his face until this day but he is a law abiding and friendly young man. He is not hostile toward me at all.
As a very poor college student, I used to go dumpster diving. I found several things (radios, alarm clocks, amplifiers, etc) that I fixed and sold. I found that I could make about $40 a week that way, with only a couple hours work. Minimum wage was about $3.25/hour so it was relatively lucrative. But there were two items that I kept for myself.
In 1985, I found an old computer in a dumpster, complete with 8″ hard drive. I took it home and took a look inside. Everything seemed okay, so I went to the library and started looking for information about it. It turned out to be an Altair 8800BT, one of the first commercially available microcomputers. I stuck it in my closet and ignored it for a couple of decades, just taking it with me every time I moved. A few years ago, I came across a listing for a similar computer on eBay, and was astonished to find that it was worth about $5000! I spent about $200 getting it working again, but it is so much fun to play with that I haven’t gotten around to selling it, and the value fluctuates wildly. There is an amazing amount of code and documentation available for it on the internet.
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A few months later, I found a Sylvania Superset in excellent condition. I took it home and plugged it in. The flyback transformer was blown. I spent $30 for a replacement, soldered it in, and the TV worked flawlessly until 1999, when my (now-ex) wife gave it to a friend.
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The photos are not mine, but they are the exact same models.
The Saigon Execution photo, but not for the reason most people think.
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“Two people died in that photograph. The recipient of the bullet and General Nguyen Ngoc Loan. The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera.” – Photographer Eddie Adams
This picture is both moving and tear jerking for me because I know the back story. Most people look at the picture and think the South Vietnamese general as some kind of monster. When the general lost a leg in combat and received medical treatment in the U.S., many were outraged. Then-Sen. Stephen M. Young (D-Ohio) called Loan a “brutal murderer” and said his treatment in the United States was “a disgraceful end to a … disgraceful episode.”
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What most people don’t know is that the real monster was not the South Vietnamese general, but the Vietcong terrorist. Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem was the leader of a hit team that infiltrated into Saigon to execute political opponents and members of the police force. Just that morning, he had murdered 34 people. 7 of the dead had been General Loan’s own men. 2 or 3 had been Americans. The rest were wives and children of South Vietnamese police officers. All had been bound at the wrist, forced to kneel near a pit, and executed. The prisoner and all of his hit squad were terrorists who dressed as civilians to attack civilians.
Loan, fresh from intense combat with Viet Cong, literally caught Van Lem red handed. The most recent victims were one of Loan’s men, the policeman’s wife, and his 6 children. The general had literally caught the terrorist standing over the bodies of his own God children.
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Combat was ongoing. Loan had to rush back into battle. He didn’t have time to read a Viet Cong terrorist his rights. He put a bullet in the brain of a terrorist who had killed dozens of women and children. But for decades, the picture was reprinted over and over, with no context. The ignorant believed General Loan to be a villain, rather than a hero taking a monster off the streets of Saigon.
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Now the picture itself was not deceitful, nor was the photographer. But the picture was stripped of context and used to deceive the reader of American newspapers.
Late and absent both. Let’s call her Patricia. Patricia, our receptionist, was late or absent at least once a week, and she was always very apologetic and always promised it would never happen again. Eventually she was put on last chance, final written warning.
The owner and I discussed it and thought that maybe if Patricia felt that the company was willing to invest in her, she would feel more invested in the company. So we sent her to a class to improve her skills. She was very excited about the opportunity.
The day of the class was monstrous. A new client signed unexpectedly and we had to immediately come up with eight workers in the right specialty to send them, but to come up with travel arrangements and temporary living quarters in a city a thousand miles away for those eight workers. We got through it finally but I’d been covering not only my own job but Patricia’s as well and I was exhausted.
The following day Patricia came in and I asked her how the class went. She said, “I was a little late and they wouldn’t let me in.”
“So why weren’t you here? If you weren’t in class you should have come to work,” I told her.
“Well, I would have, but I thought you’d yell at me.”
I told her to sit down and I’d talk to her later. Before I said anything further I wanted to talk to the owner, who wasn’t in yet. I also called the company that provides the class in question, and they told me that while the attendance records weren’t in yet, Patricia would have had to be at least an hour and a half late before she would be denied access.
The owner and I agreed that where Patricia had already been on last chance warning for her attendance, this was the last straw. As I told her, “If you’d come in to work when they wouldn’t let you into class I would have yelled at you but you’d still have a job. As it is, you don’t.”
Old-fashioned sailboats were able to sail across the Atlantic by using the power of the wind and the skill of the sailors. They did not just sail back in the other direction if the wind changed, because they knew how to adjust their sails and navigate according to the prevailing wind patterns. Sailboats work by harnessing the force of the wind on their sails, which creates a lift that pushes the boat forward. The direction and speed of the boat depend on the angle and shape of the sails, the position of the rudder, and the resistance of the water and the keel.
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By changing these factors, sailors can control the movement of the boat and steer it towards their destination. However, sail boats cannot sail directly into the wind, because the wind would push them back. Instead, they have to sail at an angle to the wind, called tacking, and zigzag their way forward. This way, they can sail in any direction, even against the wind, as long as they have enough space and time.
The Atlantic Ocean has very reliable wind patterns, called trade winds and westerlies, that sailors used to their advantage. The trade winds blow from east to west in the tropics, near the equator, and the westerlies blow from west to east in the temperate zones, near the poles. These winds are caused by the difference in temperature and pressure between the equator and the poles and the rotation of the Earth.
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Sailors who wanted to cross the Atlantic from Europe to America would use the trade winds, and sail south until they reached the tropics, then sail west along the equator, and then sail north to reach the Caribbean or North America. Sailors who wanted to cross the Atlantic from America to Europe would use the westerlies, and sail north until they reached the temperate zone, then sail east along the higher latitudes, and then sail south to reach Europe. These routes are known as the Atlantic triangular trade because they formed a triangle on the map.
Sailing across the Atlantic was not an easy task, and it required a lot of skill, courage, and luck. Sailors had to deal with storms, waves, currents, pirates, diseases, and other dangers. Sometimes they had to navigate using the stars, the sun, the compass, and the log, and estimate their position and speed. They also had to cooperate with their crew and follow the orders of their captain. Sailing across the Atlantic was a great adventure, and a great achievement, for the old-fashioned sail boats and their sailors.
One famous example of someone who was extremely wealthy and lost it all due to a bad habit is Howard Hughes.
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Howard Hughes was a prominent American business magnate, aviator, film producer, and philanthropist who was born on December 24, 1905, and passed away on April 5, 1976. He initially gained wealth through his inheritance of the Hughes Tool Company, a successful oil tool business. Hughes expanded his empire into various industries, including aviation, film, and real estate.
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Here’s how he lost his wealth due to a combination of factors:
1.) Excessive Spending: Hughes had a penchant for extravagant spending, particularly on ambitious projects. He founded Hughes Aircraft Company and designed and built innovative aircraft like the H-4 Hercules, also known as the “Spruce Goose,” which was one of the largest planes ever constructed. These projects consumed vast amounts of his wealth.
2.) Film Ventures: Hughes ventured into the film industry, producing movies like “Hell’s Angels” and “The Outlaw.” His fixation on perfectionism and costly reshoots significantly inflated production budgets, leading to financial losses in the film sector.
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3.) Reclusive Lifestyle: In the latter part of his life, Hughes became increasingly reclusive and struggled with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). His reclusiveness made it challenging to manage his various business interests effectively, and he withdrew from public life, which hampered decision-making.
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4.) Legal Battles: Hughes became embroiled in numerous legal disputes, including battles over his inheritance, control of his companies, and allegations of fraud. These legal battles drained his financial resources and added to his woes.
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5.) Mismanagement: Hughes entrusted the management of his vast empire to a series of individuals, some of whom were not always acting in his best interests. This mismanagement further eroded his wealth.
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By the time of his death in 1976, Howard Hughes had gone from being one of the wealthiest individuals in the world to a recluse with a much-diminished fortune. His life and financial decline are often cited as a cautionary tale of the perils of unchecked ambition, excessive spending, and reclusiveness.
A woman was at my local bar in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, drinking a beer. It was a quiet early evening, maybe a dozen people in the place including the bartender and bouncer. A guy carelessly bumps into her, spilling her beer on her. He doesn’t apologize. Irritated, she points out that he just spilled her beer. I don’t recall exactly what he said, but it was very much not what a gentleman who just spilled a woman’s beer should have been saying.
Two large, tattooed dudes with shaved heads come along and sit on either side of the guy and ask him if he’d still be talking like that if the woman wasn’t alone. Because she very definitely was not alone. She was there with these two guys who had been up picking some music on the jukebox when the incident happened. And all three of them were good friends with the bouncer and the bartender. So they wondered if maybe the guy would like to apologize to the woman, buy her another beer to replace the one he spilled, and be a lot more thoughtful about how he treats people in the future. Which he agreed to. They pointed out how fucked up it was that it wasn’t until they came along that he started behaving more like a gentleman, and that maybe he should rethink his behavior towards women.
The guy left soon after, having wisely left a generous tip in exchange for leaving with all his teeth still in his mouth.
I was working at Office Depot as a cashier. A lady had over $100 in merchandise. She had a coupon from Staples that was for $10 off of $50 and asked me if I would honor it. We did accept competitor’s coupons. I told her of course, not a problem. She produced it, and I was reading the fine print to make sure that it was valid. Some coupons will have exemptions, such as not being allowed to be used with HP ink. As I was trying to read the fine print, the lady told me that I said I would accept it. I agreed and asked her nicely to please be quiet so I could read the fine print. She was quiet for a few seconds and stated again that I promised that I would accept it no matter what. I told her that I didn’t promise, but please be quiet, I need to read in silence. She was quiet for a few seconds and brought up the fact I said I would honor it. I slammed my hands down on the checkout counter and told her if she would just shut up, and let me read it, we would both be happier. That shut her up long enough to see why she was trying to distract me. The coupon had expired two days prior. I looked at her and she blushed. I said, now I get why you were so insistent about my saying I would honor it. She started stammering out an apology. I told her not to worry, I would still honor it. I did because I figured, we were still making $90 from this sale, and most likely she would come back here to shop. I did ask her if she tried to use it at Staples and they wouldn’t honor it. Yes, they told me to try and see if Office Depot would accept it.
I expected to be fired for the way I talked to her and that I accepted an expired coupon from Staples.
Instead, she filled out a survey saying how wonderful I was and now she would only shop with us. She transferred her printing over to us, which generated over $1000 in sales monthly. The general manager asked why I honored it knowing it was expired. I told him because I said I would, but I did tell her that all the conditions had to be met first. Once I saw it was expired, I figured the $10.00 loss was nominal in making a customer happy.
My mother saved my life by cursing me out and making me go to school. It was the day after my 11th birthday. I had every intention to stay home and play the new Super Nintendo games I had received for my birthday. Usually, my mother wouldn’t have had any problem with this, but that day she was adamant that I was going to get up and go to school. We got into a terrible argument and both said very hurtful things to each other. I had no choice but to go.
As soon as I got to school I had this overwhelming feeling that I just wanted to go home and lay on my mother’s lap and cry. It wasn’t because of the argument but it was something else I just couldn’t put my finger on. The school day was finally over and I still couldn’t shake this feeling. My godbrother and downstairs neighbor wanted to come over and play the game and even though I still just wanted to get in the house and cry, I reluctantly agreed.
When we got to the door it was locked. No big deal. Looked under the mat and the key wasn’t there. Still not unusual. I climbed up the back patio and let myself in. I immediately went to the front door to let my company in. After I let them in I went to the kitchen to get a piece of cake and my downstairs neighbor went straight to the tv and cut it and the game on.
For some reason, my godbrother started to walk through the apartment. When he came back into the living room he told us that we needed to go outside. We begrudgingly went. Once outside he proceeded to say “I don’t know how to say this, but your mother is dead”. I darted back in and went straight to her bedroom. She was tied to the bed with the phone cord and her throat had been sliced open. There was blood everywhere.
I ran back outside and downstairs to call 911 as our phone wasn’t connected at the time. I didn’t really know what to say and I think the operator must have thought it was a prank because she hung up on me. So I called my grandma and told her. After that, I just sat on the bottom step until the police and paramedics started pulling up. My grandma arrived shortly after and it gets blurry from there.
It will be 26 years on September 26 that this happened. Still no arrests. I feel like everyone in town knows exactly who did it, the same people I’ve been saying for years, but no one is willing to say anything. Mind you her boyfriend was killed in the same way about a year before. This happened in Plymouth, North Carolina, and her name is Sonja Day. You can also look at details of her boyfriend’s murder on the North Carolina Innocence Commission website under the Spruill case. My cousin was wrongfully convicted of his murder and after all this time they are finally trying to do something about it. I’ve always been adamant that the same people are responsible for both murders.
Sorry for being so long-winded. Probably should have made this its own answer. So that’s how my mother saved my life. I would like to think that if I stayed home that day, I could have saved her somehow, but it likely wouldn’t have gone that way.
Edit: Wow! I never thought that this many people would read this. I would like to thank everyone for their comments and well wishes.There are a few things happening that may lead to an arrest. I feel like the end may be within reac. I’ll definitely let everyone know how it works out.
1-Everyone is on a different journey. You may just be starting yours while the other person might be at the end of his/hers.
2-Comparing yourself to others is a losing battle. In the game of life, you will never reach a point where you are better than others in every way.
3-What you are comparing against is inaccurate information. What people present to the outside world is usually an edited version of their reality.
4-Your dream is likely different from others. If you have a big dream, it will take a while before you achieve it.
5-Comparison saps you of your limited time, you’ll be better off paying more attention to your dream.
6-All you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all.
I once left a backdoor on an Android app since I was working with a client that couldn’t be trusted whether they would pay me or not. Heard from another developer that they let him develop and ran away with the software and never paid him.
It was like this, whenever the app starts it proceeds as usual but on the background it sends a request to one of my servers, if the request reaches the server and the response is code 200, then its ok, am still waiting for the payment the app can proceed as usual, if 201 then I wasn’t paid, so crash the app, clean all preferences and change url that was saved in preferences makes the app completely unusable for good. If 203 then I have been paid in full, proceed never send any request to my server again.
And my guess was right,I made the app, haven’t send the code to the client yet (they didn’t need the code though, it was a full running app), they started using the app, told me some stuffs, I fixed them, everything is set, they love the app, it was even more than they expected, I even made them an admin dashboard with a bunch of analytics to monitor all their data for free as a way to make them like me to work with them in the future, in my price I even included free up to 3 months bugs fixing if any were to occur, they were so happy with the results.
Then they immediately disappeared, waited for their reply for two weeks, nothing, not even a reply to tell me to wait, its like they all died from a hurricane or something, they even changed the pass to their server so I couldn’t get in and kill it, that was proof enough that they clearly ran away with my software. So I sent the 201 status code from my server and the whole app froze, all clients they connected couldn’t use the app anymore, immediately the following day they tried to contact me, I tripled the price after seeing they wanted to scam me. They paid me in full the same day through western union, I sent a fully working app with no backdoor, and all the source code. And that was it, I’ll never work with these guys again.
I will put a backdoor if you are a bad client, if you are a good one or pay in advance I’m not putting any, or if we are in the same country because I know I could sue you. I hate backdoors anyway because they are too risky no matter how much I try to secure them, the fact that they exist is a problem.
My wife has a face painting and balloon business. Before the pandemic, she was booked over three hundred gigs every year at hourly rates that would make a lawyer happy.
Once April 2020 hit, her business dried up. No parties. No festivals. No grand openings. No fairs.
We shrugged our shoulders. Oh, well!
She refunded her pending contracts to keep good customer relations. I went to work as usual. We actually increased our savings since then. My job covers our needs.
We’re fine!
The reason is our modest house. We made do with a smaller home and aggressively paid the mortgage down when times were good. When rates dropped, we refinanced. Our mortgage payment is only 1/4 of my monthly net income.
This could have been a very stressful time financially. I’m very grateful that it hasn’t been at all. I wouldn’t trade that security for an extra room or a big garage.
Modest home all the way!
It’s a true story
Said by “Al Bundy” actor of Married with Children. But it is a true story.
Funny story. The Air Force never wanted the A-10 and never wanted to support the Army in ground attack roles. They only adopted the A-10 to save their budget from the Army demanding to develop and provide their own CAS solutions.
Fast is great for a lot of things but the A-10 is able to loiter and remain aloft at much lower speeds, allowing pilots to see what was developing on the ground.
Six A-10s can be produced for the cost of one F-35.
A-10s are 1/6th the costto fly each hour.
A-10’s are mission capable at nearly double the rate of the maintenance intensive F-35.
The F-35’s are rife with problems that are slowing production and have cause groundings.
F-35’s stealth is far less useful in low and slow engagements because it can be detected and killed by people with eyeballs and manpads. The A-10 suffers this problem too but it’s more durable and cheaper to replace.
Every F-35 lost to CAS missions will be detrimental to other sorties the plane might have flown.
I like the F-35 but it’s not really a good plane choice for getting down in the mud with the grunts.
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If an F-35 was shot up like that’ I seriously doubt the pilot would have managed to fly it home.
EDIT:
Folks, I never mentioned Ukraine. I never suggested sending the A-10 into combat without other types of aircraft designed to make their use tolerably safe. I also never made the A-10 put to be some sort of superhero airframe, unable to be killed. I specifically answered a question about the A-10 vs F-35/F-22 in close support of troops.
During my son’s 12th grade year of school another student broke his leg during football.
At the hospital, after the X-ray the nurse came in to wrap my son’s leg. She grabs his leg and bends it to the side, and I hear this pop noise as my son screams out.
I yelled at the nurse and made her leave the room. At this point the head doctor and head nurse rushed into the room. I told them to get my son’s pain under control. They gave him a shot and after he relaxed I explained what the nurse had done. I told them that I should sue the hell out of the hospital for allowing a person man or woman to work with patients that clearly has no damn idea what the hell she is doing.
The doctor and nurse took the bitch into an empty room and she walked out of the room and walked out of the exit door. She looked at me with a hateful look and I called her a bitch, and the doctor witnessed it. He told me it will be dealt with.
Not sure if she was fired or just sent home on probation.
Barley with Mushrooms (Scotland)
mushroom barley 3f
Ingredients
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup barley
2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
Instructions
Cook and stir mushrooms and onions in butter 5 minutes; place in ungreased 1 1/2-quart casserole.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Cover and bake at 375 degrees F, stirring once, until barley is tender, about 1 1/4 hours.
When I was in 3rd grade my parents got a collie for me. Lassie was big on TV and I wanted my own Lassie. We named her Lady. She was the perfect pet and protector, especially of me. We lived in Omaha in a split level house. The kitchen, a bedroom, and a combination laundry room/bomb shelter were on the back of the house, the lower level. My brother, sister, and I shared the bedroom.
My parents both worked so when we got home from school, we’d stay with the lady across the street, who also took care of my younger brother who was not school age yet. We would leave Lady in the neighbor’s back yard during the day.
One day I wanted something from my room so I took Lady with me to our house. I was part ways down the back stairs when I realized the back door was open and a man was standing in the kitchen. He had apparently just forced the door. He was holding a pry bar. I froze and he started towards me, not seeing Lady behind me on the stairs. She met him as he was coming up and tore into his arm holding the pry bar. He dragged her to the door and out and I called her back as he ran away. We never learned who it was, though my dad suspected one of the neighbors.
There were two other times Lady probably saved members of our family. She woke us up the night our house burned down and got us out within five minutes of the entire ceiling collapsing.
The other time was when we had moved to South Carolina. We lived on the last street at the edge of town. Behind us was a wide field, then some woods. A few miles past the woods was a prison work camp.
My dad was gone bowling and my mother, sister, brother, and I were watching TV. It was summer and the side porch wooden door was open. The screen door wasn’t latched. My mom’s car was parked right outside the door.
My mother saw a man come over the back fence and look in the car windows, probably for keys, then walk up onto the porch and look through the screen. She called out, “What do you want?”
He didn’t say anything, just walked into the living room. He saw a woman and three kids but he didn’t see Lady, who was lying by the TV. She saw him, though, and without a word from us she was across the room and tearing into him. He bolted out the door, and she was chewing away at his legs as he went over the fence. We ran outside and turned on the porch light. He was running across the back yard, and Lady backed up to get a running start and leaped the fence. She caught him again at the back fence and worked on his ass some more. When he got over the fence and disappeared into the night, my mom called her back.
The police came and said he was an escapee from the prison camp. They brought dogs and tracked him from our house and found him in the woods. I suspect he had a healthy fear of dogs by then.
He wanted the car keys and who knows, he might not have wanted any witnesses to call the police.
Lady passed away while I was overseas in the military. My mom told me my dad sat on the floor and held her for hours until she was gone. We all loved Lady as much as she loved us.
I’ll narrate two instances where I’ve witnessed a beautiful manifestation of “bro-code”.
Mine was a co-ed school. Our class strength was divided almost equally between girls and boys. One of the guys, Inzy, had a massive crush on a girl from another section. He was too shy to speak up however. He thought she was out of his league (whatever that means!).
Our class fellows immediately got down to image building. They casually started talking about Inzy with the girls of the other section. Not with his crush. They chose the other girls, carefully avoiding “the one”. The tales of his intelligence, humility and humour started being discussed amongst the other girls and this piqued the interest of his crush.
Some girls soon started interacting with Inzy with their casual helloes. And as expected, Miss. Crush bumped into him outside our Chemistry lab and asked him to clear some doubts. Inzy did not know what hit him! He did manage to sail through with his explanation.
Inzy found his girl, all thanks to his bros who worked behind the scenes and set the ball rolling for his love story. We girls also contributed our bit… by keeping quiet about the entire set up. Wasn’t easy!! :p
The second instance is a bit gory. There were a group of boys who used to hang out regularly at the corner of our street. They were college students who had known each other since their childhood. One of them was Omi bhaiya (elder brother). He was a gentle giant, forever helping others.
One day another gang of boys from some other neighbourhood came to our locality. That day our regular group of elder boys had not yet converged. The gang went up to a lone guy who coming back on his cycle and started fighting with him. He tried to escape but was surrounded. The gang was getting aggressive and soon withdrew hockey sticks and bats. The commotion drew the attention of Omi bhaiya who was casually walking towards his usual hangout. He ran towards where the whole scene was unfolding.
Just as the cyclist was about to be slashed with a blade, bhaiya caught the sharp weapon, with his bare hands! His hand was slashed across the palm. Seeing blood gushing out, the neighbouring gang guys ran away. Turns out that it was a fight over some insult.
When bhaiya was asked why didn’t he call for help and instead held the blade, thereby harming himself, his answer was simple. “The boy being attacked is my friend’s younger brother. He’s like my own. Couldn’t take a chance. Bros always look out for each other.How could I see him get hurt?”
Cesnica (Serbian Christmas Bread)
Cesnica Serbian Christmas Bread
Ingredients
7 3/4 cups flour
3 tablespoons yeast
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons salt
Warm water
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine flour, yeast, shortening and salt. Knead with enough warm water to moisten until dough separates from hands. Dough should be firm, not tacky.
Put dough on greased pan. Let rise for 10 minutes in warm area.
Perforate dough with fork. Insert clean coin (quarter or gold dollar) and spread dough flat like a pizza.
In one of my job interviews this year, I was asked, “How much do you think the chewing gum market is worth in the United States?”
If you haven’t encountered a question like that before, it might sound like a crazy thing for an interviewer to ask. For one thing, I knew absolutely nothing about the chewing gum industry. For another, if I ever actually needed that information, the smartest response would probably be to pull out my phone and Google it.
But the purpose of doing estimations like that isn’t to figure out the right answer – it’s to practice structuring your thinking in a logical way. You can learn the gist of how to do it in a minute, and you can use this kind of logic for the rest of your life.
Estimations like these are often referred to as Fermi problems, or back-of-the-envelope calculations. To solve one, you’re supposed to figure out a way to break the main question into a series of smaller components that can more comfortably estimate. Then, you put them back together to arrive at an approximation of the final answer. The trick is to ask small questions to reach a bigger solution.
For example, this was how I estimated the size of U.S. chewing gum market:
I knew that there are about 320 million people in the U.S.
I knew that the average lifespan in the U.S. is about 80 years. We’ll assume that age is evenly distributed among the population (not actually true, but close enough for our purposes.)
Teenagers and adults – say, between the ages of 10 and 50, so about half the population – are the demographics most likely to chew gum. Let’s guess that about 75% of them are gum-chewers.
Small children under the age of 10, and older adults over the age of 50, are the demographics least likely to chew gum. Let’s guess that 25% of them are gum-chewers.
If we do the math, that gives us a total of about 160 million gum-chewers in the U.S.
On average, each of those people probably chew at least 1 stick of gum every week.
Most of the packs of gum I’ve seen contain about 15 sticks of gum.
There are 52 weeks in a year. If we round up a little, that means the average gum-chewer buys about 4 packs of gum every year.
I’d guess that an average pack of gum costs about $5. That means that 4 packs would cost $20.
That gives us about $20 per person * 160 million people = $3.2 billion spent on gum every year.
I had no idea if that was right or not – for all I knew, some of my assumptions were completely ridiculous. But maybe some of my wrong assumptions canceled each other out. I Googled the question afterwards, and I found that the U.S. chewing gum market was worth $3.9 billion in 2015, which means I at least got to an accurate order of magnitude. And best of all, I got the job!
If you want to try doing one yourself, here are a couple of fun ones:
How many gas stations are there in your country?
How many hair are on your head?
How many airplanes are there in the world?
How many customers visit your favorite restaurant every year?
How many Quora answers have you read in your lifetime?
Right before I attempted suicide (and 2 months after my heart attack), I asked my “wife” to tell me that she loved me. She refused. We weren’t fighting or anything. She just refused. So I asked her to lie to me and say that she loved me. I was feeling low and my body was failing me. I’m a veteran who been through a lot. So she decided to make confessions. She said that it was NOT her responsibility to tell me that she loved me or that I was attractive. If I wanted to feel loved or attractive, go to therapy instead. She also revealed that she hated the educational gap between us and said that she despised living in my “shadow” and being known as my wife.
This absolutely BROKE me. The final straw was when I told her that she broke my heart and she just shrugged. I absolutely wasted 20 years of my life.
Originally Answered: what was the most interesting thing your teacher said?
Original question: What’s the best thing you’ve heard your teacher say?
The first day I walked into my 10th grade chemistry class, the lights were off. The teacher was waiting at the front of the room, holding a small candle in front of him. The candle’s tiny flame was the only source of light in the room.
The class murmured a bit, confused and excited. Once we’d all quieted down, the teacher said, “Tell me some of the observations you can make about this candle.”
We paused for a moment. That seemed a little too easy for chemistry class.
“But keep in mind,” the teacher added, “that observations are the things you observe empirically. Inferences are the things you conclude… and inferences can be wrong.”
We stared at him, wary now.
At last, someone piped up, “Um…The flame is yellow?”
“The flame gives off heat.”
“The wick is burning.”
“The wax is cylindrical!”
The teacher raised his eyebrows at that one. “Are you sure?”
We stared harder at the candle, not sure how to respond to that. It definitely looked cylindrical.
The teacher shrugged. Then he put the candle into his mouth and started chewing.
The class stared at him.
At this point I was wondering if I ought to call the emergency room or something, but the teacher just kept chewing as though nothing was wrong. Eventually, he swallowed, shrugged again, and said, “Actually tastes okay.”
As it turns out, the so-called “candle” wasn’t made out of wax at all. It was actually just a slice of banana, with an almond slice for the wick.
The student’s “wax” statement had actually been an inference.
After explaining this to us, the teacher turned on the lights and said, “If there’s one thing I want you to learn in this class, it’s the first rule of scientific thinking: Never assume that your mind can’t lie to you.”
And that’s the story of how my 10th-grade chemistry teacher swallowed a candle to teach us the first principle of scientific thinking. Here’s to you, Mr. Miller.
Test someone’s attentiveness. Alter a sentence slightly. If they’re attentive, their expression changes or they ask about the change.
Handshakes reveal personality; they can show anxiety even if you hide nerves.
Avoid being too available, especially to close ones, except for parents. Excess availability makes you seem less important; they might take you for granted.
Instead of dinner and a movie, watch the movie first, then dine. It gives you a dinner conversation starter.
Don’t react hastily. Don’t expect acknowledgment. Think before acting!
The thing that people remember the most about you is your personality, way of talking and attitude.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) originally did not have any party property and was a political party with 0 assets. The word “bankrupt” cannot be associated with CPC.
But the Kuomintang (KMT) in Taiwan owned party assets and was indeed bankrupt.
image 566
If you mean “the Chinese government / State Council (PRC)”, then I can tell you for sure that the Chinese government also has 0 assets, and they are only the managers of state-owned capital, not the owners.
If you mean “China’s financial sector”, then I can tell you with certainty that China’s savings rate is 45%, 10 times that of the US. China’s savings rate is even 11% higher than Japan’s, despite the fact that Japan is also an ardent thrifty nation. The main reason for this is:
Chinese people have a sense of worry and are always used to saving money to prevent and cope with emergencies and unforeseen events.
Chinese people generally have the habit of saving, no matter poor or rich, they all like to save their income in the bank to accumulate more money, instead of using credit cards to spend money in advance as westerners are keen to do. You can even ask the little black brothers in San Francisco why they like to rob the Chinese, because they know that the Chinese like to go to the bank and save their money, and they rarely spend tomorrow’s money today like the whites do.
The savings of 1.4 billion people is a huge amount of money, which is the “ballast” that keeps the ship stable, so the risk resistance of China’s financial industry is much higher than that of Wall Street’s financial industry.
In other words, even if the global finance collapses, China’s finance will not collapse.
Becket (1964) Richard Burton & Peter O’ Toole
Debauched King Henry II (Peter O’Toole) installs his longtime court facilitator Thomas Becket (Richard Burton) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, assuming that his old friend will be a compliant and loyal lackey in the King’s on-going battles with the church. But Becket unexpectedly finds his true calling on the ecclesiastical side, and aligns himself against the King’s selfish wishes, causing a rift and an eventual showdown not only between the two men, but also the institutions they represent. (IMDb)
I was living in West Elizabeth, PA. It was a very distressed mobile park complex. The entire community was worn down, poverty stricken, and crime ridden.
At that time, we had our first cat: Samatha Pantha.
Something cool started to happen, a beautiful blue grey Maine Coon, the same age as my kitty started hanging out with my cat.
It was beautiful. And we named it “Blue Thunder”.
…
For the next few months the two cats played and romped about.
One day, some local boys were tying to sic a dog on Blue Thunder, and I saw them under my mobile home trying to attack my cat. I was furious and chased them away.
Three days went by…
No Blue Thunder.
Then one morning, the kitty was on my porch. Someone had shot it with a BB gun…
We took it in the house and tended to it. And all was well.
It was still around us. Our “outside” cat, and not our “inside” cat.
…
Eventually, I got a job in another state. And we had to move.
I wanted to Take Blue Thunder with us, but my wife reasoned “no”. She reasoned was that he would be just fine… alone… outside.
I should have NEVER listened to her.
…
Guys… stick to your guns. If you are dealing with a living, breathing being. Err on the safe, and the protected side of things.
…
I found out later that when the mobile home was being transported, a cat (that obviously must have been Blue Thunder) tumbled out from underneath the mobile home. I don’t know what happened to it, but falling out from a moving vehicle tends to be fatal to little creatures.
I have great regrets about this issue.
I am haunted by my passive actions that led to the demise of others.
…
About six months later, I came across another little kitty. Phelie. The cat that I wrote about in other posts, the one whose mother cat died on the road. And this cat had nearly the same personality that Blue Thunder had.
Maybe he found his way back to me.
Don’t you know.
People, I have many regrets in life. But one of the biggest is going against my CORE BELIEFS because my partner or family member did not realize the value of other creatures. Do not be like me.
Fight the GOOD FIGHT.
Never give up. Stick to your guns. Hold your ground. Be someone that your grandparents would be proud of.
Two police officers with sober faces stared at me and I knew the news couldn’t be good.
They described a car that had just been in an accident, and the license plate. My wife’s mini-van had collided, burst into flames and everyone inside it died.
I’m doing a mental inventory about now. My wife, three children, and two nieces.
My legs turned wobbly. You can’t imagine what was going through my head. Because of the fire, they couldn’t find any useful identification but explained they could identify everyone both by DNA and by dental records. They wanted a DNA sample from me.
I guess they could verify my kids were mine, and that the adult was their mother. A nice, neat little bow.
Can you imagine? They’ve just told you that your whole family is dead, and —- I told them I would come down and give them a sample.
Getting ready to leave, my cell phone is buzzing. It’s my wife. What? Hard tingles are on my spine, like she’s calling from the grave.
“Our van was stolen from the parking lot….”
Were the sweetest words I could’ve ever heard. Yeah it was my wife’s car, but they won’t need any DNA sample from me today.
EDIT – to address some of the mysteries in the comments
I learned later that three people were in the van when it collided. A man, woman, and younger person, which they presumed was a child of the drivers. The police said everyone died, but they had a different human inventory than my own. I also learned they were part of a ring of car thieves, and the accident was not their fault. Another car ran a light and hit them broadside. No fatalities and only minor injuries in the other car.
My wife had organized a birthday outing for our oldest. All the necessary shops, restaurant, and theater were inside the mall. It would be several hours before it was time to leave again. The thieves had plenty of time to get away if they hadn’t been hit.
I have an interesting piece of information which was completely new to me and maybe it is new to many of you too..
Recently, a friend of mine was involved in an accident. He rammed his car behind a truck and the car was completely totaled!
image 243image 242
Thankfully, he was wearing his seat belt which initiated the action of airbags and saved his life.
Now comes the part which amazed me. When I saw the pictures of the crash, the speedometer of the car caught my attention.
image 241
The speedometer needle was stuck at 90 km/hr. Upon asking some of my acquaintances in the automobile industry, I discovered that this is also a feature, due to which upon impact if the airbags are deployed, then the speedometer needle will be stuck at the speed at which the vehicle is being driven to ease the investigation and further formalities about the accident.
This amazed me as this was quite a useful feature which rarely people know and it will make it much easier to get into depth of the cause of the accident in cars which do not have a dashcam installed, which usually is the case in India.
Hope you were amazed too!
Valiant Thor: A UFO, the Pentagon and a 3-year Mission to Save the World
I have a house for rent in Brownfield, Maine. It’s a tiny vacation house I call the “Schwende Hut” named after a hot dog stand on top of the ski hill Mt Tecumseh in New Hampshire. I found out later that “Schwende Hut” means “Food House” but I think it’s hilarious.
I have been renting the house for almost 20 years to people who like to stay be the weekend, the week, the month or the season. It’s been pretty good.
A few years ago I got call from a woman who wanted to rent for a week. It was the end of the season and I still had that week available so naturally I signed her right up. She moved in on time and all was good. She was rather elderly and I was concerned that she would have a good time.
After a week my cleaner reported to me that she hadn’t left. I went over to see what was going on. Normally guests have to check out by noon so the cleaner can do his work before the next guest arrived. She came to the door but didn’t open it. I asked her what she was doing.
“I live here now,” she said to me, “I’m not leaving.”
I was confused.
“This is a guest house,” I said, “Other guests are going to come.”
“And I’m not paying,” she said obstinately. I was speechless. This had never happened before. I said, “I’ll call the Sheriff.”
“Go ahead,” she said, “Winter is coming. I’m old. They’ll never evict an elderly woman. Good luck.”
What could I do? I had to go consult with my local lawyer.
That night a huge storm came up with violent winds and lots of rain. I couldn’t worry about the old bitch in my house. I had to worry about property damage. Two days later the storm ended. I came through all right with just a few branches down and lots of pine needles everywhere. But there was no power. In Maine the power goes out at least once a week. Trees just fall and take out the lines. After a big storm crews and trucks have to go out and put the lines back up. We get used to seeing the flashing light on our digital clocks in Maine. It tells us that the power was out and we have to throw away most of the food in our fridge.
It took almost a week for the power company to restore power. In the meantime I was worried about the woman who wouldn’t leave my house. What was I going to do with her? The legal moves for getting her out were long, laborious and expensive. Even squatters have rights, it seems. People told me to tell the Sheriff she was dealing drugs and that would get her out fast. Meth is a huge problem in Maine with so much poverty. I couldn’t bring myself to do that. But within a few days of the power being out, she packed up her car and left. With no power, there was no fridge, no stove, no AC, no showers, no toilet, no light. She up and left, The house was a pigsty but at least it was empty.
I installed a power kill in a hidden location under the house. If this happens again I know what I will do now.
In the early 1920s, when the postal service first launched its airmail service, planes could only fly during the day.
image 228
It would take three and a half days for a package to make it from New York City to San Francisco, with both airmail and train-travel due to the limitation on flight.
Thus, to solve this problem, Congress funded a transcontinental lighted airway from New York to California.
The airway went through nine different states and consisted of 50-foot steel towers that were rotating spotlights every 10 to 30 miles.
image 227
However, since cloudy days sometimes obstructed the view of pilots, giant concrete arrows were constructed on the ground in order to point the plane in the right direction. They were painted yellow to make them easier to see.
The project was called the Transcontinental Airway system and it worked surprisingly well up until the 1940s when the system was dismantled due to advances in aviation technology.
Many of the concrete arrows are still around today, remnants of a time where planes could travel across the country, purely by sight.
During my time in High School, I received a ticket from a police officer who was working a side job as a delivery driver. He accused me of “dumping my clutch” and “doing a burn out of the parking lot.” However, I am currently fighting against these allegations.
When I appeared before the judge, the prosecutor and the police officer were present. The police officer reiterated his observations, and I countered by explaining that I did not perform any clutch dumping or burnout in my 280zx because there was an 8″ gutter separating the street and the sidewalk.
I further argued that performing a burnout in the parking lot would have caused damage to my low-riding Z vehicle. Moreover, when I hit the gutter, my battery came loose, and the positive post made contact with the steel clutch line, resulting in a hole and a loss of fluid, making it impossible to switch gears. The engine sounded loud because the car was in neutral, and I was expecting to shift into second gear.
The police officer should be aware of this situation since he had to call a tow truck to take my car to the garage for repairs. I even provided the receipts as evidence.
The judge then asked me if I worked at the restaurant, to which I replied affirmatively. I mentioned that as a delivery driver, I would be unable to carry out my job without a vehicle. However, the judge questioned how I managed to hit the gutter so hard that it caused my battery to bounce.
I humorously explained that the police officer had walked in front of my car while he was distracted by the attractive rear of my best friend, who happened to be a female. This caused everyone in the courtroom to burst into laughter, including the judge. The police officer became flustered and attempted to speak, but the prosecutor intervened and suggested that the case should be dismissed.
I agreed entirely with the prosecutor’s suggestion but requested that the repair bill be taken care of since it was the fault of the police officer’s negligence while representing the police department that caused the damage.
The judge agreed to dismiss the case, and I was awarded the reimbursement of around $37, which was equivalent to approximately 10 hours of minimum wage back in those days.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my best friend was a female with an attractive figure who enjoyed flaunting it whenever possible. However, everyone else in the courtroom assumed that my best friend was a male.
I was happy at my job, but one day a head hunter called me up, and asked me if I would be interested in interviewing for a job that was a step up, at a rival company.
I hummed and hawed, and thought why not see what I am worth, at the worst I could ask my boss for a raise.
I went to the interview, they were impressed and offered me a job, they wanted to know my current salary, I told them that the salary was only a small part of my pay, as I had a performance bonus that was substantially more than my salary. So I wanted to know what their bonus system was. It was woefully low, compared to my current job, I would get a bonus that was maybe 20 percent of my salary, compared to the 200 percent of the salary I was getting.
To make up for it, they offered me a 20 percent higher salary.
I wont give real numbers, but here is how it would work out.
I was currently getting $1000 in salary, and $2000 in bonus per month, for a total of $3000.
They thought salary was the key, and offered me $1200 in salary and $240 a month in bonus for a total of $1440
Less than half of what I was making, doing a job with less responsibility.
I told them that I wasn’t interested, and they offered to increase it to 30 percent increase in salary. Which would have been just over half of what I was making.
They just kept coming back to salary, and never seemed to grasp how substantial my bonus was.
That was a slap in the face offer.
I of course turned them down.
They went bankrupt 18 months later.
Man Dumps Wife When He Finds Out He Was Her Last Choice
I was working on a power station in Moscow and, for the weekend, went to a small town (Kaluga), two hundred kilometres south-west from the city with a work colleague. Alex.
He had bought some brake shoes for his Russian-made car and was fitting them with his father in their garage that every Russian family has. They are always in a long row of garages some distance from the apartments.
image 223image 224
The brake shoes wouldn’t fit due to poor quality manufacturing so he got out an angle grinder and ground the groove in the brake shoe until it fitted.
He said that this was normal in Russia.
image 225
He also said that when you bought a new Russian-made car you went to the showroom with a colleague and inspected the car. You would then tell the salesman what was wrong with the car (door does not close, brake pedal is missing rubber, etc.). He would fix it and, when you took it away, you accepted responsibility for all that was wrong.
So if you are planning an expedition to the Arctic don’t get an American or European mechanic to fix stuff en route, get a Russian because they have spent their entire life bodging stuff up with a Swiss army knife and some 14 gauge wire.
Most corporate offices have a “bend don’t break” rule on internet usage.
High achieving professionals don’t want to be micromanaged or watched with suspicion.
Think about it. If you work 40+ hours and are good at your job, it shouldn’t be an issue if you want to check the news or your bank account.
But some people treat their office like an entertainment center, streaming Twitch and YouTube all day.
As a result, HR and IT team up like a Kremlin intelligence agency, looking for any signs of slackers.
The golden snitch sees all. I was walking by one time and this coworker was literally watching a Twitch stream with that lady, Pokimane, as she played video games. This was in the middle of a busy office with people working.
Thirst trapping it on the clock baby. He had quite the audacity.
You can extend this to every stupid hiring practice and office rule. All it takes is one moron and life becomes more annoying for all that follow.
Don’t be the moron behind the stupid rule. If you can help it.
Karma Comes For Disloyal Wife After Husband Admits To Affair With Way Hotter Woman…And She FREAKS!
As a triage nurse in an Emergency Room, there are duties that become mundane but are necessary. One rule we had was that if a pregnant woman approached the check in desk complaining of pregnancy symptoms, the nurse asked how far along they were.
Twenty weeks is the magic number. If they are 20 weeks pregnant the baby has a realistic chance of surviving if delivered. This meant the nurse had to get up and push the patient by wheelchair to Labor and Delivery. It was a big hospital and L&D was on the exact opposite side of the hospital.
If they checked in at the front entrance, security would push them to L&D and the staff there would determine how far along they are and just as the triage nurse in the ER take them by wheelchair to the proper care area.
A pretty good system that had worked for years without incident. Both areas had to push an equal number of patients across the hospital.
And then one day I get a call from the L&D Director.
“We had a patient come in today who says she was told rudely by the ER staff that she was in the wrong place and needed to drive around to the front entrance,” she said.
I neglected to mention that this was a huge hospital that took up 2 city blocks. Crossing the hospital required a 10 min walk through a maze of locked doors and corridors. Driving around required 2 red lights and avoiding a one way street.
“I’ll have to speak to the staff,” I told her, “They know what they’re supposed to do.”
“This girl was 32 weeks and complained of her water breaking,” she continued.
It seemed she was catastrophizing the situation. The staff broke protocol. I will remind them and reiterate the protocol.
“I’ll make sure they understand,” I said.
“Keith, the baby was dead,” she said.
Turns out she was minimizing the episode. The seriousness of the call was not lost on me.
“I am going now to take care of it,” I said, “I am sorry.”
“These people are livid,” she added.
I called the charge nurse and asked who was at triage. Of the two names given, I immediately surmised who the culprit was. Judy was an outspoken nurse who enjoyed sharing her opinion that most of the patients in the ER did not even have an emergency. I went to get her.
“Can you come with me?” I asked.
“Why?” she asked, “Am I in trouble?”
She followed me out into the hallway, and as we walked to my office I asked her, “Did you send a 32 week pregnant patient around to the front?”
“Is that what this is about?” she started, “We are busy and I don’t have time to be pushing people all over the hospital.”
“The baby was dead,” I said, “This is not trivial.”
“That baby was dead before she got here,” she argued, “That has nothing to do with me not pushing her to L&D.”
Stating things that were most likely true did not change facts. She probably was already fired, honestly, but without hesitation I said, “Collect all your stuff and go home.”
“Am I being put on administrative leave because of this crap?”
“Come by my office before you leave,” I said.
While she collected her things, I called Human Resources and made sure I had grounds to terminate. The HR representative agreed to come witness the termination.
“I don’t care what you do,” Judy started as she entered the room. “That baby was already dead.”
“Judy, because of your refusal to follow proper protocol and continued insistence that you have done nothing wrong, you are being terminated. Effective immediately.” Her mouth fell open, and she began to cry. “This is Allison from HR. She can answer any further questions you may have.”
That’s the moment, I think, she finally realized the seriousness of her actions.
Solar storms: more dangerous than you think. Can we survive another Carrington Event?
The Boiling Hot End to a Cook Accused of Poison in Henry VIII’s England
On April 5, 1531, hardened London spectators of public punishment gathered at Smithfield, joined by others who were too curious to stay away. An execution had been announced of a type that none had witnessed in their lifetimes, nor ever heard of. The condemned man, Richard Roose, was to be boiled alive.
Roose was not the sort of criminal that usually met his end at Smithfield, located just beyond the London Wall. He was convicted of high treason, yet he had not sought to harm King Henry VIII nor his queen, Catherine of Aragon, nor any royal councilor. He had not tried to overthrow the kingdom’s government. Roose, a cook, was accused of murder by poison.
His two victims were an obscure gentleman in the household of Bishop John Fisher, Bennet Curwen, and a destitute widow who accepted the bishop’s charity, Alyce Tryppytt. The target of the poisoning was assumed to be Fisher himself, the Bishop of Rochester. Ironically, Fisher did not eat the soup—sometimes described as porridge—that Roose prepared and so was unharmed.
Roose admitted to the poisoning but claimed it was a joke gone wrong, an accident. There is no testimony for us to examine, because Roose had no trial, by command of the king.
In the words of the Greyfriars Chronicle of London, a contemporary document: “This year was a cook boiled in a cauldron in Smithfield for he would have poisoned the bishop of Rochester Fisher with divers of his servants and he was locked in a chain and pulled up and down with a gibbet at divers times until he was dead.”
Roose’s crime, the legal method of his condemnation, and finally the form of punishment create a bizarre chain of events that, in a more modern age, might well have raised questions of motive in several parties, including that of Henry VIII. Although there is no question of who did the killing, this is still a tantalizing Tudor murder mystery, and reveals some of the peculiarities of the early modern age, when laws existed and homicide was considered a heinous crime, but there was no trained police force nor forensic science.
Why did Henry VIII demand this punishment of a lowly cook? Why was Roose executed as a traitor when his crime was murder of commoners? The answer lies in the King’s complex feelings for Bishop Fisher.
John Fisher was made bishop of Rochester by the King’s father, Henry VII, in 1504. Fisher performed the funeral services for Margaret Beaufort, the king’s mother, and Henry VII himself when they died, within months of each other, in 1509. In the first 20 years of the reign of Henry VIII, Fisher was considered “the greatest Catholic theologian in Europe, without any rival,” writes Eamon Duffy.
But by the time of the crime in question, King Henry was no longer proud of Bishop Fisher, 62 years of age. It would be safe to say he considered him an enemy. And it would have made the King’s life much easier if Fisher had lost his—if he had consumed the soup.
In 1527, when Henry VIII, desperate for a male heir, began his public quest for an annulment from 42-year-old Catherine of Aragon to marry the delectable young Anne Boleyn, Fisher became one of his most serious obstacles. The question of the royal marriage was a theological one, and if Europe’s most respected theologian had agreed in the rightness of King Henry’s cause, it would have done a lot to bring about the annulment. But Fisher took the side of Catherine of Aragon. The marriage was legal and could not be dissolved.
In 1529, Bishop Fisher announced at the trial of the royal marriage that it would impossible to die more gloriously than in the cause of marriage, as John the Baptist did. In that same year, when a proposal came to Parliament to dissolve the smaller abbeys—the beginning of Henry VIII’s destruction of the Catholic monasteries—Fisher “openly resisted it with all the force he could.”
Enter one Richard Roose. One of Fisher’s earliest biographers, Richard Hall, wrote in 1655 the most complete account of the poisoning. He is the only source to say that Roose was not the chief cook in Fisher’s household, which is significant: “After this the Bishop escaped a very great danger. For one Richard Rose came into the Bishop’s kitchen, being acquainted with the cook, at his house in Lambeth-marsh, and having provided a quantity of deadly poison, while the cook went into the buttery to fetch him some drink, he took his opportunity to throw that poison into a mess of gruel, which was prepared for the Bishop’s dinner. And after he had waited there a while, he went on his way.
“But so it happened that when the Bishop was called into his dinner, he had no appetite for any meat but wished his servants to fall to and be of good cheer, and that he would not eat till toward night. And they that did eat of the poisoned dish were miserably infected. And whereof one gentleman, named Mr. Bennet Curwen and an old widow, died suddenly, and the rest never recovered their health till their dying day.”
An inquiry began at once. Although a salaried police force did not yet exist in England, criminal investigation was taken seriously. Justices of the peace, appointed by the monarch, received and investigated complaints; coroners viewed dead bodies and ordered arrests. Now if a suspect was bound over for trial, freedom was unlikely. Defendants charged with felonies or treason did not exist. In fact, murder trials rarely lasted more than 15 minutes.
Roose was soon apprehended, and admitted to adding what he believed were laxatives to the soup as a “jest.” No one believed him. The always skeptical Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys wrote a slightly different version of events to his master, Charles V, the nephew of Catherine of Aragon:
“They say that the cook, having been immediately arrested… confessed at once that he had actually put into the broth some powders, which he had been given to understand would only make his fellow servants very sick without endangering their lives or doing them any harm. I have not yet been able to understand who it was who gave the cook such advice, nor for what purpose.”
We share Chapuys’ frustration. Who gave the cook these powders and told him that they would sicken and not kill anyone? If that information was obtained, it was not shared with the public. No transparency.
Sir Thomas More, the lord chancellor, informed Henry VIII that there were rumors that Anne Boleyn and her father and brother, Thomas and George Boleyn, were involved in the poisoning attempt. The king reacted angrily, saying Anne Boleyn was unfairly blamed for everything, including bad weather.
The murder motive and the question of a larger plot were soon obscured by Henry VIII’s drastic actions. He decided that Roose should be condemned by attainder without a trial—a measure usually used for criminals who were at large. Roose was sitting in prison! Nonetheless, Parliament passed “An Acte for Poysoning,” making willful murder by means of poison high treason even if the victim was not head of the government of the land. And boiling to death became a form of legal capital punishment. This crime was especially heinous, the king’s representatives said, and thus called for such measures.
Several biographers have noted King Henry’s extreme fear of poison. Although the monarch’s paranoia became infamous in later years, there was some basis for concern. Everyone had heard the stories of murder by cantarella in Rome during the time of the Borgias. Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, died—perhaps of poison slipped into his food at a banquet—during the reign of Henry VII. Cantarella was believed to have been arsenic trioxide.
If poison was ever suspected as the cause of death at this time in England, there was no way to scrutinize its damage within the corpse to confirm. And should the poison itself be obtained, the field of analytical chemistry was four centuries away.
Not surprisingly, rumors ran wild. Poisoning was rumored (never proven) to be the cause of the deaths of Queen Anne, Richard III’s wife; the eventual death of Catherine of Aragon; and the agonizing death of Henry’s son, Edward VI. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, written in the reign of Henry’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, employed poison. Shakespeare wove it into five other plays too.
But there was more to this than royal terror of a poisoned dish. As historian K.J. Kesselring wrote in The English Historical Review, “This may explain the severe, exemplary punishment of boiling, but not the need to label the offense treason.”
In April the crowds of Smithfield witnessed Roose’s death. According to an eyewitness: “He roared mighty loud, and divers women who were big with child did feel sick at the sight of what they saw, and were carried away half dead; and other men and women did not seem frightened by the boiling alive, but would prefer to see the headsman at his work.”
The story of the king and the stubborn bishop doesn’t end there.
When, after the king married Anne Boleyn, Bishop Fisher refused to swear an oath of supremacy to the king, he was arrested. The pope made Fisher a cardinal to protect him, but it only enraged the king more. Once the monarch had ordered a savage punishment of the man who tried to kill Fisher, and now Henry VIII wanted Fisher gone.
After a difficult imprisonment, Fisher was beheaded on June 22, 1535 on Tower Hill. The crowd gasped when they saw him on the scaffold for he was “nothing…but skin and bones…the flesh clean wasted away, and a very image of death.” In his speech to the crowd, Fisher is said to have shown a calm dignity.
According to Fisher’s biographer: “And here I cannot omit to declare to you the miraculous sight of his head, which after 14 days grew fresher and fresher, for that in his lifetime he never looked so well…. the face looked as if it beholdeth the people passing by and would have spoken to them. Which many took as a miracle.”
In 1886, the Catholic Church made John Fisher a saint.
Accepting Defeat In Ukraine
In early November the Economistpublished an interview and several pieces by the commander in chief of the Ukrainian army, General Zaluzny. As I summarized:
Zaluzny’s central thesis is that the war is currently at a stalemate. It has become positional, with no large maneuvers being possible. He compares it to the war in Europe in 1917. There, he says, a change only happened through the introduction of new technologies (i.e. tanks). … I for one think that Zaluzny is mistaken. The war is not at a stalemate. Russia has clearly the advantage as it is free to maneuver along the whole frontline and to attack wherever it likes. It does not do so in full force because the current situation allows it to conveniently fulfill the order its commander in chief had given to it – to destroy the military capabilities of Ukraine.
Finally a western mainstream writer has caught up with those facts. Lee Hockstader, the Washington Post‘s columnist for European affairs, opines:
Hockstader laments the lack of support from the U.S. and Europe for the new demands the Ukraine is making. He states:
Without those infusions of cash, arms and munitions, even the disappointing status quo over the past year, in which Ukraine has not managed to recapture much territory, is unlikely to endure.
Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told a Washington forum last week that the “big risk” is that Kyiv’s troops could “lose this war.”
That message should jolt policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. The danger, as Ukraine’s top general warned publicly last month, isn’t simply stalemate. It is that Ukrainian forces, running low on equipment, might be compelled to fall back, shorten their defensive lines and abandon territory. … It’s essential to think about what Ukraine’s defeat means, because it would be as much a strategic disaster for the United States and its NATO allies as a tableau of terror for Ukraine. Dual cataclysms, equally stark, played out on different timetables.
Well, yes. The West has shot its wad and it proved to be sterile.
There will be no terror for Ukraine, just the loss of the ethnic Russian people, industries and land the communist – Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev – had for whatever reasons attached to it. The rest of it will be a smaller, more poor and purely agricultural rump state without access to the sea. This was obvious from the very beginning to anyone with a clear view of the balance of the forces involved in the war.
As I wrote on February 24 2022, the very day Russian forces entered Ukraine:
Looking at this map I believe that the most advantageous end state for Russia would be the creation of a new independent country, call it Novorussiya, on the land east of the Dnieper and south along the coast that holds a majority ethnic Russian population and that, in 1922, had been attached to the Ukraine by Lenin. That state would be politically, culturally and militarily aligned with Russia.
This would eliminate Ukrainian access to the Black Sea and create a land bridge towards the Moldavian breakaway Transnistria which is under Russian protection.
Excursus:
The yellow part of that map marked ‘Ukraine in 1654’ was actually the land of the Eastern Orthodox Zaporozhian Cossacks. Under threat from the Catholic Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth, which at the time held the green parts under serfdom, they negotiated the Pereiaslav Agreement (1654) with Russia and pledged allegiance to the Tsar. They area thus became an autonomous part of Russia.
End Excursus
The rest of the Ukraine would be a land confined, mostly agricultural state, disarmed and too poor to be build up to a new threat to Russia anytime soon. Politically it would be dominated by fascists from Galicia which would then become a major problem for the European Union.
Thanks to Stalin’s additions to the Ukraine three countries, Poland, Hungary and Romania, have claims to certain areas in the Ukraine’s western regions. If they want to snatch those up again it is now probably the best time to do so. Despite being part of NATO, which likely would not support such moves, those three will have domestic policy difficulties to withstand the urge.
Since then we learned that Novorussiya will not be an independent state but a genuine part of Russia. So be it. Meanwhile analysts like Hockstader still delve in fantasies:
A complete Ukrainian military collapse is unlikely, at least in coming months. Kyiv’s armed forces remain well-led and motivated, and they are husbanding equipment to prepare for shortfalls. But it is equally unlikely to expect a negotiated cease-fire with Russia that would maintain existing battle lines. To believe in that seemingly anodyne outcome is to misjudge Putin — again.
This is not misjudging Putin, but misjudging the capabilities left to Ukraine.
2023 12 16 19 17
It has run out of men and material. There are daily videos of this or that Ukrainian army unit condemning its leaders and announcing to leave its positions. The potential of a collapse of Ukrainian army is real.
During the last days tanks from the 47th brigade (Leo 2) and 10th mountain brigade (T-64BM/BV) have been seen, and were destroyed, near Avdiivka. Both brigades had only recently been mauled during their hopeless attacks at the southern front. It does not make sense to throw what is left of them into another battle without reconstituting them. The whole experience and knowledge these brigades had gained will be lost with them.
Yesterday, the Ukraine friendly Military Watch Magazine confirmed my opinion:
The Ukrainian Army’s elite 47th Mechanised Brigade stationed in the town of Avdiivka in the disputed Donetsk region has been surrounded and forced to contend with growing ammunition shortages, according to multiple reports from Ukrainian and Western sources. British reports indicate that the brigade was meant to attack a Russian column before it linked up with assault infantry on the northern flank of Avdievka, but failed to do so due to a lack of ammunition. The brigade’s efforts to stop the advance of Russian forces in Avdievka were described by The Times as “desperate,” fuelling perceptions of an “inevitable collapse” of Ukrainian positions, and diminished hope of preventing a Russian victory by the beginning of the New Year holidays. … A serviceman from the 47th Brigade, cited only as Sergeant Danylo, observing when interviewed over the past week “a shitty situation” as the shell shortage forced soldiers to make impossible life-and-death decisions.“We had 10 times more ammunition over summer, and better quality… American rounds come in batches of almost identical weights, which makes it easier to correct fire, with very few duds. Now we have shells from all over the world with different qualities, and we only get 15 for three days. Last week we got a batch full of duds.” Thus instead of firing on Russians as soon as they came within range, Ukrainian personnel increasingly had to wait to be sure the Russians were heading for their positions and to only engage large groups. Munitions produced by European states have very frequently been faulted for their quality, and at times been considered near useless, with Italian equipment being particularly notorious for its poor quality, in contrast to superior equipment either inherited from the Soviet era or produced in by the United States.
Now tell me again that these are “well-led and motivated” forces which are “husbanding equipment to prepare for shortfalls”. Neither rings true to me.
For the Kremlin dictator, a “compromise” would involve Ukraine’s subjugation and dissolution as an independent state. That would include regime change, with Zelensky in exile (or dead), as well as an end to Kyiv’s aspirations to join the E.U. or NATO. … If he is right, the timetable of that ending would be accelerated if Congress and the E.U. fail to approve fresh support. That would leave Ukraine’s government unable to maintain basic services, and its military increasingly short of artillery ammunition, air defense capability and other equipment. Ukraine’s already badly battered front-line forces would become more brittle. Russian territorial gains would be accompanied by murders, rapes, kidnapping of children and other Russian war crimes on a chilling scale.
That grim scenario would be a staggering blow to Western prestige and credibility, revealing that pledges to back Ukraine for “as long as it takes” were empty.
Amid a Republican standoff and polarizing politics that puts new aid to Ukraine at risk, President Joe Biden emphasized his administration’s willingness to support Ukraine, but the language was different. He said the US will be there for Kyiv “as long as we can.”
It’s a change in tune from previous messaging that the US would be a staunch and fierce ally to Ukraine, aiding it for “as long as it takes” to defeat Russia’s invasion.
The West can no longer support the proxy war it had started.
History will now follow its destined path.
Posted by b on December 14, 2023 at 10:59 UTC | Permalink
VIDEO: Ukraine Deputy Detonates THREE Grenades in Council Meeting
Reports and video are coming in from what is described as a local Council Meeting in Ukraine, where a Deputy pulled pins on THREE Grenades and tossed them throughout the meeting, causing three explosions, the final one likely killing the Deputy who threw them.
Video of the incident appears below and — WARNING — it shows pretty much everything.
The Deputy walks into the meeting room and closes the door behind him. He stands at the closed door. An argument is ongoing at the meeting and the Deputy tries to intervene, to no avail. With that, he pulls a grenade from his suit pocket, pulls the pin and tosses it. He then takes out another and repeats the process. He then pulls out a third grenade and apparently holds onto it after pulling the pin; perhaps to intentionally kill himself.
At this point, the name of the Deputy is not clear, and the type and location of the meeting is also not known.
What __is__ known is that numerous people in the tiny meeting room were either killed or injured seriously.
RUMORS abound over this incident, and several of the RUMORS claim the meeting was for people who want Ukraine to surrender and make peace with Russia.
WARNING: Graphic Video of three grenades exploding in a small council meeting room. Viewer discretion is advised:
DAMN! -MM
MM version of the video in MP4 format. Worth a watch. HERE.
43 Year Old Admits “The Movement” Is BS And Being A Carousel Rider Is NOT Empowering!
My son, who is mixed race, told me that another boy at school was calling him names and throwing lighted matches at him – some of which could have burned his clothing with dire results. I called the police. They sent a very large and imposing officer who told us “I’ll take care of this”, invited my eight year old son into the back of the police car and drove him to school – opening the door for him and escorting him to the principal’s office to deal with the culprit. My son was thrilled that he was the talk of the school for arriving in a police car and the bully was suitably scared out of his wits enough to never try such a thing again.
Global Supplier of Crucial Electrical Products Announces 20 Week DELAY in most-important parts!
SCHNEIDER Electric is the second largest manufacturer of electrical components in the world. The things they make are absolutely crucial to our daily lives: Crucial electrical infrastructure, industrial automation, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC’s), etc. Without __any__warning, SCHNEIDER announced to its partners in the US . . .
. . . a TWENTY-WEEK DELAY for “Engineered-to-Order (ETO)” products for Quarter 1 next year! That’s almost a half a year delay ! ! ! ! !
Folks, ETO projects are major private and public infrastructure, power grids, etc. The grids are not readily able to deal with this kind of manufacturing delay.
Even more ominous, this ETO equipment, is the same gear the FBI recently issued warnings over, for expected CYBER-ATTACKS!
So FBI is warning about Cyber-Attacks targeting ETO gear like PLC’s and now, the second largest manufacturer of these exact components, is announcing twenty week delays for Q1 orders!
One industry insider told me “The reason this is so weird is this company is very good at planning. They supply billions of $ in critical components. They aren’t perfect but they usually have a plan when they announce something like this. Not this time. The plans behind the announcement letter (shown below) are very shallow. They got the note out WAY before anyone on their teams knew what is going on. MANY questions with no answers. That is very weird.” Here is the SCHNEIDER Letter to Partners in the USA:
ETO Orders DELAYED 20 weeks
His remark got me thinking: WHY?
Could it __really be__ that they simply cannot get parts via the supply chain, OR . . . is this wait and hold critical infrastructure so you can step in and replace damaged infrastructure after attacks happen? Is another possibility Critical redesign? Did they find holes in security and need to redesign . . . . and will stop projects to push an updated design out?
And if they are THAT confident that attacks are going to happen, then one wonders how it is they know? Did FBI tell them?
Over the past several weeks, media outlets have carried 24 assorted local stories about 24 sites that have been hacked. The ones discussed publicly are Hawaii water systems, Texas power grid, and west coast water systems near ports. All areas that will be critical to weaken for an invasion or conflict. Near borders.
War Preparation?
Preparations for a world War are clearly taking place in very many countries around the world.
For the first time, US citizens are likely to see the direct consequences of war on our own soil.
If people spent more time following world events and wars without being clouded by their own “normalcy bias,” they could piece together what is likely to happen.
In Ukraine, Russia crippled their power grid and attacked their ability to make the tools of war. Most all war materials have to come from outside.
Now imagine Russia striking US infrastructure and OUR ability to make tools of war . . . when our stockpiles have already been depleted by Ukraine.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Israel is toast without US arms support.
But, what is most concerning to me is that the US has made no real efforts to truly ramp up production of war materials. Lots of talk, very little tangible action.
It’s like the US is planning on just going straight to nuclear. But Russian Air defense systems are proven best in the world and their likelihood of survival is much higher than the US.
Contacts I have from my years in the Intelligence Community are telling me the US is too corrupted to survive what is coming.
But real companies with very smart people with analysists with real MBA’s see what is coming and are preparing.
The Intel guys I’ve talked to tell me bluntly: “USA has never been weaker than it is right now.”
I don’t know how it’s going to play out exactly but this is the most dangerous time we have been in up to this point in human history.
One would be very wise to put the pieces together and be willing to make the very hard decision on what is required to survive it.
Because another source (unverified) told me there are currently ~35,000 terrorists in country awaiting a go signal.
Imagine an Oct. 7th style attack all over the US, if all 35,000 operatives struck at once . . . as the much smaller cells did in the ‘Day of Wrath” that hit Israel.
Oh, and don’t forget that several months ago, we all found out there is also 60,000 lbs. of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that was taken off a train in Southern California, that has never been accounted for. Ammonium Nitrate is what Timothy McVeigh used to construct the truck bomb that detonated outside the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. That bomb was reported to be only 4500 pounds. So the amount of Ammonium Nitrate already missing, could make more than TEN such bombs.
This isn’t a tall tale… I once saw 3 guys in a pub start a fight with a bloke I worked with who’d been a pikey bare-knuckle boxer. My mate’s dad had forced him into fighting for money when he was a kid, but in his 20s he’d met a lass and decided he wanted a normal life so he walked away from his gypsy family, got a job and a house, and settled down. He was a really nice guy, a proper grafter, and good to talk to — he had a real philosophy about him and always gave great advice if you had any problems. He didn’t talk much about his old life, just every now and then he’d maybe open up a bit about how he’d hated it and couldn’t forgive his dad who’d beaten him if he didn’t fight and beaten him if he’d lost. None of what he said was bullshit, he was a sincere, honest guy who you could see had been in a lot of fights and just wanted some peace and quiet. He was also a really good husband and father, he was absolutely determined not to repeat the mistakes.
We were on a job in London, went out after work one night, and three locals did the old “you spilled my drink” routine on him. He tried apologising but one of them shoved him. I was sat at a table facing it and before I could even react, all three guys were dropping and he was stepping away. If you’ve ever seen a tarantula move faster than you blink, it was like that. Afterwards he said one of the things you learn as a bare-knuckle fighter is where and what angle to hit people.
Trades are valuable
Braised Beef, Shanxi Style
OssoBuccoBraisedBeefShanksRecipe2
Ingredients
1 pound (400g) lean boneless beef
1/2 g fennel seed
10 teaspoons (50ml) soy sauce
3 1/2 ounces (100ml) chicken or duck broth
4 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour), dissolved in 4 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons rice wine
3 ounces (100g) scallions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
3 1/2 fluid ounces (100ml) sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon MSG (optional)
Instructions
Wash the beef and cut into thin slices. Mix with the soy sauce and scallions.
Stir the cornstarch-water mixture and add.
Heat the sesame oil in a work add the fennel seeds. Heat to very hot or until the oil starts to smoke, and add the beef. Stir-fry until barely cooked.
Add the stock, rice wine and MSG (optional). Cover the wok, and boil rapidly for 1 minute.
When Chinese people get old, they hang out in the park. They form musical bands, dancing troupes, and gaming rings. They practice taichi for exercise and some even swing swords around. Many practice calligraphy on the pavement with a brush and a jug of water.
image 222image 221image 220image 219image 218
Charming, right? I really like the sense of community between old people in China. Getting old doesn’t mean you can’t share hobbies with friends.
Now, of course this only refers to the old people lucky enough to have money saved up to provide for themselves or kids that help support them, but that’s a topic for another time. For now I’d like to keep this answer wholesome. 🙂 Happy Saturday everyone~
While serving as a detective, in Shetland, I received a notification that paramedics were attending a stabbing incident, in Scalloway harbour. The victim was fading fast, we were told. My colleague and I made our way there, some 5 miles from our offices, in Lerwick. We arrived quickly and paramedics rolled up at almost the same instant we did.
While they attended to the victim, who had been on board a yacht, moored in the harbour, one of them confirmed that it was likely to be life-threatening, and a witness stated that an older man and a youth had left the area, hurriedly, just before the victim had been found. We were given a very brief description and I recognised it as fitting two males, who I had seen walking away from the harbour area, as we had arrived. I passed a description of the men, and we checked the streets of the small village, without success. We returned to the seafront, where I wanted to check inside a local hostelry, just as the two walked out, having removed their jackets and hat (in the case of the younger man). I spoke to them both and they identified themselves as New Zealand nationals, a “respectable businessman” and his son, who were visiting Shetland on business. The son – still a teenager – looked like he wanted to throw up, but his Dad appeared entirely calm and unruffled, as if he had not a single care in the world.
I detained both men, on suspicion of aggravated assault, and – to much protest from them both – arranged to have them conveyed back to the station, separately, for later questioning and investigation. Having done so, we returned to the harbour, where the paramedics had realised the victim was suffering a single penetrating stab wound to the chest, which had caused a tension pneumothorax. They had aspirated him, with a needle and were conveying him to the local hospital, for urgent and critical procedures. We were advised he was not stable, at that time, having lost a lot of blood.
The victim was identified to us as a German national, and yachtsman, resident in Shetland, while the suspect was identified as being the older Kiwi.
We returned to the station, where the custody sergeant informed me that the older suspect had just volunteered under caution, during his detention process, that the German had been drunk and had attacked him with a filleting knife. There had been a struggle and Dad alleged that his son had grabbed the knife off the man, accidentally stabbing the victim with it. He would say no more (having blamed his own son, the brave soul that he was).
The son had made no comments, but had appeared stunned, the sergeant said.
I interviewed both, separately, as I was the senior – and more experienced – detective present, albeit only a Detective Constable, myself. This was, by now, an attempt murder enquiry, plus I was the better interviewer. Dad spent 45 minutes saying, “no comment” to every single question put to him, relating to the incident. He still appeared as unruffled and calm as if he was out for a Sunday stroll, showed no stress, no discomfort, and still claimed to be a respectable New Zealand businessman. Other than that, “no comment”.
The son said he was in Shetland with his Dad, who wanted to see about buying up an old inter-island ferry boat, which was being sold off. He told us that Dad had sailed around the world, many times, and knew that if a boat could handle the seas around Shetland, in a harsh winter, it could pretty much handle the seas anywhere else in the world, at their worst. He said Dad’s was a tourist-derived business, but declined further comment, when asked for more details – about anything else.
We were a small department – a detective sergeant and then two detective constables (a third was on annual leave), with five uniformed officers then on shift, all with their own duties. But as this was an attempted murder, we could direct them, in assisting us with our enquiries. Their interviews turned up some more details – the yacht was owned by Dad, but the German had arrived in Shetland, having sailed the yacht there, months earlier. Dad had arrived in mainland Scotland, and then onto Shetland, only days earlier, with his son in tow. He had spent time in the company of some locals, who had said he had shown “a nasty temper” and they “wouldn’t want to mess with him”.
So I went back into interview, with Dad. He was irked by this, now slightly testy and refusing to answer any question with anything other than “no comment”. I told him he was perfectly entitled to do so, however it wouldn’t stop me asking my questions. He grew louder and louder in his, by now, yelled, “no comment!” to every question and I could see I was getting to him. So I took another break, as we had now gone through another 45 minute tape.
I brought his son back in, put Dad in to his cell, and let them see one another – just a glimpse of son being led out, as Dad was placed in the cell. Dad started screaming at his son, “No comment, boy! You make no fucking comment!”
I told the son, honestly, that his father had already made a voluntary statement under caution, blaming him (the son) for the stabbing. I told this terrified 17 year old that the German was in surgery and still might not make it out, alive. In which case, with the absence of any further information, it was Dad’s word, weighed against his own son’s silence, that son was responsible. If he did not make any comment, at this time, his father’s account would be accepted, son would be arrested – either for attempted or actual murder (if the victim expired as a result of his injury) – and face the consequences. He would be unlikely to receive bail for such an offence and so would be held in custody, in prison, until such time as a trial would commence.
That was it. Son puked in the wastepaper basket and started crying. He immediately denied having stabbed anyone. He made plenty comments, thereafter. In fact, he said Dad and the German knew one another for years. The yacht was owned by Dad, although used by the German. The two men had argued, while they were all drinking onboard the yacht, about money owed the father, which Dad said the German was ripping off from him. This has escalated, the two had fought and Dad had grabbed up a knife, from the galley kitchen area . The German fell, son realised his father had stabbed the man, and then he and his Dad hurriedly left the yacht, his father disposing of the knife overboard, into the relatively shallow harbour waters.
Having received this information, I tasked a police unit to return to the harbour and see if the knife could be seen, and put into motion a request for a diving team, via my supervisor – a Detective Inspector 300 miles away, in Inverness. The uniformed cops thought they could see the knife, but would need the divers, to be sure.
I advised our local Procurator Fiscal Depute, of the case, and enquiries up to that point. He told me that, even if Dad copped to the stabbing, unless there was something else there, that could be evidenced, this “businessman” would be bailed, come Monday morning (this was now tea-time, Friday night). If I could arrest him, I had a weekend, no longer, to hold him in custody.
I told him that what bothered me was this guy was unfazed by having almost killed a man. He never even asked how the man – an alleged old friend – was doing, or showed any concern or regret. There was…. nothing. “He is too cool”, I told the Fiscal. “This guy makes the skin between my shoulder blades itch. He is dangerous.”
“Prove it”, I was told.
The hospital came on, to say the German had pulled through, but the stab wound was deep, and either well placed or accidentally almost-lucky, as it had just missed his heart, nicking his vena cava, instead.
Now, when I said this guy bothered me, I mean he really, really bothered me.
So I went back into interview with him, and took him for one of my “walks around the houses”, as an old colleague used to call them. Seeming unassociated chat and questions, almost like a free flow of investigative consciousness – of which I took a careful note, of course. Early on, he was testy. Then he became narked, yelling his “No comment! No comment!” again, to anything and everything I said. When I started talking about his business – I had Googled his given address, he got antsy and even more angry. He ended up yelling at my colleague, “Can you not make him shut! The fuck! UP!!” I was all sweetness and light, still talking about New Zealand, tourism and his business, as if I hadn’t heard. He put his head in his hands and at that point, I asked him why he had stabbed his friend, who was alive and now recovering. His head shot up and he went very still and didn’t answer – which I pointed out, for the tape, describing his demeanour for purposes of the recording. I asked why they had been arguing, and if Dad owned the yacht. He didn’t answer and I pointed this out, again, with his demeanour. I asked why he had wanted his son to take the blame. Same response. I asked why he had thrown the knife overboard and the skin around his weatherbeaten eyes went very white. I told him we had divers coming for the knife, that he was staying all weekend and that we would be talking again. He tried, unsuccessfully, to upend the table, at that point, lunging to his feet, face now stark white, other than two red spots on his cheeks. He whispered, surprisingly calmly, “I could kill you.” I repeated that statement, for the benefit of the tape. I think he recognised that as a mistake.
I spent three hours of my own time, after knocking-off time, that night, open source-searching this guy, on my work computer. He had an unusual name, and I used it in connection with “New Zealand” “kiwi” “yachtsman” “sailor” “round the world” and similar phrases.
Finally, I got a hit, and it was a good one. It was a front page story in a south east-Asian newspaper, about a corrupt justice minister who had been arrested and tried, having been taped, several years previously, whilst in a three-way call between the suspected head of the world’s largest Triad gang (no, really!), and a New Zealand drug dealer. The NZ dealer had also served time in an American federal penitentiary, it seemed, having once sailed a yacht packed with drugs into a harbour, there, and straight into the arms of US Customs. The reports said he was now (at time of publishing) linked to this Triad gang and the world’s largest “Shabu” factory, believed to somewhere in or around the Philippines. “Shabu” is how they refer to Crystal Meth, down there.
Real “I am the one who knocks!” material (no, really!)
I spoke to the PF Depute, at his home (before finally heading off to my own home), to be told that he would try and use this to hold Dad, in custody, as a flight risk, and was fairly certain he could get at least two weeks on a “lie-down”, out of it. He went on that I should get Dad’s prints off to our Interpol liaison, ASAP, with a request to have them prioritised. I had already done so, but was advised it would take at least three weeks for any hit to come back. Meantime, he was still a “respectable NZ businessman”, newspaper article aside.
I went home, head whirring but knackered. Three and a bit scant hours later, I was awoken by an urgent call from Force HQ, on my mobile, telling me that I had to be at my office desk within 30 minutes, as a call would be coming in for me. I asked if a message could be taken and the Detective Sergeant at the other end – our Force Intelligence Officer – laughed and said absolutely not. He had been woken up in the night, for this, and so I could face the same fate! He wouldn’t say any more, so I dressed and made my rather bleary way into the station, and my office.
Sure enough, almost bang on the hour, my phone rang. “Call for you”, said our unnaturally cheery Force Intel Officer, and with that, I found myself suddenly talking to a rough-voiced, blunt-spoken (i.e. he swore a lot) Australian gentleman, who identified himself as a Detective Superintendent in an international task force. He asked if I had (insert name of Dad, here) in custody. I confirmed that I had. He asked what for and I told him I planned on reporting Dad for attempted murder. He paused to yell, off-handset, “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” then asked if it was “a good one”. I told him I believed it would be. I explained about the stabbing, about the son, the German, the yacht, the alleged “rip-off”, and that got him excited. He asked me to wait one, and I heard him yell out that he had a cop in “Shetland?”, (I confirmed this and next heard him cry, “Will some bastard find me Shetland on a fucking map!”) on the phone and this “inspector” had (insert Dad’s full name here) in custody, on an attempted murder – a stabbing, no less. There were a few more yells and swears, in the background, and he told me the prints had been flagged, and he had been notified of a hit, in Scotland, of all places. He explained they had been tracking Crystal Meth, arms and even people, all being smuggled out of SE Asia, into Australasia. His main target was a big-time Bad Man (with capitals), in Australia, but Dad was the means by which the drugs and other items were believed to be shipped there. He explained this guy, Dad, travelled around, using his sailing prowess – he was a genuine former competitive yachtsman – to buy up suitable boats. These were used to ship their cargos to their destinations. He told me that Dad had been implicated in several murders, directly, by witnesses – former colleagues in his ventures – always with a knife. He liked to get “up close and personal”, while dealing with these “rats”, having been in the military, once upon a time and even lied to underlings about being ex-Special Forces, to boost his legend. Upward rising knife thrust to the heart (missing the ribs), with a long thin blade, was his alleged preferred killing stroke. Unfortunately, any and all witnesses had subsequently disappeared. The task force believed Dad had either killed them, or else had them killed. “Watch your witness”, he warned me. He promised I would have an Intel file, via our Force Intel Officer, within 24 hours, for our Fiscal and the Crown Office. Their difficulty had been in identifying his travel. They had his NZ passport flagged, but there was no record of him having left the country, in years, other than the odd short trip once or twice. I asked about his Panamanian passport and, again, he went quiet. “His WHAT?!” I explained that I had noticed, at the custody bar, while his belongings were being processed, that he had two passports – one from NZ, one from Panama. I knew that, at that time, it was possible to effectively buy a Panamanian passport, if you had business registered there, sufficient capital and enough connections. This gave Dad dual nationality and, from his reaction, it seemed that the task force didn’t know about it. “Do you have it?” he asked, excitedly. “Yes, but it’s sealed in his belongings and can’t be opened unless he is present, without lawful authority”. He swore profusely until I told him I had photocopied both passports and their contents, in case they’d come in useful. He was fairly chuffed, by this, and when I read off some of the travel dates and destinations, he was even more so.
I arranged to send him all I had, in return for everything they had. He ended the call by telling me that I might even get a promotion to Chief Inspector out of this. I told him that might not be that likely, as I was a Detective Constable. He wouldn’t believe me, so I told him my details would be on the email, when he got it all. He ended by saying that Dad was number 6 on their 10 Most Wanted list, at that time, in Australasia, while his Aussie counterpart was #2. I told him I’d take 6 of 10, by their standards!
Anyway, I re-interviewed Dad, who was fairly crestfallen that NZ had been in touch, already. He hurriedly amended his story, alleging self-defence, but it was too late. He appeared in court, both passports were seized and he was placed in prison on that 14 day “lie-down”, while I carried out further enquiries.
And then…
He had the German “helped” out of the hospital and off the island, by two large men, posing as cops, to hospital staff, while Dad was on his “lie-down”, awaiting his first diet at court. We checked plane and ferry terminals (benefits of an island) and then passed info and photos, from ferry CCTV, to mainland police, who identified a hire vehicle, just too late to stop them leaving. The licence plate went into the National ANPR system and it was tracked headed for Newcastle and the international ferry to Holland, there. The German was retrieved, safe and well, and went on record, claiming that the two men had plastic sheeting and shovels in the hire car (they did) and had planned on killing him and burying his body over there, before returning, one man lighter.
We couldn’t pin that on Dad, as the two men wouldn’t cough to it, and the German wouldn’t press it, simply relieved to be “home”. He gave evidence against Dad, and then buggered off, sharpish. Never saw him again.
Dad got 3 and a half years for assault to severe injury, and I got a call from Force Intel, months later, that his calls were being intercepted (lawfully) and in one of those, he had asked an unknown male how much trouble it would cause, and how much it would cost, to “off a cop”. He had been advised against it.
That was the one and only time I worried about one of those clowns who swear they will find you and kill you….
So I repaid the favour, by continuing to keep in touch with my Australasian friends. They arranged for him to be met at the prison gates, on the day of his release, by plainclothes Officers, cuffed and conveyed to London. He was furious, as he expected to be free and clear to carry on about his business. They handed him off to New Zealand cops, who flew him home and locked him up. Turns out his wife/partner was an illegal immigrant and he was abusive towards her, and their son (who she now knew had been implicated in the stabbing, by his own Dad). The authorities offered her citizenship and she offered them all the info on his kiwi businesses and criminal dealings. I don’t know if they ever got the Aussie Bad Man, but Dad died, several years later, having served yet more time back home, and having been confirmed as HIV+, contracted whilst in prison.
One of the two best arrests I ever made.
As my sergeant noted, at my appraisal, that year, “not many cops your rank get a head on the wall like that one”. Of course, I still had to fight for a high assessment grading and then defend it to an outraged senior officer. I never got so much as a memo from my own force, related to that one. Several above me got promotions, though, funnily enough.
The last thing I’ll say (yes, there’s more) is that the first seizure of Crystal Meth in Scotland was recorded as being in Aberdeen, a few months after Dad’s arrest.
That’s not quite correct.
The first such seizure was albeit minimal, but was in Shetland, around the time Dad was here. But the powers that be sat on the info, rather than (they thought) make the place look bad (no, really!).
The info, from my task force chums, was that Dad had been seeking to establish a pipeline, for the drug, into the U.K., and rather than coming up through Europe, into the very heavily policed Dover, this switched-on and experienced sailor had planned on having boats packed with it, sail, first into Shetland, then down to one or more of the numerous remote inlets or bays, on mainland Scotland (of which there are thousands), from whence it could be distributed nationally – the latter part being what the OCGs were doing with Cocaine, at one time. Customs would need to check every single fishing boat, small ferry or able bodied sea-faring vessel, in order to defeat those tactics – and there was no Customs presence in Shetland, as there was no longer international travel to and from the port here.
That case gives me a warm glow. Drug smuggler. People trafficker. Murderer. Simply awful father! Man of the world, career criminal, tripped up, in sleepy wee Shetland, and now pushing up daisies (better him than me!!), while I get to write long-winded stories about his nefarious ways.
My favorites are the “I didn’t study so I asked someone to whisper the answer and I copied it hilariously wrong” answers.
A few samples:
What are elements with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons called?
Correct answer: isotopes
What a kid wrote: ice tubes
The amount of product you expect to make in a chemical reaction is called the ________
Correct answer: theoretical yield
What a kid wrote: the radical yield
The device we use to light a Bunsen burner is called ________
Correct answer: striker
What a kid wrote: tricycle
The digits that indicate the accuracy of an answer are called_______
Correct answer: Significant figures
What a kid wrote: stick fingers
What is the formula of sodium nitrate?
Correct answer: NaNO3
What a kid wrote: Any 3
I get mad when the kids leave questions blank that we discussed for weeks and weeks. But when the answers are like this, I contemplate a new career. After I stop laughing.
A symbol of a declining society
Canadian Journalist Who Pushed Vaccine Mandates and “Concentration Camps” for Un-vax’d, DIES at Age 33
A Journalist who advocated that those who were unvaccinated against COVID-19 be put in concentration camps, has died suddenly at the young age of 33.
Ian Vandaelle died after being hospitalized and “declared neurologically dead,” his family revealed.
Vandaelle was a business journalist who worked as a reporter and editor at the Financial Post.
He was also previously a producer at BNN Bloomberg for over a decade.
Vandaelle advocated for vaccine passports and mandates and called for the firing of anyone who refused the injections.
He also suggested that unvaccinated people should be arrested and taken away to concentration camps.
Hal Turner Editorial Opinion
Like so many other left-wing-ish / Liberal-ish people, this person seemed so smug and self-righteous in his (wrong-headed) belief in the new COVID-19 vaccine, that he seems to have ignored all the warnings put out by others, like me, who warned against taking the new, untested, unproven, mRNA “death dart.”
Yet as with so many others his age, He seemed to think, when it came to the COVID Vax, HE knew better. He seemed to think HE was so much smarter than the rest of us. HEseemed to look down his nose at those of us who raised very real concerns about this new technology. To HIM, the rest of us were just sniveling idiots; too stupid to embrace this new, life-saving, technology.
Looks to me like maybe he wasn’t so smart after all. It is my personal opinion that the vaccine he thought so much of, killed him.
I think his ego blinded him to the reality . . . . and now . . . . he’s dead.
It’s hard to feel sorry for someone so young, dying this way. After all, if he had HIS way, all of us might be facing a similar fate – or be locked away in a Concentration Camp — just so HE and his ilk, could feel better. No thanks.
This may turn out to be the new general epitaph for Liberals: “He thought he knew better than everyone else; now, he’s dead from what he thought.”
Japan is both overwhelmingly modern and traditional at the same time. This does not just apply to the amalgamation of skyscrapers and ancient Shinto shrines in cities like Kyoto, but also on a more sociological level. The matter of sexuality in Japan may not be one of the first things that come to mind but Japan is a country mostly free of religious morals.
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Traditionally a sexually open society
Sexuality in Japan developed separately from that of mainland Asia, as Japan did not adopt the Confucian view of marriage, in which chastity is highly valued. Monogamy in marriage is less important in Japan, and married men often seek pleasure from courtesans. Prostitution in Japan has a long history, and became especially popular during the Japanese economic miracle, as evening entertainments were tax-deductible!
The Art of Shunga
Historically, pornography in Japan may have begun at the start of the Edo period (1603–1868) as erotic artwork referred to as shunga that was typically done on woodblock prints. Shunga literally means “spring pictures”. “At its best shunga celebrates the pleasures of lovemaking, in beautiful pictures that present mutual attraction and sexual desire as natural and unaffected” Tim Clark, curator of “Shunga: Sex and Pleasure in Japanese art”
Mass produced during the Edo period shunga offered sexuality a shameless visual platform. Shunga depicted sexual pleasure that included both heterosexuality and homosexuality, each not only acknowledged but also encouraged. Surprisingly prior the Edo Period there was no Japanese word for female sexuality, and Shunga changed this with the depiction of female pleasure including lesbianism.
Shunga was an essential part of Japanese society
Shunga had functions beyond its aesthetic appeal. Its primary use would have involved viewing and sharing the paintings or books with close friend or sexual partners. Like the Indian Kama Sutra the Shunga images were also used to provide sexual education for young couples. While shunga was chiefly commissioned by men, it has been found among the dowry goods presented to a Japanese bride, suggesting that it was also highly valued by women.
Most shunga was created by woodblock artists from the popular school ukiyo-e, ‘pictures of the floating world,’ a genre of painting that mainly illustrated life’s pleasures that was mass-produced as prints. Surprisingly traditional painters also produced a large quantity of shunga including members of the Kano School, known for their innovative secular paintings.
Samurai were seen as the keepers of morality in Japan. Shunga was both commissioned and accepted by the samurai as a pleasurable cultural pursuit, and thus the whole of Japanese society enjoyed shunga.
There was also an element of humour to shunga, which sometimes referred as warai-e or “laughing picture”. Shunga works are artefacts of an era in Japan where attitudes about sex were freer. Sex was seen as an everyday natural activity without shame and often was the centre of amusement.
Sex and Erotic Art in early Japan
By the Edo period in the early 17th to mid 19th centuries, there had been a long history of erotic art and secular sexual expression in Japan, which meant that shunga was nothing new. Prehistoric societies had developed phallic worship in connection with their reliance on agriculture and Japan’s creation myths are based on human-like sexual procreation. Throughout the centuries, the phallus and phallus shaped objects (for example, mushrooms) had been prominent figures in carvings, could be found in shrines, festivals, and along roadways, and were traditionally and superstitiously related to good luck, health and longevity.
What allowed for such an openness of sexual imagery and expression was the lack of any strict religious code that controlled sexual behaviour. Unlike in the West, which was dominated by a strict Judeo-Christian ideology, there was no moral shame and stigma surrounding sex or the production of erotic images in Japan — only a stringent class system based on Confucianism that dictated deference to status and appreciation of personal space.
Sex in Japan did not take on any ‘mythical’ or religious significance as it did in India and China. Furthermore, humour and wit had developed over the centuries as a common part of sexuality and was incorporated in the broader culture via allusions, euphemisms, sexually related stories and poetry. These and other cultural and religious factors allowed sex to be seen as a more naturalistic, enjoyable experience between partners, which in turn has produced a wide array of acceptable sexual behaviours in modern Japan including same-sex partners, and sexually related products such as sex toys, manuals, and even a chain of sex stores.
By the time of the Edo Period, the normalcy and humour found in sex, highly developed forms of sexual expressions, and the lack of moral or religious control all translated into an early modern culture that allowed shunga to flourish as a genre of popular art and sex to be open, fun and easily available.
From sexual openness to repression
Japan’s sexual freedom was a revelation to Europe, particularly its artists. Painters such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas and Picasso found fertile ground in Shunga imagery. As Japan sought modernisation and to be in line with ‘modern’ western social norms, the Meiji Government banned shunga in the early 20th century, becoming taboo within Japan. As Japan sought sexual repression Europe sought sexual liberation!
When Shunga was flourishing in Japan, in Christian Europe at the time shunga would have been deeded pornographic. Shunga is an impressive, unique tradition of pre-modern erotic art. It serves as testament to a once uninhibited, open-minded society that offered artists opportunities to express originality and unbridled emotion.
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Celebrating Shunga Today
The history, humour and accomplishments of shunga are explored at the British Museum in Shunga: sex and pleasure in Japanese art. The exhibition looks at Japanese art like no other. Explicit and beautifully detailed the works on display are between the years 1600 and 1900, and such works continue today to influence manga, anime and Japanese tattoo art. The exhibition sheds new light on this sexuality explicit art form from Japanese social and cultural history. Parental guidance advised for visitors under 16.
The 48 Japanese sexual positions
If you have ever wondered how they do it elsewhere in the world, a recent Durex Ad may have caught your eye. It introduced some acrobatic positions within decidedly Canadian names: the ‘maple cinnamon twist’ and ‘the Niagara fall’ (the Canadian side, we are assuming).
There is not a lot of research on the top sex positions in different countries. Sex surveys tend to focus on other aspects of our time between the sheets (such as sexual satisfaction and frequency). That said, the Durex Sexual Wellbeing survey which questioned 26,000 people across 26 different countries does have some interesting insights into how different nations have sex. Overall worldwide less than 50% of people are sexually satisfied and as one gets older and has sex less often, dissatisfaction increases, particularly with males. The world has obviously become more sexually repressed.
The following images are illustrations of Japan’s 48 sexual positions — the “48 Ways” (shijuuhatte). These sex positions are inspired by sumo wrestling moves going back centuries. During the Edo period, the word 48 arms-hands started to be imbued with sexual meaning — “all the basic sexual techniques”.
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Below, Japanese Durex condom commercial teaches you 48 ways to have sex with a wrestler. It’s kinda a humorous play to watch, so enjoy it!
Choosing sexual partners in Japan
Most men are attracted to younger and good-looking women, since it is believed that the women will be fertile and prodigy will also be attractive. It’s human instinct, and only moral education can try to repress this instinct. East Asian religions (Confucianism, Taoism, Shinoism, Buddihism) do not teach strong moral principles or prohibitions regarding sex. In fact sexual restrictions and the associate shame or guilt with sex is typically a Judeo-Christian or Islamic characteristic.
In modern Japan the Western desire by males for big breasts and shapely hips may also be based upon a subconscious belief of greater female fertility but the overriding influence has been Western film culture. For women in Japan, and the world over, power has always been a significant element when choosing a male partner. Power and sexual desire often go hand in hand since a powerful male can easily support and protect a family.
The more targets the US spies on, the fewer friends it has — Chinese FM
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The US government has kept expanding its scope of surveillance, meddling in other countries’ domestic affairs and interfering in international affairs, which runs counter to international law and the fundamental principles of international relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry commented on the Section 702 of US’ Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which allows the US intelligence agency to conduct unauthorized surveillance of non-US individuals abroad. The spokesperson added that “The more targets the US spies on, the fewer friends it has. The US needs a better sense of boundary and less obsession for control.”
During a press briefing on Thursday, media mentioned that US National Security Council member Joshua Geltzer said that Section 702 of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), an important legal basis for US intelligence authorities to eavesdrop on non-US citizens overseas and step up international surveillance without authorization, will expire on December 31. It was estimated that nearly 60 percent of President Biden’s daily intelligence brief came from these “big ears.”
The warrantless government surveillance authority slated to expire in days is closer to lasting for at least a few more months after the US Senate on Wednesday local time passed an annual defense policy bill that included a temporary extension.
In response to that, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), adopted after Watergate, was originally aimed at preventing government authorities from abusing power and carrying out arbitrary eavesdropping.
However, Section 702, added in 2008, permit the National Security Agency to carry out eavesdropping and surveillance without obtaining an individualized court order, Mao said.
After that, the US government has been expanding the scope of eavesdropping and surveillance to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and meddle in the normal course of international affairs. This practice runs counter to international law and basic norms governing international relations, Mao said.
“The more targets the US spies on, the fewer friends it has. The US needs a better sense of boundary and less obsession for control,” Mao added.
27 Years Ago This Animated Television Series “Duckman” SHOWED Men Are Going Their Own Way
A couple of months ago, we had an IT guy in our office who had just received his summons to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It was a Friday and he had to appear at the military commissariat four days later, on Tuesday. Needless to say, the summons papers pretty much ruined his weekend.
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War is a dangerous affair: a wall in Kyiv that commemorates the country’s fallen heroes from 2014 till today. (Picture by the author of this post)
I have rarely seen a man who was more scared than this poor guy. He was literally sweating. He really wasn’t the fighter type: mid 30s but looking older, non-athtletic body type and a small beer belly.
There was nothing we could do for him. He should have seen it coming. There’s compulsory service in Ukraine and people like him are getting drafted every day.
In our office, most (male) workers have already bought proper body armor and helmets for themselves, some of them even got guns and regularly train on the shooting range. In addition, they help me and my friends to support the military with equipment. When these guys get their summons, they’ll be prepared.
So yes, some people are scared when they have to join the military.
Advice you NEED to hear in your 20s (not what you’d expect)
As far as Europe is concerned (as opposed to, let’s say Africa or the Middle East, for instance), body hair was left to grow until well into the 20th century.
Men typically shaved or trimmed their beards according to the fashion at the time, hair was cut , curled, bleached or dyed, equally accordingly but body hair was left to do its own thing.
This is valid for all strata of society.
Otherwise, in the absence of running water, both sexes usually washed in a bidet, which was filled with warm water and/or perfume/cologne/eau de toilette. Basically, just like you would with a wet wipe, you moisten a cloth or sponge with perfume and clean your entire body with it.
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Women using a bidet, by Willem-Joseph Laquy 1771.
So, basically, in spite of many claims to the opposite, there’s no reason to believe that people in the 1700’s would have been much dirtier than nowadays, although the mix of armpit smell and perfume would probably have been noticeable.
Lice is always a problem. However, just like nowadays, a variety of treatments were available, usually in the form of perfumes, what we now call essential oils, etc. They kill the eggs and you can get rid of the bugs themselves with a fine tooth comb.
And here it is…
2023 12 16 19 24
Women PANIC As They Realize Men Don’t Want To Marry Older Women
Man, the USA is so terribly fucked up. Take me “home”. Please!
Russia Warns If NATO Bases Used For Ukrainian Jets, Those Bases Could Be Targeted
With the Russia-Ukraine war now approaching the two year mark (in February), Americans might need reminding that the conflict remains a highly dangerous situation which could at any moment escalate into a WW3 scenario.
Zelensky’s visit to Washington this week was lackluster, and he left without securing what Kiev is hoping for – that Congress would quickly pass Biden’s $106 billion war funding request, which also includes defense funds for Israel. Of course, at this point Zelensky has complained publicly that the crisis in Gaza has taken the world’s focus off the need to defend Ukraine from Russia’s onslaught.
Though headlines in the West barely took notice, Russia early Wednesday launched a significant ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, which authorities said injured at least 53 people, including six children, with severe damage to a number of buildings.
But with Zelensky in Washington, making the rounds to the Oval office and the halls of Congress, the Kremlin issued a fresh warning saying that if Ukraine’s military is granted access to NATO airbases for sorties using western-made planes, in would respond while deeming Ukraine’s external allies as direct participants in the war.
The fresh warning was announced by Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation to the military security and arms control talks in Vienna:
“We already hear comments that, amid the significant destruction of Ukraine’s airstrip infrastructure, the F-16s handed over to Ukraine may carry out their missions from airbases in Poland, Romania and Slovakia,” he said during the OSCE Forum meeting on cooperation in security.
According to the diplomat, Moscow will view this as these countries’ participation in the conflict and will force Russia to resort to “response measures.”
Even though certain eastern European allies pledged F-16s long ago, it could still be a lengthy amount of time before Ukrainian pilots are fully trained, enough to be deployed in combat on the US-made warplane.
Western officials have in recent months admitted that Russia has the upper hand, and that Ukraine’s summer offensive failed, but everyone is now putting in place their ‘long war’ strategies. The Kremlin’s new warning and threat also seems part of this longer term planning from Moscow’s perspective.
(My answer contains information that some people might find offensive. Please be advised. I am just sharing an experience I had. Thank you!)
I don’t remember exactly which grade my daughter was in when this happened, but it was when she was in elementary school.
It was a sunny weekend afternoon, I asked her, “Do you want to go to the park?” – which was her favorite thing to do, she had never refused it. But to my surprise, she said no. “Why?” – I asked.
“I don’t want to turn to black!”, she answered. “What!?”, I asked, dropping my jaw. “It’s sunny. The sun will shine on me and make my skin dark”, she pointed to the sun. “Who told you that?!”, I was stunned. She then grabbed the map, and explained to me, “This is Africa. It’s near the equator. They have a lot of sun over there, they are outside a lot, that’s why their skin turns dark. Our intern teacher told us that.”
You have no idea how angry I got when I heard this.
The next Monday morning, I took my daughter to school. After dropping her off, I asked for a meeting between that intern teacher and the principal. I explained the situation and demanded an explanation. The intern teacher was scared, he said he was just “joking”. He wanted to tell the kids that they need to wear a hat and use sunscreen when they are outside in the sun, or else they will get tanned; that’s why he “joked” like that.
I could tell the “face-palm” from the principal’s look. She apologized to me and promised me she would give my daughter’s class a special lesson to “fix” this issue (And she did. My daughter later that day went home and told me they had a lesson about protecting our skin). But the damage was already done. It took a long time with a lot of reading and explaining for me to erase the thought that “dark skin” was equal to “a bad thing” from my daughter’s mind.
I don’t know what happened to that intern teacher, but I hope he learned his lesson.
Carousel Rider Has MELTDOWN After BF Dumps Her Upon Learning She Had “Relations” With Over 300 Men
Back in the 1990s, my former father-in-law (my then-wife’s father), who I’ll call Joe, was the one instigating our divorce. He was one of those macho cop types, kind of a good ol’ boy.
I found one of those subscription cards in a copy of Out magazine on the rack. Out magazine was for gay people who decided to come out of the closet. I put Joe’s full name and his nextdoor neighbor’s address on the subscription card and mailed it in. (I used a typewriter in a store so my handwriting couldn’t be traced back to me).
Imagine his shock and horror when his neighbor showed up at his door and said, “Hi Joe, your Out magazine came to my house by mistake.” 😂
Nowadays, I regret such a juvenile tactic, but I was a bit crazy at the time because it was a messy divorce.
In December 2023, 27-year-old Neusha Afkami had to go the airport in Austin, Texas. She got an Uber, and told the driver he to “make it fast”, as she had a plane to catch and she needed to be on it desperately. Much to her frustration, the driver wasn’t going very fast.
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Neusha felt she could go faster… so after berating the man, she took the driver’s phone… and threw it out the car window. He immediately stopped the vehicle to retrieve his phone and when he did, Mrs. Afkami jumped in the driver’s seat and drove off, leaving her Uber driver standing helplessly by the side of the road. Not only did she take the car, she also took the man’s wallet, which he left behind as he got out. While at the airport, she went on a 130 dollar shopping spree with the man’s credit card as she waited for boarding.
Of course, knowing his own car’s information like the back of his hand, the Uber driver immediately called the police. Before Neusha Afkami could even board her plane, she was located and arrested by Texas police, putting an end to her little bout of playing-GTA-in-real-life.
Knowing These Life Lessons After 40 is Like Cheating. Literally.
It was during a drug search warrant of a heroin dealer’s house. We executed the warrant and located the target of the investigation, a 40-year-old male at home. He also had a live-in girlfriend who, like her man, was an intravenous user of heroin.
His girlfriend had a two-year-old toddler whom we found crawling around the living room floor. The child was naked and dirty and crying. He was a good-looking child, but what would his future hold in that environment? We located drugs and drug paraphernalia all over the house. Most disturbing were the numerous uncapped needles lying on the floor and coffee table right near the toddler. Additionally, there were remnants of powdered heroin and cocaine on the coffee table, which could easily be reached by the child.
My sergeant flipped out on the woman — and asked if she was crazy, exposing her child to used uncapped needles and powered narcotics on the table. The woman just sort of smiled and almost in slow motion said it was her kid and it was none of his business. She was clearly in a drug-induced stupor.
My sergeant replied that he was not only seizing the illegal drugs but was also seizing the child. With that, he scooped up the child in his arms and walked out of the house. He instructed our evidence officer to photograph the living room to document the horrible and dangerous conditions.
My sergeant stood outside and called the division of family services. They didn’t want to respond until the following morning. He emphatically informed them that the child had been removed from this unsafe environment and either they would come and take the child or our next stop was the local newspaper.
They responded to the scene, witnessed the horrible conditions where the child was housed and took the child from the doped-up mother. Three days later they returned the child to the mother at the same house.
Moving that child back into a drug house full of used needles and drugs was the saddest thing ever I witnessed a parent do to their child. When I hear people speak of legalizing all drugs, I think back to that helpless innocent victim.
Marinade: Combine all ingredients in a bowl; mix thoroughly to ombine.
Place short ribs in a nonmetallic dish. Pour marinade over short ribs; cover and refrigerate. Marinate at least three hours or preferably overnight.
Florida Citrus Kimchi: Combine all ingredients in bowl; toss to combine. Reserve.
Drain marinade from short ribs; discard marinade. Grill short rib slices over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove cooked slices from grill; place on cutting board. Slice short rib slices crossways into small, bite size pieces of meat.
Assembly: Heat tortillas over medium heat on the grill or in a sauté pan. Place a small amount of shredded cabbage in the center of each tortilla; top with 1/4 cup short rib meat and 2 tablespoons Florida Citrus Kimchi.
I was the arresting officer on a DUI case. I received a subpoena to appear in court. The man was so drunk he peed al over himself and other stuff in the intoxilyzer room. I thought it was for his guilty plea, but was wrong. He hired an attorney the day before trial and plead not guilty and had not viewed the tape. When the tape was played and everyone watched him pee and slip to the floor and splash his hands in his mess, the judge actually had an out loud laugh along with the rest of the court room.
As it turn out he was a regular drunk and was so out of it he had no idea he had done that. Needless to say, he changed his plea to guilty, the jury was dismissed and the judge imposed a very sever punishment on him. It was his 5th DUI in 5 years.
CHILLING NDE! What I Saw in Hell Will Change You Forever! (Near Death Experience Angie Fenimore)
I got home one night from work, and listened to a message from the State Police from a barracks three hours north of me. Curious, I called back to speak with the officer. He was off for the night so we spoke the next day. The questioning was interesting. He wanted to know if I had been in Bangor Maine the previous day, and if anyone else had access to my car. Puzzled, I asked why. It turns out that there was a bank robbery and they thought that I might be involved. WTF???
The officer was sure that I or somebody else had driven my car from the southern border of Maine to Bangor and back in under six hours without going through a toll booth. For those unfamiliar with the state of Maine that just isn’t possible. I explained that I had been at work all day, and my car was on camera and hadn’t moved. The officer was unconvinced until I send him pictures of my car, my registration, and license plates. The plate number they had matched a set of plates that I used to own, and they were on same make of car, but as it turns out a different year. Very clever.
I in turn called the local police and reported those plates as stolen. I met the detective at my house and his first words to me were “Kurt, so you’re robbing banks now.” He laughed. The detective lives three housed down from me and my wife had his kids in school.
A few months prior I came home at lunch to find a strange car at the end of my shared driveway, and my garage door open. I thought perhaps my wife or I had left the garage door open when we left for work. I grabbed a crowbar as a weapon and searched the house. I know not the smartest thing to do, but I don’t own a firearm. Nothing was missing, and nobody was in the house so I didn’t think much of it at the time. I went outside to get the license plate number strangely parked car , and to call the police. My neighbor came down the driveway and apologized for parking in my driveway and left. That’s where I thought the story ended.
A few weeks before this incident, I had just purchased my car off of lease and switched plates. In Maine we don’t need to turn our plate in and my old plates had been on the wall in my garage. I didn’t notice that they were missing. The neighbor that had parked at the end of my driveway? That neighbor had a previous conviction for Bank Robbery. The local detective and I put two and two together and we had a good suspicion about what had happened to the plates. He gave the information to the State Police and I never heard from that officer again.
High Powered (1945) ACTION ADVENTURE
Full movie. Free and fun. Film Noir.
In this two-fisted adventure tale, a high-rigger holds himself responsible after his brother is killed in an on-the-job accident. He gets a chance for redemption, when it looks as though the same accident is about to occur again!
I loved the good ol’ army surplus stores, and as a boy, I would go over to them with a fist full of changes and some bills and pick up a odd surplus item or two to dink around with.
I had a Vietnam war era canteen… aluminum, not plastic, and it leaked. But I would wear it with my web cargo belt as I rode in my hikes thought the nearby forests. I also had a mess tin, with massive silverware, fit for a giant, but I really never did anything with it.
army and navy store
When I was 13 years old, I had a surplus German world war II pith helmet from the Africa Corps that I wore all the time, and I would wear it as I spent my summers golfing and then swimming. My friends all got ones as well, but theirs hardly lasted past a week. It would get wet… one excuse or the other …and be ruined. But unlike them… I treasured mine.
Army supply
My brother had a cameo dentist smock that was really cool, and for a spell I lusted over it. It looked really cool. Don’t quite know how he ran into it, but the Army and navy store was constantly getting new and one-off items throughout the Summer months.
One week before I left for China, I went into the “old” store and I hardly recognized it. Mostly empty with a warehouse “feeling” to it. Many cheap goods, and not much to interest me. I bought a black backpack and it was the only thing that survived my trip to China. The rest of my belongings were lost in transit.
I suggest that if you have an opportunity, take your early teenagers to a local Army and Navy store and let them explore. Who knows what they will find.
I bought a house and was moving out of the previous home, in which I had a 6-car garage full of toys, along with many items stored outside. That month, I sold six Harleys, brought home three more, and sold them. Now that I would have half the storage space, I sold several other items, such as boats, offroad vehicles, and toy haulers.
When each of these items was sold, I would rubber-band the cash in $10k bundles, and anything less would be placed on the top shelf until it could be bundled with other funds. I’d frequently toss the bundles into the safe for the time being. At some point, when I did the math in my head, I felt I was missing a $10,000 USD bundle.
I had too much on my plate with the move to be concerned about whether or not I had lost money. But I’d catch myself doing the math in my head while driving or having a meal, and it wasn’t adding up, so I’d somehow lost a bundle.
The safe was left at the house due to its size and weight. I had to come back for it after enlisting some assistance in moving it. I had already emptied out its contents while rearranging a few of the internal shelves.
Once I realized I was going to be transporting the safe on its back instead of upright like before, I decided to remove all the interior shelving this time, as it would have come apart while being transported on its back. That’s when I found the missing $10,000. bundle.
It’s a good thing I hadn’t sold the safe with the cash inside.
I used to work for a large rehab company. I was a licensed occupational therapist. One year, we had a new girl start there, who was from Europe. She was also also a licensed therapist, but had two years of additional training. She was also on a work visa. At first she was friendly and agreeable, but soon began to show her true colors. She started making snide comments about people behind their backs, and then proceeded to say them to their faces. She told me that where she came from, I wouldn’t be considered a real therapist, because I had only studied for two years.
We had a few Rehab assistants that she proceeded to lord over, because she had a college degree and they did not. But they worked hard and did their jobs. One day she sat with us at lunch; myself, and two rehab assistants. She proceeded to make rude comments about certain ethnic groups in the company, claiming that they had chips on their shoulders. I told her that her remarks could be construed as racism, and that she had better knock it off. She scoffed, and went on making rude comments. When she left the room with a big smirk on her face, one of the aides told me that she had been making unflattering comments behind my back, too. I decided that she needed to be taught a lesson. I contacted our clinical director and reported her behavior, especially the racist comments.
An hour later, she came walking down the hall, smirk replaced by copious tears. She had been warned that if she continued with her behavior, she would be shipped right back to Europe.
I was an assistant manager for a large auto parts company. Our district manager (DM) was a real POS. I avoided him as much as possible. One day he came to our store, very pissy, and the manager was trying hard to appease him. After the DM left, I looked at the manager and told him he just brown nosed to his ankles. He didn’t say anything, just gave me a funny look. Two days later, after his “weekend”, he handed in his notice. He looked so relieved and happy those last two weeks! He was dating another manager, so we all heard when his dad, a real sweetheart who used to come in frequently, passed away. Other than his girlfriend, I was the only person from the company that attended the funeral. He told me then that my comment was a major wake-up call and that he realized he was no longer willing to work in that environment. His new job made him much happier.
I grew up in a semi-rural area, the child of homesteaders. We had food. Food was never good or bad, it was on the table, and you ate until you were full.
We ate very well, but worked for that food.
My mother had a huge chicken coop, so lots of eggs and chicken.
We planted and harvested about 2 acres of fruits and vegetables of all kinds that could grow in our area. My father had a greenhouse about the size of a single car garage, so we were able to extend a growing season.
Summer weekends were spent in the bush, picking all sorts of wild berries.
We made our own jams, jellies, cordials, chutneys, different kinds of pickles, canned fruits and berries. We processed veggies for use during the winter. This involved sterilizing jars, picking and cleaning foods, slicing, dicing, blanching food, boiling sealing jars, bagging and freezing.
My father bought the rest of the food we couldn’t grow or source naturally.
Sundays, we always had a huge roast, all kinds of roasted root veggies, and devil’s food cake with 7 minute frosting. Most often, dessicated coconut was also put in the frosting. This is exactly what it looked like
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During the week, a normal meal was soup, meat and 2 veg, salad, some kind of pickle, and dessert. Dessert was usually fruit, either fresh or home canned in heavy syrup, and ice cream.
When I was young, our home had a wood stove – so fire wood had to be chopped. We didn’t have running water, so water had to be carried by bucket. We had a coal furnace, so coal had to be shoveled in, several times a day, outside of the summer months.
Because we didn’t have running water, we used an outhouse, which was in the far corner of the property. Even going to the toilet, you walked half a block each way.
When I started kindergarten, the school was almost 2 km away from my home (just over a mile). The only time you were allowed to stay at school for lunch is if the temperature was colder than a high of 0F (-18c). So most days, I walked about 8km, just to go to school and back (x2).
The girls all played jump rope at recess. Do children still do that?
We very rarely ate outside our home, except as guests at other people’s homes. When we would go on camping vacations, our first meal out, and last meal coming home would be KFC – the real stuff they used to make with the cream gravy. So if that is the fast food we had, we had it twice a year.
We used to get a bottle of soda when we went to Grandma’s house. That was about every second week. But we used sugar like crazy. Tea and coffee always had at least 2 tsp of sugar in it. Canned fruit was all in heavy syrup. When the large bottles of cola began to be sold, they were terrifically expensive. The 2 quart bottle was over $4. Considering the first apartment I ever rented a couple of years later was $125/month – you can see what a luxury item Coca Cola was.
Basically, I would say we ate very well. There were plenty of treats, but we were always walking/running and working in the yard. Even the simple things took a lot of work. There was no turning on the tap, that water had to be hauled into the house.
So what I would say is this. Previously, there was little junk food. My mother even made home made marshmallow. Food was processed at home or in restaurants (eg. no pre-formed patties) There was no plastic sort of food, such as Cool Whip (introduced in 1966) People didn’t eat away from home very much. People had to work much harder for food. People worked and walked much more in their lives. The food of the past is very different than the food of today.
I am a 100% disabled USAF Veteran, and I carry a concealed handgun legally. I have had all the background checks that the FBI and Federal Government require and although not of sound body, am of sound mind (my ex-wife may disagree!). I was legally carrying when I stopped in San Antonio to get some fuel. I was in my pickup truck which is wheelchair equipped and it was on the back of the truck and I have Texas Disabled Veteran plates on my truck.
I used my credit card to get the fuel and this was about Christmas time. I am a Christian and love that part of the year. As I was finishing up I was approached by a young man in his late teens and early 20’s who had been watching me since I arrived. I am Italian, and he isn’t (you will figure out his heritage in a moment). He asked how my “Christmas was going?” I replied, “It’s a great time of the year!”. He stated “I’m having a horrible Christmas; I don’t have any money and my kids and wife will get nothing from me this year – can you help? I replied that I carried no cash and he had seen me “use my credit card at the pump!”
He then became directly confrontational and pointed his finger in my face and stated “Then you can take your honky ass into the ATM, use that card and get me some cash!” I backed off 2 steps and stated “I don’t know you and I am not in the habit of giving anything to people I don’t know”. His response was to pull back his jacket and show me a large hunting knife handle that was stuck in his pant and state “What if I show you this knife?!”?
My response was to draw my weapon and point it at his chest and state “What if I show you this gun?” He backed off quickly realizing the crippled Veteran was not as easy a target as he thought!
I was unaware but that store clerk was listening in on the speakers that are at the pump and had summoned the police. They arrived as I was pointing the weapon at the suspect. As soon as they arrived I reholstered and the store clerk told them what she had observed, and I verified the situation.
The Officer asked “Why didn’t you shoot him? He has been a problem for months around here!” My response was “he backed off and I think he would have bolted had you not arrived”. He was taken into custody for attempted armed robbery and I testified at his trial about 11 months later. He was given 7 years in the Texas Department of Corrections. Turns out he never had a wife or children.
What was I given? My life. It could have gone very wrong was I not armed. It could have ended in the worst way.
Guns aren’t meant to fight fair. They are meant to win. They are meant to give people control over what happens to them and to protect themselves, the public, and even you from serious bodily harm or death.
It’s not cowardice – it’s prudence.
I am here today because of that weapon which I still carry faithfully – always knowing it’s there but also always hoping I never have to use it.
“Can I trust you?” she asked me quietly as we walked in the school grounds.
She didn’t even wait for me to reply.
“My father was diagnosed with cancer. Two years ago. Of the prostate. He was under treatment since then, but these days, he’s been getting worse. And we don’t even have that much money, we’re a simple family.”
Sarah was the ‘weird girl’ in the class. Or that’s how the others saw her.
She was always energetic. So much that you’d think she was high on caffeine every day. She had a prominent personality, something so sun-bright that you couldn’t help but notice. And being talkative and making loud, obnoxiously lame jokes were a fundamental part of her.
Sarah was just so fullof life. The fullest you can be. The fullest I’ve ever seen someone.
I think that’s what began, slowly but surely, irritating others in a way.
She would laugh at her own awkward jokes and people would roll their eyes. She’s so random and so extra, they’d say.
She became the class clown.
One day, during the sports class, the conversation written above took place.
And I couldn’t help but silently wonder: how/why was she so buoyant and full of life all the time?
A second later, the tone of her voice shifted.
“You wanna know why I’m so cheerful all the time?”
It’s like she read my mind, I swear. I looked her in the eye, then quickly looked away.
But what she said left me open-mouthed because it was completely different than what I expected.
“You know, I believe that you have to create what you want for yourself. As I see it, everyone has to create their own happiness. There is no other way out. I have so many things to be sad about. But that is exactly what I won’t be. I just work like that,” she shrugged.
And suddenly, just like that, I saw her in a whole new light. And I’m not even exaggerating. It was literally like depicted in the movies.
In fact, I felt guilty, on behalf of my class, that we’d been so utterly stupid.
Not to be dramatic or anything, but Sarah taught me things that I have not learned from anyone else.
I’m not gonna lie and say that since that moment, I’ve been the happiest person alive. I haven’t. It’s a slow process. But I see myself getting there very soon.
Sarah reminded me that one has to create their own happiness. You can’t rely on life or its circumstances to do that for you. She was a living example of the quote: “When life knocks you down, smile and stand up taller than ever before.”
First EU told China they were not buying enough EU Products and importing enough EU products and the Trade deficit was widening quite a bit between the two nations
China replied that most of the EU Imports they formerly imported, they now had excellent quality import substitution within China like Industrial Chemicals or Industrial Technology Machines or ICE Cars
China also said the EU had restricted things they were most keen to import like EUV equipment or Deep UV Lamps or High Grade Etching Equipment
So China said “We have an open market. Bring your products and COMPETE. We have no tariffs here on your products”
The EU want China to keep buying ICE Cars and Industrial Technology at 3 times the price just to ensure a better balance of Trade
China said “How is that Capitalism? Free market?”
EU couldn’t respond
China did point out that Chinese imports of Advanced Lenses and Pharmaceuticals from the EU had risen by 41% across 4 years
The EU claimed China was violating and helping Russia bypass their sanctions. In fact I believe this was their main purpose in visiting China. They accused China of selling to Russia all the Industrial Spares and Manufacturing Parts plus enough goods to keep their purchasing intact
The Chinese replied they were not at war with Russia and EU sanctions were not sacrosanct to other nations. China brought out Lithuania and Australia and asked the EU if the EU recognized Chinese Sanctions on either nation and honored them
China asked if tomorrow China sanctions Taiwan, would EU agree to follow the same and not help Taiwan bypass sanctions
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Ursula mumbled something about democracy and China told her to “Get Laid”
The EU finally accused China of protectionism and subsidy of NEVs that allowed NEVs to be sold cheaper in Europe
China categorically rejected this as wholly untrue and explained how EV subsidy was aimed to help CHINESE CITIZENS buy EVs and spearhead EV transition fully by 2030. They explained how the subsidy was at the tax level and the manufacturing subsidy provided to BYD was used only for their sale price to Chinese Citizens
The EU of course knew this very well
They have advisors who told them the same story
China then pointed out the EU subsidies to their mobile providers of almost € 63 Billion to help them buy the more expensive Nokia equipment for their 5G instead of Huawei
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Again Ursula mumbled something about Democracy and China told her again to “Please get Laid” emphasizing on the “Please”
Simply speaking China is bewildered at all these leaders repeatedly coming to China and demanding things that are entirely against free market and capitalism
They offer investments but into the most mundane things like mass manufacturing and medium grade manufacturing that China isn’t interested in anymore. China has much more money than all of EU combined and can easily bankroll their manufacturing
They want TECH INVESTMENTS, the ability to identify good tech and invest in the same
EU doesn’t want this at all because of US orders
EU wants the World to remain in 2010 but the world is in 2023
**Wanted to add, I only just realized I misread the title as WERE banned, not are. My apologies!**
I was banned from my local Walmart because I miss scanned an item. I went to self checkout one day because I had 4 items and wanted to teach my sons how to scan items. To make the story easier to understand, I had a tshirt, set of bras, shorts and some socks. While scanning, we had accidently double scanned the bras rather than scan the shorts, honest mistake. We finish up and as we are heading out, loss protection stops me and says “My name is XXX I’m with loss prevention please come with us” I was genuinely confused, my son got scared because of how aggressive they were but we complied. While in the security room they proceeded to rummage thru my bags and asked to search my purse. Again, I complied, but they never explained why I was pulled in. They searched cameras for probabaly 20 minutes. At one point, I hear one of the workers call across the radio “We need security detail for an escort.” I started getting REALLY scared and demanded an answer. Finally, they explain I miss scanned an item, because of this I am being escorted out of the building and will not be allowed back on property, should I step foot on property I will be arrested. I was baffled! They didn’t even give me a chance to fix my honest mistake! Needless to say, again I complied, but I put in a call the corporate after leaving, they reached out to me and lifted the banned immediately, apologized, and fired the entire loss prevention team. It wasn’t the first time they had abused power!
This guy was new and he was hired by someone else and put on my team. He messed up because he said he got his degree the same time I did. At the same school. In the same program.
I always research my team beforehand. But, this time it was pretty short.
He failed out his third year and didn’t come back to school. At least not mine.
I figured maybe he fibbed and graduated later. I checked with my school. No record of graduation.
He walked up to my team after he got to work. Asked him to follow me and we went to HR.
We sat down and I asked him about his degree. He repeated his resume exactly.
I stood up, said thank you and good luck. We’ll be going in another direction. And HR did their thing.
We don’t ask about degrees, but we do check your resume for lies. And, we don’t care if you have a degree. Just don’t lie about it.
That means that you are probably going to lie about your work. And, that is pretty toxic.
Committing a felony. I didn’t set out to break the law, I was a law abiding citizen for 59 years.
I was suffering from a deep depression and began self-medicating with Methamphetamine. The depression and drugs led me to some questionable online activities which, to me, seemed harmless. Without my realizing it though, I had crossed into the dark web.
My first inkling that I was in trouble was when 7 sheriffs came to my house with a search warrant. 6 months after that I was arrested on 23 felony charges.
Over the next 6 months my lawyer negotiated that down to 5 charges in exchange for me pleading guilty which I eventually did – I did not have the money to pay for a trial defense, and even if I did, a loss would have meant that I would die in prison – I was 60 years old.
I was extremely fortunate, mostly, I think because I was a first time offender, with a lifetime of abiding the law. I was sentenced to 5 years probation and 3 years prison suspended – no jail time unless I screwed up.
I lost a very successful career and income as a software engineer – no one would hire me with a record. My wife died of a stroke, partly due to the stress of the legal proceedings. Her family completely disowned me (my own family was gone) so I was completely alone in my grief.
I was forced to retire at 62 and live on social security (my first wife got my retirement in the divorce) and I have almost no friends.
Because of one mistake fueled by depression and drugs, my life was destroyed. I have to submit to monthly drug tests and meetings with my probation officer (a significant expense on social security as I have no car and he is 30 miles away), and in constant fear of having my probation revoked for breaking a probation rule (anyone who’s ever been on probation will understand what I mean).
If I could go back to mid 2018 and seek professional help for the depression, I would do it in a heartbeat. If I had sought treatment then I wouldn’t be where I am now.
EDIT:
I have received a lot of comments with people complaining that I’m not taking responsibility for my actions – this is completely wrong.
I take full responsibility for what happened to me. I made the decision to self medicate with meth rather than seek mainstream treatment. It was my decision to engage in the actions which led to my crime. Nobody made me do it but me.
I was arrested on evidence I cannot deny and sentenced fairly according to the law. I was a law abiding citizen for 59 years and believe strongly in the rule of law and the need to uphold it. I have absolutely no complaint about how I was treated as the result of my actions. The legal system and all of its agents acted exactly as I expected in doing their part to enforce the law and maintain societal controls.
That said, I have no doubt, with God as my witness, that I would have NEVER broken the law had my faculties not been impaired by drugs – in a sober state I would not have engaged in the actions that led to my crime. My values and critical thinking were subverted by the drugs – there is plenty of medical and psychiatric evidence of this. That is not an excuse, it is a simple fact.
I wished the interviewer luck in finding a candidate with the credentials they were looking for, when it became known that I didn’t have the right credential to teach what they wanted me to teach.
They waited until the interview to tell me that they were specifically looking for a teacher with a Reading Specialist endorsement, which I didn’t have. They could have checked my resume before they called me in for the interview to see I didn’t have that, but whatever. My lack of the proper endorsement brought the interview to a quick close, and I wished them well in their search for someone with that particular endorsement. I knew they’d have a hard time finding someone with that who was willing to work at a private school. Public schools, which pay better than private schools around here, are quick to grab the Reading Specialists.
About three weeks later, I’d completely forgotten about that interview, and they called me in for a second interview. I checked their school calendar. They were two weeks away from opening day. I knew they were desperate. I was desperate to find a position too, so it all worked out. I went in for the second interview, and they offered me the position, even though I didn’t have the specific endorsement they wanted. Private schools are flexible when it comes to those things anyway.
They remembered me from the first interview because I was nice to them. I ended up working there for two years. It was my first real teaching position, and I loved it. I got the experience and connections I needed to make finding new teaching positions in later years so much easier. The first position is always the hardest to get.
Were you here? I am here and I was here on Sunday election day.
Yeah and? You hear 10,000 police deployed across the city! OMG.
What I saw? I went cycling early in the morning. I passed the election polling station, a small queue and a load of villagers.
The two police officers? They were stood about 10 metres away outside to one side.
That’s not an unusual sight. You see police standing around busy bus depots and MTR stations. The only ‘heavy’ presence was a couple months ago where desk job police were walking around. I scooted in between them and NOTHING happened.
We Have a Problem – The Actual WAR INVASION of the USA **IS** Planned and now, We have a date range . . .
America, we have a problem. While it has long been rumored that foreign countries are planning to invade the continental USA, we’ve never seen evidence of any such actual planning; until now. . .
For years we’ve all heard rumors of Chinese troops being massed in south-central Mexico, but never any proof to bolster such claims.
Two years or so ago, we all found out that Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada signed a Treaty with China allowing the deployment of People’s Liberation Army troops in Canada, and the Treaty prohibits local Canada governments from having __any__ say where those troops are, or what they do while in Canada. That Treaty has been verified and __is__ real.
So if one believes the rumor about China troops in south-central Mexico, and we already have confirmation they’re entering Canada, that would mean invasion of the continental USA would be possible from both the north and the south.
Then, too, for years, we’ve all heard rumors that Venezuela would send troops to Cuba, to join with Cuban troops to invade Florida from Cuba — but ZERO evidence of any such planning has ever been offered or produced by anyone.
NOW, THOUGH, we have something very real, from deep inside Russian Intelligence.
Below from inside the Russian FSB, we now have concrete proof an actual INVASION of the United States of America is, in fact, being planned, and the date range for that invasion has already been decided. It appears we have less than one year.
The evidence, obtained from inside Department “C” of the Central Security Service of the FSB of Russia, appears below, and is for SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS WEBSITE, ONLY.
Back around 1990, I was about 23, two babys and wife at home, and got laid off at the light bulb factory in Plymouth Florida. So I went to work selling veggies at the flea market and working on VW’s while looking for a job. I had been rebulding Bug motors for some time and it had become quite a routine. Well I had this old bus, it was a 1962, 23 window Kombi wagon. Pulled the motor, did the thing right, line bored, new cylinders, pistons, all the bearings, oil pump, Bosch 009 distibutor, new carb, everything top-knotch. The owner wanted it right, so he spared no expense and I was happy to oblige. The afternoon arrived and i finally had the motor back together and up in the bus. It was bolted in and I was hooking up the wires and needed a new connector to hookup the new distributor and when i went into my shop to find one, i noticed this little silver thing laying on the bench. Picked it up and eyed it carefully. It was half of a cam bearing. Yup, I had left out half of a cam bearing shell. Had to pull the motor back out, break it all the way back down, and sure enough, there was one shell missing. Put it in and back together it went. Ran like a top for years! Thankfully, I didn’t try to fire it up!
Campfire Dutch Oven Chili with Cornbread
campfire dutch oven chili cornbread
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients
Chili
3 pounds ground beef (90% lean)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes & green chilies, undrained
Heat briquettes up in a chimney, then make a layer of hot briquettes on the ground, a fire ring, or other metal structure.
Place the Dutch oven on the briquettes and allow Dutch oven to get hot.
Add oil to the Dutch oven and sauté onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper stirring occasionally until tender, approximately 4 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
Add ground beef to Dutch oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking beef into small crumbles and stirring occasionally until browned. If Dutch oven starts to cool off, add more hot briquettes on the bottom.
Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, black pepper and salt; cook for 1 minute.
Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes & green chiles and beer; bring to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes.
Prepare cornbread mix based on box instructions and pour over chili, spreading into an even layer.
Heat approximately 20 additional briquettes. Cover Dutch oven with lid and place hot briquettes evenly on the top of the closed lid.
Cook for about 10 minutes, checking halfway through. Check to see if cornbread is done by sticking a wooden pick into cornbread. If the wooden pick comes out clean, it is done.
I worked as PC tech early in my career for a man that was a total control freak. Very military. One of his expectations was that everyone was sitting at their desk exactly at 8am. No excuses. Well, I was transferred under his department after my previous manager retired. I had been working without complaint for over a year.
If I knew I had a busy day I would come in early to get things done without interruption. I had been late a few times during the previous month as I was a new Father. But, as I said, I came in early, and stayed late so my work was never affected.
I also was a contractor, not an employee. And my contract wasn’t a 8 to 5 time clock, but a work level, number of tickets thing.
Anyway, this particular morning I came in about 30mins early to finish up a repair from the day before. No sooner than I had walked into my office the Plant Manager walked in. He was having a problem. So, off I go.
Well, it was about 45 minutes later when I walk back in to get a replacement hard drive. There stands my Boss. He starts in on me about me not being at my desk. Yelling at me like I’m a dog. I just stand there. Finally, he says I’m fired. I’m to pack my “stuff” and leave. Which I do. As I’m about to leave I tell him, Oh by the way, the Plant Manager (his Boss) was waiting on me. His face dropped.
I walked out.
About an hour after I got home I get a call from my company. The Plant Manager called them. He told them he wanted me to come back. I declined. He then called me. He paid me directly to come fix his computer. And my Boss got fired.
This kid was the other way around. He was considered as a brilliant geek, and I believe he suffered a lot from the constant bullying by the other kids. He scored very well in Olympiads, and also scored high marks on subjects such as Math, Physics and Chemistry.
In his spare time, he read Math books, studied Bridge and entered in semi-professional competitive Bridge games — I guess that was one of the reasons why he was seen as a geek.
Several teachers were convinced that Terry would ace university and become a brilliant scientific researcher, but reality turned out to be very different. He first tried engineering studies but failed miserably, and then spent some time in the professional Bridge circuit, but he never reached the level he thought he would.
Some years later, I was a surveillant at a Linear Algebra exam for freshman Informatics students (I was a postdoctoral researcher at the time), and there he was, trying once again to obtain a degree. And he flunked again. Not much later he left academics, and I kind of lost track of his life.
At reunions, those that do not show up are the people that died young, those that hate their past more than anything else, and those that failed in life. The future definitely turned out differently than Terry had hoped.
But luckily, we did not know this when we were seventeen.
My MIL was absolutely the best. Once we had settled on the number of guests we could afford to invite, she offered to contribute toward the wedding so that more guests from their circle of family and friends could be invited. Because I wasn’t sure if we could afford an open bar, she offered to cover it and did so. She organized the rehearsal dinner and did an absolutely splendid job. The day after the wedding, she put together a breakfast for some of our out-of-town guests at her home. On the wedding day, she stayed low profile so that my mother could join me in getting ready with my bridesmaids (and this I regret, not asking her to join us, but I was young and naiive at the time and it didn’t occur to me). On the day of the wedding, she took care of little things that others didn’t, like collecting the bridal gown after I’d changed into my travel clothes. When we traveled to another city, she asked a family member who was visiting her for the wedding to let us use their apartment so we didn’t have to pay for a hotel. She’s the best MIL one could hope for!
I was down the pub one summers day pre-Covid with a good mate of mine called Dan. Dan’s originally from Texas, ex-US Army 1st Sgt, and now living in the UK with his lovely wife. He’s been here long enough to have a good grasp of the British sense of humour.
We’re having a drink and chatting when my phone goes off, a number I don’t recognise and I answer, putting it on speakerphone. A thickly-accented Indian voice (who claims to be called ‘Hank’) on the other end tells me that he is the FBI, that i’ve got multiple warrants out for my arrest etc, but that if I pay them I won’t have to be arrested-bear in mind i’m in the UK and the FBI has no jurisdiction over here. Having sunk a few pints by then, i’m in the mood for a wind-up. I ask for details of these warrants, tell him that they’ll never catch me, then I ask him if he knows Special Agent Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson’s character in ‘Criminal Minds’). He replies that Agent Hotchner is on holiday at the moment. I tell him that I know this as he’s sitting right beside me, and he’d like a word with him. I hand the phone to Dan and sit back to enjoy the show. Dan goes all in, quoting legal codes, threatening traces, freezing of their assets, criminal charges, the works! Needless to say the call ended not long after
China has a really sweet deal with Russia right now. I can not think of a single reason to change it (from China’s perspective.)
China is desperately short of fossil fuels and Russia is a huge exporter of fossil fuels. They are even willing to build multiple pipelines to get natural gas to China.
Everything Russia sells to China goes at a 40–50% discount because of China’s manipulation of its two-currency system.
Everything Russia buys from China comes with a 40–50% markup. Same reasons. Some things that are sanctioned go for as much as 4,000 times their original cost.
China is selling Russia billions a year in heavily marked up “dual use” goods such as military grade tires, military vehicles, body armor, night vision devices, helicopter engines, field medical kits, and even entire field hospitals. They also sell them considerable sanctioned goods, especially electronics, that Russia cannot make for itself.
They are compatible authoritarian governments.
China and Russia make an impenetrable voting bloc at the UN. Together, they can block any international initiative against either of them.
Supertramp – Take The Long Way Home (BEST QUALITY SOUND)
I once had a client who was, literally, the strongest man I’d ever seen. Harry was well-built and about 6′ 4″. Even though he was large to begin with, his sheer strength to size ratio was off the charts.
One day we were driving in the car together and a guy in a Mercedes cut Harry off in traffic. Harry expressed his displeasure at this move by honking his horn. “Mercedes guy” proceeded to flip Harry off and then he pulled over – I guess he was looking for a fight.
Harry pulled in behind him. He got out, then Harry got out. The other guy was about 6′ tall and slightly pudgy, but not small by any means. However, once Mercedes guy saw Harry, he hurriedly returned to his car. BUT, he forgot one very important thing. His sunroof was open.
Harry, usually a fairly reasonable guy, was beyond pissed off. He went up to the guy’s car, PULLED him out THROUGH THE SUNROOF, put him on the street, turned him upside-down and STUFFED him back in his car, once again THROUGH THE SUNROOF.
Then Harry calmly strolled back to the car, got in, and we drove off. I glanced in the side view mirror and could see Mercedes guy’s feet sticking up through the roof kicking around a bit. Too funny!
I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. Harry passed away a few years later, but I’ll never forget him or what he did that day. It was an awesome sight!
Running late
The other morning as I was running late for an appointment I drove past a park and from a distance, I saw this young girl sitting on the bench and it looked like she was crying… I continued to drive and I thought to myself “what if that was me or even worse.. my daughter”.
So, I turned around and pulled into a parking spot, opened my car door and walked over to her and set down beside her.
She was crying so hard that she didn’t know I was there until I tapped her on the shoulder and asked: “Are you okay?” She looked up at me and said “No” “He cheated on me” “I don’t want to even live anymore” I knew at this point, I needed to take as much time as I could to talk to this young girl.
image 97
We sat there on that bench and talked the entire afternoon about relationships, life, and future goals and when the time came we finally said our goodbyes so I walked back to my car and as I started to back out, I looked back at her and she was walking towards me with her head down.
When she came up to the window, she confessed to me that she thought about taking her own life and because of me stopping and talking to her she decided that wasn’t in her best interest anymore.
Needless to say, I might have missed an appointment but I also might have saved a life.
Sweet, sweet summer child. Let me share with you a day in the life of a young Japanese Salaryman, if you’ll indulge me.
Clearly, you have never heard of the dreaded company 飲み会。
Ah, that magical moment when your boss tells the faculty, “Today was a good day, let’s go out drinking!”
“What’s that you say? You have plans? No, no, clearly you are mistaken. Because WE, the employees of the company have decided to go drinking. We have all made this decision, subconsciously, the very instant, I, the boss, mentioned it. 空気を読んで！ Are we not the pinnacle of unity and harmony?”
And now, you’re off to a wonderful night of drinking with your coworkers. Who must drink with the boss, as long as he wants to drink.
“What’s that you say? You don’t like drinking？ NONSENSE. You merely have not found the appropriate drink, which, I, the boss, know is just right for you. Have another cup with me!”
“Another!”
“Another!”
“Eh? Eh? You don’t feel so good. Fie, I say! You just need another drink. Perhaps a different sake.”
That’s going to go on for a bit, until you, the newbie, and your coworker, who has learned how to hold his liquor better, are on a street corner outside a hotel in Tokyo, the coworker kindly holding your head as you throw up everything you have ever eaten. They are kind and will give you water afterwards, as you swear you will never drink again.
I worked at a company where they were getting rid of a bunch of flat panel displays. They were old and had a funky plug on them, but worked perfectly fine. I asked the powers that be if we could take them home, since they were just going to trash them anyway. I was told that if you can bag them up, you can walk right past security in the lobby and you’ll be fine. You can’t just carry them out the door, though.
It turned out that one of my coworkers had a girlfriend who worked in a place that sewed custom bags for various industries. I gave him dimensions and 3 days later, we had bags we could use. Between the 6 techs I worked with, We walked out with about a dozen displays. We benefitted, the displays didn’t end up in a landfill, and a new line of bags was developed at my buddy’s gf’s company. It was a win-win-win.
At some point early in my marriage, we had a relatively large 6 bedroom house on a golf course subdivision with a pool and clubhouse. I had bought the nicest Lexus sedan I could afford, and a large SUV for my wife. We had two young kids. And we were miserable.
It wasn’t just about the money. These things were expensive for sure, and definitely weighed down our budget, but we could afford it.
The problem was time. I was busy with my business, working almost 7 days a week. My wife was taking care of the babies AND helping with the business. We almost never took vacations. A rare weekend off was like a vacation.
I’d be reading or playing with the kids and the phone would ring. The laughter turned off like a switch while I go to another room to talk. It’s like the world paused while the family waited to hear if I had to leave or not. Sorry, gotta run! I’d leave before even hearing if the kids said “bye daddy.”
I’m sure you’ve seen the Disney movie, Aladdin. I was the Genie. Giver of gifts. Solver of problems. All powerful being. But no more than a slave. The business owns you. Clients own you. The mortgage owns you. Just like the Genie, I longed for freedom.
One day, my wife and I looked at each other and asked “what are we doing?”
I started interviewing for jobs and got hired relatively quickly. Within a few months, we closed the business, sold our house, and moved. It was like Aladdin setting the Genie free.
It turned out that I work half the time, making pretty much the same as before.. I still drive the same car, which is now 15 yrs old. We live in a house half the size of what we had. I see my kids more than most dads I know. I am an equal participant in their homeschooling. We go on vacations multiple times a year.
Life isn’t perfect, but definitely there is more happiness now.
Addendum: Thanks for reading and the upvotes!
I’d like to add that it’s definitely possible to have a business or earn a lot and have a big house, nice cars, etc. AND afford family time. It’s not mutually exclusive at all. I know a lot of people who have it all. If you can find that lifestyle, go for it. I just didn’t have it in me, but that’s OK.
I applaud those who answer these types of questions honestly. After all, I believe that the younger ones who ask these questions want honest answers as to what they have in store. What they don’t want is old people trying to prove they’re doing great and that they’ve still got it, without offering any balancing disclosures.
I get irritated with people who answer these questions with only a list of all the great things they’re still able to do. They sky-dive, hike, kayak blah blah blah. They so desperately seem to want to come across like they’re still twenty. THEY ARE NOT. And the men nearly always have to show off about how they’re still sexually active (failing to mention they need boatloads of viagra to do it.) And no offence, but NOBODY wants to picture old people still at it.
Now some of these people are flat-out lying, and some are being honest. But, my irritation isn’t because some are truthfully still active and fit; it’s because, whilst crowing about their experience of older age, they’re leaving out the shitty parts of ageing.
It’s perfectly okay to admit that despite still being fit enough to kayak, and despite being generally content and more enlightened, you’re also struggling with physical issues, fears, societal prejudices, or sadness.
You’re struggling with friends who have cancer or have already passed.
You’re struggling with your own mortality.
You’re struggling with the knowledge that you’ll soon enough be of no real use to your children anymore.
You’re struggling with the saggy stranger you see in the mirror.
You’re becoming more invisible to the public at large.
You’re struggling with lessons learned too late in life.
You’re struggling with questions like ‘What the fuck was all that about?’
You’re struggling with dodgy knees, age spots and overall deterioration.
You’re struggling with energy levels and motivation (not all the time, but certainly some of the time.)
At times, you’re struggling with boredom; not every old person is sky-diving 24/7.
Your memory is not what it used to be.
Weight (for many) cannot be managed, no matter what.
The absolute worst part is losing friends and relatives along the way. Your social circle becomes smaller and smaller.
Then you have widows and widowers who have to grapple with a whole new way of life at their age after having relied on another person for decades.
It unnerves me that so many people are so hell-bent on proving something rather than sharing the reality, inevitability, vulnerability and, even the beauty, of life’s cycle. That you know your time is gradually coming to a form of decline and close, despite the fact that you might still be able to kayak.
There’s just something very self-congratulatory about those proclamations. Something which I imagine makes certain other older people feel like they’re failing or not doing enough, and that also sets young people up for thinking that ageing is one big picnic.
It’s okay to still be enjoying your life at whatever age without portraying ageing as a hunky dory affair. It isn’t. On some fronts, it’s way, way better, but on other fronts, it positively stinks. (Just as I imagine most teens would describe their teenage years.)
It was in the military boot camp. Finnish military is based on conscription; it is colloquially called as “penis tax”. It means if you are a boy, you have to serve in the military on pain of imprisonment. Girls may volunteer, and I volunteered.
Draft dodging is made almost impossible in Finland, which means the military gets almost the whole cohort to service (except those who are exempted for health reasons or who chose civilian service instead). It is a genuine cross-section of the whole society – which mean that the military does not get only the best of the boys to rank and file, but also the worst.
It means you have to serve with people you would attempt to avoid at any price in civilian life; bullies, thieves, blue falcons, pranksters, antisocial cases, substance abusers, weakly talented etc. And then there are always those, who have an intention to make other people’s time miserable.
We girls slept in a separate dorm, but practised with boys. And unfortunately there was such Arschloch in our company. He especially picked on us girls (as we all were volunteer), and especially me.
In the end his picking, teasing, harassing and pushing my button went far enough. My service motivation was already on the rock bottom, and to say, he had harassed me to corner.
I didn’t care anymore if I lived or died. I just wanted it to end.
Puukko, the Finnish knife, is the only civilian item along the eyeglasses which can be carried while in uniform. It doubles as a sidearm and Every Finn has one, and getting one’s first puukko is a kind of coming to age ceremony for boys and girls. So I drew mine. He drew his.
We were now staring each other, with drawn knives, ready to strike and fight to death. I was ready to kill. I did not care anymore. He stared me with expressionless gaze. It was as if his eyes had been bottomless wells. I could sense no emotion.
Then the drill corporals came. They separated us, and I got yelled upon and roasted for good.
Yet military is a strange place. It works on its own rules. In civilian life, this would have been either an illegal threatening or an attempted manslaughter, and prison would have ensued. But nothing ensued; we were told to get shut up and not to say a word on what had happened. The noncoms did not want any troubles and fuss. It was as if they wanted to sweep everything under the carpet. This is understandable as the materiél is heterogeneous: internal squabbles and quarreling happens almost daily. Everyone was aware I had been pushed and picked on, and they realized it was a primitive reaction.
Strangely, I was left alone after that. Nobody picked on me anymore. But it was the absolute nadir of my military time.
Not only they are offered food, but also Polish families accept them in our homes (in fact I did too), and get everything free until they find a job or decide to leave. In fact, just today NGO’s helping Ukrainians stopped taking gifts. Their warehouses are full, there is more help than people that need it for now. (PS – Poles reading this – seriously, look at the FB groups what is needed, because there is more stuff that they need, and there are some things we lack. For example pampers’s and other baby and toddler stuff, as well as school utensils. But not everywhere, not in every city, watch your own, don’t just throw in gifts, volunteers are already overwhelmed with that kindness, nobody expected it will be so much)
Four main reasons: 1. For several hundred years we were one country:
image 94
(that red part) We accept our families and relatives, that is normal. We see them as our kin.
2. Belarus president Lukashenko admitted that he deliberately flew Middle Eastern and African immigrants to our border in order to wage hybrid war against us, and use them as weapons. And Belarus is now a combatant country against Ukraine side by side with Russia. We don’t negotiate with terrorists like this man, neither we bow to such threats. So against as he called it “war” declared, we stood an army on the border. Pretty normal thing to do with somebody threatening you with war, isn’t it?
3. We strongly believe that a war refugee should stay in the first safe country. For Ukraine we are the first safe country.
4. In our culture, it is expected for men to fight the war, or rebuild their country. Not to flee. And from Ukraine, we receive women and children. Not 80% males in military age. Those, in Ukraine, stay and fight. They are not let our by Ukrainian forces anyway.
No matter if someone finds those reasons valid or not, those are them.
As someone who hails from a culture where people typically their outdoor shoes before entering a home/temple/office/etc., I can only share my experience from that end of the spectrum.
The answer is simple and practical – we don’t want to track in dirt, mud, and the one billion other stuff that you can’t really see with the naked eye into our homes/temples/offices/etc.
For myself, I’m closer to the extreme end of the spectrum.
When I come home, not only do I remove my outdoor shoes and slip into my “indoor slippers” before stepping into my home, but I then go and change into my “indoor clothes” as well, before doing anything else.
Seeing people immediately plop onto their beds, still in their “outdoor clothes”, after arriving home makes me uncomfortable.
I also have an area in my apartment for setting aside “stuff I take outdoors but bring home”. Like the bag I bring to work, and all the coats, clothes, I wear to work – they all get neatly placed in this area before I go change into my “indoor clothes”.
And this is not just at home.
Although not all work places have an “outdoor shoes off” policy, the game studio I work at does.
And it is strictly enforced – if you have a “brain fart moment” and forget to take off your outdoor shoes before stepping into the studio proper, you’ll have quite a few people springing out of nowhere, breathing heavily down your neck, who will smile and politely point out that you’ve violated the rules of the inner sanctum and would you please go and take your outside shoes off and use the mop to wipe that part of the floor that you’ve stepped on with your outside shoes.
There’s even been talk of implementing a demerit point system to cut down on colleagues who have these “brain fart moments” – although I think it’s unlikely, as I’ve seen it happen only twice so far this year, and usually both times the guilty party was deep in thought about something work related (which makes the transgression somewhat forgivable…) .
It applies to everyone.
Doesn’t matter whether you’re the Director himself, a Lead, a Junior, an Intern, an External Freelancer, a Client, or the Cleaning Lady – everyone takes off their shoes before stepping into the studio proper.
That’s why we have a “take your outdoor shoes off here” entrance area right after you enter the main door.
You immediately take off your outdoor shoes and put it into one of the four tall shoe cupboards located to the side of the main door.
image 93
We also have a couple of these “shoe benches” in this entrance area. These are for people who need something to sit on while taking off / putting on their socks and shoes.
These “shoe benches” are also where we place our “inside slippers”.
It’s convenient – once we take off our “outside shoes” on one of these “shoe benches”, we can immediately reach for and slip into our “inside slippers” before then placing our “outside shoes” into the shoe cupboard.
image 92
We also have a few areas around the studio where there’s a low floor table with floor cushions to sit on.
These areas are used for group discussions, brainstorming sessions, tea-drinking sessions, I-just-need-to-take-a-short-break sessions, I-just-need-a-20-minute-nap sessions, etc
My favorite one is the one where it’s practically an indoor garden and we’ve outfitted the place to make it look like you’re inside a gazebo, with tea cups and tea pots on a side table.
Knowing that no one has tracked in dirt, mud, and the one billion other stuff that you can’t really see with the naked eye into the studio allows me to sit in these areas and enjoy my morning/afternoon tea with peace of mind.
Might not qualify as the weirdest flex but certainly one of the most bad ass.
Kerry Packer was Australia’s richest man worth around 8 billion some 20 years ago. His gambling feats were legendary. He would often go to casinos and win or lose 10 million plus in one sitting. One time he won $26 million playing 6 hands of blackjack at $200,000 each. That’s $1.2 million per hand.
On top of that, whilst some of these may not be 100% accurate (Urban legends can get twisted over time) they all have some element of truth.
He’s been known to tip croupiers and waitresses 100s of 1000s of dollars and paying off their mortgages. Once he accidentally tipped a waitresses tray and apologised and arranged to pay her $100,000+ mortgage. Another time a dealer was offered an $80,000 tip by Packer but respectfully declined, informing him dealers are not allowed to accept gratuities. Packer called over the Pit Boss and demanded the dealer be sacked on the spot. The Pit Boss fired her. Packer then pushed forward the $80,000 worth of chips before demanding the Pit Boss re-hire her.
But then came the Texan oil tycoon coin flip…
Packer was playing every box at a blackjack table and not allowing anyone else to play or back bet at the table. This was a common practice by Packer and indeed a lot of big gamblers. But one time there was a braggart Texan oil baron throwing his weight around, complaining and telling all and sundry he was a big deal. He’s rich, he doesn’t have to wait for a table and who was this buffoon hogging it…Packer doesn’t walk around telling everyone how good he is and he doesn’t like people who do…
So Packer swivels around in his seat only for the Texan to double down, pointing his finger at the face of Packer and yelling some choice words finishing with, “I’m worth $100 million!” Packer slowly leans back in his chair, pulls a coin out of his pocket, stares at the Texan and calmly says, “So you want to gamble hey? I’ll flip you for it.” He was serious.
As the Texan quietly slunk away into the shadows, Kerry turned back to the table and continued like nothing had happened.
Bad ass…
Cabbage Patch Stew
84774cfdd5416aacc5f661f3dbf51227
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat – beef, turkey, venison
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
Bisquick dumplings
Instructions
Cook and stir ground meat in Dutch oven until browned. Drain.
Add onions, cabbage and celery. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are light brown.
Stir in tomatoes, and kidney beans (with liquid), water, salt, pepper and chili powder. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until cabbage is tender.
Meanwhile, prepare Bisquick dumplings. Drop by spoonsful into boiling stew. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
I picked up the phone (old school landline back in the day) and heard an angry voice say, “Where’s my money?” Since hanging up would only have convinced the caller that I was indeed the object of his rage, I stayed on the line and had what was for me an amusing conversation.
“You have the wrong number,” I said.
“What are you trying to pull?” he said. “You owe me $600.”
Further questioning revealed my interrogator was a drug dealer, had fronted an acquaintance a considerable amount of money, and was trying to collect with the (incorrect) phone number he’d been given. He just wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I know where you live,” he threatened. “I’ll come over there and kill you “
“Do it,” I said. “Since I’m not who you think I am, it’s no skin off my teeth.”
The conversation went on, I was unfailingly polite the whole time, I eventually excused myself and hung up, and he called back and tried again. Finally I said, “Look, man, your friend cheated you. I hope you find him, but I’m not your man.”
“Yeah, thanks anyway,” he said in a dejected voice and hung up.
I’m gonna have to say Charlie Sheen takes this award.
He was making tens of millions of dollars each year with his Sitcom, Two & Half men.
In the acting world, sitcoms are the best gigs.
The acting demands are super easy. The scripts are cookie cutter. After a few laps around the track, you learn to crank these episodes out one after another.
You come in, you shoot, boom you are done. They shoot entire seasons over a few weeks sometimes.
But he started in with the cocaine and we all know what happened next:
image 90
And what stinks (for Charlie) is that, around this time, he had gone through a divorce and judges issued alimony/child-support payments based on his current income.
He was paying his ex-wife Brooke Mueller $55,000 a month in child support AND his ex-wife Denise Richards $50,000 a month.
His income instantly ceased when he was on TV, going on these crazy tirades that were funny in the moment but catastrophic to his career.
What producers wants to work with a liability like that? Who wants to be publicly targeted by one of your own actors?
Combine his alimony/child-support payments, his drug habit, and preference for high end prostitutes.
And you have a dead career, HIV and a quickly depleting bank account.
I remember when I had one ten year old in my class, and we were oil and water to each other. One day I chastised her for swearing in class and she told me that she was going to get me back and I’d be sorry (presumably for scolding somebody as important as she was). The next day, my colleague, a teacher who was senior to me, came to me to tell me the student had complained I’d hit her. When I told him that it was a complete fabrication on her part, he told me, and I quote, “Well, she wouldn’t lie.”
I told him that I was offended, since the clear inference was that he believed I was lying. And I resented the implication that I was a liar who would abuse a child.
I was very relieved when she moved to his class the next year and decided she didn’t like him anymore than she had liked me and began to spread stories about him. When he complained about her in the staff room, I looked him in the eye and said, “Well, she wouldn’t lie.”
In Boston in the early 1700s Cotton Mather introduced variolation for the treatment and prevention of Smallpox. In those days, Boston was a town (it didn’t become a city until 1822) of about 4000 people. Every year AT LEAST 30 percent of the population came down with Smallpox, a virulent disease which disfigured the survivors, turned their teeth black, and caused them enormous pain. In a town with only 4000 people where everyone literally depended on everyone else, having 1200 people laid up meant that at least another 1000 had to be caring for them – or digging graves.
And then came the miracle of variolation. For the first time the possibility of ending this horrible scourge was REAL. It was no longer necessary to organize long and tedious and useless prayer vigils. There was science and medicine that had a REAL IMPACT and saved many people from the hideousness or scars and rotten teeth or worse, death.
Do you think the citizens were excited about this? NO THEY WERE NOT. They tried to kill Mather; they tried to burn down his house. They tried to kidnap his children because they were innoculated and therefore “impure”. You see, catching a horrible disease and becoming scarred and even dying at the age of six month was GOD’S WILL. If GOD wants you to get sick, who are YOU to interfere with his plan? Those people were the worst kinds of hypocrites. They wanted to do whatever they wanted if they weren’t caught or “seen by God” (such as the city Father offering to commute Mary Dyer’s death sentence if she slept with him. She didn’t and she swung.) but other than that they have to “virtue signal” that God was in charge and therefore YOUR CHILD had to suffer and die from Smallpox (especially if mine did last year).
The people in Texas are largely brainwashed by religious morons who fly big jets paid for by the suckers who are willing to fight to let any number of women and children die in childbirth or otherwise because a Rolex-wearing priest told them it was GOD’S WILL and we are not to interfere with it (while those same pastors get plastic surgery and drive Bentleys)
Eventually, the people of Boston woke up to the benefits of variolation and inoculation and many of the people throwing bricks through the windows of Mather’s house during the day suddenly showed up at midnight with their children and begged for the scratch that would change their lives for the better, the same way that Republicans fly to Massachusetts from Texas when they need an abortion or real medical treatment but put their boot on the neck of the poor and force them to die or give birth to a rapist’s child. Ken Paxton is absolutely no different from the Magistrate who tried to extort sex from Mary Dyer – then hanged her when she refused.
China has set up special financial facilities for Iranian accounts that are immune to us Treasury sanctions, because the entire payment mechanism is independent of the US dollar.
In other words, the US cannot threaten hegemonic destruction, unless they are willing to attack key nodes in the Chinese financial system.
Besides, the US is ALREADY sanctioning both Iran and China. Iran’s sanctions approach that of an embargo while China has been busy fending off America’s “maximum pressure” strategy that includes illegal tariffs, the closure of a consulate, a genocide determination, the removal of Hong Kong’s special status, the economic slaughter of Huawei and other Chinese companies, and many, many more direct and indirect acts of malice.
China must have thought since we’re already under maximum pressure, what China does or doesn’t do no longer matters because America can always pin something on us.
With or without Iran, America will bring it on and up the pressure game.
What we don’t know is when the Chinese will start baring teeth and attack instead of parry.
My younger self is a guy who never took anything seriously in life, who never studied in the least, who was happy with a pass mark in most exams and was happy go lucky
I would pick the books, visit a friend named Sairam who was what you would call a Nerd on the LAST DAY and study from the beginning and get a 45–50 mark score without understanding too much
My 21–22 year old self went to a Grindlays bank interview, couldn’t answer a SINGLE QUESTION put to me on world affairs or anything else
I was literally like Santhanam in Vaalu
Total Humiliation
image 89
My rebirth was after this interview
My second innings began after this
Reading books in English, Dickens, Forsyth, Le Carre
Membership of British Council and reading books on History and Geography
Learning Economics in evening classes while working in the morning
It was a wake up call
Without that interview, I would have ended up definitely in a place where I simply wouldn’t even know what Quora is
The British government may want to attract Hong Kongers for financial reasons. The British public may be less welcoming.
I think a large percentage of immigrants are experiencing dissonance between what they expected and what they are experiencing. Many are unemployed or underemployed because of language and education/skill incompatibilities. There will be culture shock, feelings of alienation, depression, family problems, financial issues, etc.
Whether they want to (or can) come back to Hong Kong is debatable. Some sources say many do not plan to, despite the problems they are having. If they left because of anti-China/anti-government sentiments, then they cannot reconcile themselves to return. If they were involved in the 2019 riots, they may fear arrest (or “persecution” from their point of view). But more likely, if they sold their property in Hong Kong, they cannot afford to start over.
The immigrants are only in UK on a five-year visa, after which they can apply for settlement and citizenship. I suspect that a lot of them will find that citizenship is not forthcoming. What happens then? Do their visas get renewed or do they have to leave? If they have to leave, where can they go?
My husband saw a woman at the dry cleaners who was acting very badly. Rude, entitled, aggressive – nearly spitting her words – the customers behind her were visibly uncomfortable, eyes lowered, feet shifting. It was one of those cases where you cringe inwardly for the employee being berated unfairly. Even if she was having a very bad day, this was – in my husband’s words – “…way over the top.”
She then made the great mistake of believing that she had supporters among fellow customers. In a plea for crowd support, randomly turning toward my husband, she said: “You agree with what I’m saying, don’t you?” Sadly for her, my husband had witnessed the conversation from start to finish.
“No, ma’am. I heard it all, and, I don’t agree with what you’ve said or how badly you’ve acted. First, you treated this store employee with blatant disrespect while he is trying to assist you. Second, you’ve inconvenienced other customers waiting for your tantrum to subside. Third, I am a small business owner, and if you acted like this in my business you would be asked to leave. You need to get ahold of yourself, and you owe this man (the store employee) an apology.” The woman then spun on her heel and walked out – and my husband was met with applause from other customers and a look of sheer relief from the store employee.
I honestly cannot stand it when I see a store employee being verbally abused. Cheers to my spouse for being a stand-up guy!
I have a relative who has never been outside her comfort zone. She’s in her 70’s and lived with her parents until they died, and then continued living in the same house she inherited. She never leaves her home village, and doesn’t have a passport or a Driving License. She’s never left the UK. I doubt if she’s ever left England. She’s never had a romantic relationship and obviously never been married.
She’s remarkably unambitious and satisfied. She is very sweet and quite eccentric, and lives surrounded by toy owls and cats. She complains about her health issues, but she’s quite positive generally. She used to do the hairdressing at a local old peoples home, but lives off the state pension now. She’s poor but perfectly happy.
I’d say that living a happy life is for her a good thing that has come out of staying in her comfort zone. We aren’t all the same.
When I was quite young, perhaps three years old, I went out for a walk with my father. And thus, together… hand in hand… we walked down the street in our housing complex in Bridgeport, CT. It was a nice Saturday. Blue sky. Sunny, but cool.
And as we walked down the street we came across a curious sight.
There was this old man in a blue jacket playing a wind-up musical device of some type, and a monkey on a really long leash….
organ grinder monkey
This guy was just strolling along and the monkey was going p to people. If we gave the monkey some change, he would take it and carry it off to the guy playing the music. A simple and nice cute distraction.
My father gave me a few coins and I gave them to the monkey. He crawled up onto me, took the money, raised his tiny hat off his head and then ran to the guy with the music box, and gave it to him. And then the guys started the wind-up music all over again.
This was my once and only experience with such a troubadour. And, I had long forgotten about it.
But … when I was going through “retirement” I ended up with complete memory recall, and thus had memories regarding this singular event.
Treasure the valuable memories that you have. They might take you to places long forgotten, and seemingly trivial in importance….
I believe it was Sir Richard Branson who did what he called the “Restaurant Test.” Part of his interview process was an “informal” interview at a restaurant. What the prospective employee didn’t know is that Sir Richard had already notified the restaurant that he was coming with a potential employee and to screw up their order, nothing major like giving meat to a vegan but if they ordered their steak medium rare, the chef would cook it well done.
Richard would then see how the other person reacted. If he was polite then it was onto the next phase of the interview, if they were rude he would finish his meal and that person would not be considered for the job
My wife and I agreed early on that whoever could draw the largest salary would work while the other was stay-at-home parent. Unfortunately I went to work (would have loved to be the stay at home dad.) Our deal included that after a 30 minute decompress and wash up after arriving home, our daughter was 100% my responsibility through bedtime. My wife got up in the night with her during the week, and I took the weekend shift. We tag teamed the weekend hours, but I took most of the time. My happiest memories were coming home and getting my baby to hold, feed, and change. Later it was seeing her standing at the door or front window waiting for me. She’s 50 now and remembers being swooped up and burying her face in my fur lined coat collar in the winter.
NO stress could survive the love of a dad and daughter.
“Grandma said she’ll give me a gift if I let her shampoo my hair,” he tells me the other day.
I can see how torn and conflicted he looks.
My son’s a swashbuckling, bug-hunting pirate.
You’d have an easier time getting a stray cat to take a shower.
“I hear you,” I reply, making sure she’s out of earshot. “My take?” he leans in. “If she wants to give you a gift, she should just do it. No strings attached.”
He nods and we exchange conspiratorial smiles.
“You’ve got to rein in that wayward son of yours,” she tells me after a botched shower attempt.
But I won’t.
Of course, I’m always encouraging him to be kind, respectful, and thoughtful with others.
But I won’t use the stick or the carrot.
Because when he’s older and someone hands him a rifle telling him who the enemy is, I want him to do his own thinking.
Because when he’s older and someone offers him a pill and tells him he’ll have the best time of his life, I want him to question.
Because when he’s older and someone offers him a quick reward in exchange for giving up his values, I want him to stand his ground.
That was the excuse I got during the last week of school when a project was due in my 7th grade reading class.
My students were told that the book we had just read, The Call of the Wild, was going to be made into a major motion picture, and they were to create a movie poster to persuade people to see the show.
The posters were to be judged by other students and staff, and the winner would be awarded a prize. The competition was intense!
Every student had a finished poster except Shane (not his real name). I wasn’t totally surprised, as Shane had been late with assignments in the past, but the excuse was pretty shocking.
“So, Shane,” I began, “when I call your dad, will he be able to verify that your project did, in fact, catch on fire?” I was ready for him to change his story, but he didn’t!
“Yes,” he replied, “and he’s really mad at me because it burned a hole in the living room carpet, so now I’m grounded.”
“Hmm, he’s good”, I thought, “validating his story with details…this should be interesting.”
Later, I called Shane’s dad, and sure enough, Shane was telling the truth! His dad explained that his son had used so much white-out on his project, that when he held a lighter to the poster board (to singe the edges and make it look old) the entire thing exploded into a fire ball, fell to the floor and burned a big hole in his living room floor.
“Wow, Shane! I was a bit skeptical, but your story checks out. I’ll give you until tomorrow to create a new poster. Your idea to make your poster look old is most impressive (as the story took place over 100 years ago) but DON’T burn the edges this time!”
The next day, Shane proudly walked into the class. I eagerly looked for a poster, figuring he’d be carrying it, but it was nowhere in sight.
“Shane, did you finish you new poster?” I asked.
“Yep, I sure did.”
“Where is it?”
“Right here.” and he gave me a crumpled ball of cardboard. “Open it up, you’re going to love it!”
I did the best I could to smooth out the wrinkled mess. Sure enough, there was a movie poster advertising The Call of the Wild.
“It looks great, but why did you wad it up into a ball?”
“To make it look old.” he said as if I should have already known.
Shane didn’t win the contest, he remained grounded 2 weeks, and that summer he had to get a job mowing lawns to pay for the damaged carpet.
I recently saw Shane at the state fair. He’s engaged and works as an auto mechanic. He remembers the poster project vividly and said everything worked out pretty well. They ended up getting the entire apartment re-carpeted for free and Shane got to keep his lawn mowing money.
Galatoire’s Crabmeat Yvonne
jacques pepin oysters rockefeller recipe 1024×694 1
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
6 artichokes
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup clarified butter
2 pounds backfin lump crabmeat
Salt and ground white pepper
1/4 cup parsley, chopped fine
6 lemon wedges
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Cut stem from artichokes flush with the base and boil artichokes for 45 minutes, or until a leaf pulls off easily.
Remove from pot, drain and let cool.
Pull off leaves and reserve for another purpose. Remove choke and slice the bottoms. Set aside.
In a large skillet sauté mushrooms in clarified butter.
Add reserved artichoke bottoms and crabmeat. Heat through, stirring gently.
Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley.
Serve on toast points with a lemon wedge on the side.
Attribution
Source: Galatoire’s, New Orleans, Louisiana. Gulf Coast Cooking
Twenty years ago, a friend called me in a panic. She was on the backside of a bad divorce, she had a three year old daughter, and she’d just been told she couldn’t continue to live where she was. The little girl was with her father that weekend, but my friend was at a neighborhood restaurant with no money and no idea what to do next. I told her to come over, got her something to eat and settled her on the sofa because she hadn’t slept in something over 24 hours and told her that we’d figure out what to do next when she woke up. Ultimately we moved her and her daughter into our guest room.
About three weeks later, she introduced us to a young woman who was pregnant and not in a position to raise a child. (She was married. That wasn’t the issue.) Sitting at our dining room table, having just met us and not knowing much more than that we’d taken in our mutual friend, she asked my husband and me if we would adopt the baby. We’d fought infertility for a long time. We said yes. She talked to her husband, and the whole thing was agreed on by the following morning. About seven months later, I was her birth coach and had the incredible privilege of catching my own son.
He’s nineteen now. We have him because we let a friend in a tough spot move in with us.
Mine was in the Air Force. I had a racist for an immediate supervisor who always gave me average ratings on my performance. I didn’t realize how bad I was getting screwed until one of my counterparts (who was a total screw up) was shocked that he higher ratings than myself. A “3” is considered average (which I was getting on my reviews). This “screwup” was getting 5’s which is the highest score. I was thinking “how the HECK did he get a 5??” This dude missed time, came to work drunk, was reprimanded for fights….been to jail….etc. my record was SPOTLESS. Always the first on the job and the last to leave. Kept my uniform super clean. So I realized that I’m working twice as hard as this other dude and getting a much lower score.
This was in the 1990’s. I overheard a conversation with my racist supervisor one day about what he wanted to be when he leave the military. He stated that he wanted to be a highway patrol officer “so that he can legally hit minorities”. He always made crude jokes about Mexicans and blacks. As an African American myself I hated this dude’s guts. His leadership skills were the worst. I hated every day of working with him.
One day it was his last day of work. The shop was going to throw a going away party for this racist pig. There was an option to donate $10.00 to the potluck to participate in the party or miss out and work. I chose to work. I’m not donating a DIME to this dude’s going away party.
After he gracefully disappeared from the job I thought that would be the last I’ve heard of him. NOPE! I was wrong. Found out later that he did apply for the state highway patrol position.
The timing on this particular day couldn’t have been more perfect. Two men from the highway patrol were visiting our unit and I happened to be the ONLY person there. They asked me “who’s in charge?” Well, I’m the only airman in the shop so I was actually in charge. I asked them what’s going on? They told me that they are doing a follow up on a gentleman who applied for highway patrol who used to work at this unit. I told them I have detailed files on this person. What made this even better was the fact that one highway patrol officer was black, the other was Hispanic. I was so nervous in hopes that our main supervisor didn’t show up because he would give this guy a decent feedback. I wanted them to hear the DARK side of this scumbag.
I told them that he was a decent worker at best but here are some documents I wanted to share. Luckily I kept my old floppy disk handy with all of the stuff I wrote to the higher chain of command about this racist pos. The statements had dates and times I written down of his racist comments over the years. Too many to write in this essay. But let’s just say it was two pages worth (front and back).
The look of disgust was very apparent on their faces. One of them asked me “people like him still exist in the military?” I replied “shockingly, yes”. They asked me, “did you ever want to knock this dude the F- -K out?” (Many Times I did).
To make a long story short, months went by and I didn’t hear anything. Then one day I overheard a conversation about my former supervisor being turned down for his highway patrol job and was working at a Wal-Mart as a warehouse worker. In all honesty, I take GREAT pleasure in feeling that my sneaky swift actions were the reason.
I certainly wouldn’t laugh if a student of mine told me that – so have no idea why your professor did. But I wouldn’t give it much weight, either. And I’d wonder why the student told me. Would they tell me how tall they were? Or what color hair they had?
If eligibility to be in Mensa requires one to be in the top 2% (or something) of people who take IQ tests, that is a nice capability to have. But what percentage of university professors are likely to also be eligible if that’s the requirement – plus have become academically very accomplished in their field of study? I have no idea what my IQ is, it’s never been tested as far as I know – nor has it ever mattered to me. It is likely higher than some – and not nearly as high as others, both professors and students I have known in my well over half-century at a university (if you include my student years). It’s a place that tends to collect very bright articulate people.
So if a student of mine told me they were in Mensa, I’d probably ask them about it, what they did as a member of Mensa, etc., just as I would if they told me they were in an orchestra or worked for a charity or played on the soccer team or something. That is, it is information about that student and it might be interesting, but what does it change? I would expect that person’s intelligence to show in their love of learning, the questions they ask, the connections they make, etc. And all of that intellectual capability would be obvious even it they were not a member of Mensa.
I went to McDonald’s and went inside to place a to go order. While I was standing there, the manager walked up to me and handed me an empty French fry box. This was during the time that McDonald’s was doing the Monopoly game. The game piece on the fry box was already partially open. I peeled it the rest of the way back and it said it was a $2000 winner. I really needed the money for college at that point in my life. I thanked the manager profusely. She said that it had been inadvertently opened by a worker. She saw me standing there with my young daughter and thought that I looked like I could use some cheering up. Best trip to McDonald’s ever!
It seems the Dutch Government has forbidden ASML to sell EUVs to SMIC from 1/9/23
Yet orders placed until 23:59 on 31/8/23 can be shipped and fulfilled.
So technically ASML can ship orders to SMIC upto the time the last order placed on 31/8/23 is fulfilled
That’s for 21 EUV Machines & 50 DUV Machines
In September, ASML has delivered 4 EUV Machines & 17 DUV Machines
Meanwhile there is another legal complication
SMIC has now introduced a Distributor company who can buy EUVs from ASML and simply sell them to SMIC for a 10% commission (10% is just an example)
Now the Dutch order said only SMIC was forbidden from receiving ASML EUVs so ASML has also accepted 8 more orders for EUVs from this distributor
Technically Dutch Govt cannot specifically forbid ASML from selling to China as a whole as that is a major WTO violation
So they can only blacklist importers
So China can keep bringing up new distributors and placing orders and ASML is happy because TSMC has cancelled 24 Machines recently and i am sure China offered full price for the machines
Ultimately MONEY TALKS
Once again the US is furious but again it’s all about the legalese now
SMIC is forbidden so an agency buys and sells to SMIC
The Dutch look the other way of course
ASML is delighted because they sell more machines
My guess is this new agency will be blacklisted soon and they will incorporate more laws to prevent such measures
Yet that gets China another 8 machines plus a further 24 machines which I bet China will place as they are already in process
This means SMIC technically can make 7 nm and 5 nm Chips in decent quantities at least till 2026/2027
By then they should crack some breakthrough
So China has gained TIME and the Dutch have put business ahead of stupidity
Just like NVDIA and Intel just sold products to China which were slightly off the specs in huge numbers
He was working on a HUGE problem that took up the entire white board. The students were doing their best to follow the problem in their notes and in their minds. Suddenly he stopped, turned to look at us, turned red with embarrassment and realized that he got confused and lost in the problem. A student in the front row gently guided him to finish.
Instead of brushing this off he used this as an amazing teachable moment.
Here is what he did:
He asked us if we thought he was stupid. We collectively said “no.”
He then said that he was not a “melon head” and neither were we.
The lesson: He explained about the fight or flight syndrome and said that once he got momentarily confused, instead of going back to the place in the problem where he understood, he got nervous because he was in front of us, got into the fight or flight syndrome, produced adrenaline and got so stressed that he could no longer think. He then drew a picture on the board of a human brain, showed the reptilian part of our brain and the frontal lobes and explained that when we get too stressed we go to our reptilian brain and we need to return to our frontal lobe thinking. He gave us concrete strategies for exactly how to do this. (Breathe slowly, go back to a place where we last understood and start over). This lesson was SO impactful to me that I began to study the brain more and more and then I taught this to all of my students.
Final Thought: Even though my professor was teaching Calculus, his off-topic lesson was one of the best I ever had. He turned an embarrassing moment into an incredibly helpful life lesson.
This lesson was so important to me that I included the story as one of the chapters in my teacher support book, “Wait, Don’t Quit.”
I passed a great little convertible parked in front of a business with a “For Sale” sign and stopped to go look at it because I was considering a fun weekend car. It turned out the owner of the business was a past customer of mine, I had done work on his home. Two days later it was mine.
In the process of fixing every little thing and customizing it, I decided to pull out most of the interior to really clean it. Tucked in where the carpet overlapped, under the driver’s seat, was a gold ring with a small diamond. I wasn’t sure if it was real so I asked a friend at a nearby jewelry store. They confirmed it was real 18k and about ⅛ carat real diamond.
I called my friend who sold me the car. He checked with his wife and it wasn’t hers. I asked if they knew the previous owner but she had sold them the car before moving overseas and they lost track of her info. There must have been a clean title at some point because she wasn’t listed.
I doubt it was a wedding ring because it was so small, in fact the only finger it would fit was my mother in law’s pinky. She liked it so I let her keep it.
Battle with highest total losses:Battle of Vercellae
In 113 BC a large Germanic-Celtic coalition begins poking around Rome. They crush a Roman army and send the Romans into a panic. This army is 200,000 men strong- how can Rome compete.
Into this steps Marius, Uncle of Caesar. Marius was the most well-known general of his age and he set about reforming the Roman military with rapid speed, creating the more traditional Roman Legions we all know and love.
As this massive Army began to move for Italy Marius responded with his reformed Legions. What followed was a massive all-out clash where Roman discipline held back a far larger army. The turning point came when a commander named Sula counter-charged the Celtic cavalry and sent them fleeing into their own lines.
In all Plutarch reports 100,000 were killed, Livy reports 160,000, and Orosius reports 140,000 were killed.
Battle with highest Roman casualties: Cannae
Hannibal had invaded Italy and Rome responded by raising the largest Army in it’s history- some 90,000 men strong. The Romans used this Army to attack Hannibal, driving their strong heavy infantry forward in an effort to break Hannibal’s lines.
Hannibal had cleverly made his flanks strong and so as his center bowed inwards his flanks did not. This created a big “U” shape and the Romans found themselves being pressed from all sides. Then Hannibal’s cavalry came around the rear and surrounded the entire Roman Army. They then pressed in and killed perhaps 50,000 Romans.
I have to say, a number of answers to this question are appalling. What is most troubling is that many of the worst and most shaming of these responses are from supposed clinicians themselves. I am deeply bothered by this.
Is it normal, or lets say understandable, that you would feel distrustful and off about your therapist shutting down your queries about the nature of your relationship with them? Yep, sounds downright logical to me. When we feel distrustful it is because we feel unsafe in some way. You therapist refusing to engage with you around the experience of the inherent lop-sided-ness of the therapy relationship is problematic.
What you are experiencing is incredibly common, if not inevitable. I would dare say anyone who has remained in therapy for more than a few sessions with a therapist will wrestle with the freedoms and constraints afforded within a psychotherapy. For many this remains a constant felt tension throughout their therapy. It is an important aspect of therapy as exploring the tensions, dissatisfaction, unfairness, longings etc…with our therapists directly reveals our deepest needs and wants. Talking about the bounds of the therapy is the most fruitful of topics, a talented therapist would happily (if not giddily) help you to explore your distrust, or any other experience you may be having about being in therapy.
The issue isn’t whether it is right or wrong for a therapist to reveal anything about their private-selves (some do, some don’t). The issue here is that this subject has come up more than once in your therapy and you are clearly completely confused about it. Your therapist has missed a golden opportunity to open up a discussion about relationships.
It would seem according to some of these answers your therapist is not alone in completely missing the proverbial elephant, or neon sign, in the room.
On my first day working at Domino’s Pizza, I was introduced to all the workers. One of the delivery drivers was a guy in his 70s whom we’ll call Morgan. He looked at me and said, “I’d ask you out, but I guess you don’t date people your grandfather’s age.” Keep in mind that I was 17 at this point; this was my first “real job.” Since I’d been homeschooled, I wasn’t well-versed in social norms, but this statement gave me the creeps. When I went home that evening, I discussed it wiith my mom, who said he was most likely teasing.
Morgan kept chatting with me, and I came to know him as a very friendly person. However, a couple of months later (I worked there from halfway through summer break until Thanksgiving, when I got a better job), I was eating a piece of leftover pizza and he grabbed my shoulders, trying to take a bite out of my pizza. I warned him not to do it again, or I’d elbow him. He talked for weeks about how “M.J. has pointy elbows,” so nobody get on her bad side.
I was never comfortable around him from that time on. He kept making comments that made me less comfortable. One day, he said, “You’re going to make a wonderful wife and mother someday.” Finally, I brought it up with my parents again. When I mentioned that he’d given me his business card so I could “use him as a professional reference,” they realized what was going on.
My dad called the manager, who was the best guy ever with six kids of his own and decided to let my dad (a tough-as-nails, Glock-carrying Italian gym rat in cowboy boots) do whatever he thought was best. I gave my dad Morgan’s schedule, and the two of them had a nice chat out in the parking lot. Morgan said about five words to me the entire rest of the time I worked there. It was glorious.
I used to work for an EXTREMELY reclusive billionaire (for further reference in the answer he will be called Greg) as a personal aide. Many things that I have seen and been a part of during my fantastic service with (for?) him are covered by legal documents that demand non disclosure from me. However, there are still some things that can be shared.
The word extremely is in all caps because only one or two pictures of him have ever been publicly published, and he has never given a personal statement. He maintained a zero social media presence, and would always grumble about the dependency of modern society on rapidly changing technology. His family and him always maintained a low profile, choosing to utilise public transport if they could (however, they had extensive means of transportation and if he felt even the slightest inkling of a threat they would use another transportation method). The children attended a private school just out of the county, however, in my country, private schools are very common, so this is not too fancy.
But, don’t for a moment underestimate the man. He had an uncanny ability to read people, pick out things others would not see at first glance and was always determined to understand and learn about the world around him. He would anonymously donate millions to organisations that furthered research into space (is this a thing? I learnt this from another personal aide). He played his cards close to the chest, and if he did not understand a theory or idea, he had no qualms of ringing the relevant party up to better understand the concept, something he did regularly with his firm which led to some talks behind his back in the firm.
He always maintained a composure of calmness through out even the most trying situations. There was a time when a client agreement between his firm and the client had fallen through, and they only had a few hours to rehash all the details. Unfortunately, he had given the lead architect of the deal a few days off earlier in the week as the client company had, at first, shown a very positive outlook on the agreement. Greg knew that the architect was out deep in the country side where he was helping with the after party of his sister’s wedding. Cell service was not great, and while the architect was informed of the situation, he was in no place to rehash a multi million dollar deal. So what was done, within a span of 1 hour, was a helicopter from a local tour agency, that always had one on standby, was chartered, sent out to the architect, brought him back and they worked on the deal. The deal eventually fell through (it was beyond saving if you asked me), and Greg felt extremely guilty for the inconvenience he caused the architect. As a form of thank you, he proceeded to pay for the sister’s wedding, and gave the architect another month off.
The billionaire I worked for always attempted to remain frugal. He never owned any form of private transport (jet, helicopter, yacht etc), had a small car collection but always donated money or reinvest it into the market. He never showed emotions, but you knew he was a caring individual. His neighbours son had been involved in an extremely gruesome accident when his car was slammed by a truck. Knowing that financing the operation and hospital stress for the son would be too much for the mother, he quietly payed for the entire operation, and set up a trust that would cover the living and medical treatment costs for that young man for the rest of his life.
Greg passed away a few years ago, which is when I stopped working. His wife asked us aides if we would like to stay on, and while several did, I left to take care of my ailing Mother. As a parting bonus, she gave the aides leaving a substantial monetary bonus that will be enough for the rest of my life if I live carefully. I haven’t heard from them in a while, but their current aides say they are still the same down-to-earth people I had known them as.
Greg was a fantastic individual. He was an avid learner, an individual who did whatever it took and, yet, still managed to keep the small things in life within his view. It gave me great pleasure to work for him, and I definitely miss him.
The Ferrari 166 S
The Ferrari 166 S was a sports racing car built by Ferrari between 1948 and 1953, an evolution of its Colombo V12-powered 125 S racer. It was adapted into a sports car for the street in the form of the 166 Inter.
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Only 12 Ferrari 166 S were produced, nine of them with cycle-fenders as the Spyder Corsa. It was soon followed by the updated and highly successful Ferrari 166 MM (Mille Miglia), of which 47 were made from 1948 to 1953. Its early victories in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia and others in international competition made the manufacturer a serious competitor in the racing industry. Both were later replaced by the 2.3 L 195 S.
At the end of the interview, the hiring manager leaned back on his chair, folded his hands and grinned, “Tell me why I shouldn’t hire the guy I interviewed before you came in?”
I had to think for a moment. “Having never met or interviewed the guy, I can’t make an informed opinion.” And I thought the reason for the question was to see if I made snap decisions without any facts.
He shook his head, “Now that’s a cop out. Give me another reason.”
“Let me see his resume and give me a few minutes. Cover up his name.”
“I can’t do that, but I’ll show you his cover letter.”
He folded the paper so I couldn’t see who sent it, and moved it across the desk. I read the first sentence and said, “He makes careless mistakes. He misspelled the name of your company.”
The hiring manager’s eyes popped and said, “What?” He looked at it again, then said, “This meeting is over.”
And that was that. I never heard back and no one in HR would take my call. I don’t know if it was a fake letter he used as a test or a real one.
Yes, I was a financial manager at a golf & country club.
I took two weeks’ vacation and when I came back there was a note taped to my computer that said, “Do Not Open.” Immediately, I knew because employees were being let go daily.
Minutes later, my desk phone rang, and the NEW GM wanted me in his office.
I was let go for no reason given other than “Don’t take it personally”.
I stayed in contact with my assistant, and she was given my job at $8 an hr. She also told me he brought in his wife, children and many other employees that he knew from a previous job at another club.
All total, 23 employees were let go and replaced!
Karma got him….he got caught stealing and he was fired!
Some years ago, when my special needs kids were younger, we went to a nearby restaurant to practice behavior, social skills, and new experiences. They won’t learn if they aren’t exposed.
I agreed they could have anything on the menu as long as they agreed to try their choice. My older two tried something off the adult menu, but my younger one was less confident and asked to try something from the kid’s menu. I wanted this a positive experience so I said sure. He ordered the personal pizza.
I did chuckle that we came to a restaurant for him to have pizza, but we agreed. It was a great time, and everyone enjoyed. Well, I didn’t enjoy it as much when I got the bill. His personal pizza cost almost as much as a regular pie from the pizza shop. Well, we came for the experience and everyone behaved well. But next time, I had an impulse about eating out, I asked the kids if they were ok with the pizza shop, and they were. The restaurant was ok, but you could relax in the pizza shop. Ok, I learned a lesson that day.
She hated the pool and resented my father for getting it.
Upon retirement, my father put an in-ground pool, complete with a deck and privacy fence, in his back yard. I’d been moved out for three years at that point, and I usually visited during the holidays, when the pool was closed. I never saw it in its full glory except in pictures. I saw a lot of pictures of my dad and sister and other people having great pool parties.
My mother was never in those pictures. She was the one taking the pictures, I assumed. But she later told me that she hated the pool. It cost half as much as the house it was attached to. It was the single biggest purchase my father ever made for himself.
He got about eight years of use from it. Then, his health got so bad that his doctors told him to quit going in it, lest he have a heart attack and drown in it. They drained the pool that winter, and it was never used again.
Then he died, and for the next six years, my mother had a giant man-made swamp in her backyard. Every time it rained, she had to pump the water out of the pool. It attracted frogs and snakes. It actually reduced the value of her home, because she lived in a poor neighborhood and no one who could afford to fix and maintain the pool would want to live in that neighborhood.
Finally, just last month, she got it filled in with dirt. It wasn’t cheap, of course, but now she can have what was there before: a garden.
To the US, a REASONABLE RELATIONSHIP will be when :-
Xi Jingping retires or resigns
China demilitarizes and commits to the same
China relinquishes the One China Policy wrt Taiwan and cedes the South China Sea to US Hegemony
China prepares to be Number Two for the considerable future
China purchases and takes back US Debt to $ 1.5–1.7 Trillion
Nothing else will satisfy them
Even if China makes these confessions, some Neocons won’t be satisfied
They want a War against China and to see China broken and lose considerable power and the CPC to be ousted and a US style democracy established
For China, a REASONABLE RELATIONSHIP MEANS :-
Each Nation understanding that their laws are meant to be followed in each nation
No protectionism
Not using Geopolitical issues in Economic problems
Fair Competition and the ‘May the best man win’ philosophy
Win Win Partnership so that the Global Economy can gain
Of course China also has Wolf Warriors who simultaneously aim to develop their independent supply chain and to oust US influence in the Global South
In the end, the businessmen in both nations want what China wants
The leadership in China wants peace
It is the US that is divided because of its unstable politicians, between Neocons and Neo Liberals and frankly too many homosexuals and transgenders to truly gauge what a diplomatic partnership means
So today all China is doing is BUYING TIME and waiting for US to collapse under it’s own weight
About a year ago we had a strange series of UPS and FedEx deliveries. They all had our correct address but the name was something like a cartoon character.. think something like Betty Poop.
The first box was a plant stand. My wife took it back to FedEx. Two days later we got the same delivery! In the middle there were a few more deliveries.. my wife was thinking it’s a scam where someone would come by and steal the freshly delivered boxes. But the stuff we were receiving weren’t that kind of stuff you’d expect in a scam.
We have an HOA with a complete list of homeowners. There was nobody with a name even close. Last box arrives.. it’s UPS and a big box of wallpaper. I send an email to the HOA mailing list, asking if anyone else was on the receiving end of same thing.
I get an immediate call from a woman on my street about 10 houses away. She’s screaming that we are stealing her packages and she’s a decorator and we made her miss her deadline! Apparently the funky name was her new business name! She wants me to deliver it all to her immediately or she’s calling the cops!
I ask her what her address was and she recites MY address.. I tell her to go outside and look at the number on her house. And that I’m putting all her boxes out in my driveway and she should come get it!
Ten minutes later there’s a man in an SUV picking up the boxes. No apology, no admission of fault. I still wouldn’t know the woman if I saw her today!
Penn and Teller had this show a few years back called “Bullshit”.
They would debunk TONS of stuff. It was very educational without being skewed like some of Michael Moore’s stuff is.
One show was debunking diet myths. They went through the history of sugar vs. fat and the evils of high fructose corn syrup, etc…
But one pivotal bit was when they brought a stagehand out from behind the set. He had apparently lost a ton of weight recently. They asked him how he managed to do it.
This epic hero looked straight into the camera and said, “I stopped eating so fucking much.”
When COVID hit, I knew I wouldn’t be going out as much. So I decided to change my diet very VERY slightly. I would take smaller scoops of rice and take the smaller potato during dinner. Without doing ANYTHING else, I lost about 4 pounds in about as many months. I wasn’t even trying.
Stay away from hidden sugar. EVERYTHING in the U.S. has hidden sugar in it. Look at the ingredients. Is something ends in “ose”, it’s sugar.
Exercise helps, too, of course, but not everyone can do it. One thing everyone can do, though is:
Stop eating so fucking much.
Project Looking Glass | The Time Warriors of the 2012 Apocalypse
I grew up outside of a small prairie town. One of my best friends grew up about 10 miles out of town, and in my teens I used to spend a lot of time at his house with him, his siblings and his parents. They had a built in kitchen table and wrap around bench. We used to sit at that table have a beer, and play a card game called “pass the ace” or sometimes “spoons” with all of our friends, his parents and siblings.
I moved away, travelled the world, and never settled down. I was about 40, still single, and I still planned on getting married and having kids someday.
When I was back in Canada, I decided to stop in and visit his parents. I knocked on the door, which was never locked, they yelled at me to come in, and there was a tableful of people playing pass the ace, and drinking beer. There was my friends mother, his younger brother, and 5 other young people playing pass the ace. I sat down, had a beer and got dealt in. I started to get caught up on all the news. It was exactly like old times, talking, drinking beer, playing cards, with a tableful of young adults, in their late teens, and early twenties. Exactly as if I hadn’t left. Then it dawned on me, I was playing cards with my friends two sons, his sisters son and daughter, and two second cousins. I was thinking I hadn’t changed in twenty years, and suddenly I was an old man playing cards, with the next generation, and they were old enough to legally drink.
That was the day, I realized I was no longer young, lets face it, I was old. I remember 20 years before, thinking how cool his parents and their friends were, for drinking and partying at their age, and now I was that old man sitting at the table.
I not only remember the day. I remember the minute it hit.
I’m not sure it was the most interesting, but its stuck in my mind for years. I was in a nice lakefront restaurant, inside a city, so it wasn’t a big lake, but a small man made lake.
At the table beside me was a couple and a realtor discussing putting his house on the market.
The man appeared to be about 10 years older than his wife. They had one of 5 houses on an island in the middle of the lake, accessable only by a bridge. Very exclusive. The housing market was down. The realtor had told the man what his house was assessed at. The husband said, he knew very well, what it was assessed at, but he wouldn’t sell it for anywhere near that price.
The realtor told him it would be on the market for a long time, if he listed it that high, and might never sell. The wife started to say something, and the husband actually turned to her, and said “This is mans business, we know what we are doing, let us talk, if we want to know how to decorate a room, we’ll ask you” I saw the realtor cringe, he didn’t want to be included in that kind of conversation.
The husband then told him, that the way to market it, was to sell it as one of only five houses on an island in the city, maybe the whole province. I understood his logic, but this was not a nice man.
Listing a house is something that a realtor really wants to do. Even if they don’t sell it themselves, as long as someone buys it, they make money. But, and this is a guess, it costs money to advertise the house, put it on the MLS system, and if its unrealistically high, and it never sells then they lose money. Then he has to deal with a high maintenance client, that makes him feel like he should wash his hands, after every meeting.
In any case, the realtor said that if he wanted to list the house for more than 30 percent over market value, he would have to find a different realtor. The husband was stunned, and couldn’t believe he was being turned down. The realtor paid for the lunch and left.
I don’t know if they ever talked again. But I didn’t feel clean myself, sitting at a table next to this guy, so I didn’t blame him.
There is a sure fire way to discover if a guy actually served in the British SAS, one that I witnessed myself. Let me explain. I had a friend who was an alcoholic. There was gossip in the local pubs that he was ex SAS. No matter how drunk he would get, he would always laugh and tell you not to be so stupid if you aver broached the subject with him. So how did we find out the truth? At his funeral. A serving member of the SAS in full uniform, accompanied by a bugler (Non SAS) attended and gave a eulogy that had us all gobsmacked. Not only was my friend ex SAS, but his exploits were totally jaw dropping heroic. We were told that whenever an ex member of the SAS dies. His funeral is always attended by a serving member of the regiment. RIP Alec.
I was waiting in line at the dollar store, lady in front of me had an infant in her arms, and had an older boy maybe 5 who was holding his little sister’s hand who was about 3 to prevent her from running off.
She was purchasing 2 tiny packs of diapers, a few minor food items, and a 1 liter Mountain Dew. She had enough for the total, but it was spread among 3 debit cards. I don’t know if the clerk was new, or a new computer system, but the clerk was having trouble ringing it up in 3 payments like she needed.
I was off work at the time, between jobs collecting unemployment, so I was struggling also, but I could easily afford the little bit she needed, so I just stepped up, and swiped my card to cover her groceries. She tried to take the Mountain Dew out (a luxury, not necessity) but I pointed out with 3 children she needed the caffeine even though 1 was very mature, and helpful.
On my way out the door to walk home (nice day, and not far, so I walked instead of driving) I heard her attempt to stay her van, it sounded like a dead battery and when it finally started, a horrible belt squealing sound told me a belt was destroyed, or very loose.
I told her I’m a hobby mechanic, I don’t live far, and I told her I’d gladly look at it if she would like since I don’t live far, so she offered me a ride and another thank you for paying for her groceries.
When she pulled in the driveway, she was reluctant to shut the vehicle off, I told her I have a battery booster or my car to get her started if needed.
Opened the hood, and someone had replaced the alternator recently, but had forgotten to tighten the swing arm assembly that holds pressure on the belt. It took as much time to grab the tools as it did to tighten it correctly. It started right up with the battery booster, and the squealing was gone.
I pointed out the belt was looking worn out, recommended she get it replaced but it’ll last for a few months at least, and told her I would gladly put the belt on whenever she needed free of charge if she showed up with the belt.
I’ve been in her shoes raising my 4 children as a single dad, so the little money for her groceries, and about 5 minutes of my time to tighten the alternator belt was no problem at all.
I’ve been wondering whether or not to answer this… The “wrong person” is my daughter (stepdaughter really,but I’m Daddy now and forever so that settles that) and the people doing the “picking a fight”were her ex boyfriend and his father.. I didn’t personally witness this because I was in Iraq at the time,but believe me I sure heard about it.
Daughter is tall and not a delicate flower even though she has all the requisite standard equipment to attract stares and suchlike, including a startling resemblance to Gal Gadot ,and I always emphasized to all my kids the importance of self confidence ,so she carries herself with a certain pride. She has Blackfeet blood along with Irish and Norwegian and who knows what else, girl has a temper too,what can I say..
Anyways,ex boyfriend and father spot her walking down the sidewalk one weekend night and follow her,asking her to get in and go for a cruise.. She says no,but they apparently don’t want to take no for an answer and pull ahead and stop, ex BF Gets out of the car and grabs her elbow and pulls her towards the car,she pulls away and he grabs her again, by this time she is almost in the door. I had taught my kids to avoid punching someone and use their elbows if the person was close enough, which ex BF certainly was unfortunately for his dumb ass, because Daughter proceeds to elbow him repeatedly in the face with backswing strikes on her way away from the car, dislocating ex BF‘S jaw and shattering his eye socket and breaking his nose, and naturally stopped any hostilities on his part, but ex BF’s dad was pushed by this time and ran around the car and accosted Daughter, catching a 50 yard field goal kick in his balls for his troubles..I taught my kids well.
During the Japanese War of Aggression Against China (1931-1945), about 200000, or even more women in China were lured and forced by the Japanese army to become “comfort women”. They suffered various unimaginable and unspeakable forms of abuse during the war, most of which were tortured to death at that time. Even if a few survivors survived by chance, they were left with scars and even lifelong disabilities.
At the comfort station, they subjected women to inhumane torture, even if they were pregnant, they still had to endure the torture of the Japanese army. Once they fell ill, they would be killed. The Japanese army did not leave a way for these women to survive, and they even set up a series of “rules and regulations” that made these captured women unable to die.
After Japan surrendered, they were afraid that their crimes would be exposed, and they brutally killed all comfort women before leaving. We cannot imagine how desperate they were at that moment. Fortunately, there are many women who have survived by chance. But for them, surviving may not be a kind of luck, because they have been living in darkness for the latter half of their lives, and their survival is evidence to prove the Japanese’s inhumanity. Because they survived with strength, we could only know about the various crimes committed by Japan.
There is a lengthy documentary in China called “Twenty Two”, that tells the story about China’s surviving “comfort women” during the Japanese invasion of China. The film was directed by Guo Ke, with 22 comfort women participating in the filming. It was released in mainland China on August 14, 2017. Unfortunately, on November 9, 2023, Li Meijin, the victim of comfort women, passed away at the age of 98. It means that all the surviving women in the documentary “Twenty Two” have passed away.
Until now, Japan has refused to admit their crimes. However, history is there, and it’s useless for them to sophistry. But even in textbooks, they briefly mentioned or directly overturned the truth about that period of history, to the extent that young Japanese people today do not understand what happened back then. They can cover up, but Chinese people will never forget that shameful past.
Alpha Dad Overcomes Childhood Hardships To Gain Wealth, Respect & A Wife That Treats Him Like A King
Damn is this good. And man do I love his grandmother. You rock!
When I moved to Thailand, I was incredibly lonely.
Not speaking the language, I lived for months in silence. I desperately wanted human connection. I just wanted to speak with someone.
My standard for becoming friends with someone dropped to having the ability to speak English. That’s all it took.
My new best friends became a 70 year old English man and his Thai wife. They would take me to markets on the weekends sometimes and talk with me if I ate dinner at their shop.
When I walked around the lake every day, I became friends with a 40 year old Thai man who used to work on cruise ships and could speak a decent amount of English to me.
A little 17 year old girl from Uruguay that I met at the gym became one of my good friends as well, she was studying abroad to learn Thai.
For the first time in my life, I had friends of all ages from all backgrounds.
My whole life, I’ve only been friends with people who were within a couple years of my own age. The only older men I talked to was my grandpa, I’d never called an older man a friend. I avoided high schoolers. Forty year old men and women were my parents age, I didn’t want to hang out with them.
But, let me tell you, life became so much richer as soon as I did. 70 year old men have lived a lot of life and can teach you a lot of things. 40 year old cruise ship waiters can tell you about a lot of life experiences that you’ve never had. 17 year old girls from high school can teach you about their way of life in Uruguay and supporting them can bring a lot of meaning to your life.
I think most people limit themselves to a bubble of friends who are the same age as them and in the same stage of life. I think that really limits yourself and the depth of relationships you can have.
I want to stay open to everyone for the rest of my life. It’s so much better this way.
Cockroaches have made their way into my life, against my will, and to great inconvenience. Three years ago, my girlfriend cried into the phone for me to come over, “Please…please…it is twitching on my kitchen floor.” She sounded like a hostage. We went back and forth for two minutes, with me insisting I couldn’t come to her house.
“I’m busy writing. Just get a paper towel and flush it,” I said, trying to calm her down. It didn’t work. She begged and begged until I finally said, “I’m doing this once.” And then drove 20 minutes — just to kill a roach.
After we moved into our new house together, my war with the roaches truly began. Exterminating them took significant research and numerous failed attempts. Mine is a common problem, and has made me question the value of these little critters.
We should be impressed that a creature has survived so much research and resources put into their extermination, and pesticides that are only making them stronger. A roach always finds a way and there is no “walling them out”. To the shock of NASA’s employees, one even snuck onboard Apollo 12. They’d moved mountains to decontaminate the spacecraft and ensure nothing snuck on. Employees were even in denial, swearing the roach couldn’t be there when astronauts said they’d seen one. Nevertheless, one did, and Apollo 12 took off for the moon while gaining the nickname, “The Roach Coach”.
Roaches are so nimble that researchers at Cornell University explored how just flexible they are. In a test of increasingly smaller crevices, they discovered roaches could squeeze through 3 millimeter spaces, despite their back being 12 millimeters high. Their exoskeleton is indeed hard and breakable, but exists in sections connected by soft tissue that molds and bends. And even while pressed down tight with weight on their back, they can still move fast and with little regard for gravity. When adjusting for size, they run the equivalent of a human running 200 mph. They can run when missing four legs. They can climb vertically while missing two feet. Scientists proved that roaches could withstand 900 times their own bodyweight without taking damage.
A roach is also an extreme gymnast, with a hallmark move, where it quickly flips from the edge of a table to the underside, dangling by one leg in an instant. It often leaves home owners wondering where the roach went. And so, a cockroach’s incredible athleticism, nimbleness, and durability, make it the perfect model for robotics technology, as we continue to explore new planets and depths on Earth. These new robots may even save lives.
A new era of inspiration
At John’s Hopkins University, Dr. Chen Li and Dr. Sean Gart filmed cockroaches running and then played video back in slow motion, studying how the legs and arms sync and propel it forward. They took notes, in awe, and looked at means of replicating these efficiencies with robots. A cockroach typically deals with vegetation, leaf and stick covered terrain. It is highly complex to navigate, but cockroaches do so with extreme ease and efficiency.
This matters because robotics is moving into a new phase, where robots are moving from indoor testing to outdoors, which is why the most clever animal navigators, including snakes, octopuses, and arachnids, have attracted non-hostile attention from scientists. One of the signature challenges robots face, is moving through unpredictable terrain and being durable enough for random physical impacts.
The study of cockroaches, in particular, has led to a new branch of durable and penetrating robots that can climb high objects, crash hard, and still get back up and resume climbing. Professor Robert J. Full, of UC Berkley, has spent his career researching the nature of evolution-inspired design, and even attached tiny jetpacks to the sides of roaches, to test how well they climb vertically while being randomly jetted to the side. It was easy work — for the roaches.
His lab designed a tiny cockroach inspired robot, that squeezes through cracks, and even looks a bit like a roach. It could be useful for descending through cracks in rubble to search for survivors. It stands 75 millimeters tall and can squeeze down to 35 millimeters, which is almost, but not quite as good as roaches. It also has similar pliable and molding body parts, that allow it to bend and move in extremely tight and uneven spaces. Dr. Full routinely meets with first responders at disaster sites, to learn more about their needs as he continues to innovate this robot.
The necessity of studying them
It is as the old Sun Tzu saying goes, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Cockroaches are a brilliant species, without actually being brilliant.
When I met with a pest control expert, his feedback wasn’t what I expected. He said, “Don’t just spray every inch of a room’s perimeter, they’ll know it’s a trap.” Then, he showed me how to put tiny drops along walls, and in the underside of cupboards and tiny cracks between furniture and sliding drawers. “Think of all the tiniest openings possible, and think like a roach — and you’ll know where to put the spray,” he said. It is this intrinsic cleverness and efficient navigating that could manifest robots of incredible caliber and utility in the coming decades.
What’s remarkable is that cockroaches don’t rely heavily on their nervous system for movement like other mammals. Even when thrown off balance, yanked around, blasted with wind, and spun like a top, their bodies auto adjust without thought. This matters for robotics because engineers are constantly programming and scripting robots to manage uneven terrain, and think about where their feet are going.
The insight from a cockroach is that, perhaps engineers shouldn’t try so hard with this programming method. They should rely on predictable mechanics, that have built-in means to traverse steep rocks and slippery surfaces. In short, make it more natural. This could impact medical technology and prosthetics, and help people who’ve had strokes or major injuries, develop more fluid gaits.
The animal kingdom is, in a sense, the only alien intelligence we deal with. Species are of ingenious design through an evolutionary arms race, and can move and adjust to their environment in ways we’d have never dreamed of. Which is evident when trying to step on a roach and you miss in the last moment, or even when you hit it, it manages to keep running. Who wouldn’t want this fortitude and evasiveness?
Perhaps what strikes me most, is that a bug with little cognitive function, has evolved to elude the smartest of all known species, and who is quite hostile to its presence. A future where nature-inspired robotics, combined with artificial intelligence, could save lives in search and rescue, improve exploration of new places and planets, and improve lives for the disabled. All thanks to our most ancient and enduring pest.
Mix crumbs together with butter or margarine thoroughly. Spread the mixture on sides and bottoms of a 9-inch springform pan to form a crust.
Take 2 ounces of fudge and spread on top of crumbs. Place 1/4 gallon of ice cream on top of fudge. Next, spread 2 ounces of fudge over ice cream then place 4 ounces of coconut. Place remaining ice cream on coconut and follow with 2 ounces fudge, 4 ounces almonds and 4 ounces coconut as done before. Top with whipped cream and remaining almonds and coconut. Place in deep freezer for 3 to 4 hours.
Notes
Roasted Coconut and Almonds: Place coconut on a metal sheet pan and put into oven at 350 degrees F for approximately 3 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Do the same for almonds but increase the time to 4 minutes.
When I was running from an abusive situation, i lived in a shelter on welfare. After my 2 month stay was up, i had to find a room to rent or they’d send me to a homeless shelter (the one i was in was for female abuse victims and their children if they have any. Since there was a high demand for rooms there, the stays were short). I ended up finding a room that was 500$ per month. On welfare as a single person with no kids, I got 709$ per month. I went to view the room and the landlord asked me why I wanted to live there. I explained the situation and he immediately said yes. I ended up moving in not even a week later. He let me live there for free with unlimited wifi and cable TV included for 8 months of my 13 month stay with him. After the 8 months I had a job and could pay the rent, but even then he said if I couldnt make the rent to let him know. Hed share his food from his fridge with me, give me cash money randomly with notes that said things like “buy whatever you want” and “have a nice day”, hed offer to give me rides to the store and job interviews, he offered to get me a bus pass (85$ for one that lasts a month), hed invite me to share BBQs with him, his wife and the other 4 tenants. He bought everyone Christmas gifts (a box of Ferrero Roche chocolates and a 50$ amazon gift card). He never asked for anything back. He became more like a friend to me than a landlord. He was amazing
My stepdad beat me when I was between 8 and 11. He would wait until I wasn’t looking, then sneak up behind me with a riding crop and hit me behind the knees. My mother would not come to my defense, no matter how hard I cried. I had no idea how to process this situation. I felt like my mother betrayed me and that the legal system was on her side since she got custody of us (my sister and me) when she divorced my dad. I had thoughts about suicide, but we only lived on the second floor, so jumping wasn’t an option. There were railroad tracks nearby, so I could have jumped in front of a train. Basically, it was the lowest point of my life… and I was 11. Somehow I found the strength to get past this and accepted that beatings were a thing now. I could make it through this. I had to just count on myself to deal with the pain and betrayal.
Eventually, he beat me so bad that when my dad came to pick us up for one of our weekends with him, I was bleeding from a ruptured eardrum. My dad almost lost it. He was going to kill my stepdad. I asked him to just take me to a doctor and deal with the rest of the shit later. He did. He also demanded custody. My mom accepted immediately. I knew then that I was a commodity to her. I’ve written her out of my life for the most part. We only talk on birthdays and Christmas.
My dad did his best and I think he really supported me up until I lost him to brain cancer in January 2016. He was my Yoda, my Gandalf, my friend. I miss him daily. He saved my life.
KFC – always popular for making rules and rolling it back badly. As a student in UK, I worked as a parttimer in KFC for two reasons 1) Money I get paid 2) Food I’m allowed to eat during breaks.
Staffs who work in KFC are allowed to take KFC food during lunch breaks. I know staffs who even took a bucket of chicken for lunch , but then they’re hard workers and smart workers – a pillar of support behind the enormous profit KFC makes per shift.
One fine day, the circle management decided to do some cost cutting – made a rule that staffs are allowed to take only limited food for lunch. A burger, fries and a cup of soft drink. Nothing more.
Rationing food for staffs — nobody likes it. The store manager would check how much food you take for lunch , particularly if he’s a bully , that’s annoying as hell.
Time for payback ….
We came with a plan.
If the store closes by 10 pm, we started to over cook by 9pm, pile up all the racks with cooked food.
Now the “kick in the butt” is back on the store manager – it’s his head ache to sell all the cooked food before closing or else the food is reported as “unsold” in records. This means he gets questioned for poor sales, losses his incentives and what not
He can’t ask us not to over cook because incase there’s customer flow and there’s food shortage – we can do nothing. That affects the rating
Above all , staff food was rationed as a means of cost cutting. Now the management has learnt -” you touch my food, now deal with the loss mate, let’s see how you make profit”.
Within a week , the rule of food rationing was rolled back. The management went in knees —” take as much food you want for lunch, but please don’t overcook at closing time.
The management has learnt a hard lesson — it’s not just the store manager but the staff who knows how to run a shift with better profits.
No food chain can make profits without staff cooperation
This one didn’t necessarily change how I viewed my mom but it sure gave me a good (but bittersweet) laugh.
My mom was a hoarder. Her home was filled with junk from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. She just couldn’t bear to get rid of anything because she thought she might “need” it someday. The fact that she couldn’t find it if she did need it was lost on her.
Anyhoo, the day came when we had to move mom into a care home. My sister and I sat mom in a cleared corner of a couch and let her “help” by telling us “yay or nay” on keeping certain things. In the background, our team was hauling soooo much crap out into a bin without her knowing. We’d bring random boxes and let mom “sort” through them to keep her occupied. One or the other of us would sit with her and talk while the others worked. In the end, we actually kept only enough clothes and books and personal items to fit in the care home room we’d lined up for her.
During the course of the day we noticed that mom had acquired a VERY large number of nail clippers over the years. Being tiny items that you need fairly often, she was constantly leaving them here or there and losing them. The people helping would laugh and say “found another one!” every time they spotted one. In the end we found about 100 nail clippers! (We also found a mini fridge that had been buried in the back, filled with sickeningly, gaggingly, gross, rotten, mouldy food!)
Sometimes you can laugh and feel pain at the same time, I guess. It was a time of bonding for my sister and I. Mom had to give her beloved dog Spike to a friend and move away from the town that had been her home for decades. It was very painful for all of us but in a way it was also life-affirming if that makes sense.
I bought a large framed picture of James Butler Hickock or Wild Bill. I loved the photo.
I hung the picture in my sunroom right beside the back door. It was like he was looking right at me and his eyes followed me everywhere I went.
I read quite a few books about this man and he led a very interesting life as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor.
We even visited Deadwood, South Dakota where he lived the last years of his life before being killed at a card game he was playing in 1876, the same year Custer died. We went to the saloon where he was shot and visited his grave on Mt. Moriah, and there beside him was the grave of Calamity Jane who was buried when she died in 1903.
So at first, every morning I walked out that door, I’d say, “Morning Bill,” and everytime I walked in that door at night, I’d say, “Night Bill.” All in fun.
Poor old Bill was probably lonely out there as he guarded the house. Was probably also cold at times. But those steely eyes would sure look at me. Sometimes he looked sad, sometimes amused like he had the slightest smile on his face. He probably enjoyed my pipe or cigar smoke that floated around the room while I had a few puffs. But I feel he looks forward to my good mornings and good nights, and I feel that if I forget to say those things to him, well, might not bode well. Superstitious I guess.
So every morning and every night, I talk to Bill and I think it’s okay. Weird, but okay.
Every American should seriously think about this. Every empire that come and gone since time in memorial, went because of over intervention, over interference and over reaching to the point that it could no longer sustain itself. And they self implode and civil war is inevitable.
The U.S. is not getting there, it is indeed there now and almost beyond redemption. Seriously, Americans must jointly and severally destroy the U.S. military industrial complex before it destroy all of you. They are the single most important reason that the US is drag into conflicts after conflicts. Due to them, your real standard of living has not grown since 1960! Your great grand parents have a better standard of living compared to you!
Please think seriously about your debts. Just 10 years ago your debt was a mere USD10 trillion today it is USD34 trillion precisely 340% increase in a decade. At the rate you are going by 2034 the U.S. debts will be USD100 trillion at least! Just paying interest alone at 5% is USD5 trillion dollars per annum.
Seriously, don’t let anyone fool you! 5 trillion is so humongous your nation will never be able to do anything else. Today you can argue that the U.S. infrastructure is lying dilapidated, your homeless has reached a million, a third of Americans are in debt and can’t afford healthcare and college education. It can only afford one and only one thing. Wage more wars! Wars enriched 0.01% of Americans! Your politicians and the deep state!
China is a million times more healthier than the U.S. that is your problem right here! China’s saving is so colossal it save a U.K GDP a year. China’s debts is USD 15 trillion and almost 100% of it is investment that grows China’s capacity! Build its state or art technology and infrastructure, graduate STEM engineers the size of the entire US STEM experts each year!
This means China grow its capacity phenomenally while the US fall back every year due to your liabilities. Let me be brutally honest, you don’t stand a chance against China! But you may save the US that still remain a nation and a strong 2nd largest economy for 50 years till India catches up! Most importantly your citizens get back its prosperity and avoid total collapse! Do it before it is too late. Get rid of the neocons, eradicate the deep state, get ride of NRA and CIA.
China cannot be stop, the best you can do is be strong and wealthy again.
Top Gun with a Cat
Enjoy this FUN short video. I hope it makes your day. I know that it did mine!
I know that I live in China, and that it is safe, safe… safe! But you know guys, I do miss my guns. Yup. I left them all behind back in the ‘States when I moved to China. I loved to take them out, and shoot them every now and then, and truthfully, I was lethal with my pistol.
I also miss my G3.
HK G3 Assault Rifle
I have had numerous weapons through the years, but I left behind my precious P99. It’s not that it is better than the trade-offs that I get here in China. It isn’t, but every now and again, I do miss firing that pistol.
Truth, you all.
Deep down, I still hold on to some of my American characteristics.
Walter P99
Of course, all of this is meaningless to you all, unless you are an American. But there is always something very nice about being able to defend yourself from the crime-ridden United States .
Here’s a (my) Martin .444 lever action.
Marlin 444 Lever Action
Man, oh man, those bullets were huge!
Marlin 444
It could really cut through the brush… I’ll tell you what.
Back in the day, Australians used to own thee kinds of weapons, and then a crazy guys in Tasmania (I seem to recall) went on a shooting spree “out of the blue”, and the Australian government started to ban everything… you know… to make Australia safer.
I hear that there are parts of Australia that remains very, very dangerous. I mean that there are some places that you do not dare go out at night…
…ugh. That is NOT a place where anyone should live.
But I don’t know if it is the wildlife… or the “wild” life. But if live in one such place, I would suggest that you leave. Life is too short to live in fear.
For my case, I was the boss who was later hired by the guy who used to work for me. Early in my career, I managed a construction crew of a dozen or so workers. One of my workers, I’ll call Scott, showed exceptional intelligence, drive and common sense. I promoted to foreman and then supervisor in less than two years. I left that company over a contract dispute and found another job.
Six years later, I’d grown bored with the new job and felt my future there was limited. Out of the blue, I received a call from Scott. A short time after I had left the old company, Scott ran into his old college sweetheart and a year later, married her. College? A menial laborer, promoted for foreman, and then supervisor, had a college degree? Yep. He told me that he was once a practicing attorney but disbarred for helping a client hide some assets. After disbarment, he slipped into depression and alcoholism. At his lowest point, he took the job of laborer.
His sweetheart and new wife was $$$ LOADED $$$. she had bought him his own successful construction company. He was a smart, ambitious guy but lack bossines (I mean business) sense and knowhow. He found himself over his head on a project and called me for help. It happened I had a couple of weeks vacation left, so for a nice fee, I agreed to spend that time helping him.
At the end of those two weeks, he offered the the job as Executive VP at salary over my current one and a share of the profits. He turned out to be the best boss I ever had and I worked for him until he retired (at forty-two.)
Ask the foreigner.? To them it is a million times safer than back home in the U.S. Chinese people like diversity and welcome good foreigners. But if he is a CIA or NED spy or trouble maker chances is he or she will be caught within 24 hours. If he likes the food, the place the people or the culture he or she is always welcome. If he is a hubris, xenophobic racist he should stay at home and join the KKK.
Let me warn you, China sniff you out in an hour and we will send you packing. But if you live China and wants to make China even better welcome. Let me tell you what you can do in China that you cannot do at home. You can open a 6 pack and you can drink as you walk on Chinese streets. You cannot do in the U.S. You can walk in the street at 3 am in the morning safely even if you are a women. In the U.S. you have many no go areas that even cops don’t want to go.
You cannot see homeless because there is none in China. Your chance of being shot by a random mass shooter is a billion to one in the U.S. if you fall sick everyone including foreigners get to be treated by the best doctors and given medical help. The life expectancy of China exceed that of the U.S. There is zero case of racial profiling in China but in the U.S. blacks can be necked to death in open daylight.
There are Sixty Eight Customized cars made for the CPC top brass every 5 years and PLA Top brass
Xi Jingping has four such cars, all similar and heavily armored
The Communication system is connected to a Chinese Satellite constellation and is not dependent on any other system allowing the president to talk to anyone he wants without any interception
Presently only Biden & Putin have similar systems
The Contract Tender price of this car was 972000 RMB ($ 136K)
I’ve been managing a brand for 9 years and have had stellar performance. I was promoted quickly and pretty soon assumed the role of second in charge for one of the key cities.
Part of my role includes bringing in big corporate sales. I was in the midst of closing a large annual contract with a major player.
And then my godmother had to undergo brain surgery.
I applied for some time off and spent a week with my godmother who lives in another country. I had accrued over 40 days in leave as I’ve been working myself to death to grow the company.
When I returned, my then boss wanted to know if I had finalised the sale. I was speechless. Everyone knew about my godmother’s surgery and it was an annual contract that the company could’ve afforded to wait a couple of weeks for. It wasn’t as if it was completely lost and I’ve been in communication with the client throughout.
But then came those words that I will always remember – “I don’t care if she’s dead. Money is money.”
I walked.
On a happier note, my godmother is fully recovered!
Story: He was the leading runner in the 2004 Summer Olympics marathon. At his pace, he was sure to win first place and secure the gold medal which would’ve brought pride and glory to his family and country.
Near the end of the marathon, he was attacked by a spectator. The spectator actually sidelined into him. Intentionally. In public.
That brief, 10 second-long distraction was enough to completely disrupt De Lima’s mental AND physical rhythm, both of which are critical to running long distance marathons.
He was quickly surpassed by two other runners and was evidently off his game for the remainder of the marathon. He finished in third place in surprisingly good spirits and received the bronze medal.
What people remember is that he crossed the finish line with a smile despite what had happened to him just moments before.
This was a man who was robbed of first place and an Olympic gold medal in a matter of seconds.
Imagine training for something your entire life and being so close to accomplishing something extraordinary. Something that brings you, your family, and your country great pride and happiness and puts you in the history books.
Only to be robbed in a matter of seconds in the most outrageous and nonsensical way possible. By something that should never have happened in the first place.
De Lima could’ve stopped running when that incident happened. He could’ve attacked the trespasser. He could’ve complained endlessly to the officials.
But he pushed past, he ran, and he finished.
Even after the fiasco, words like “furious” or “hatred” were evidently not in De Lima’s vocabulary. Holding a relentless vendetta against his perpetrator was clearly not important to him.
Even when a fellow Olympian earnestly offered his own gold medal to De Lima, De Lima responded “I am happy with mine – it is bronze but means gold.”
De Lima went on to win a variety of awards commemorating his self-discipline and spirit of sportsmanship.
He also went on to light the cauldron at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
image 152
It takes immense willpower and discipline to run and finish as a top contender for a marathon in the Olympics, but I think what makes De Lima so special is his willpower and discipline to look past something so ill-fated and still come out on top. He truly lives a life of no regrets.
And I don’t remember who won first or second place in that 2004 Summer Olympics Marathon.
Although I didn’t know how she died at the time, it later turned out that she had died by suicide. Nine year old me thought she’d just died of old age — she was 43 after all!
We were kept off school for a few days. My middle sister was in the year above me at the same school. Our classmates had been told that our mum had died (not how) and that they should be nice to us.
On my first day back at school, a boy from my sister’s class ran up to me and shouted in my face “Jordan, how’s your mum?” and ran off laughing.
I still remember his name 41 years later – Billy Smart; the same name as a popular travelling circus from that time. That’s all I remember about the boy now – his name and that he thought it would be funny to tease me about my dead mother. I hope he became a more sensitive and well rounded person as an adult, but I have doubts.
Ahahaha, memories! I worked at a publisher for a few years and the management had no clue how much work folks did. They were so clueless, in fact, that they were convinced people were shirking their duties, sneaking out early, coming in late, etc.
So, they ostentatiously installed an electronic time card system. We had to log in and log out every time we entered or left the building, respectively.
They informed us we were going to be paid for the “actual” hours we worked, instead of what we submitted on our timecards (we were “salary,” and yet had a low-budget pay system, so “salary” simply meant “submit a 40-hour timecard every week regardless of the actual work you perform.”), with the implication that we better watch out ’cause “now they were watching.”
Hahahahaha! Watch this!
This company was so delusional that it spent cold hard cash in a passive-aggressive attempt to not pay people, and it totally backfired.
To no one’s surprise, the next payroll was a blowout because we always busted ass and worked long hours. Plus, we completely stopped taking work home to do. Our rationale was “If you’re going to be a jerk about insisting that we are only paid for being in the building, then we’ll only work while we’re in the building.”
The company found themselves shoveling out overtime pay like it was Skittles.
They deactivated that system after Week Two.
I think, to this day, they still think we somehow “hacked” the system, because they could not acknowledge that we worked long-ass hours.
I learnt how to break into my own house when I forgot my keys.
I was waiting for my wife to come home standing in my doorway when a neighbour asked me if I was okay. I said I was fine and I was waiting for my wife to get home from work so I could get in.
I knew that he had a criminal history. He asked me if he could use a small branch of one of my trees to open the door. I agreed, and he put one into the letterbox of my door and he used it to nudge the Yale lock to open it.
I learnt that I needed a better lock. In fact, I bought a whole new door with several locks.
I also learnt that criminals can. and do. reform. For many years, my neighbour could have entered my house and stolen anything he wished.
Months before he died he wasn’t feeling the best. Where he used to NEVER take time off work he had started taking lots of time off. Or coming home early. His feet hurt him. He did a lot of walking at work.
I BEGGED him to go to the doctor. I told his mom to TELL him to go to the doctor. All it created was fights. So I quit begging him to go.
I went on a girls weekend and he died in our home. I have SO MUCH ANGER that he died so young, when it possibly could have been prevented. The main cause of death was a heart attack due to untreated diabetes. Clearing out his drawers I found many bottles of unused diabetic pills. They weren’t even his. Someone gave them to him to “help”, he still didn’t use them.
Now I tell people. PLEASE make sure the ones you love go to the doctor, use Dave as an example why. Also that you know how all the household expenses work. He paid all the main bills and spoiled me. I didn’t have to do any of that. Was a huge eye opener when I had to take over. Nearly lost my house to foreclosure, but am finally getting things under control, four years later.
So yeah, he died on me. I will never forget. We were high school sweethearts. Met when I was 15, he was 17. Got Married when I was 19 and he was 20. Married for 23 years. Together 27.
Make sure the ones you love take care of themselves and get medical help. Sucks being a 42 year old Widow.
So I was in a car accident with my then girlfriend. A teenage girl, driving her mom’s car ran a red light and hit us. It was a pretty bad accident and my girlfriend was taken out of the car on a backboard. The girl who was driving was really shook up, and her passenger had a minor wound that was bleeding. I had banged up my knee and my face got hit pretty hard. An ambulance came, but there was no room for me in the back, so I sat upfront, shotgun. When we got to the ER it was really busy. I sat there waiting for about two hours. Finally a nurse brought me to the examining room, where I waited about another 45 minutes to an hour. The nurse who brought me in looked at my swollen face and said if you had iced that it wouldn’t be so swollen. Finally I just signed myself out.
About a week later I got a bill from the hospital for treatment and an ambulance ride. I called and told them I wasn’t paying because they never treated me and I rode on the empty front seat of the ambulance. They told me that I was charged because if I had really needed treatment it was there. So I asked if they charged people who walked past the hospital also were charged for the same reason. My bill was graciously forgiven. That’s when I knew I would go to law school.
Not my husband but my bf. On Sunday passed I collapsed at the bar we were at having pizza and wine, and I suddenly dropped like a stone. I died for like 7 seconds, eyes wide open and no pulse. I was out for a few minutes then slowly came to. I had no idea what I was doing on the bar floor or who the girls were hovering over me. (Lucky the one girl was a chemist and resuscitated me) My bf tried to see if I could make it to the car but I was too weak, I could not walk at all. I could barely sit up. He called an ambulance for me. He sorted my ID with the drivers to help with my medical aid numbers (as the ambulance was going nowhere otherwise) Followed me to the hospital and sat by me while tests were being done. My blood sugar stabilised and I could go home. He drove us back at midnight, an hour journey…both of us exhausted. He’s not my husband so I didn’t expect him to do all that for me. I can’t believe he behaved exactly as a husband would. I’m a very lucky girl.
After the dotcom crash I got hired by a small software company. They didn’t really have a good product and it was obvious they were on the way down. One day the owner called in with instructions to fire all the sales people as they weren’t making any sales anyway. OK so at the end of the month he calls to ask how sales were going. I said about as good as can be expected with no sales people.
A week later the hammer comes down and we’re all let go and given our severance checks. I immediately go to the bank branch that check was drawn on to cash it and it bounced!
So since I still had the keys to the office, I went back and grabbed a bunch of high-end laptops and took them home. Another week goes by and he calls to ask about these laptops that have gone missing. I said they’re not missing, I’m holding on to them until you make good on the bounced check. I was told that was theft and they would be pressing charges. I said great, I’ll be contacting the Labour Relations Board about your shitty practices and also the Police about knowing passing a bad check for thousands of dollars.
Needless to say I was asked to stop by his office to exchange the laptops for another check. It was like the scene out of Scarface where Tony Montana goes to buy the coke.
Owner: Do you have the laptops?
Me: They’re close by. Do you have my check?
He gave me the check and I went and cashed it and then went back and gave him his laptops.
It is assumed that men can handle hardships on their own…
This is the best, most positive experience I had at the hotel where I worked in college.
As I was getting ready to close my shift out at the front desk of a large hotel on Capitol Hill, a woman came to my desk and said that she wanted to check in, but she lost her purse somewhere along the way between the train station and the hotel.
She was frantic. She was having a meltdown. I asked her about her reservation, if she was with a group? She said “Yes! I’m with X group!”
Awesome. I knew this was an incoming group, with a block of rooms, so I asked for her name. Her name corresponded with a name on my incoming list. I told her that I see her reservation and you have a room! So don’t worry about that, I said. Let’s get the rest sorted.
I then asked when was the last time she saw her purse, and she said that it was on the Amtrak that came into Union Station about 20 minutes before she got to the hotel.
I asked her if she’d had anything to eat. She said she hadn’t, in hours. I said well you better get over to the restaurant and let them give you something to eat while I make some calls! I sent her to the restaurant, and I made sure that everyone knew she was my guest, and why.
I got on the phone, called a few people I knew at Amtrak and asked them to find the cleaners on that train. They found her purse, and brought it to the hotel. Everything intact.
Kicker is? The woman I helped? She was in DC to lead a series of workshops on customer service. I turned out to be the star in her first session on “Getting service right.”
As my marriage began to unravel, my (then) husband became worse and worse with money.
First, he wouldn’t come home for days, leaving the kids and me with no car. That meant if I needed groceries, I had to walk 8 blocks to one store or 11 to another and carry them home.
I couldn’t ask my father for a lot of help, as my mother had cancer. More often than not, I was helping her, and my father was filling in when I couldn’t.
One day, I found I had no bread or milk for my children. I went to the cabinet where I kepy emergency money, only to find the jar empty. The “proud papa” took it. I scooped up whatever spare change I could find and went to the grocery. At the counter, I found I was short. I was ready to cry. I tried to think of which should I put back, when the grocer told me someone behind me paid for my groceries. I cried as I took the bag and said thank you.
Walking home I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but I was wrong. The jerk stopped his paychecks from going to our joint account. He wouldn’t pay the mortgage or utilities.
I had a bank book that he forgot about, and with that I paid bills for as long as I could. I put my children on food stamps to put food on the table. I put a lien on my house since you couldn’t qualify for services if you owned a house. Passover was coming and I didn’t have a penny.
Agencies that claimed to help made you feel like you were robbing them if you asked for food. I got one parcel and was sick. Everything was dated a month or two before: the juice, other items, and the raw chicken – which smelled so bad I threw it out.
I begged my brother for $200 so we could have a nice holiday. He gave it to me – and never let me forget it. If he needed a favor, he reminded me that I owed him. I was so ashamed I never told my parents.
The house went to foreclosure about the same time the utilities were shut off. I borrowed money from my father to move and pay first month’s rent on an apartment. When I finally started working I put aside $10 a month to pay him back. It was hard, and I barely made ends meet. My kids hadn’t gotten new clothes at this point in nearly two years.
I was still chasing my separated husband to get him to court. Finally, I hired three court servers for $200 a piece to wait at each exit at his job. He was served his subpoena to appear in court. After some delays – didn’t come with a lawyer, fired his lawyer in court – the judge asked him why he didn’t take care of his family. He said I’m having problems with their mother. The judge said “Why didn’t you buy food? Pay for the house? Clothes? What did you do for your children?” He kept trying to say he was having a problem with me and the judge got angry.
“What did you do with your money?” the judge asked. We presented photos of his new sexy sports car – bought with the money that was supposed to take care of his children. The judge told him “I’m done talking to you.” Then she asked me what I had done for my children.
I showed her the paperwork for food stamps, proof I sold jewelry and used the bank book I had to pay utilities. I just got a job, so we were under a roof.
She told my then husband “you earn almost 3 times as much as your wife and you did nothing for your children?” She ordered child support at the maximum allowable by law, as well as back pay of money he should have paid since January (it was now October).
He screamed “where will I get that kind of money?” The judge said “sell your sexy car, that doesn’t have room for your three children.” My attorney stepped up and said “we would like to show more mercy than he showed to his children. He can pay off his wife in semi monthly checks.”
He took the deal, never realizing he would be paying me for three years. The extra money coming in meant my kids could get new clothes for the first time in two years, I paid my father back the money he lent me – and I gave my brother $300 when he lent me $200. I told him the extra $100 was for him to shove it anywhere he wanted – I didn’t want him to talk to me like I was dirt again. In spite of my brother’s protests that he didn’t mean to humiliate me, he did in fact keep the extra hundred.
Today, I’m a bit better off. But I still need to watch my money. Sometimes I get depressed and buy junk I don’t need. But I try hard to avoid that.
Read some of the western propaganda. You can see it on youtube videos about non western hardware.
There’s a very common narrative.
Everything Russian is junk! None of it works! Russians apparently don’t even have working rifles according to most westerners. If Russian rifles don’t work how would these [slurs] be able to maintain nuclear weapons! Only the SUPREME MASTER RACE can maintain nuclear weapons. You can see smug British people say haha ours work! Like our SA80 the BEST gun in the WORLD! The Challenger 2 the MOST INVINCIBLE TANK IN THE UNIVERSE. You remember posts on Quora about 6 months ago? British people saying it would take nuclear weapons to stop a challenger2.
Chinese?
Everything in China is made of tofu! Pretty much exactly the same as the above.
The MASTER RACE is so confident that they think they can perform nuclear strikes and bomb our cities and we can’t do anything back.
It is a big problem
Blue Bayou Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Mousse
Yield: 8 cups
Ingredients
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 ounces unsalted butter
5 ounces egg whites
2 ounces granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
In a double boiler combine chocolate and butter, stirring until melted.
Whip cream and sugar until light and fluffy; set aside.
Beat egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form.
Using a wire whisk combine egg whites with the melted chocolate and then with the whipped cream.
A case like this actually happened in the 1960s. A programmer working on Wall Street opened an account and wrote a program that funneled all the forgotten mills rounded off of each penny into his account. It seemed like he was stealing nothing. It turns out that a weakness in binary systems makes it difficult for them to convert 1 penny correctly so they round up or down. There are often thousandths of a cent that are then ignored and few people, if any, on Wall Street look at the penny column. It was absolutely invisible. But those thousandths of a cent, multiplied by millions of daily transactions add up. He was caught by the sheer size of the numbers that were being generated.
He was prosecuted not because anyone cared about those fractions of a cent (they didn’t) but because he was stealing and stealing is against the law.
When you steal something it doesn’t matter what the victim thinks. The state is obligated to prosecute. The statutes don’t often say, “He broke the law but it’s ok because his victims don’t care”. The statutes, while they may take the scale of the injury into account, must prosecute you for breaking the law because “Justice is blind”. It’s a one size fits all approach, for better or worse.
In reality we know what really happens and there are plenty of ways for justice to be derailed long before the judge bangs the gavel and pronounces a sentence, but the theory still applies. It doesn’t matter what the victims think. Actions have consequences and you broke the law.
In 1994 my then-husband was arrested for soliciting a hit man to kill me. He was apprehended by federal agents through a sting operation. As more information was revealed about how he was caught, I learned that my husband had contacted a member of the Outlaw motorcycle gang looking for the killer. Turns out the gang member called the feds because he had been in my business a few weeks prior with his daughter and I had given the little girl change for the gum machine.
A quarter saved my life….and sent my now-ex husband to prison for 21 years.
Be nice, you never know 😉
Cat With a Broken Paw Went To The Clinic & Begged For Help, But The Vet Did Something Shocking!
Mao won because he and the Red Army had won popular support among the Chinese people. In fact, during the three main battles fought during the civil war, Chinese civilian volunteers provided logistical support to the Red Army, and abandoned the Nationalist Revolutionary Army.
In China’s cities, runaway inflation and corruption among Nationalist officials destroyed support among private Chinese businesses, and they moved to support the Communists.
From your question, you seem to assume that the civil war simply involved two armies fighting each other for the control of China.
In fact, just as Sun Tzu has said, wars are fought and won in the hearts and minds of the people; it is not just about two militaries.
For this reason, your belief that the Nationalists could have won against the Communists is an impossibility.
The Chinese people decided that they needed a new China, and that is the environment the world is living in now.
“I’m worried about you,” my grandmother told me. “You’re too nice. People like you don’t do well in the world.”
That was the last time I saw her.
I forgot about that conversation.
I didn’t even understand what she meant.
Besides, it’s easy to dismiss the words of an elderly woman suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s.
I’ve always been concerned with what others think about me. I wanted to do well in the world. I had a deep need for outer acceptance because I wasn’t embracing myself on the inside.
I thought that if I just stayed out of trouble—if I just avoided controversy and did my best to please the people around me—I’d feel safe in the world.
Perhaps even wanted.
And so I became the nice guy.
I let other people come first. I put my own needs aside. I sacrificed my wellbeing.
And I was miserable.
But in the last years, something changed.
I put me higher up the priority list.
It’s not that I became an asshole or stopped caring. I realized that I’m still someone who feels and empathizes deeply with others.
But I decided to stop operating out of fear and guilt.
And I’ve realized that, as much as it sounds like a cliché, you have to cultivate happiness within instead of expecting the world to hand it to you as a trophy for your “good” behavior.
So I started taking my career seriously and insisted on being paid what I knew I was worth instead of letting employers walk over me.
I began practicing martial arts and became more confident.
I resolved to not put up with other people’s shit.
I gave up being nice.
And in doing so became more empowered. More genuine. More me.
I finally understood what my grandmother was trying to say.
She was right all along.
I just wish I could let her know.
Yes and no
25 Strange Things That Only Exist In Vietnam!
Vietnam, nestled in Southeast Asia, boasts a multifaceted tapestry of history, culture, and natural beauty. The nation’s turbulent past, marked by the Vietnam War, contrasts with its vibrant present, where bustling cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are hubs of innovation and growth. In today’s video, we will be talking about the things you can only find in this country of the east. We cover everything from their markets to their religious beliefs, but if you stay until the end of this video, you will also find out what exactly is the balance of five flavors, and why is it the most important part of their cuisine. Enjoy!
After my divorce, I knew I’d have a lot more free time on my hands. I needed a hobby that would be productive.
I am very intense and passionate about anything I do. I was a hardcore gamer for years and was a high-level league of legends player at one point. Not good enough to go pro, but maybe just below the level at which people make money. But it was a problematic hobby that ate up too much time.
As a child, my dad had often said, “Wow imagine if you put as much time into your studies as you did into those games.”
I decided no more hobbies that will consume me.
I figured writing on Quora would be a quasi-productive, quasi-fun hobby, that wouldn’t consume me too much.
Everything except that last part was true. It spun into this whole big thing that I never expected. I got obsessed with writing. I think in the first 3 years I wrote 4000+ answers.
This love of writing led to opportunities to make money. I was able to work at the craft.
Writing also made me realize how much I hated my corporate job. I would liken it to when you are in a terrible relationship and some great, attractive person who has their shit together asks you out on a date.
You start to wonder, “What if there is more to my life than this crap relationship?”
Quitting my job was a huge decision that changed my life for the better. I have freedom. The money is great so far. I have control of my life.
It’s amazing what can happen if you just listen to your parents.
Because it was mainly an agricultural country and France was a major food exporter.
Britain and Germany had massive industries meaning fewer people working in agriculture. This resulted in food shortages, the need to import food, and higher food prices.
The French economy was doing very well being based on agriculture.
When I was in eighth grade, our science teacher held a school wide competition to see who could build the strongest bridge out of tooth picks.
My best friend, “J”, was very smart, very clever, and always mischievous. The rules only states that the bridge had to be made out of toothpicks and had to be a certain length (I think 12”, this was over 20 years ago). The rules did not limit what glue you used to join the toothpicks. Additional toothpicks could be earned by doing extra credit worksheets.
“J” came up with an awesome plan. He did dozens of extra credit sheets. He had thousands of toothpicks. His father was a machinist for a local manufacturer of printing presses and was able to procure some industrial grade epoxy to use as glue.
“J” set to work making alternating crisscrossing layers of toothpicks and epoxy. He essentially made a solid brick of toothpicks and epoxy.
The day of the competition came. The competition went in alphabetical order and “J”’s last name was pretty far down the list. The teacher had everyone gathered in the gym to see the competition. The bridges were suspended over a gap with weights hung from them until they broke.
Kid after kid brought up their bridge, some of them very fancy suspension type looking bridges. Most of them broke at 6 kg or less.
“J”’s turn came. He walks up to the platform with his brick. Kids in the audience are laughing at it. The bridge is placed over the gap. 1 kg, 2 kg, 3, and on until they hang the biggest weight of 25 kg and it’s not even flexing. All the kids are stunned.
The teacher, who was quite large and probably weighed 150 kg, puts two stacks of books on the floor, puts the brick over the gap between them, and stands with one foot on it. Not even flexing yet.
He then has the entire middle school follow him to the parking lot. He uses the books to prop up the brick again and proceeds to drive one wheel of his car onto it. It flexed a little.
At this point he has run out of heavy things to try to break the brick and declares “J” the winner.
As a teacher, what was the trashiest thing you’ve seen a parent do?
I’m frequently shocked at the language some parents use when dealing with the priests and nuns at a Catholic school. I’ve been in meetings where parents shouted and swore at elderly clergy people because they (the clergy people) had the audacity to remind the parents that they were way behind in their tuition payments, or their children were in danger of being expelled due to too many discipline issues.
I was always taught to treat older people and members of the clergy with respect. I’ll never get used to hearing a middle-aged parent scream and swear at an elderly priest or nun.
I was also always taught that you’re supposed to be extra nice to pregnant women. Apparently, a lot of parents were not taught that. I’ve seen parents scream and swear at teachers who were just weeks away from giving birth.
I was also always taught that you’re not supposed to swear in front of children. Yet every year, there’s at least one incident where a parent picks up their child from school and, in the course of a three-minute conversation within earshot dozens of kids as young as three years old, manages to drop a dozen really loud f-bombs.
I’ve also been preparing for my class in the morning, only to have the windows of my classroom shake as someone with stupidly-loud bass in their car drove up to the school to let their kids out… all kids who were under eight years old. There’s a time and a place for loud music. Seven thirty in the morning in front of a Catholic elementary school while you drop off your kids is not the time or place for that.
Get photos of the cord plugged in, photos of where it goes (unless you have to trespass), and make sure they are dated and time stamped (most digital cameras can do that and possibly some phones). Pull out your electric bills from the times you know he was using your power and try to see how much extra was used. If it is a lot over a short period, you have proof on the bill. Not sure about your power company but some keep track of just how much is used when to try to help you cut down and that information could also help you.
I always say, document, document, document so it isn’t your word against his.
I’m not sure this counts as ‘accidentally’ but: A long time ago I joined a startup company. We were doing some innovative stuff with fiber optics.
My roommate and I got into the habit of taking the accountant out to lunch or Happy Hour every few weeks; generally on a Friday. We’d get a few drinks into her and she’d open up about the financial condition of the company because she was worried.
We found out that the first unit we “shipped” was actually sent to a warehouse for storage because the CFO wanted to tell the investors we’d sold and shipped a unit by year end. There was a potential client but they hadn’t signed the purchase order.
When I found out that the CFO was lying to investors and employees I started looking for a new job. Sure enough four weeks later they announced a layoff. I was let go because “your software already works and we’re betting that it will keep working.” Meanwhile they kept a programmer that couldn’t get his program to compile let alone work.
When my manager called me in, I told him that he was cutting off his nose to spite his face. I also neglected to mention all of the semi-automated routines that I’d built in my spare time that no one had thought about or worried about ( things like builds, backups, space reclamation in the homegrown database, etc. ).
They offered us ‘outplacement services’ with the first meeting that AM at an offsite location. At the outplacement meeting they scheduled us for a follow up meeting the next morning. I told them I couldn’t attend because I had an interview already scheduled. Three other people also had interviews already scheduled because I wasn’t the only on that took the accountant out to lunch!
Yes. I have a school friend who was very bright and did well. He was in the rugby team and was a Prefect. He was very popular.
After school he went to a good uni but surprisingly dropped out. He got a good job in advertising but lost it. He got another, got married, but both failed disasterously. He was a raging alcoholic and was out of control. Finally he became very ill and ended up in a clinic. He was in his 20’s still and was given a year to live unless he stopped drinking.
He met a girl at the halfway house he was in. She was in the same position as him. Together they joined AA and got their lives going. They moved abroad, to a fairly undeveloped country that was growing quickly, and with some inheritance, started a small film production company. They did very well. He was responsible for starting many AA chapters there. He saved careers, marriages and lives.
We met for lunch recently. It’s forty years since his last drink and he’s happy and prosperous. Being dry is not a struggle, but he is still vigilant. He accepted a long time ago that he has a terrible weakness, possibly inherited, and this is his burden. Unwilling to hand on this weakness, he’s never had children. He’d have made a wonderful Dad.
Cold, but usually above freezing, at least here in the UK where nearly all buildings are made of stone or brick.
I don’t have central heating. I do have 18″ thick stone walls, but in a very cold winter my kitchen has been known to get so cold that my fridge stopped working, and my hands went numb within a minute or two of entering the kitchen.
However: yes, my windows are double-glazed but they’re a lot bigger than they probably would have been in the Victorian era, and in the Victorian era they would have had wooden shutters. I don’t even have curtains in the kitchen, because the room is laid out in a bloody stupid way which means I can’t even get *near* the window without climbing on top of a kitchen counter and walking across it.
In the Victorian era I would have had a fireplace in the living room and possibly the bedroom, and my kitchen would have had an actual stove that burned fuel and so put out excess heat.
Back in the day I worked as an assembly line “artist,” creating art that sold wholesale to decorators of office buildings and hotels. The company was owned by a foreign family that had fled prosecution in their own country and a few family members were employed as artists or support staff.
I was a poor lad but this job seemed really fun. It paid a bit more than minimum wage and it was cool to hang out with young artists like myself. I rarely went out to lunch, preferring to save money and bring my own, including yogurt cups for dessert. After a while I noticed my yogurt kept vanishing. I made a stink about it, even contacted HR (well, the supervisor that handled billing and HR) mostly suspecting another starving artist.
Then I had a diabolical idea – I read that consuming saline solution could cause diarrhea! I wore contacts so I had some, I just needed to find a way to inject my yogurt cups with it. After some failed attempts, I was still trying to figure it out when another yogurt cup went missing.
Struck by inspiration, I went to the HR supervisor’s office and “confessed,” with the door open and loud enough for nearby folks to overhear, that I had “spiked” the yogurt with saline. I regretted my rash decision and told her that whoever consumed the yogurt would likely have stomach problems for an hour or so but would otherwise be okay.
Sure enough, an employee suddenly went home sick, complaining of stomach problems! And it was one of the owners’ family members, a fairly well off individual compared to the rest of us. So did I get in trouble with the bosses for poisoning a beloved relative? Nope, because there was NO ACTUAL SALINE in the yogurt! The only thing the thief was suffering from was a guilty conscience.
There is a thing called sexual dimorphism. This refers to physical, physiological and even mental differences between males and females of a species, beyond their sexual organs.
The vast majority of species in the animal kingdom have sexual dimorphism, and even some plants. I’m sure you’re familiar with lions.
Males and females are fundamentally different, and in humans and all apes the males are generally bigger and stronger than the females. This isn’t just a matter of exercise. Testosterone in men promotes the growth of larger and more powerful muscles, something women cannot achieve without outside help like anabolic steroids.
Testosterone doesn’t just influence men’s muscles; it also affects their brains. Men and women are mentally different because of the different levels of testosterone and estrogen in their brains.
And guess what? This doesn’t just apply to humans.
Male birds, for instance, are the only members of the species that initiate courtship rituals. (That’s why the peacock has that huge mane of feathers). Male birds sing and court females because of the levels of testosterone in their brains, making them aggressively seek and impress females.
Most animal species from rats to humans to birds exhibit these mental differences between males and females, even in species where no physical sexual dimorphism is present (such as with dolphins).
These differences even cause societal systems to form in animals. Patriarchies aren’t unique to humans. Lions have a totally patriarchial society where the males head the pride, and the women serve and hunt for him. Wolves, apes, and other animals have formed patriarchies.
Guess what? Some of the other species have matriarchies. Elephants for instance are a completely matriarchial society, with males being cast out of the herd to find other herds to impregnate, which is about the extent of his involvement in society. The herd itself is guided by the oldest matriarch.
The fact of the matter is, differences between males and females affect society. Not just in humans, but in many social animals. Pretending that men and women are equal is like an ostrich hiding its head in the ground trying to ignore what is obvious.
Human societies formed into patriarchies around the world regardless of creed, religion or ideology for one simple reason: the stronger physical dominance of men made them better warriors and workers, while the vulnerability of women during childbirth meant it was important to provide a safe and stable environment for them to rear children in. Further, only women can produce milk to feed newborns. This meant that the role was locked in from the start, something a man can never do.
Thus men took on the role of protector and provider, while women took on the role of homemaking and childbearing. While modern society can allow men to just buy infant formula and women to rise to exemplary careers and bring home the bacon, this is a modern development and not one that was possible through the early stages of human evolution and society.
In today’s world and moving into the future, it’s certainly possible for us to destroy the patriarchy and create a different kind of society. Time will tell where this social experiment will lead humanity.
Terrorists Blow-Up PAKISTAN Air Base! 40 Fighter Jets Burning
The Taliban-Linked Terrorist Group “Tehreek-e Jihad” (TTP) has just claimed Responsibility for a Significant Attack tonight on Mianwali Air Force Base in Northern Pakistan.
The Terrorist Group appears to have Snuck into the Base using Ladders and are claiming to have Destroyed several Aircraft as well as some kind of Armored Vehicle.
The Pakistani Army is currently conducting an Operation to Secure the Base and have already Killed multiple Terrorists.
I viewed some answers above, I felt many answers didn’t get the main point.
The truth is: nobody of the 5 wants to share their rights.
Everyone of the 5 says they agree to extend the council but actually they don’t. Because it will add the bargain cost.
USA government says they support Japan to get into the council because USA knows Russia and China will veto. USA says like this way to keep Japan in hand to deploy USA army.
China supports Germany to the council because China knows USA and France will veto. Guess for what interest.
USA and Russia says they support India because they know China will veto. For what interest? Weapon sales.
So now do you understand what game they are playing?
Alpha particles don’t get far at all. They’re heavy, they’re slow, and they carry a charge, so they interact easily. They can travel an inch or so in air, but are blocked by a sheet of paper.
Beta particles are just elec…okay, um, so, correction. β- particles are just electrons. They’re light and zippy, so how far they get depends on how fast they go. Good rule of thumb, approximately 10ish feet or so for each MeV of energy.
β+ particles are positrons—antimatter electrons. In theory they could get as far as β- particles, in an antimatter world. In our world, they don’t get far at all in air before they hit something and annihilate in a flash of gamma photons.
Gamma rays? Oh, it is on. Hold my beer.
Gamma rays laugh at your puny “air.” Gamma rays laugh at your puny steel. Gamma rays might stop for lead, maybe, if you have enough of it to make things interesting. Six feet of concrete or one and a half feet of lead should do it.
This might as well be tissue paper to gamma rays
Gamma rays sneeze at this
This is not even close to what it takes to stop gamma rays
Starting to get there, if the gamma rays are going through lengthwise
Now we’re talking! (The whole stack, not one plate)
Gamma rays will go merrily through this planet’s entire atmosphere, plus the bodies of the researchers doing the experiment, plus the roof of their house, and then merrily on toward Alpha Centauri.
300,000 engineers and scientists in China will briefly look up from their work and say in a puzzled tone: “奇怪，那是什么声音？ 是不是美国放屁的声音？”. Then they return to their R&D projects in advanced chipmaking.
Not a mugging but I did have a break in at my apartment. I was assaulted, had both eye orbits fractured, broke ribs and fingers, and was choked almost to the point of loosing consciousness.
I however did manage to stab my attacker in his face and skull, scalping him from his left ear to the top of his head and causing brain dammage. He lost serious ammounts of blood passed out and was put in a medically induced coma for two days and had multiple blood transfusions before he was even conscious to be charged with aggrivated assault, breaking and entering and attempted murder (I dont actually know what he was officially charged with, just that he was sentenced to two years and ended up serving four)
I had my ass beat, and badly. But I was told by the police that if it wasnt for modern medical treatment my attacker would have died.
Now years later I was very drunk the night before my brothers wedding. Someone did try to mug me but I was apparently so drunk that I didnt know what was happening and I thought they wanted a cigarette and I kept explaining that I dont smoke. Their heart must not have been in it because they gave up and moved on to someone else without stabbing me. Some witness called police and I was supposedly too drunk to give a statement. They got me back to my hotel and I dont remember any of it
And thats my life story so far.
“Men Have No CLUE!” This Is Why Men Aren’t TAKING Western Women SERIOUSLY Anymore
Raw reality. I am so glad that I am no longer young.
U.S. and Europe Talking with Ukraine about PEACE NEGOTIATIONS with Russia!
U.S. and European officials have begun quietly talking to the Ukrainian government about what possible peace negotiations with Russia might entail to end the war, according to one current senior U.S. official and one former senior U.S. official.
The conversations have included very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal, the officials said.
Some of the talks, which officials described as delicate, took place last month during a meeting of representatives from more than 50 nations supporting Ukraine, including NATO members, known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the officials said.
The discussions are an acknowledgment of “the dynamics militarily on the ground in Ukraine” and politically in the U.S. and Europe, officials said.
In other words, despite all the media hype that Ukraine is winning, Ukraine is actually losing. Imagine that.
“Unchecked flooding of Chinese fentanyl into America”?
Fentanyl is a LEGAL drug. Fentanyl addiction is a problem only in America. NOT in China or anywhere in the world. It is Americans ordering, procuring and peddling this drug and not the Chinese “flooding” the U.S. It’s OUR problem because WE caused OUR opioid addiction. Why the shit are you blaming China for us not being able to control the trafficing of fentanyl within the U.S.?
“Mercenary bounties placed on British residents”?
“Mercenary bounties” is the farthest from the truth.
Bounties is defined as money paid for killing or capturing a person or animal.
However, Australia, the U.K. and U.S. have branded the rewards for information as “bounties” for 8 exiled pro-democracy HK activists for the 2019 riots in Hong Kong that these countries instigated through the CIA and NGOs. Hong Kong has every right to seek information on persons guilty of seditious acts against China.
This is Hong Kong issuing warrants for their citizens for serious criminal acts. And if they are stupid enough to return to Hong Kong, they will be arrested.
“Arrest warrant for Xi”?
Another stupid question. Who is to issue this? The U.S.? For what charge?
Are you dense enough to believe the U.S. has the authority to arbirtrarily order the arrest of the leader of another country? The U.S. has NO police authority beyond our border just like any other country.
And then what? Do you expect the U.S. or another country to invade the soveriegnty of China by going to China to arrest Xi?
China hate does not justify you to think, write or act stupidly.
This Just Ηappened In South Carolina, But Something Εven Stranger Ιs Ηappening Around The World!
Seems suspicious we never had this many huge disasters in our food manufacturing plants, trains, and other big plants.
The United States has been flying MQ-9 “Reaper” drones over the southern Gaza Strip of late. (HT REMARK: One wonders if they are giving intel to Israel so they can slaughter more women and children?)
They were first spotted on Saturday on Flightradar24.
Officials say the drones were being used to “aid in hostage recovery efforts” indicating that the U.S. is more involved than previously known.
Republicans are winning, they just don’t seem to know it nor can they give the rest of us some peace. What do I mean by this?
Traditional Republican values are what America still runs on and much of the rest of the world too. In fact, all of the countries where things work, they run on traditional conservative or Republican values. Like thrift, hard work, saving, putting your kids in school, reasonable but not high levels of tax, a hand up not a hand out. No corporate crony capitalism (this is in theory of course as there always is colllusion) , some type of religious base to your society and usually that is Christian though it could also be Jewish, or Hindu or Buddhist or Muslim.
So why are the Republicans winning and losing?
First the losing. Because they can’t stop themselves, they keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It is called extremism and the entire right wing of the Republican party starting with the so called Freedom Caucus which has nothing to do with either, not espousing freedom rather telling everyone especially women what they can and can’t do and it is not even a caucus, just a raucous group of malcontents.
Republicans are winning of course in the electoral college where they own around 30 states which gives them a disproportionate control of just about everything with state, local and federal government. They control red states which means military bases and expenditures (11 out of 15 largest are in red states, yet they cannot pass a budget that is focused on the military or allow the military to make promotions which their extremists block). They control state houses in the same proportion, they gerrymander like crazy and win more and more as the Supreme Court now rules in their favor, slowly whittling away black and brown rights in particular.
They are winning on dismantling and even the legitimacy of the federal govt and their chief avatar, Trump has his man in as Speaker who we found out this week doesn’t even have a bank account. No, he is not a traditional Republican.
What to make of this? Democrats feel they are in the majority, but control less and less and are fragmented. Republicans could control everything but the right wing crazies including Trump keep giving them opportunities which if it were not for Joe Biden, they would have squandered once again.
Republicans? Their values, real conservative values rule the civilized non autocratic world. Unfortunately in America, these values are not the values of the current Republican party.
Therefore you see, in the end they are winning in spite of themselves and with their losing their way and becoming extremist, they are literally taking the country down along with democracy with them.
Prizes…
Bank Notice: “Some Deposits May Be Temporarily Delayed”
Several US banks are facing service disruptions today. Meanwhile, users on the ‘free speech’ social media platform X complain that the Automated Clearing House system is down.
Downdetector.com shows Truist, Bank of America, Chase, US Bank, and Wells Fargo are experiencing widespread outages and disruptions that began around 0800 ET.
A message on Bank of America’s webpage reads, “Some deposits may be temporarily delayed … Some deposits from 11/03 may be temporarily delaved due to an issue impacting multiple financial institutions. Your accounts remain secure, and your balance will be updated as soon as the deposit is received. You do not need to take any action.”
Hal Turner Remarks
I see about 5 US banks listed as being offline over on down detector website. (HERE)
Bank of America Chase Chime US Bank Wells Fargo Huntington
My bank (Capital One) is **NOT** affected at all.
One wonders if the situation in the Middle East has Hackers going after the US banking system?
Apparently, it’s a particular clearinghouse that B of A, Chase and Huntington use. That went down last night. They just got it up and running and I was told that most will get their deposits within 2 hours. Tonight at latest”
BofA rep just told me that the Fed sent the banks a bulletin that there was an outage overnight but that the servers are back online now and the deposit backlogs should be worked through by end of day today.
My wife contacted her company’s bank this morning. They reported that the issue is with the banks that use what’s called the ‘Federal EPM Processing Clearinghouse,’ and that they had a widespread server outage overnight, but that they are back online and processing the backlog.
We were eating at Benihana’s one evening and sat next to a young couple who appeared to be on a date. They looked over the menu and ordered a variety of sushi. I was impressed by how adventuresome they were.
When their meal arrived both of them stared at their plates closely examining every item. They were clearly getting very upset. Finally they called over the waiter and the gal said in a loud voice, “You call yourself a restaurant?! Did you even CHECK this stuff before it left the kitchen! Look at it! Everything is raw!”
China has had the north Korea experience. It was embargoed (I.e. Total sanction) together with their war comrades for three decades, until the 70s.
China survived that, back in a time when they couldn’t even make fertilizers.
The soviets helped but only the first decade. China remained desperately poor into the 90s.
Today, a china embargo will not be cost free like in the past. Does the world even notice Cuba has been embargoed for almost 6 decades?
Not so China.
For one, Apple as a viable company becomes historical, because it will not have hardware to sell. Every single company in the semiconductor supply chain will be disrupted, because China is a key node, either as supplier, assembler or customer.
Moving on, the different festivals driving seasonal demand will have to be repriced, because it is hard to find a supply chain big and efficient enough to absorb demand spikes.
Study the pandemic. Why didn’t a black market develop for ppe, ventilators and other medical equipment despite exponential growth in demand? Prices increased but they stabilized and the quantity and quality of goods has been remarkable given months of spiraling demand.
It is the same story with work from home essentials, from bird feeders to children toys to video conferencing equipment.
Things are so out of whack containers are being shipped empty back to China while the cost of sending an FEU from Asia to Europe has crossed the 10k mark.
Embargo China if you must, but it will hurt big time, especially for the comfortable first world.
China has made itself relevant to the world. There will be no repeat of “let’s bomb Iraq back to the stone age using flour in the test tube as justification”.
If China is embargoed, you won’t only see it in the news.
You will feel it, deep into your pockets, and you will live the consequences.
REPORT: VIP Jets Now Airborne from DC to Cheyenne Mountain Bunkers – “Gov’t Going Underground”
I’m not sure what to make of this, but it was posted in a US Veteran’s Forum. The guy in the brief video seems VERY nervous as he reports EIGHT “VIP” Aircraft heading to Cheyenne Mountain (NORAD??) and says “They’re putting government into Bunkers.”
His voice is clearly trembling as he describes what he sees going on. Looks legit to me, at first glance.
I pass this along with the full Disclaimer that I have not (yet) verified these claims. But if he’s right, then time is of the essence and all of YOU should know.
*****FLASH ***** U.S. House Approves Resolution on Iran: “All means necessary” to prevent Nuclear Armed Iran
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Resolution late last night “. . . to use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon; . . .” Now we know why our military is massed in Middle East.
It now seems clear to me that all the US military hardware sent to the easstern Mediterranean, has nothing at all to do with Israel, per se, and has everything to do with Iran.
That military hardware isn’t there “to protect Israel” as much as it is there to disarm Iran.
The Iranians have likely suspected this, now, they know.
Iran had better take a long, hard look at what is arrayed against them because once all that firepower starts shooting, the entire landmass of Iran will be like a hail storm of explosions.
What happened to Iraq in 1991, I think will look like nothing compared to what they plan on unleashing against Iran. But . . . . there’s a little problem. Russia.
Two weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin casually reminded the world that his MiG-31 fighter jets, flying freely in international air space all the way up in the Black Sea, are equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. He also causally reminded the world that those missiles have a “known” range of at least 1,000km. Without actually SAYING this, it quickly became clear to everyone paying attention that America’s two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea, are within range of those Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Moreover, it also became quickly evident that those missiles can carry either a conventional warhead, or tactical nuclear warheads of at least 5 kilotons.
The US cannot defend itself from hypersonic missiles. No one can.
So if the US goes after Iran, using carrier-based planes, Russia can order two of its MiG fighters to fire Kinzhal missiles armed with small, tactical, nuclear warheads, and utterly destroy both aircraft carrier battle groups.
Can you say “World War 3?”
A direct Link to the official US Government Website showing the text of the US House Resolution on Iran is HERE
Hal Turner Editorial Opinion
Interestingly, this now seems to be a method for declaring war without actually “declaring” it.
While the words “Congress shall make no law . . . .” does **not** mean what it actually says in the Constitution’s First Amendment, and while “. . . shall not be infringed.” does **not** mean what IT actually says in the Constitution’s Second Amendment, you can bet your ass that “. . .any means necessary . . .” means exactly what it says in this resolution!
So . . . . it now appears that the massive naval and military build-up we’ve been watching in the Middle East over the past two weeks was all part of a well-planned series of moves KNOWING FULL WELL they intended to take us to war with Iran. They just waited until ONE day before likely hostilities break out, to put through this new “policy.”
This is the level of sleazy, political, human, garbage we have in the Congress of the United States.
Oh, and by the way, have you noticed that this web site is the **ONLY** media outlet in the entire country pointing this out? That shows you you the level of sleazy, human garbage, infesting the mass-media these days. Keep it all quiet — on purpose. Keep the American people in the dark — on purpose.
Then, when actual war breaks out, the American people are blind-sided, afraid, and called to rally behind the troops. All one big plan.
As our military starts coming home in body bags, the very same politicians who literally caused the war, will cry crocodile tears for the men whose lives their vote snuffed out.
It’s disgusting to me on a level that’s hard to verbally describe.
Straight to the point
The Ukraine Peace Talk Trial Balloon
A trial ballon has gone up on the NBCnews website. It is testing the public reaction to the upcoming U.S. and NATO acknowledgment of their defeat in Ukraine:
WASHINGTON — U.S. and European officials have begun quietly talking to the Ukrainian government about what possible peace negotiations with Russia might entail to end the war, according to one current senior U.S. official and one former senior U.S. official familiar with the discussions.
This comes the same week that saw a Time piece about Zelenski’s unwillingness to consider the real situation on Ukraine and to admit defeat. The same week the Economist interviewed General Zaluzny who optimistically spoke of a stalemate at the front even while his army is on the cusp of disintegration.
Taken together the three pieces might well be part of a U.S. administration campaign to concede its defeat in Ukraine while blaming its Ukrainian proxy forces for the results of its blunder.
The conversations have included very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal, the officials said. Some of the talks, which officials described as delicate, took place last month during a meeting of representatives from more than 50 nations supporting Ukraine, including NATO members, known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the officials said.
The discussions are an acknowledgment of the dynamics militarily on the ground in Ukraine and politically in the U.S. and Europe, officials said.
They began amid concerns among U.S. and European officials that the war has reached a stalemate and about the ability to continue providing aid to Ukraine, officials said. Biden administration officials also are worried that Ukraine is running out of forces, while Russia has a seemingly endless supply, officials said. Ukraine is also struggling with recruiting and has recently seen public protests about some of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s open-ended conscription requirements.
The problem of the Ukrainian army is an obvious one. It is running out of men and has few it can still recruit. It is difficult to assess the real losses the Ukrainian military has had, but I would not be astonished to learn that they sum up to about 300,000 dead and some 500,000+ wounded, many of whom will now be disabled.
Finally these concerns about Ukraine’s manpower get acknowledged:
President Joe Biden has been intensely focused on Ukraine’s depleting military forces, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“Manpower is at the top of the administration’s concerns right now,” one said. The U.S. and its allies can provide Ukraine with weaponry, this person said, “but if they don’t have competent forces to use them it doesn’t do a lot of good”
The last sentence seems to be taken from the Time piece which had said:
In some branches of the military, the shortage of personnel has become even more dire than the deficit in arms and ammunition. One of Zelensky’s close aides tells me that even if the U.S. and its allies come through with all the weapons they have pledged, “we don’t have the men to use them.”
During the last days tanks from the 47th brigade (Leo 2) and 10th mountain brigade (T-64BM/BV) have been seen, and were destroyed, near Avdiivka. Both brigades had only recently been mauled during their hopeless attacks at the southern front. It does not make sense to throw what is left of them into another battle without reconstituting them. The whole experience and knowledge these brigades had gained will be lost with them.
The whole professional middle-block of the army, the sergeants and young officers, have mostly been killed or wounded. Without them it is impossible to constitute new forces.
The NBC piece has made news in Ukraine (in Russian) but I have yet to find Ukrainian reactions to it. While I was publishing this a first political reaction, total denial, appeared:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not think the situation on the front in Ukraine is a stalemate and has said that Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia. … Quote from Zelenskyy: “This is not a stalemate. Russia controls the sky. We are protecting our troops. No one [in Ukraine] wants to just throw our people [into the battle] like Russia does […]
How can we overcome it? With the F-16s, we have to wait for our guys to get trained and for them to come back. When there’s air defence on the front, our soldiers advance, and they deploy the equipment they have.”
What will he say when the F-16s, the fifty year old wunderwaffen, fall out of the sky faster than they go up?
There are sure signs that the divide between the political and military leadership in Ukraine is growing. President Zelenski, on request of his new defense minister, just removed the commander of Ukraine’s special forces and installed a new one:
Major General Viktor Khorenko does not know the reasons for his dismissal from the post of Commander of the Special Operations Forces. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, did not submit a request for his dismissal.
It is very unusual to fire an officer without a request from his superior commander.
There are also shots fired against Zaluzny himself:
Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, commenting on the article by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, for The Economist, has said that the military should not bring to the public what is happening at the front. … Zhovkva also stated that “one of the heads of the leaders’ offices” called him after the mentioned article was published.
“And they simply ask me in a panic, ‘What should I report to my leader? Are we really at a stalemate?’. Are we trying to achieve this effect with this article?”, the President’s Office representative said.
The NBC piece even sets a time frame to Ukraine to admit that it is over:
Officials also have privately said Ukraine likely only has until the end of the year or shortly thereafter before more urgent discussions about peace negotiations should begin. U.S. officials have shared their views on such a timeline with European allies, officials said.
Russia will likely agree to peace talks. But it probably will demand more than Ukraine is willing to give. At a minimum that is the full control over the five oblast it has annexed, including Crimea, and no NATO relations with Ukraine. The current Ukrainian parliament will probably reject those requests which will then lead to further Russian demands.
Kiev has yet to acknowledge reality. The Ukrainian state has been bleeding out – financially as well as physically. Its masters have found that their aim at the start of the war – to weaken Russia – has led to the opposite. Russia now has a bigger and better armed military with more real war experience than any of its possible opponents.
Russia has won.
Posted by b on November 4, 2023 at 13:23 UTC | Permalink
Danny-Bob Vanderwal is the smartest man alive. Danny-Bob was so smart back in school that the teacher couldn’t find anything in her text books that Danny-Bob didn’t already know. When he graduated from high school, he got offers to go study just about anywhere he wanted. But instead, he went to work at the family vineyard. Danny-Bob said he owed it to his great grandpa that brought these grapevines from Germany to the Ozarks over a century ago.
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Back in 2013, the county had the worst drought anyone could remember. Grape vines died and family vineyards went out of business everywhere. But Danny-Bob had a plan. He’d studied old geology maps of Vanderwal mountain made back in the 1930’s. He found a fissure in the bedrock down about a hundred feet below the vineyard. Danny-Bob had walked the mountain since he was a little kid, and he had always wondered where the watershed drained to. He came to the conclusion that the stormwater on the surface was draining down to that fissure. And it was probably staying there.
The summer of 2013 was really hot. It was well over 100 degrees in the shade. Danny-Bob had bought an old 1950’s cable-tool well drilling machine and the whole family was out trying to punch a hole through the black granite bedrock beneath the vineyard. Danny-Bob had the old Hercules diesel power unit firing on 5 of the 6 cylinders, but she was turning the drill head. The whole family worked non-stop for 8 days and nights. And finally, on September 7, 2013, Danny-Bob hit water. They all hugged each other and danced in the cool wet mud that flowed up the borehole.
The Vanderwal vineyard was the only one to survive the drought of 2013. Danny-Bob’s great grandpa’s grape vines are still producing today. And everyone in the county knows without doubt, Danny-Bob Vanderwal is the smartest man alive.
I lived in a small country town and my front garden was on the road children took to the little school, and as I was usually out there with my dog, many of them would stop and talk to me, and pet the dog, but being careful considering the paranoia about pedophiles, I never made any ‘advances’ that could be considered inappropriate
I had to collect my mail from the little post office, no deliveries were made, and standing in line one day, a miserable older woman in front of me turned and demanded to know ’Are you a Pervert?’
As you can imagine EVERY head snapped round, and all I could think to say was,
‘ I don’t really know..do you want to visit later and find out?’
Her face was a study..the post office erupted in laughter, and she stormed out in embarrassment, and being a small place, the story went around like wild fire…and several locals congratulated me later for ‘Talking the old biddy down a peg or two!
How about an interview that I did not even know was an interview? Time spent on interview: −2
weeks. Let me explain:
I went to a state university, and was not the ideal student. My undergraduate GPA was pathetic. I could make excuses, but the reality was that my parents made enough money that I could not qualify for any government student support, and they expected me to provide money to them. All of my high-school friends were far more cool than me, and they had jobs, and money. I could have worked a bit harder, maybe. But I worked my way through college, and usually took on too many obligations. My GPA was very bad, but one professor, Dr. Vimes, hired me on a grant to do some work creating custom maps for convention attendees, to get them to the booths that they were interested in. I got to travel to conventions and install the map systems.
When I finished my BS degree, I wanted to go on for a Master’s degree. The department chair, Dr. William M. Marcy, initially rejected my application. However, some of the faculty, and the department administrative assistant, convinced him to give me a chance. Dr. Vimes weighed in on that, and probably made a greater difference in my life than he ever realized.
As a Master’s student, I was paid a meager stipend to teach courses and conduct some research. I had the opportunity to travel and present my research at conferences. Meanwhile, Dr. Marcy had a start-up company that employed some graduate students. They had a fundamental problem that they could not solve. They had worked on the problem for over a month, and one of the graduate students told Dr. Marcy to hire me. He caught me in the hallway and outlined the problem, and asked me if I could solve it. I said “probably.” I showed up at the job site at 9:00 AM. By noon their problem was solved. It took me another 30 minutes to write some code to automate it. Dr. Marcy asked me for a bill, and I said, “Don’t worry about it. I had fun solving the problem. Buy me a good dinner someday.”
Under the tutelage of Dr. William Jennings Briant (Brian) Oldham, I finished the MS degree, with a much better GPA, and went to work in industry. In my two years, there, I earned an award for “Best internal supplier” and filed a patent application. When I told them that I wanted to go back to school and earn a PhD, they were willing to support me. They paid for four years of what turned out to be a six year degree. The patent was awarded, and they licensed the technology to other entities. The patent made them well over $10 million, so I think think that them paying me for four years of graduate school was a win-win. During my time as a PhD student, I traveled the world and presented papers to scientific conferences in several countries.
Now I’m going to answer the question.
As I approached my graduation with the PhD, I wanted an academic position. I wanted to be a professor, even though the pay is less. But there were about 50 academic positions nationwide, and over 600 applicants. There is a fairly standard part of interviewing for an academic position. The applicant must give a “research” lecture, and a “teaching” lecture. I needed to practice my lectures. So in October, I sent an email message to my MS Thesis advisor, Dr. William Jennings Brian Oldham, asking if I could do my lectures for their seminar. at my former university.
About a week later, he responded by asking what dates would work for me. The signature on the email message indicated that he was now the department chair. I congratulated him on his promotion, and gave the dates that I could be there.
Fast-forward. I drove down in early December to spend a few weeks with my family and incidentally give my lectures and get some feedback on them from my former professors. Dr. Oldham asked me to show up early, so that they could give me a tour of the campus and see how it had changed in the decade after I was a student.
I showed up at the appointed time, and a student took me all over campus, which was surprisingly interesting. Being near Christmas, someone was playing the carillon. One of the best carillons in North America. She even took me to the office of the president of the university, where I met with Dr. William M. Marcy. Yes, he had worked his way up from professor, to department chair, to university president. We only met for a few minutes, but he did mention that I had been a really shitty undergraduate, and that he was very happy that other people had pushed him to change his decision on admitting me to the MS program.
Shortly after that, I gave my teaching and research talks, and got some feedback from my former professors. The president of the university was present for both of my talks. He reminded me that he still owed me a dinner, and asked me if I was available that night. That night, we went to the best restaurant in that city.
A week later, I received an email message from my former advisor, Dr. Oldham, asking me to log into a web site and fill out the application. It turns out that they had put me through the standard job interview, and all I had to do was actually apply. I did that, and a week later, Dr. Marcy called me and asked, “What will it take to get you to come here?” I answered, “I want to be the highest-paid associate professor on your campus.” And that is how I ended up spending 14 years at a great university in a place where I really did not want to be.
And the shortest interview of my life. I did not even apply for the job until after the interview, so really, the time between application and landing the job is negative.
Blue Bayou Chicken Florentine
chicken florentine side close
Yield:4 servings; 2 cups sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
4 (7 ounce) chicken breasts (with skin)
1 cup Florentine sauce (see below)
3 ounces chopped fresh or frozen spinach*
3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
2 ounces cooked and chopped bacon
Seasoned salt to taste
2 tablespoons melted butter
Florentine Sauce
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
3 sliced medium mushrooms
2/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon diced pimentos
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Chicken
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
In mixing, combine spinach, bacon and cheese; set aside.
Open chicken breast and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Stuff with spinach mixture. Fold and place seam side down in baking dish. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle outside with seasoned salt.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Top with Florentine sauce and serve over rice.
Florentine Sauce
Blend together flour and 2 teaspoons of the butter; set aside.
Sauté onions and mushrooms in 1 teaspoon butter (do not allow onions to brown).
Add white wine and reduce completely.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and slowly add the flour/butter mixture a little at a time until desired thickness is achieved. Continue cooking at a simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
That was the last job I had in Vietnam before moving to the U.S.
I showed up. My (later would be) boss looked at me. Pointed me to the chair to sit down in front of his desk, then he said:
– I read your resume and recommendation. Do you have any questions?
I didn’t expect the interview went straight to that point, so I asked:
– What do you expect your new hire to be in one year?
I think I surprised him with that question as well. He thought for a few seconds, then listed out his bullet points of his expectations. After listening, I told him, firmly:
– I will be that person in 6 months.
He stood up, held his hand out. I shook his hand, he smiled:
– DEAL!
I got the job. Worked for him 5 years. He’s the best boss that I’ve had the chance to work with and learn a lot from.
Years ago I worked as an overnight stocker for Walmart when a night manager position came open.
I was the team lead in the grocery department and had, previously, been an assistant manager for a local grocery store so after almost 5 years with Walmart and 12 years in the grocery business, I felt that I was qualified for the job.
I went through several interviews and at the end it came down to me and a suckup who worked days.
The suckup ate lunch with management staff on a regular basis so I had a feeling that I was going to get screwed.
I didn’t receive a call on the day that they said they’d announce their decision but when I arrived at the store an assistant manager asked me to come back to the HR office. I knew I’d gotten screwed when he directed me to a chair in front of the desk while he leaned against the desk so I sat back to listen to what he had to say.
He said that choosing between me and the dayshift suckup was an incredibly difficult decision but they’d decided to promote the suckup.
He said that I was doing an outstanding job as team lead in grocery and it would not be in management’s best interest to remove me from that position.
He said that I was doing such a good job that they were bumping my pay up by 50 cents an hour, effective immediately.
He asked if I had any questions and I had just one:
“So, I didn’t get the promotion because I’m doing too good of a job?”
He immediately began backtracking and saying that I misunderstood him but I knew what I’d heard. I handed him my name badge and apron before leaving the store. I have not set foot in a Walmart since.
China can go into War Economy in a matter of weeks
None of the others can
You would be taking them on in their backyard where their supply and production and replacement will be twenty times faster than Quads with only South Korea being capable of production based supply
India
India , if they send one ship will face a Chinese pincer movement across the Eastern and Northern fronts and that’s a war that India with barely $ 20 Billion debt free dollars can’t afford
Russia and Venezuela and Middle East will refuse to supply Oil to India on the spot and Canada is not a friend now.
So India will simply sit this one out
Japan
Japan is a decent Navy but an offensive war?
They would simply be unable to get weapons and equipment beyond the sixth week
They would be begging the US for equipment pretty soon especially Shells
Japan has 140,000 active shells & around 600 Active Missiles
China has 1.7 Million shells and around 12,000 Active Missiles for offensive and defensive
South Korea
South Korea will sit this one out
Uncle Kim would be looking with Glee
No way will SK risk a conflict with China and open up a new salvo with NK
So it would ultimately be US vs China
Quad, the rest of it would simply opt out or play a small role in the deep background
US isn’t the great superpower anymore
They can’t defeat China on their turf
They don’t have the manpower if China decide to go reserve and get a whopping 5 Million men in 6 months
No American will agree to get conscripted to fight China miles away today
This ain’t 1965
So No
NATO, QUAD have no chance against China in the South China Sea
China doesn’t want a conflict because China is primarily a Trader than a Warrior
I don’t generally care what people buy but there is an exception.
I’ll occasionally see someone who is morbidly obese at the grocery store, who had a kid or two under 8 who are very, very overweight already and on track to be 2–3x their healthy weight.
Without fail, their grocery cart almost entirely filled with junk food.
I’m all for people living their own lives and whatnot. I also get that food and being judged is a sensitive issue for overweight people.
But I hate seeing kids being indoctrinated into a pattern of trashing their body.
It’s a really difficult thing to undo later in life if you’ve been conditioned to go straight for candy or chips everytime you are hungry. It borders are being a form of child abuse.
image 151
Admittedly, this is a touchy issue for me because I lost a family member solely to the fact that they’d chosen to trash their body. I probably have some pent up agitation because of that.
Outside of that, I don’t generally judge people’s purchases. When I worked retail many years ago, the only thing I judged people over was their attitude.
As long as they were nice and respectful, we were cool.
Some people look down on you for working such a low octaine position. So I try to pay it forward and be polite with everyone.
British Airways has been in decline for a LOOONG time.
What was it?
Multiple things : They were pretty much a monopoly in the past meaning they had the American problem. DELTA, AA have absolute monopolies on some routes… so it’s like it or lump it. This attitude continued well into de-regulation of airlines.
Later on, they got bought out and as usual corporates sweat the company for more profits. They did this by cutting back on cleaning and employee pay.
Employee pay was a funny one. In that they had unionised staff yet again a legacy of the monopoly age. They could give you crappy attitudes and be protected from losing their jobs. They also had new less well paid staff on different contracts. In essence nobody cared. The seniors were entrenched and were difficult to fire so they didnt care. The new staff were underpaid and on a vastly lower rate and less perks than the regular full time staff so they too didn’t care.
I bought a coat on Marketplace. When I got home, I washed it, and I checked the pockets again before doing so, to make sure there was nothing more – like a tissue – that might make the wash gross. The pockets were really deep and came to a point, and I felt something in one of them and had to fish deep to get it. When I pulled it out, it appeared to be a diamond ring, with three sizable diamonds, white gold. I took a picture and messaged the seller I’d found it. She was surprised – said it had been an anniversary gift and wondered if her little girl had been playing with it and put it there. I didn’t want to make the drive again – it was 20 mins each way. So I offered to ship it, which she accepted. I hoped she would offer to pay shipping, since this was not my fault. She’d didn’t. I shipped it anyway.
I worked several decades at a company that Forrest Gump invested in, he called it “some fruit company in California”. I just turned 60, and got a bit tired of expectation of 14 hour days, so I asked to use my skill set in a reduced capacity. I have a life to live, family, other interests. So I asked for a demotion. “We don’t do demotions”. I said that we would have to do something, as I am not keeping up this pace until I drop. So we agreed to part ways (laid off). This did not go over well with other engineers who respected my work, some of whom I have mentored. Basically, anytime you touch a keyboard on a Mac, and enter something in any language of the world, what you see on the screen is my junk (and the junk of a bunch of other really bright people with whom it was my privilege to work). Well, it seems that the other engineers realized that there is no loyalty, and it was just a matter of time before they would be treated similarly. Next thing I know, the other engineers have moved elsewhere inside the company, or have left. Then it seems the entire project got put in “maintenance” mode, as nobody wants to mess with my work, I believe (it is elegant, but a bit hairy… well, I think I invented something, but whatever). Conclusion: This fruit company is ok at recycling hardware, but does not want to hear about recycling its people. The CEO is reported to have said that this is a company for young people, although he isn’t. My years of experience and skill set are no longer valued, there is no loyalty (as I go through ups and downs of life), so I’m happily pursuing my other interests… and I don’t look 60 anymore !
West Confused As China Rolls Out Red Carpet For Russian President Putin On His Visit!
When I was a young boy, perhaps in second grade, we lived in Monroe , CT. It was a housing development that was being carved out of the forests, and was very nice. We only lived there for a year or so, before my father was transferred to Pittsburgh. We sold the place. Bad move, as the house ended up being worth millions of dollars.
2023 11 22 15 27
Anyways, at that time in my life, I loved roaming the woods. All 7 years old, and it was a big part of my childhood.
I would often go into the homes being constructed with wire cutters and rip out the wiring and electronics for fun. Oh, that is, until my father had a talk with a building contractor. LOL.
But, you know what?
Yeah, what I most remember about that time was spending all day hiking and exploring, and then coming home to a nice big “sit down” dinner. These were often improved upon as I got older, but at that time, my mother was just getting into her “stride” and it was simple but delicious fare.
Meatloaf, roasts, soups, chicken, and the like. All very delicious and filling.
Instant Pot Spaghetti 1
One of my fondest memories was the meat-laden spaghetti, with plain “wonder bread” on the side, and a nice large salad. Other popular meals consisted of pork chutney over rice, and submarine sandwich meals.
2023 11 22 15 31
But it’s the spaghetti that I miss the most.
one pot spaghetti and meat sauce image 9
I used to take the bread, and butter both sides. Then, I would spoon the spaghetti into the bread, making a fine thick sandwich. Oh, I was so simple and silly then.
I guess the MM audiences would go “ohhh yuck” at this story. But for me, nah. it’s good memories and good times.
I was a young, recently divorced, single mother of a 3 year old and one Christmas my grandmother gave me a HUGE box to open. In that box I found a little bit of everything! It had paper towels. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, canned goods and many other items that you may want or need for your home and pantry! I was so grateful as it is pretty costly when you run out of everything especially all at the same time and because my Grandmother had no money she said she added everything a little at a time all throughout the year in order to help me the best way she could. My Grandmother was the sweetest, kindest Lady you’d ever know. I loved her with my whole heart!
I made $7.50 per hour for 3 years before I got a sweet .50 raise that catapulted me no where.
And I only got that because the lady was guilted into it.
I was told, as most people are, if you work hard and prove yourself, you will make more in time. Well that never really happened.
When I first started I just answered phones and worked the register. Then I got my vehicle inspectors license and begin inspecting vehicles. And answering phones and the register.
The business was a window tinting business, primarily, and they tinted vehicles, homes and commercial buildings. Soon I was prepping jobs for tint and doing bids for residential and commercial jobs. And doing well, I might add!
Then helping with the books. Opening, closing, picking up and dropping off customers. Driving out of town to pick up materials. And finally tinting commercial windows.
And I worked, often 80 hours per week. For $8 per hour. Which is a problem because at a certain point, over time starts to hurt. The extra would be taken out in taxes and the effort is not worth it.
Let me also mention that I didn’t have a car and used a company truck for company business but my commute to and from work everyday was just over 3 hours. I woke up at 4 to be there at 8:30. (Hitchhiked, rode 2 buses and walked…both ways…yep)
When I inquired about a raise she kept putting me off. She’d think about it. Couldn’t afford it, etc. Finally she said to me…
”It’s not like you need more money. It’s not like you have a family to take care of, house or car. It’s not like you have any bills.”
I will never ever, forget that. Ever.
Apparently it never occurred to her that I didn’t have any of those things because I was poor. And it was totally ok with her if I never had anything because it benefitted her.
And I had other issues with the place like rarely getting a day off and it would be the end of the world if I took a break at work because only smokers are allowed breaks. Twenty breaks, a hundred, doesn’t matter, because you need those cigarette breaks!
“If you don’t like it, then go work somewhere else.”
When she told me that.
I quit.
She was so certain I would come back because I had no prospects. Two weeks later, a friend told me she was looking for me, she wanted me to come back.
Why, you might ask??
Because she can’t find any decent help (read: people who’ll work for nothing!). And she wanted me to come back for…
Wait for it…
$8.50!!
See, I needed to understand that she could not afford more than that.
I told her. “No thanks.”
Then she called me selfish. She was struggling to find help and I didn’t care. Selfish!!
She ended up having to hire 4 other people. And for the next 5 years she contacted me off and on to try to get me to come back.
“Ok, how about $9! Be reasonable!!”
So on and so forth until she got to $12 over time.
I can’t honestly say I was irreplaceable. I can say that she needed a lot more help after I left. I can also say the business did not exist the fifth year after I’d gone.
I learned a very important lesson working for her. I needed to look out for myself. Work hard but only stay so long, based on the rate, frequency and size of raises. And all the while, always keep my ear to the ground for other opportunities.
I need to look out for me with the same ferocity the companies look out for their own interests.
In 100 years 5% of those who use the U.S. dollar will remember how it look. And 15% of the nations who bought weapons in 2023 will still use weapons from the U.S. still! In 100 years US economy will be lying at best a distant 3rd behind China and India by a very long way. China will be roughly 5–6 times the U.S. size and even India will be close to double that of the USA!
The G7 at best is a fifth the size on BRiCS economy. The U.S. will be broken up into some 3–4 nations. And Democrats and Republicans are close to the full scale or outright U.S. civil war 2.0 in 2123! The U.S. and some 4–5 die hard dogs like UK, Australia and Canada will meet and still talk shit. But no one bother, no one even listen.
China has made the world 10 times more prosperous and 20 times more peaceful by then. Talking about the U.S. in 2123 is like talking about the former Yugoslavia today. By 2023 the U.S. would have long collapse and implode it’s economy and a full scale fight between Democrats and Republicans and also between the whites and coloured and also between the rich and poor has destroyed the so call liberal democracy.
In 100 years, China is selling moon and space tourism, become the leader in autonomous vehicles, supersonic planes, biggest ports and airports world wide. China will be in the business of hypersonic weapons, quantum computers. Artificial intelligence, Bio technology and nuclear technologies. A far cry from selling cheap T-shirts and plastic toys in 1980! By 2123. China has built an alternative Panama and Suez Canal 5 times its size! And a bridge to cross Russia to Alaska!
BRICS by that time consist of 50 nations. And gets supports from 190 out of 200 nations. Meanwhile as many as 10 million are living in tents homeless in the U.S. suburbs. Random mass shootings incidents happened at least 50 times a day in the U.S. killing roughly 100 people a day in the U.S. Confederate flag flies more widely than the Stars and Stripes in the U.S. in 2123.
China has just given warnings on visiting certain parts of the USA no different from the warnings of visiting Ethiopia or Yemen in 2000. That is what is likely happening in 2123 a hundred years from now. But the U.S. still scream liberal democracy like a 80 years old lone hippie!
My husband and I are avid cruisers, which means food, food, and more food. That being said, I typically eat what I choose, save the occasional pick of something that is just not good. I usually eat breakfast alone, as he is still sleeping, and I sit and people watch in the buffet. My breakfast is always the same: oatmeal with fruit, some scrambled eggs, and a couple of pieces of ham or Canadian bacon. The same as I eat at home, essentially. I get to witness the Sodom and Gommorah of food sin every day on a cruise, especially at breakfast. Football sized mounds of food get piled on a plate, and a lot of it is eaten. But it pains me to see a muffin with one bite. A bowl of cereal that had one bite, uneaten food galore. Yes, we pay for the food in our cruise fare, but it is as though we have no conscience when it comes to waste. We often stop in Haiti at the cruise line’s resort, and they prepare a barbeque style lunch there. What many don’t know is that the leftovers are given to the locals, and I have watched them pick a piece of discarded watermelon off of the ground and brush off the sand to eat. While people are tossing full plates of food into the trash, these people are desperate for our scraps.
Food waste bothers me. For the farmer that took the time to sow the crops. For the cow kept pregnant to provide milk. For the pig slaughtered to provide us with ribs and bacon. For the countless hours spent preparing the food. We don’t honor what we have. We assume it is there because most of us have not had to go without. I am lucky, I always had a meal to eat, and I don’t waste food. I eat leftovers until they are gone, I cut my own fruit so that I can get the most out of the rind, and I toss produce scraps out for the deer and groundhogs that frequent my backyard.
We don’t appreciate the food we have. That is the sin.
The future of American women
Cajun Chicken Club Sandwich
2023 11 11 20 23
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan salad dressing
4 hoagie rolls, split and toasted
8 slices tomato
8 strips bacon, cooked
Instructions
Pound the chicken to 3/8-inch thickness; sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.
In a large skillet, cook the chicken in oil for 5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink.
Place one slice cheese over each chicken piece.
Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 minute or until cheese begins to melt.
Spread dressing over cut sides of rolls.
Place two slices of tomato on bottom of bun, top with chicken and two strips of bacon.
Serve with crispy fries or potato salad on the side.
When I was married to my exhusband, I got a ‘‘bee in my bonnet’ that I wanted to learn how to sew. I’d never sewed a day in my life. So we went to different places, looking at machines. Hubs was a ‘research on Consumer Reports’ kinda guy. He didn’t want to buy something that would fall apart. Who knows though, honestly, if I would suck at this?! I’m not sure if he looked at it that way. He just wanted to get me something good.
So, we kind of narrowed it down to a couple, and tbh, they were ridiculously nice. One was a Singer, the other I don’t remember but it was pricey I think like $800 in like 1990. Crazy, for just wanting to try something. It was going to be a ““surprise” for Christmas… but I sneaked a look in his wallet one night (I KNOW, bad wifey) and saw he bought the $800 wonder. I was SOOO excited!!
Christmas morning comes.
I’m still very excited, because this IS an awesome gift. Knowing did not diminish my excitement. I opened up the wrapping, and inside, it was a different machine.
Tears rolled down my face and I couldn’t speak. The $800 wonder wasn’t there. Apparently, he had exchanged it. For an upgraded, fancy $1100. Wonder.
It was amazing. It did embroidery, a zillion stitches. It was a very high quality name I can’t spell 😂 Husqvarna? But wait, there’s more. There’s another box. Inside that box was a 5 thread Serger, a BabyLoc. I had everything I needed to be successful.
I sewed my butt off for years.
But I’ll never forget that feeling of ““I want to give you the moon” that he gave me that Christmas. That was epic.❤️
If the controls are successful, they could handicap China for a generation; if they fail, they may backfire spectacularly, hastening the very future the United States is trying desperately to avoid. Alex W. Palmer, NYT.
The Chinese cannot understand why we fight with “Fists of Seven Injuries” (七伤拳), inflicting as much harm on ourselves as on our target. The sanctions hit our high-tech companies hard, as they lose not only their biggest market, but also important partners in their supply chain. Qualcomm’s profits fell 23%. Samsung’s dropped 95% . Louise Low. Face-off on the Grand Chessboard.
The year of living vulnerably: 2015
By 2015, when President Xi warned of China’s vulnerability to a chip embargo his team, led by the redoubtable Liu He, had spent two years preparing to create an indigenous chip industry. By 2022, the first fabs were producing commodity chips in high volumes at low cost and China spent $300 billion importing high-end chips.
The first breakthrough came when Huawei quietly released its 7 nm. Kirin 9000 chipsets, and its Mate 60 phone sales quickly surpassed Apple’s – as they were doing when the US embargoed Huawei. While the Kirin CPU was a remarkable achievement, professionals were more impressed by Huawei’s indigenous communications chips, like cellular modems, previously a Qualcomm semi-monopoly.
Three months later, YMTC shipped its 232-layer 3D TLC NAND memory chips. Their huge capacity and speedy 12 GB/s I/O make bleeding-edge drives possible.
But the sexiest market right now is insulated gate bipolar transistors, IGBTs. They’re the CPU ‘brains’ that conduct the orchestra of sensors and inputs and reduce EVs’ power loss and improve reliability. They’re expensive: 7% – 10% of an EVs’ final cost. Back in 2020, BYD supplied IGBTs for 20% of Chinese EVs’ and Infineon supplied 58%. The IGBT market has grown from $5.27 billion then to $8.42 billion this year and expects CAGR of 15.7% for some years.
There’s also money to be made in less sexy chips, like microcontrollers, says TP Huang. “Has anyone heard of Zhixin’s chips? You’ll find SMIC’s 40nm auto grade processor in Zhixin’s MCU microcontroller – domestically designed, fabbed and packaged entirely in China. This has huge implications for STMicro, Texas Instruments, Infineon and TSMC. Few automotive applications will ever need processes beyond 28 or 40nm, which is SMIC’s mass production sweet spot. Why wouldn’t Chinese automakers buy domestically? I bet Wall Street analysts covering TI have never looked into new Chinese competitors and considered what that entails. SMIC will be a monster soon enough”.
I was strung out for about 4 years from shooting up dope. After losing almost everything, I finally snapped out of it. It took, however, losing friends, my career, my therapist, my car, my motorcycle, my musical equipment, my instruments, my tools, my electricity, my water, all my savings which was in the tens of thousands, my sanity, almost my freedom, almost my life, and almost my house. I’m still in danger of losing it bc of unpaid property taxes of 3 years now going on 4. So when I was about 2–3 months sober, I had a friend drive me to Little Caesars to see if they were hiring. The manager was there. I asked. She said yes. Then she asked if I had manager experience. I said no…but I kinda did. I just wasn’t prepared for that gig being that I’m just barely out of a horrific addiction. She asked if I had an ID and a bank account for direct deposit. I said yes to the ID but no to bank account. She told me where I can get one at that moment and as soon as I get it to come back and I can begin to fill out the paperwork. Within 30 mins I was hired & started to fill out the necessary forms for employment. This was at the end of January this year and I’m still there and I’m sober.
I know this is a long story for such a question. My reason for including the other info is strictly for those that are currently where I was at when this happened. If this can help one person snap out of it then I will feel like I did a tremendous good for not just that one person but the world. Drug addiction affects way more than the drug addict. If you’re struggling, don’t give up. Be strong. It may take one time to quit or many times. Just don’t give up on yourself. I now have electricity and water and trash service. My house is still a wreck but it’s come a long way. I rode my bike to and from work which was 8 miles there and 8 miles back. But now I have a vehicle. I’m 6 feet tall and at the height of my addiction I weighed about 155lbs. Now I weigh a plump 210lbs. With time, that will change bc I want to be physically healthy. I am, w/o a doubt, physically healthier now than I was when I was using. And I prefer this to that any day. So if you’re reading this, you have to be strong and committed to this change no matter how tough it gets. It’ll get better. There’ll be shit days but it’ll pass. Keep going. We are made of sterner stuff. We’ve been through hell but now we are returning. And don’t think of it as starting over. You’re continuing your journey w a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. You may have lost everything but you’re not starting over. I wish you luck and lots of love. You’re not alone. I know that feeling of loneliness and despair. I felt lonely all throughout my journey through hell. But I wasn’t. You aren’t. If you need someone to vent w, message me. I’ll listen. I will not judge. If not me, reach out to someone. Anyone. And if you get rejected, fuck them. Move on. Don’t let that deter you. Look at me. I’m still here and am getting better everyday. Sure, we are all different but, in many ways, we are the same. We fuck up, and to fuck up is human.
One more thing: don’t beat yourself up if you quit and then go back to using again. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it doesn’t. Just don’t let that stop you from quitting again. I have days when I feel so weak. I miss it so much. Coupled w the overwhelming feeling of how far I have to go to get back to where I was before my downfall, it feels hopeless. These moments test me, and I’ve come so close to shooting up again but I haven’t. I hope I don’t. In my journey, I always feel so glad I didn’t give in. Those feelings will wash away but they’ll be back again like waves in the ocean. You just stay afloat. It’ll pass and you’ll admire yourself for not giving in after it flows away. You’ll be proud of how strong you are becoming.
Anyway, there are my 2 cents.
Love yourself.
Love those around you.
Don’t be afraid to say it.
Don’t be afraid to show it.
Amp It The Fuck Up!!!
Antony Blinken Wrecked By Protesters In Congress
Great episode, Lee. Your humor is top dog here.
China and the Chip Wars: a Battle It Cannot Afford to Lose
The race for supremacy in the semiconductor industry is about much more than just technological dominance. It is about shaping the future of civilization.
image 148
“Can China ace the chip wars?” This was the central question that framed my talk at the Future of Finance China Forum held in Beijing on July 28. The forum, run by The Asian Banker, served as a critical platform for thought leaders amid the unpredictable economic and financial landscape of 2023.
While these wide-ranging discussions were informative, my focus was squarely on the place and potential of China in the semiconductor industry. Instead of merely asking if China can win the chip wars, it’s more insightful to consider whether China can afford not to. This reframing provides a sharper understanding of the stakes for China’s economy and its global standing in the semiconductor industry.
Current situation
“Valuation extravaganza” is a phrase I use to describe the surging market caps of companies like Nvidia and AMD. The remarkable value growth of these companies has raised eyebrows and led to questions about whether we’re witnessing a semiconductor bubble. However, the rational ubiquity of semiconductors, essential to various sectors, might justify these high valuations.
In 2021, over 1.1 trillion chips were shipped worldwide, finding their way into everything from cars and consumer electronics to industrial applications. Semiconductors, quietly yet crucially, have become a part of nearly every aspect of modern life. According to a recent survey of industry executives, the industry’s future direction is being steered by emerging sectors like the metaverse, sustainability, mobility, and digital health – each calling for unique semiconductor capabilities.
This importance of semiconductors is reflected in the market’s response. Nvidia’s stock price tripled last year raising its valuation to more than $1 trillion with a Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio over 240. AMD’s stock price has also doubled, its P/E ratio almost reaching 500. This valuation growth is partly due to the robust demand for semiconductors, with the global market projected to grow to $1.8 trillion by 2032.
Even with the current chip shortage, some industry observers argue that these high valuations are justified. They view the long-term growth prospects for the industry as strong and believe these valuations are based on the expectation of persistent semiconductor demand.
Despite short-term disruptions like the global chip shortage, the long-term outlook for the semiconductor industry remains bright. Semiconductors play an integral role in the global economy, and their importance will continue to grow in the future, shaping our tech-driven world in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
image 147
Future growth
We must also consider the potential drivers of future chip demand, taking into account the radical changes that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) may bring. A compelling perspective on this comes from Sam Altman, a prominent figure in the tech industry and CEO of OpenAI, in his manifesto “Moore’s Law for Everything”.
Altman applies the principle of Moore’s Law, which traditionally refers to the exponential growth in computing power, to a broader societal context, predicting a future where rapid growth permeates all facets of our lives and economy. Coined by Intel’s co-founder Gordon Moore, the law originally observed that the number of transistors on a microchip double roughly every 18 months. Altman, however, envisions its implications beyond the realm of computing power.
This broader interpretation anticipates an era of abundance, where the ubiquitous adoption of AI causes a steep drop in labor costs that fundamentally transforms society. Altman posits that as automation replaces human tasks from plumbing to R&D, labor costs will plunge, leading to significantly cheaper goods and services. The cost of the essential inputs shifts from labor and raw materials to data, driving prices towards zero and marking the advent of an era of profound abundance.
But abundance here isn’t just about an increase in available goods and services. It’s also about equalizing access to these resources, democratizing what was once the exclusive privilege of the affluent. High-quality healthcare, education, travel experiences, and even a secure standard of living—Altman’s vision suggests these will be accessible to far more people, with the cost of a “great life” approaching zero.
At the core of this transformation is AI, its learning and decision-making abilities propelling us towards this era of abundance. Yet, the manifestation of this AI-driven prosperity depends heavily on a robust, efficient, and advanced computational infrastructure— semiconductors or chips. Semiconductors are the foundation of our digital world, powering everything from personal devices to advanced machinery.
The complexity and scale of AI necessitate more advanced and efficient semiconductors. The AI algorithms promising this era of abundance require enormous computational power to process large volumes of data and make complex calculations. The task of providing this computational power depends on a wide range of semiconductors.
The abundance that Altman predicts will not only be driven by AI but will also critically hinge on the availability and advancement of semiconductors. In the coming era of AI-driven abundance, those countries and companies that can ensure a stable supply of chips will hold the upper hand. Thus, as China strategizes to win the chip wars, the stakes become clear—it’s not just about surviving but thriving in this world of unlimited abundance.
image 146
Domestic politics and geopolitics
In the global context of the race for technological supremacy, the semiconductor industry is emerging as a key battleground. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), with its potential to usher in an era of unprecedented abundance and revolutionize labor economics, amplifies the national security implications of the semiconductor industry. Indeed, the ‘resilient redesign’ of the global supply chain is becoming an essential facet of national strategies to ensure sustained success in this critical sector.
The complex web of today’s supply chain, spanning continents and countless entities, is inherently vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and pressures. The need for countries to develop resilient domestic capacities is becoming increasingly clear. Governments worldwide are already showing a keen interest in the sector’s growth and security, a trend that is set to heighten as strategic reorientations, regulatory shifts, and a heightened focus on security come into play. The semiconductor industry is becoming a significant geopolitical flashpoint, a field of intense competition for technological dominance.
In the context of China’s domestic politics, this resonates profoundly with President Xi Jinping’s vision of ‘common prosperity’. The potential abundance enabled by AI could pave the way for realizing this vision, democratizing access to what is currently available only to the affluent and creating a more equal society. The era of abundance that Sam Altman envisions could, in fact, help manifest President Xi’s aspiration for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
In this light, China’s broad conception of national security – which encompasses not only traditional military aspects but also economic and even cultural security – becomes particularly relevant. The advancements in AI, underpinned by the semiconductor industry, will be vital for maintaining and enhancing China’s national security in this broad sense.
Therefore, China cannot afford to lose the ‘chip war’. The stakes are beyond high – economic vitality, technological advancement, geopolitical influence and even the future of the human race. The semiconductor industry is not just another industry; it is a cornerstone upon which human civilization may be decided.
In conclusion, the race for supremacy in the semiconductor industry is about much more than just technological dominance. It is about shaping the future of civilization. For China, acing the chip wars is not just a matter of national security in the traditional sense. It is also about securing the future of its society and realizing its vision of prosperity for all.
Before a class room of three hundred 1st year students, I was teaching, and my cell phone started vibrating. And I totally froze.
Just a couple of months earlier, I had become a father for the first time, and my girlfriend and I had agreed not to call during class hours, unless it was an emergency.
Often, I muted my cell phone during class hours, but this time I had forgotten. And this time the phone also rang. My girlfriend was the only person who would ring me at this unearthly hour in the morning. And suddenly it crossed my mind. Something is wrong with the baby.
Instead of two minutes, I had more than fifteen minutes left to cover while my mind blocked my every mathematical thought. So I taught the rest of the class through a true other-worldly out-of-body experience — I literally heard myself talking to the students, explaining things on the blackboard, and answering questions, while I was constantly thinking —
Something is wrong with the baby—Something is wrong with the baby—Something is wrong with the baby—Something is wrong with the baby.
When class was over and questions had been answered, I immediately called my girlfriend. She had forgotten about our agreement.
I’m a landlord and went to renew the lease on one of my rentals once. And when I pulled in to the neighborhood and turned the corner towards the house, the very first thing I saw was the screen door hanging off the front of the house.
I pulled into the driveway, knocked on the door, and while I was waiting for them to answer I looked at the screen door. It was literally ripped off its hinges.
Then they came out and greeted me as if nothing had ever happened.. I asked what happened to the door, and I swear they both looked me straight in the eye and said..
“It was like that when we moved in.” I was absolutely shocked…
I said, “Doug. You two have been here for TWO YEARS. You signed a move-in checklist when you first moved in that said everything was ok. I took and have pictures of everything before you moved in. And last but not least, I was here exactly ONE year ago to renew your lease then! Now, is this seriously your story, and are you sure it’s the one you want to stick to??”
“Yes.. It was like that when we moved in.”
So I called bullshit and told them that I would not renew their lease, and to be out before the end of the week. OR if they wanted to stay then they could fix the door.
They fixed it – reluctantly. Still swearing that it was like that when they moved in.
When I was an administrative assistant to the dean of a department at a 2 year college, there were a couple times during the year that I ate at my desk for various reasons. There was another admin in a different department that took a dislike to me and tried to get me in trouble for only taking 30 mins to eat then leaving 30 mins early. She went to my boss and he said I had his permission to do so. She then went to HR to file a complaint and I got called in. After that, I requested a sit down with HR, my boss, her and her boss which we had. Over several weeks, I had documented everything she had said and done to undermine me and she turned beet red and had no real defense since she documented nothing. A couple of weeks later, she no longer worked there and they hired a woman who became a good friend.
Document everything—day, time, incident, what was said—and keep it in a safe place. I used an old fashioned college notebook and hand wrote everything with just a blank line between each incident. I about filled the notebook in less than a month.
He was the head janitor at my school, a teddy bear of a man, under 5 feet tall with the sweetest little smile and laugh. He had worked at the school since he was a teen and was due to retire.
Da Tuk (not his real name) was gentle, kind and generous, a soft touch for a sob story. He and his family had just enough but always ended with too little because of his ‘kindness.’
A relative had begged him for a large sum, almost all that Da Tuk and his wife had saved for a deposit on a home. He signed over a land deed to Da Tuk and then disappeared into the gambling dens of Klong Tuey.
When Da Tuk took his family to see the land, they found a hilly, barren, nowhere-near-anywhere, unsellable plot. Da Tuk was inconsolable, realizing that he had been duped and had lost almost everything.
Fortunately, the chairman of the school found a way to help the family to buy a small house and deal with the costs of their children’s educations. They never really recovered from the loss.
As the school grew, so did Da Tuk’s staff, to the point where he was overwhelmed. An ‘assistant’ was hired but was, in fact, in charge. However, he always treated Da Tuk as the boss and saw to it that others did as well.
For Da Tuk’s retirement day, the Board had arranged for a huge luncheon, and we were all seated, waiting for Da Tuk.
When he arrived, he looked stunned, which surprised us because everyone had been talking about the party and teasing him for over a month.
Then an equally stunned member of the Board made a shocking announcement.
Da Tuk had just been paid forty million baht (approximately two million U.S. dollars) for that ‘worthless’ land because it was adjacent to the planned eastern seaboard industrial estate.
I got laid off from my work. It’s an awful experience. I just had the yearly performance review and got a raise, I was thinking ‘life is freaking good’, then one fine morning, I woke up to a sudden 1:1 from my boss, and he told me I was let go (together with half of the company).
It’s unexpected, and I was shocked.
I sent my coworkers texts, told them my goodbyes and my wish to stay in touch with them.
All of them offered the same message:
Please let me know how I can help in any way at all!
I was touched seeing those messages, truly.
The only thing I asked from them was: I need to retouch my Linkedin Profile, the job market right now is super tough and competitive, anything can help my profile stands out would mean a great deal and I really appreciate a recommendation from them – if they have a few minutes to write me one. It would be a huge help.
Only 2 out of 10 people offered me the message to help in any way actually did give me a recommendation. And one of them actually referred me everywhere she could trying to help me to get interviews.
I don’t think any less of the 8 people that didn’t give me a recommendation. I understand perfectly that there are millions reasons for that, like I might not worth giving a recommendation, or they just simply forgot to give one, or writing a recommendation is not their cup of tea, etc… I just wish they didn’t tell me that they would help in any way if they didn’t mean it.
And I do admire the ones that offer and live up with their saying “let me know how I can help in any way”
Being a person of their own words is a super power.
Way out in the stick in the north of England there was huge project ongoing to build a dam. A new site manager had been brought in because workers were reportedly lazy, either turning up late or skiving off down the local pub (which I worked in) during working hours. On his first day on the job he grabbed someone from the admin office and headed off round the site looking for a sacrificial lamb. He was going to fire someone as an example to the rest of the staff.
After half an hour or so he came across a young guy sitting behind a building, against a wall, drinking coffee.
“Who are you?” he bellowed. “What’s it got to do you with you?” asked the guy. “I’m the new site manager, who are you, and where do you work?” “Fuck off, leave me alone!”, replied the young guy. “OK, you’ve had your chance, you’re fired!” He turned to the admin guy, “get his details, give him his cards!” The site manager then stormed off thinking this was a good start to his tenure.
Later that day I was serving behind the bar in the pub and the guy came walking in. “Give me a pint of Guinness, I’ve just been fired”. “Oh dear, first one’s on the house!” “Cheers, that’s very nice of you.” he replied. He had his Guinness then asked how much? I said, “no, it’s on the house. Anyone who gets fired from the site gets a free beer.” “No – it’s okay, I’d better pay!” “But you got fired – it’s free!” “I did get fired. I’m just sitting there having a cup of coffee when this idiot appears out of nowhere screaming and shouting at me, and fires me on the spot. He seemed so happy about it I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I didn’t work for him, and I’m just a hiker who had stopped for a coffee.”
Surprised My Cheating Wife With Divorce Papers at Her “Secret” Hotel Getaway Affair.
I nearly hit ENTER on my resignation email. I’d been with the company for 24 years at the time and I was tired of my boss contradicting everything I’d say. Sometimes he was right, usually he wasn’t but of course he only remembered that one out of 10 times he was right come review time.
Most people say I’m too much of a pacifist but he’d ding me as pointlessly argumentative. And, the reason why I was never promoted (he’d tell me year after year) is because I’d said or done “the wrong thing yet again to” and it would always be an unnamed executive. If I asked what I did or said, I’d get “you know I can’t tell you that” and if I asked who’s cage I’d supposedly rattled, it would be another “you know I can’t tell you that.”
This day, he said something that was completely wrong about a field he knew zero about and that I was an expert in. I should have known better but I said something just “in passing.” He erupted and screamed at me. “YOU ARE WRONG and you felt the need to ruin my day. I walked in here this morning feeling okay for the first time in months. You couldn’t let it go. Noooo … not you … you had to correct me and ruin my whole day. And you aren’t even right Mr. Know-it-all. Fine. You ruined my day so now I’m going to ruin yours. I expect a written apology, three copies, and this is going in your file.
I will then have your final written warning for insubordination and disrupting the office ready when you come back with your apology. IF I accept it, you will go on warning. But if I don’t like what you said, I tear that and the warning up and you will be done. You have pretty much just thrown away 24 years of work and any goodwill you might have built up with me because you just always have to say something.
You just can’t let anything go and you always have some story. No matter what anyone says, you were there, did that, had that or something too. Well now I think you can add fired for cause and blacklisted from a whole industry to your awesome list of life experiences. I’m giving you one hour. I’ll see you then or you can spend the time packing up your stuff. I really don’t care which at this point.
And because you are a critical employee with no backup or replacement, I will see to it that you pay for this for a long time to come if I have any say over anything. Now get going. The next time I see you, it will be either carrying your shit to your car or in here with a heart felt written apology.”
I typed out a resignation, just a terse one paragraph indicating only that I resigned effective that day and would agree to make my last day two weeks hence. Dated and my signature typed. I was ready to hit SEND and the email would go to my boss, HR and the Sr VP (who was the department head).
But then I thought: first, I’d be out of a job and it would not be easy for me to get another one. It’s next to impossible to describe what I really do — it’s a bunch of low level tasks where the high level aspect is that I can do them all. I already knew that no one in my industry was interested — had they been, I’d have been contacted at least one of the times where competitors or clients tried to grab employees from us. I was about the only long time employee who’d never been contacted by anyone.
My resume would make even less sense outside my industry. I’d at best have to hope for some small employer looking for a jack of many trades willing to work for next to nothing. Not very appealing.
He was right in one sense about something: whenever someone had a story, I’d often have a counterpart. I’m not a know it all, just a lot older than many of my colleagues and I’ve been around. I’d always thought I was just participating in a conversation but maybe that’s not the way some took it. Perhaps I should sit and listen more even if I did have such an experience myself and even if the teller was way off base.
So I resolved to say a lot less and not correct people unless there could be a serious consequence for letting it go. Even if I’d done whatever 50 times to their 1 and was considered an expert, just let it go. Let them tell their story.
Ruined his day? That was his responsibility. He was going through many personal problems but people other than I were getting tired of his ripping our heads off at work because his personal life was in a tailspin. I know that when I was having many issues one time (many years ago, different boss), my manager came along and told me I needed to straighten myself up.
He knew what I was going through and that’s why nothing had been said for a couple weeks. But now I had to pull myself out of it or he’d have to let me go. That was a couple weeks … but my current boss had been going on that way for months.
So there was wrong on my side and that was on me to handle. But I wasn’t responsible for ruining my boss’ day with an offhand comment of a factual nature. I needed to speak a lot less: not counter a story with one of my own, and don’t correct someone unless there was a vital business need for it. On the other hand, I was not about to take written responsibility for someone else’s life and emotions.
I apologized verbally including indicating where I was wrong and what I planned to do about it. But I made clear what I was apologizing for along with being clear without saying it that it would not be in writing. I also made clear without throwing anything in his face that if he chose to give me a final written warning, I would not sign it but rather resign effective immediately.
Nothing more came of it in large part because by the time I walked in there, the anger was gone. I dealt with this in a clear headed way and that’s the point to this long answer. Anger solves nothing, even if justified or at least partially so. We’ve probably all snapped at work and with what results? If you have sufficient clout, others might respond out of fear. But that never results in a good long term effect. You’re far better off resisting the urge to go off until you’ve had a few minutes to think about the whole situation.
I’m boy, When I was 13 , The principal always checks students’ hair and nails and punishes them if they were long
One day, he came to the line and checked our nails, I had forgotten to trim my nails for a long time, and my nails were long like a girl’s.
When he saw my nails, he asked sarcastically: Am I a girl?
I was embarrassed and lowered my head
The principal sent me to the corner of the wall and I stood facing the wall with my head down
he sent about ten other people to the side of the wall because their nails were too long
When all the students went to class, the manager and the principal came to us with a ruler, the principal said, we have to give them a nice punishment!
Principal said that we should paint their nails to make them girls!
They took us to the manager’s office and forced us to put our hands on the table
Then the manager took out a bottle of red nail polish from his drawer and started painting our nails completely
We felt ashamed and humiliated and our heads were down
They took us to the front of the line in front of all the students and calles us girls!
All the students laughed at us and we cried and felt humiliated
They hit our palms with a ruler to make us cry more!
From that day on, we didn’t have the courage to keep our nails long
1. Successful people don’t leave their life in the hands of luck. Life is too unpredictable to leave it in the hands of luck. Therefore, successful people choose to take control of things rather than sit around and wait for luck to finally smile at them.
2. Successful people take risks at the right place, at the right time. Successful people know that they don’t have the luxury to be taking mindless risks that can do more bad than good. Rather, they wait for that perfect timing and occasion when they can justify taking the risk.
3. Successful people trust their intuition. Many people underestimate the power of gut feeling. But in reality, it’s one of the most efficient and free tools you can utilize profitably. And successful people know how to do just that.
4. Successful people are the masters of their own destiny. Some people believe that one’s destiny is predetermined, and so they decide to simply let things unfold accordingly. But successful people prefer to take charge and carve out the destiny they aim for.
5. Successful people know the importance of having control over their emotions. They understand the impact emotional control or the lack thereof can have on their motivation, perseverance, and overall success. Therefore, they always try to keep their emotions under control so they’ll be the ones having the power over them.
6. Successful people practice positive self-talk. Successful people try not to listen to that negative voice in their head that tells them it is not going to work out. They don’t insult themselves, either. Instead, they train themselves to be compassionate, understanding, and encouraging toward themselves so they never succumb to the destructive effects of negative self-talk.
7. Successful people know that making mistakes is an essential part of the process leading them to ultimate success. They are aware that no matter how many mistakes they make along the way, they can make use of each by learning from them, guiding them toward success they’ve been working hard for.
8. Successful people know how to take constructive criticism well. Not only do they understand the benefits of constructive criticism, but they also appreciate getting it because they see it as a way to improve themselves or get closer to their goals.
9. Successful people have an unshakeable faith in themselves. Even if everyone else around them thinks they are just idealistic dreamers chasing after unrealistic goals, they refuse to see themselves from the same lenses because they know they have what it takes to get the things they are after.
My first thought was to say no but as I was paying for my gas I grabbed the milk. Outside was his girlfriend holding a box of cereal. He thanked me and I started to walk to my car. Something in me made me turn around. I told them I was about to get a car wash but if he wanted to wash it for me I’d pay him $20. We went to the nearest car wash and he had tears in his eyes after I paid him!
He told me that more than anything he appreciated me giving him the opportunity to be a man again in the eyes of his girlfriend and work for the money. The whole time his girlfriend helped him. It’s like she was proud of him. You could tell the love was so real. Real beyond material things and what he could do for her. She told him he did a great job and he couldn’t stop smiling. I had a long talk with him and her and he had a backpack full of paperwork from all of the places he’s been going to get help for them. I drove them to my apartment complex and gave him clothes for interviews and a few outfits and fitted caps. I don’t have much but life is about sharing what you do have.
Be a blessing to someone today because you could be in that situation before you know it! I gave them my number and I plan to take them to any interviews or appointments they have. It’s a great day to be alive no matter what your situation is. Someone has it worse than you! Share this message and inspire others to do good.”
Well it was a older Ford heavy duty truck, a three axle mini dump truck. It came in for brake work and when I opened the hood I discovered that most of the underhood wiring was redone with household electrical wiring cable, Romex and stripped Romex. It ran fine for a truck of the era that it was built and when the guy came to pick it up after the brake work, I had to ask about the wiring. He had the truck sitting unused for several years while he was working for someone and mice or squirrels had gotten in and destroyed the wiring and he had a roll of Romex in his garage and redid the wiring using another very similar truck as reference and got some bits from another truck he found in a junkyard. Mechanically the truck was solid and I was more impressed than anything else with the craftiness.
Woman Demands A Train Ran On Her! This Is Why Men Question The Value Of MW
Lack of purpose. All your young life you are given purpose of passing exams and learning, then all of a sudden you are thrown into the world and told to find your own meaning.
You can stay up as late as you want. But you shouldn’t.
Where did all my friends go?
Didn’t know that other adults have the emotional intelligence of teenagers and its almost impossible to deal with logically.
Getting burnt out.
Having to make dinner every. Fucking. Day.
Not having a lot of free-time or time by myself.
Figuring out what makes you happy. Everyone keeps trying to get you to do things you’re good at, or that makes you money, but never to pursue what you enjoy.
The more life you’ve lived, the faster time seems to go.
I once stopped to help a guy change a tire. He had an arm in a sling and two very young kids in his car. He thanked me saying he didn’t want to hurt his arm any more and wanted to get back to work.
Fast forward three months and I’m in a very ugly motorcycle wreck. One of the EMTs noticed my back was broken. Had they continued I’d have been paralyzed. His quick thinking prevented that.
After I recovered I got to meet the EMT crew that saved my life.
The guy that noticed my back was broken? The guy whose tire I had changed.
About 25 years ago, while living in Tucson Arizona, I received a phone call (bold = caller, non-bold = me):
Hi; Is this David Joseph? Dr. David Joseph?
Yes, who’s this?
Hi David!! It’s Garry Shandling!
Now at that time, Garry Shandling was a pretty well-known comedian, with his own show (“It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”), which was well known for its hilarious opening theme song. I was a big fan of his show, so I assumed a friend was pranking me:
Oh really?? Garry Shandling? Prove it; sing me your opening theme song!
He went ahead and sang me his opening theme song, and then went on:
David, how have you been? It’s been forever — can you believe it’s been over 20 years since we graduated?!
Since we graduated? Graduated what??
High School; Palo Verde??
Wait, I think you have the wrong David Joseph; are you looking for Dr David Joseph, the vet?
Yes; that’s not you? I thought your voice sounded different!
Yeah, that’s not me; I’m a people doc. I think that David Joseph moved away from Tucson a few years ago.
Oh, bummer. OK, I guess I’ll keep trying to find him — we were really close in High School.
Well, if you don’t find him, feel free to call me anytime; I’m happy to be your back-up Dr David Joseph!
Haha! Maybe I will! Thanks!
Good luck!
Then he called back a couple of hours later, explaining that he hadn’t been able to find his high school friend. We chatted a bit more, and then, once every few years, out of the blue, I would get a call from him, wanting to ‘catch-up with his back-up David Joseph.’
After I made a successful (static line) parachute jump – which turned out to be my first ever (and last) jump from a plane – I traveled back to the jump site three more times with Jeff C. to do it again. Various conditions prevented that from happening again, and after the third time that we were unable to jump again, we saw a fire a couple blocks off the interstate that was being fought by a team of professionals. A police officer instructed us to move along, but Jeff chimed in with “Why don’t they just let a good fire burn?” The officer walked to the front of Jeff’s car and wrote down the license plate and village sticker information, then asked Jeff AND me for ID. During the following week, I talked to mutual acquaintances of Jeff and related the aforementioned story to them. From one former coworker of Jeff, I learned that he was suspected of possibly starting two fires at his place of employment, with the second allegation causing him to be let go – I decided not to key ‘fi_ed’ – immediately. I no longer answered any of Jeff’s subsequent telephone calls, and did not answer the door when he came over.
Psychologist Addresses FEMALE DISRESPECT: why this is essential to relationship success
Damn! This is one HELL of a great video! Shit! Amazing video!
What most people don’t understand is that disrespect is a process. The best predictor of overt disrespect is covert disrespect. And this is why it is important to address disrespectful behavior while it is still in its nascent form. Failing to do so will jeopardize your relationship, primarily due to the fact that it is not possible for a woman to love a man she does not respect.
“Seeing how my now ex wife treated me compared to everyone else was an eye opener. I realized why everyone liked her, she treated them with respect and care, while I got the cold, cruel, disrespectful part.”
He beat me with a belt until I would bleed when I was very young and then when I became a teenager he would beat me with his fists. He broke my nose and blacked my eyes a few times. He’s dead now and I’m 69 years old. I have never for forgiven or forgotten. He beat my mom too. They divorced after I left home at 17. May he rot in HELL!
Oh man! I sure have. Often. Up until recently I worked, either with a guy or on my own, doing demolition, kitchen removals and buying/selling used building materials. I also ride a motorcycle. A big-ass noisy motorcycle. And, personally, I think I am a pretty nice person. I am considerate, kind and polite. But sometimes I am covered in drywall or brick dust, insulation, paint or sawdust. I usually carry Handy Wipes to, at least, wipe my face and hands clean. I may be dressed in work clothes and/or motorcycle gear. I am otherwise a well-groomed, clean, and pleasant 54 year old woman. I currently work outside all day and am in and out and crawling around assessing cars and trucks. Again, in work clothes or cover-all’s I am often dusty and wind-blown with dirty, with grease under my nails.
AND I GET TREATED LIKE SHIT.
I get followed, have had rude and disparaging comments made or completely ignored. Some staff treat me like I am invisible and are dismissive, assuming (I think) that I have no money to spend. At other times, they have been openly mistrusting and suspicious.
ALL BECAUSE I WORK FOR A LIVING!
Two of my very worst experiences occurred at places connected to religious institutions. One a church bazaar and the other a faith-based second hand shop. Another time I was speaking, as a counsellor, on a panel about alcoholism and addiction. Independent of each other, the hosts TWICE assumed that I was the newly recovered individual as opposed to the presenting professional.
In NO WAY am I ashamed of what I do or how I look. In fact, I am proud of who I am and the jobs I have done (and still do). I just wish people would judge me on my character or my actions rather than the way I look.
Bought a small place years ago that had a nice shed that could be used for tools, mower, etc and I asked if it conveyed and was told yes. Went to move in after settlement and no shed. Since it was in the contract, I called my realtor and told her the she came back or I would immediately stop the sale. No shed by the next day when promised so I notified the bank again that the sellers were in breach of contract. I was living in the house but had not put my furniture in yet, still in the box trailer belonging to a friend. The sellers had the shed at their new place but moving it damaged it so I refused to accept it and they had to order a brand new shed, same size, for the deal to be completed. The bank held the check, I finished moving in, and 2 weeks later the shed arrived.
Don’t try fast ones when selling since you may seriously regret the expense of fixing it.
Do what my garden-savvy cousin did to keep deer away from her garden. She set up hoses and multiple impact sprinklers with a motion sensor that set them off when deer approached, startling them and soaking them. Very effective, and not mean.
If the neighbor complains your sprinklers got him wet, say “Sorry, I had to do something to keep the deer/bears/monkeys/kids from stealing all my peaches before I can make pies/cobblers/jam from them.
You could even say, if I have a good crop this year, I’ll bring you a bowl of peaches.
In Chinese culture, sharing a meal with friends or family is a time to socialize. It’s actually something I very much enjoy being part of. As a Westerner, growing up in a Western and traditional Southern family, children were “seen and not heard,” and the talking points of a meal were, “Please pass the salt,” or “mind your manners.” The lively, upbeat, excitement that is exuded by Chinese people sharing a meal is something I adore.
When I bought my house the seller told me he had lost a ring a few years prior, and if I ever found it, it would mean the world to him to get it back. Three years later I saw something shiny while I was raking leaves. I picked it up and realized it was a ring encased in mud. I cleaned it off but didn’t think it could possibly be the lost ring. The stones were so large I thought it must be costume jewelry. I phoned the old owner and told him I found a ring but didn’t think it was valuable and asked if he could come take a look. When he saw it he started to cry and said it had great sentimental value. He offered me a reward but I declined. It didn’t seem right to take money for something that belonged to him. What I thought was a cheap ring with glass stones turned out to be $70,000 worth of diamonds.
a friend of ours who at the time was single mother of two, her son is autistic. She complained she had no heat in her mini van and winter in southern Ontario can be bitter cold. Local franchise repair shop quoted her north of $1700 to fix it!
I said let me take it to my trusted repair shop.
After a quick diagnosis he says “is she a teacher?” I’m like “how’d you know?”
He says “I cleaned a pile of papers out of the vents by the the heater core…lots of heat now!”
$75 and she had heat again…and was advised to keep papers off her dash!
Yeah actually… A few years ago I went out on the town for a mates birthday – straight from work. I’m carrying with me a £2.5k laptop and my mates got his full pay packet in cash and a thermos of soup given to him by a friend for his birthday (separate story).
These two kids come up to us and demand all of our worldly belongings. We dismiss them, as the bravery of a nights worth of fairly strong Hazy Pale Ale courses through our veins. As we walk off, the braver of the two pulls out a pretty small knife and demands more of our attention.
With a look from my mate we start off round the corner. Once we’re there we in whispered, quick voices form a plan and we wait for them.
I caught the first guy with a swing of my rucksack right under the chin and all 15” and 2.6kg of my MacBook Pro knocked his head back nearly off his feet. My friend followed with the Thermos on the 2nd. We didn’t hold back on those hits.
Once they recovered enough to speak, the braver one asked the other one if he was bleeding… he was… and the other guy told him.
Angry from the revelation he was bleeding, he said if he ever saw us again we’re dead… My friend, living round the area didn’t take kindly to this and threw the statement back at him. Told him, NO if you ever come back here YOU’RE dead and flew at the guy with the Thermos a second time. He chased them both up the street with that flask, with me laughing in hysterics at the bottom of the road.
In a strange way, being drunk that night changed the whole outcome of that encounter. Doubt we would have stood up to them sober.
He most certainly has a case. One of my neighbors tried to have two of our old silver birches and one 50-years-old Cedar tree cut, and it cost him dearly. It started with a Christmas tree though.
We came back from the United States, and as usual when we are back from holidays, I checked the garden — just to see how the plants, flowers and mushrooms (but also our rabbits and barn owls) were doing.
And then I noticed that one of our beautiful Christmas trees had been cut. The top half was gone, and no higher Mathematics was needed to conclude who had done it. One of our neighbors — I once had a relationship with his youngest daughter Ebba, but he seemed reasonably normal in those days — goes berserk if even only a couple of leaves fall on his property.
This time, he had cut an evergreen conifer, and we were sick of it. We called the neighborhood police man to sort this out, and he reprimanded the neighbor — to no avail. We decided not to go to court for the time being.
Instead, he sued us.
Together with another neighbor friend (who apparently also had problems with leaves and needles without us knowing), he filed a complaint against us in Justice Court. Big goal: having some of our trees (two old birches and an old Cedar) cut.
It did not quite work out that way, though.
Instead, he was forcefully reprimanded by the judge, who explained that leaves and needles are a part of country life, and that there was nothing wrong nor illegal about them falling in his garden.
The judge also dismissed the demand that our trees would be cut —
“It is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to cut old trees, Mister C., so NO ONE will touch them. And very high maximum penalties would be issued if someone would.”
(Goal not attained.)
Since then, our neighbor had become even more mental than before. He throws all the leaves and needles he can find in our garden, and he has, since recently, started to throw buckets of his own stinking urine in our backyard.
I’m also one of those foreigners who think China is not just good, but a great place to live in! After working in China for the past few years, I have realized so many reasons for loving China.
A quick list of my personal observations about China:
1. Life has been very peaceful in China: I am never worried about my personal safety, or disruption of work. Life has been going quite smoothly.
2. Cost of living: About RMB 5,000/month (~$700). For the quality of life that I have enjoyed in China, it can’t get more affordable.
3. Jobs: my job is going fine. No issues with salaries.
4. Tax holidays: expats from a good number of countries (including US) enjoy tax holidays in China (due to the Double Tax Avoidance Treaty). I have not paid any tax in China so far. 🙂
5. Great food: China offers one of my favorite cuisine (I also love Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Indian food). You can order from home. RMB 15 for 20 dumplings (饺子, jiaozi). Even if you cook at home, it can’t get cheaper than that.
6. Online shopping: you can buy almost everything online in China. Taobao is probably one of those few sites I visit every day. I buy something every day.
7. Cashless payments: we don’t carry cash in China. We just need to bring a phone, scan QR codes and pay. In fact, you can rent bicycles by just scanning QR codes (first 1hr ride is free).
8. I have a history of diabetes. Going anywhere, including back to the US, puts me at a very high risk of Covid-19 pandemic. There are great medical facility in China. Every Chinese city has a good number of hospitals. It’s very convenient to visit hospital in China (Btw, my city is virtually covid-19 virus free).
9. Learning Chinese: if you want to learn Chinese, China is the best place. The whole atmosphere is warm and welcoming. You’ll learn Chinese fast. This was also a reason for me to move to China.
10. Travel: Lots of nice places in China. Recently I visited Zhouzhuang (周庄), a water town (江南水乡). It was a pleasant experience. Chinese tourist attractions are generally very different from the typical western tourist attractions.
11. No illegal immigration: you can’t enter China illegally. You will be caught if you try. Penalties are heavy. You will be deported, however, only after serving the sentence.
Living in China is a very different experience. It doesn’t make sense to compare China with other countries (or vice versa). Explore what China has to offer, and you’ll love it.
Also, I wish to thank China for taking a good care of me throughout my China stay, especially during my diabetes phase. Otherwise, I couldn’t have survived probably.
The U.K.: much, much more working-class than Americans are raised to assume. It’s a textbook example of American ignorance that we tend to believe Brits are all very sophisticated and “aristocratic.” (And I don’t mean that as an insult, just a reality check.) Britain can be polished and classy, and it can be tougher than a bad neighborhood of Philly.
Ireland: deep beauty, deep gloom, too. Really depends on where you go and when and what you’re up to. One of the friendliest countries I’ve been to. Just don’t expect everything to be rainbows and sentimental fantasy and you’ll be fine. Again, from an American perspective: virtually all Americans need a reality check here.
Mexico: been there multiple times, still haven’t been killed. Haven’t witnessed so much as a mugging let alone a cartel operation. The worst thing I’ve seen is sexual harassment. The worst thing that personally happened to me was an epic case of farts. In general, what I’ve seen of Mexico is more truly cultured and sophisticated than a large chunk of the most hyped places in Europe and certainly more cultured and tasty than significant swathes of the United States. (Some of Mexico is pretty benighted, but the chances of you ending up in those corners of Mexico are next to none.)
The United States: lived here most of my life, still haven’t been shot. A country with places as diametrically different as Vermont and Miami Beach, New York and the Sonora. What’s pretty true about one place isn’t even remotely true about another. And contrary to the stereotype that Americans brook no criticism of our country, I think it’s actually the most hyper-self-critical country I’ve ever personally been to. If you can’t hear copious criticism coming out of the United States, see an ear doctor, your ears are plugged up. (Too much of this criticism is tribal criticism and not enough self-criticism, but Americans love to bitch and moan about the place. How do you not hear this?)
Canada: lovely people, lovely country, but nowhere near as happy or perfect as a big part of the world believes they are. Canadians are aware of their problems, because they’re honest. This isn’t a comment about Canadians. It’s a comment about the mystery of why so many other people aren’t aware of the problems and unhappiness that do exist in Canada.
Colombia: didn’t get killed. Didn’t see any obvious drug deals. Freakishly hot. Got horrifying Montezuma’a Revenge: do not ever ever EVER drink the water. Would I revisit? Yes.
Cuba: very much like the pictures of 1950’s cars and bars would have you believe. Fucking amazing to fly down there from Wisconsin in February: it’s not a long flight at all, but you feel like you’ve gone back 60 years in time and also dropped into what Southern Europe felt like a generation or two ago, not just the Caribbean. Lost worlds, truly. The sanitation will get you, though. The poverty is shocking. The people are wonderful but deserve so much better.
Italy: the only part I really liked was Sicily, where I didn’t killed by the mafia. Sicily was extraordinary.
Greece: incredibly cold when I was there. I think I picked up a minor case of pneumonia. It was March and I was freezing to death.
Turkey: went in 2002 and no Muslims killed me. The waiter brought his kid sister out, maybe 10 years old, to practice English. She giggled and thought Americans were funny. I thought the Turks were friendlier than the Greeks. But I was an asshole kid back then.
Bulgaria: also went in frozen weather in March 2002. Bulgaria was probably the closest to the grim Iron Curtain stereotype I’d sort of been expecting. (You half expected to see Stalin at the train station in Sofia.) But I’ve heard it’s changed a lot for the better. I was there 21 years ago. Would I revisit? Yes. In July.
Spain: didn’t see anybody going to bullfights. Tacos are not the dominant cuisine there. Paella is overrated tourist food. Seville beats Barcelona and Madrid. Go to Lanzarote for surreal quiet time (I was there last April, showed up in a tiny town at night, sat on the balcony watching the moon, and I was like “I’m in Spain and there’s no noise. This is weird.” Also, you’re more likely to see people having big parties than going to a Catholic religious procession. Spain has an exaggerated reputation for being “extremely Catholic.” The American Midwest is 10 times more Catholic.
Sweden: only went to Stockholm. Incredibly empty. Not very exciting. Dirtier than I expected.
Finland: severely underrated people.
Iceland: not as cold as Minnesota. (I’ve been to both in January. Iceland is Ipanema Beach compared to Minnesota.)
Portugal and Slovenia: Europe’s most underrated countries.
Czech Republic, Poland and Croatia: not gray. Everybody who heard I was going there said “that sounds so gray.” These places were bursting with color and life. Ate like a king for the price of a Big Mac meal in the U.S.
Bosnia: didn’t get killed. Contrary to stereotypes, that war ended 30 years ago. Being afraid to go because there had been a war and some bad shit in the past would be like being afraid to go to Germany in 1975, thirty years after WWII. Ridiculous. (I drove on some roads in Bosnia that were better than roads in Michigan. There are other roads where if you’re not paying attention, you’ll drive off a ledge and end up upside down in a cabbage patch.)
I’ve been to a few more countries, but that’s the gist.
One thing I’ve learned from travel is not to put too much stock in other people’s opinions. I’ve been to places they love that I hated. I’ve been to places they bashed or were afraid to visit that I thought were some of the best experiences of my life.
It’s not that I don’t trust anybody. It’s just that I’ve traveled enough to know that I’d rather go somewhere myself and form my own opinion.
Xi knows China needs the US, and of course the US needs China, maybe more so today.
Xi also knows that the world, which is facing more than enough difficulties right now, needs a stable US relationship and can not endure any major conflicts between the two largest economies.
Xi knows he can handle the situation here within China.
Then, looking around, who can help stabilize the bilateral relations? Who have a big say on the US domestic issues to try to calm down the sentiments there?
Is it possible, helpful and practical for him to talk to those big bosses of MICs, the Military Industrial Complex? Not quite possible — they prefer war than peace, they are thirsty for wars.
Is it helpful for him to talk to the US politicians? He has tried. He talked with Trump, and treated him well in Beijing, then what? Trump can tear down any agreements as he likes; He talked with Biden, last year in Bali, Indonesia, then what? Biden can’t even really govern his own administration team, neither the Democratics, let alone those from the GOP. But Xi tried once again, this time, he met Biden in San Francisco. But, again, then what? What if Trump came back after next election? He would again turn everything upside down.
Is it useful and helpful to talk to the general public? Might be of some help, but how many can he talk to? And how much help would that be of? No one really knows.
Then, who are left? The ones with a big say in the US politics, economy and even society — Yes, the business executives.
What they care more about is the market, the profits, the money, where China can offer. And with the money, they can stand with those candidates who are more practical and support a more pragmatic approach towards China, instead of those full of ideologies in their minds and even can’t wait to drum up a war with China.
Thus a comparably virtuous circle is hopefully to be formed to prevent the China-US relations from further spiraling down, which neither can China afford, nor can the US, as well as the whole world.
I joined a ship in Rotterdam and on sailing for Suez, noted that the generator oil temperatures were rather high. On asking the other engineers, they said “They’re always like that” which was often a reason given by those of an idle nature… I investigated and found that they had raised the alarm point to stop the alarms going off instead of actually fixing the problem, which I assumed to be the generator lube oil coolers being fouled. On arrival at Suez and waiting in the anchorage, we opened up the LO coolers but found that they were clear, though with a fine sand lying in the tube bottoms, suggesting a lack of seawater flow-rate. We transited Suez but on meeting the warmer seawater temperatures of the Red Sea, had to reduce the generator load to avoid them tripping out altogether. We put into Aden to fix the problem, blacked out and started working back from the seawater lines into the coolers to the pumps themselves, eventually having to take out just about all the seawater lines until on opening up the main piping from the pumps (some 650mm diameter) we found them to be just about blocked with an aggregate of mud, sand and shellfish, such that only a small diameter of some 250mm was available for passing water to the generator coolers. Out came the main length of piping and we started to shovel out the muck. As we cleared it, a large, Triffid/Hydra-like apparition started to appear, causing the more faint-hearted to jump back in alarm, though it was only moving by virtue of us shovelling out its supporting mussel bed… It turned out to be a submarine tree of surprising length and girth (around 5–6m long and about the diameter of my arm in the main trunk, with lots of squid like leaves on it which had been waving in the ever reducing breeze of seawater passing through the pipe. We eventually removed all the gunk and the “animal” itself and laid it along the plates for a photo opportunity (we only had the ship’s Polaroid instant picture camera in those days so I don’t have a record unfortunately).
How did such a large beast get into the system? Presumably it had entered as a micro-organism and found a handy place to anchor itself in the rubber jointing between flanges (its roots were entwined around the bolts) and then fed itself from the handy warm water stream passing its front door. It gradually grew, causing other marine life such as shellfish to cling on where the water was less turbulent, and then gathering mud and other essential nutrients from its environment. Amazing thing, but fortunately harmless in that it didn’t actually attack us… Being in Aden the temperature in the engineroom without the fans running was around 50C (we had to shut down the generators and rely on emergency lighting), such that we could only work for around 20 minutes each before having to go on deck in the (relatively) cooler air of some 35C Aden night time temperature. It took us most of the night to clear the piping and refit it – a big job indeed.
Final job on restarting everything was to wind the generator LO temperature alarms back to the proper alarm point; I checked back through the ship’s engineroom log books to see where the problem had first started, and it was some 3 years in the making without anyone investigating the slowly rising temperatures.
I was Marketing Director for a major, easily recognized company that manufactured female oriented products. Our President was in over his head, as evidenced by our declining market share and revenue. I was hired to help turn things around given my successful track record at other companies. However, the President couldn’t handle any outside suggestion or strategy unless it was his so I was constantly reprimanded for doing my job.
One day, my timid, suck-up boss sends me an email about a report she needs me to do ASAP. I scoll thru the entire email and at the end, I see it originated with a request from the President. Basically he wanted my boss to assign the report to me and once she had it to fire me. The email also contained some very derogatory & crude & inappropriate comments about my appearance.
I forwarded the entire email to my personal email account, HR and members of the Board. In exchange for me not pursuing legal action or sharing the incident with my press contacts (would have killed any credibility in the female marketplace), I received my bonus, 6 months severance including paying my health insurance, & a strong positive reference letter. I had a new position in 6 weeks.
The President was let go after about 2 months and it took him over 1 year to find a new position at a less prestigious company and lessor salary.
I wasn’t a mechanic, I was a service manager. A guy drove into the lot, he had poked a rod through his block. How the car was still running was a mystery. For some context, this was 1978, he was driving some little 1970 English import, a Vauxhall Viva, possibly. The blue book price was less than $500. He was a recent immigrant, with broken English, and obviously didn’t have much money, from the car he was driving.
I explained that it would cost twice as much to fix the car as it was worth. He didn’t appear to understand. So he called his pastor, who was his sponsor. I talked to the pastor when he arrived, and he called me a racist for refusing to work on an immigrants car. I explained it two different ways, and it didn’t make any difference.
I finally gave up, wrote up a work order, for $1200. Then I ran down the street to a convenience store, and bought an autotrader magazine. I handed him the work order first, and he audibly gasped. Yet it was just what I had verbally told him. Then I flipped the magazine open to a car like his, but in better shape, for sale for $500.
The light switched on. He wasn’t happy, but he now understood why I didn’t want to repair it. Since it was worth more than the car was to repair it, we would have required cash up front. Before starting the job.
My boss wasn’t happy with me, for spending my time driving away a customer.
I have no idea if the guy could have afforded to make the repair.
The next week the pastor started sending other members of his flock to us.
The following is a translation of a recent essay that examines the circumstances of close encounters between Chinese and U.S. militaries in China’s vicinity, explains China’s grievances, and identifies the factors that further heighten risks.
The author of this essay is Hu Bo, Research Professor and Director of the Center for Maritime Strategy Studies, Peking University, and Director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative.
Full text below.
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Recently, the U.S. DoD “declassified” some of the videos and pictures of aerial encounters with PLA military aircraft in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, accusing China of “risky intercept” and “unprofessional behaviors.”
This is, of course, a one-sided narrative from the United States. The Pentagon has not made it clear where these air encounters took place or why they occurred. As the China-U.S. military competition intensifies, the frequency and intensity of air and sea encounters are increasing, and the risk of possible friction and conflict does exist.
However, the United States is hyping “anxiety”, partly because of real concerns about risks, and partly because it wants to take hold of the “moral high ground” in international public opinion and diplomacy.
In fact, in the waters surrounding China, such as the East China Sea and the South China Sea, despite the growing competition between the China-U.S. militaries as well as air and sea encounters, it is important to emphasize that the vast majority of the air and sea encounters between the China-U.S. militaries, which occur more than a dozen times a day and thousands of times a year, have been conducted in a safe and professional manner.
For example, in a 2022 emailed statement about transit through the Taiwan Strait, US 7th Fleet spokesperson Mark Langford said in an emailed statement that “all interactions with foreign military forces during the transit were consistent with international standards and practices and did not impact the operation.”
In August 2022, Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt told the press after the USS Abraham Lincoln, which she commanded, finished a deployment in the Pacific that “We were operating in the vicinity [of] Chinese warships at times, mostly … that shadowed our ship……It was safe and professional the entire time that we interacted with them. During some flight operations, our aircraft did interact with some of their aircraft, but again it remained safe and professional each and every time we interacted with them.” [1]
Both the U.S. and Chinese militaries have made it clear at the highest levels that they “do not want war” and want to avoid direct military conflict.
While formal communication mechanisms between the two militaries (e.g., the China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, Defense Policy Coordination Talk, and China-U.S. Theater Commanders Talk) were interrupted after Nancy Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan, there are other channels of communication between frontline commanders, such as the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs), and the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), which was adopted in 2014.
High-level exchanges between the U.S. and Chinese militaries have also been slowly restarting since President Xi Jinping had a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali. Overall, the situation of China-U.S. air and sea encounters is not as dire as portrayed by the media and some scholars.
▲ Four scenarios for confrontational encounters between China and the United States
However, under certain circumstances, the risk of conflict could run high. When the United States and China talk about military frictions or dangerous encounters and blame each other, the first thing we should be clear about is where these frictions or encounters are taking place. For both sides, air and sea encounters in different areas have different legal and political implications. Most confrontational encounters between China and U.S. military forces occur under the following four scenarios.
1. When U.S. forces approach the territorial waters and airspace of mainland China or Hainan Island, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reacts vigorously, taking such actions as interception or forcing out.
2. U.S. forces enter the territorial waters and airspace of the Xisha Islands to carry out so-called FONOPs and are warned and driven away by the PLA.
3. When the U.S. military conducted FONOPs within 12 nautical miles of China-controlled islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands and Huangyan Island, The PLA warned and drove away the U.S. military. For example, on September 30, 2018, the USS Decatur conducted a so-called FONOP in the waters near Nansha Islands’ Nanxun Reef and had a close encounter with a Chinese warship. The two ships were only 40 meters apart at their closest.
4. Both China and the United States engage in close reconnaissance of each other’s military forces during military exercises, including live ammunition exercises. While mutual tracking and surveillance of military activities are common, the reconnaissance operations conducted by the U.S. military sometimes come dangerously close.
Particularly during the PLA’s live ammunition exercises, the U.S. military often disregards the no-entry notices and unlawfully enters the relevant sea and airspace. For example, in August 2020, a U.S. U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft intruded into the PLA’s Northern Theater Command’s live ammunition exercise airspace, and an accident was barely avoided.
▲ China has legitimate concerns about the close encounters between Chinese and U.S. naval and air forces
While China is dissatisfied with the U.S. military’s actions in the waters near China and believes that the root cause of the encounters at sea and in the air is the aggressively close reconnaissance and other targeted military operations conducted by the U.S. military, it nevertheless tracks and monitors the U.S. military in accordance with international conventions, which is no different from reciprocal reactions of U.S. and Japan for China.
China only reacts more strongly in the four above-mentioned types of military encounters, which is in line with international common sense. Any country would take all feasible measures to safeguard its territorial, sovereign, and platform security against any actions that attempt to approach its territorial waters and airspace or pose a threat to its training exercises.
Strategically, China opposes the continuous challenges posed by the U.S. to China’s sovereignty over islands and reefs and its national security. Technically or in specific actions, China opposes actions by the U.S. that endanger the safety of personnel onshore at sea and in the air. In addition to strategic and legal differences, China also has three legitimate concerns:
First, some of the U.S. military’s reconnaissance missions are too close to China and overly provocative.
For example, on September 4, 2021, a U.S. RC-135S Cobra Ball missile surveillance aircraft approached Jiaozhou Bay in Shandong Province for close reconnaissance, with its closest point of approach to the Chinese territorial baseline being less than 20 nautical miles. On December 8, 2022, a U.S. P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew over the Taiwan Strait, at times with a distance of less than 13 nautical miles from the Chinese territorial baseline.
Second, China has reasons to be concerned about frequent accidents involving the U.S. military. In recent years, the high frequency of U.S. military operations and the negative impact on training and proficiency have led to numerous unfortunate accidents (such as the collision incident involving the U.S. Navy’s USS Fitzgerald missile destroyer in 2017).
When the Chinese and American militaries come into close proximity, the possibility of accidental incidents occurring due to a decline in the professionalism of the U.S. military is increasing.
Third, the United States has intensified the public hype and politicization of encounters at sea and in the air and military actions. In recent years, the United States has amplified the political and diplomatic implications of its military actions, with the most iconic examples being the so-called FONOPs carried out by the U.S. military within 12 nautical miles of China-controlled islands in the South China Sea and its transits through the Taiwan Strait.
On October 27, 2015, the U.S. destroyer USS Lassen conducted a highly publicized FONOP in the waters near the Nansha Islands. Although the U.S. had previously conducted such activities in the South China Sea, they were rarely so open and high-profile. The same is true for U.S. transits through the Taiwan Strait. Since 2018, after each transit through the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. Navy would either feed information to the media or directly issue announcements, claiming to “maintain freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific region”. Such hype and politicization have increased the complexity and difficulty of military communication between China and the U.S. and added to the risks of encounters between Chinese and American naval and aerial forces.
[1]Note: the original essay wrongly attributed the above quote to Rear Adm. J.T. Anderson, this newsletter corrected the inaccuracy.
You smile, bank the check and say thank you! I had a very small role in the Spiderman movie starring Emma Stone. The scene never made it into the final cut. It wasn’t necessary for the story line. But I got paid union rate and residuals and spent a very pleasant afternoon and evening filming a 2 person scene with Emma Stone, who was absolutely delightful and charming. No complaints. And they sent me the specially designed movie baseball cap. I was treated as a professional and my contribution was valued at the time of filming.
In many western nations it fails on both counts. What they have left is an electoral system that goes through the motions. I remember a module on Law I did at UCL. It’s an elected dictatorship mostly. Before you screech but you’re in China, yeah but I was born in the UK. I watche the 1997 election (too young to vote) participated in 2001, 2005, 2010 and sat out 2015. I had left the UK by 2017 and 2019.
We can go through the common failings:
We can vote out those who fail!
We can freely criticise our leaders!
We can vote somebody in new and different!
Western systems ensure the BEST standards of living
Western systems are accountable!
Western systems ensure the most capable people!
We can vote out those who fail!
Except you don’t. The Labour regime of from 1997 to 2010 didn’t really achieve anything. They had some decent literacy programmes with the gremlins campaign but this was dismantled by the late 00s.
We can freely criticise our leaders!
Less so now, the UK has massively restricted free speech since the 80s, it has massively restricted protest. And guess what? Call the current prime minister a bum what happens NOTHING to you and NOTHING to them.
We can vote somebody in new and different!
Except it’s a false choice. You can choose a Neoliberal or a Neoliberal. The policies are a venn diagram that is a circle.
Western systems ensure the BEST standards of living
Maybe in the past 70s, 80s maybe the 90s. But once it got Neoliberalised productivity got disconnected from wages and there’s been a massive stagnation.
Western systems are accountable!
Yeah, they apologise or say let’s draw a line under it and then simply ignore it. I still remember Blunkett UK MP (EDIT) simply saying I don’t accept that to dismiss a well crafted argument against him.
Western systems ensure the most capable people!
No it ensures popular people. The UK’s Johnson for instance. What qualities other than being popular did he have?
Now let’s return to the above:
For the people.
For the people, are your lives REALLY getting better? My life in the UK:
Access to medical care: As a child I remember being able to get appointments with Dr Sharma same day for the times I was ill. As a teenager when I was beaten up, I could be admitted to hospital pretty quickly. Nose operations to put it back were done in as little as week. Into my 20s. It became increasingly difficult. Barriers kept being put up to see my GP. First off it was you had to book a day in advance, then a week in advance. By the early 00s. My GP had a 10 minute window at 8am to book appointments. There were 10 available a day.
My commute times : Each year it took longer and longer. I recall sitting in my dad’s car. To get to the big city nearby it was 20 minutes door to door. We moved a couple miles East but by the mid 00s it was taking 45 minutes and by the 2010s it was taking an hour each way door to door.
Policing There was a small police station in my dad’s town. It was gone and consolidated by the mid 00s. My dad had things smashed and police would attend same day. By the 2010s they wouldn’t attend and simply give you a crime number.
Of the people.
There’s the odd outlier like Mahri Black? The youngest MP ever. But the trend is establishment candidates. Only those backed by the party apparatchik have any chance of success. Tons of people like Lord Binhead try.. or the Monster Raving Loony Party try but always lose their deposits.
Sheltered, to begin with. In elementary school, I thought that friends who lived on Park Avenue were middle class.
One thing, though, that many don’t understand — not all of the students in these schools are rich. The schools generally offer financial aid, and many students are from upper middle class families. Increasingly, they have some poor children as well.
But of course there are lot of rich kids at them — kids who go skiing in the Swiss Alps, kids with household staffs, what have you. This can leave kids from middle class backgrounds thinking that they are poor.
The schools themselves — mine anyway —
Very high standards. You did not skip class, and you were not absent unless you were ill or there was a major crisis like a death in the family.
Very solid, college preparatory curriculum with lots of electives. Math and language classes were tracked by ability. The curriculum was accelerated to the point at which many students went to college after their junior year — there just wasn’t much left to do.
No bad teachers; they ranged from good to superb.
Few bad students. Admission was competitive and those who couldn’t handle the work were asked to leave. All students went to college, any or most to Ivies or similar, and most got advanced degrees.
Small class sizes. Ours were about 15. Teachers had low course loads, and latitude in what and how they taught — no submitting lesson plans. And they could focus on teaching, rather on lunchroom duty and such.
No “teaching to the test.” But then, such a thing didn’t exist when I was in school.
That said, there was good prep for the SAT’s. This can’t make a dramatic difference in scores, less than 100 points, but it can make some.
Beautiful campus, also like a small college. Here’s where I went to school — that’s the library building:
image 144
9. Excellent facilities.
10. No bells, etc. But very high standards of behavior. You didn’t arrive to class late, and there were no fights or anything of the sort.
11. A friend who transferred in from public school told me that he was delighted to be at a school where the teachers actually liked the kids!
12. I recall visiting my cousin’s public school when we were juniors and was appalled at the way the kids were treated by the administration. Obnoxious.
13. Smart kids were admired rather than bullied or looked down upon.
14. Today, there is a lot of pressure on the kids to get into a top college. Less so in my day. In any case, the schools are feeder schools, known to top colleges. At my school, for example, six kids went to Yale every year. Not five, not seven — they had six slots set aside.
15. The quality of the students was remarkable — probably more so at privates that cater specifically to the children of the rich. Out of a class of 100, one of my classmates became the first female editor of The New York Times. One became a philosophy professor at Cambridge, the other at Harvard. Another became a physicist. Most became doctors and lawyers. (Only three of us, I being one of them, became engineers.) One of the lawyers worked for President Obama. Etc.
16. I asked a former teacher why it was that, on a standardized test administered to students in New York City, the public school students did better than the private school students, but that in life, the private schools students did better, and he said it was simple — the private schools taught the students to think. They don’t stuff your head full of facts like a public school, but you can write an essay or prove a theorem.
In retrospect, if there was a downside, it’s that we were so sheltered. But overall, my experience was just about as good as it could be, within our current educational framework and given the requirements set by the colleges. I wish that every student could enjoy a similar experience.
There is no threat to the Chinese political system. 95% of Chinese support China and its government. People live longer, today their life expectancy is 78 years old and the U.S. is 2 full years lower at 76 years old! They live better lives. Their real standard of living less inflation has grown 30 times in 40 years. Meanwhile during the same time. The U.S. real standard of living not only not grow. It deteriorated back 20 years into the 1960 level!
Chinese has full universal healthcare coverage and college education is free of charge if one qualifies for it. All of which is not free in the U.S. and close to a third of Americans are not covered by healthcare and may die if they fall sick! That is the U.S. not China! Kids gets into college debts before they even start life in the world.
So who want to change their political system? Well by trust on government measurement carried out by trusted western research in the west showed Chinese trust their government 95% and only 30% of American’s trust their government!
And your question is what is the biggest threat to the Chinese political establishment? Not what is the biggest threat to the so call US liberal democracy? Why do you not ask the obvious? And why do you worry about a non issue? Where is your intellect? Where is you rationality and sanity?
Ok I get it you are a China and Chinese hater and you term communism as a slur to demonised China. But let me help you. 87% of the world don’t buy your shit. Sure the 13% westerners may be fooled by your media but even that a higher proportion of westerners are smarter than you. They know this is a nonsense question. But I addressed it to call you out. If you can ask this question you don’t amount to much.
What was odd thirty years ago, is my new normal, but here are a few random remembrances from 1990 Germany, 6 months after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Brutal truth rewarded me when I asked “how are you?”. Replies weren’t always “great”, “awesome” or “just fine thank you.” Germans actually thought I cared (and eventually I learned not to ask if I didn’t).
Germans are direct. They don’t beat around the bush. When they have an opinion they share it with you. And they expect you respect it and deliver honesty in return. Political correctness was non-existent.
Service workers didn’t smile and chirp sugar-coated pleasantries. Shop attendants ignored me unless I asked for help. Restaurant meals were uninterrupted by the obligatory-every-five-minute repetition of “is everything OK?” I learned to ask for the bill rather than wait for it.
Smiling at strangers often seemed to discomfort them. I soon learned to recognize when a smile was welcome and when not.
Football (soccer for me at the time) rules. The 1990 World Cup began soon after I arrived. During games the world stopped. Loud cheers or groans occasionally livened up silent and traffic free downtown streets. As games ended, streets filled with honking cars waving huge flags (Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, Romanian and of course German).
I thought the Super Bowl huge, but the World Cup is much bigger.
Sporting events and television programs were advertising free. Ads appeared only between scheduled programming.
Everything was expensive. A used car with over 80,000 miles cost more than a new Hyundai in the US. A pair of brand name jeans cost 3 times more.
The electronics store salesman spent an hour trying to talk me out of a Toshiba television and a Samsung microwave. He insisted Asian goods broke as soon as the 2 year warranty expired. (The microwave is still going strong 30 years later, and the TV was only replaced because it was no longer smart enough for the digital age).
Nobody ever asked me about my religion or my profession, but damn were they curious about life in America.
Talking about money or charity is taboo.
Alcohol was everywhere. It was common to see people drink beer in the park or walking down the street. Lunch usually included a beer or carafe of wine.
There was no free water in the restaurants. And soft drinks were more expensive than beer. All drinks are served without ice.
Nobody littered! The public waste bins were emptied daily.
Germans pedestrians wait for a red light to turn green even on a deserted street at midnight.
Zebra-striped crosswalks get the same respect as stopped school buses in the US.
I was never asked to show ID to prove myself of legal drinking age. Sixteen-year-olds are allowed to drink wine and beer (even in a bar).
Magazines at the supermarket checkout featured naked breasts (no longer).
Shops closed at 6.30 p.m. on weekdays, 2 p.m. on Saturday and were all closed on Sunday (this has changed).
There were only three types of soda on offer, Coke, Fanta and Sprite (the selection is slightly larger now – but nothing like in the US).
Bagels and donuts were not to be found (that has changed too).
Bread was light on air and heavy on grains. My digestion became like an alarm clock.
Cities and streets are designed for pedestrians, bicycles and public transport – not for cars. Pedestrian zones are everywhere, parking is in expensive garages.
Downtown streets aren’t straight. They wander among the buildings and sites. Highways don’t mention north, south, east or west. They only tell you what towns and cities are ahead on the route.
Restaurant meals took hours not minutes and lack of television in the restaurants forced me to communicate with my friends. Meal portions were smaller and menus much more varied. Chain restaurants were rare. Tipping was optional and the wait staff gets 20 days of paid vacation.
Dogs are allowed in restaurants.
German flags were only displayed during the World Cup.
Everybody took a one hour lunch break and left work promptly before 5.30. People took three or four week vacations and left work behind.
Construction workers drank beer during their morning break. Obesity was unusual, beer bellies were not.
People walked for fun, but nobody seemed to run for fitness.
Some women at the pool sunbathed topless. Young children at the pool often wore nothing.
Public transport was immaculately clean and ran on time.
Brothels are legal.
Nobody ever seemed to get shot (though there were plenty of stabbings in Frankfurt where I lived).
Gas was four to five times more expensive than in the US.
My hour lunch break is over now. I’ll add to this if anything else occurs to me.
Back in the 70s, when smoking was legal almost anywhere except elevators. I stepped into an elevator in an office building with a coworker when another person stepped right in as the doors closed, smoking a cigarette. I pointed out it was illegal to smoke on an elevator and she replied, “what are you going to do, call the police?” My coworker, who happened to be a reserve police officer, pulled out his badge and said, “that won’t be necessary.”
Ah, I still remember her expression.
Varginha UFO Crash: Alien Contact, Government Denial and Coverup
You must be joking!!! I don’t understand how you could be unaware. China has been the target of massive anti-China propaganda in Western media for years.
And not only in mainstream media but in social media like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and here on Quora.
Curiously, there are very few positive stories about China in Western media. They’re nearly all negative! How can that be?
Can a country that…
built the world’s largest economy from scratch within 40 years
lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty
created the world’s finest infrastructure of roads, bridges, high-speed rail, airports, etc.
landed on the dark side of the moon
sent an ambitious space mission to Mars
built the spectacular BeiDou navigation satellite system
reforested 34 million acres of land
produces the most renewable energy in the world
created the world’s best 5G technology
sent pandemic aid to dozens of countries around the world
…have practically nothing positive to report on at all?
Well, that’s what the American (Western) narrative is.
China don’t throw innocent people into jail like the how U.S. cook up some shit and throw the Huawei CEO daughter in jail in Canada. The 2 Michael’s are spies and doing things in China to hurt China and the Chinese people to spy for the 5 eyes. These are facts. These are self confessed facts. Canada, do the honourable think and apologise to China and the Chinese people.
Canada you are a hypocrite and a liar. You cohort with all the media to claim that they were innocent. Well they now says in their own free speech that they spied for you! You are lucky China don’t sentence them to death. China ought to. China should do. After all what they do could kill many Chinese.
The time that a white persons life is worth more than another race belongs to the 19th century today. We should sue every media that claims the Michael’s are innocent. We should end every journalist that lied. We should fine the media and politicians so hard the will never dare to lie again. Caucasians do the right thing. Do you like to be lied to? Again and again and again?
I thought that freedom of speech is so vital to you. And surely you want the truth, nothing but the truth? Why the hell are you keeping quiet? CNN and BBC. Why are you quiet as a mouse? Lying News channel?
I raised a young family in the 1970’s as a TV repairman. Made good money. TV’s were so unreliable there was a TV shop on every other street corner. Drug stores had a vacuum tube tester for DIY’ers (You can’t guess how many service calls I made where the customer had a bag of tubes they took out to test but didn’t have brains enough to read the tube layout on the inside of the cabinet to return them in the proper place.) When the RCA XL100 came out as one of the first solid state TV’s, repairs started a slow decline. When integrated circuits became the norm, the bottom opened. Microprocessors blew the bottom away.
Drive down ANY 5 streets and tell me how many TV repair shops you can find. Go ahead, I’ll wait………..
I saw the handwriting on the wall, jumped into early PC repair, became an electronics teacher, saw the build you own PC market crash, got into networking, watched Cisco plummet in the 90’s, did cyber security and retired. Modern TV’s are far superior to any previous generation by my firsthand experience. Not to mention a color tv in 1960 cost $300 – 500 dollars. Do the math with inflation vs any brand of 40″ flat screen. Be amazed.
image 149
This is what fed my wife and daughter for 12 years.
Because I got married and had her very early in my 20s, at that time, none of my friends had kids. My baby was the sweetheart for all the aunties – mom’s three close friends. We threw her a party.
It was fun. Each auntie got her a present. They handed it to her one by one so she opened it and got excited. To the last auntie, before she handed the present to my daughter, she ‘demanded’ my girl, “Say ‘please’ and bow, so auntie will give you the gift!”.
I thought she was joking, so I interrupted and told my daughter, “Auntie got you a present, you say ‘Thank you’ out loud!”.
My daughter exclaimed, “Thank you auntie!”, then opened the present.
It was a Lego Friends set. Needless to say, my daughter was so happy, and jumped up and down with the Lego set.
Then suddenly, the auntie snatched the Lego set from my daughter’s hands again, held it up above her head, and demanded my daughter, “Say ‘please’ and bow, or auntie’s gonna take it back!”.
This time, I knew she wasn’t joking.
I got angry but tried very hard to keep my voice calm, “No one demands my daughter to beg. We’re poor but we are not cheap”. “I was just joking!”, she said. “No, you weren’t.
That’s the second time and I don’t like it”, I told her.
Now she got angry, raised her voice with me, “Even so, this is an expensive toy, what wrong with begging a little?”. “You take the gift back and please leave”, I told her, while getting up and holding the door open.
She left and never came back.
The next day, I took my daughter to the toy store to get that Lego set. My friend was right. It was a damn expensive toy, it cost me a big chunk of my skinny paycheck and a friendship.
Of course it is the U.S. but to be fair the U.S. is the biggest threat to the entire world. China included. And the world. As a whole the world need to jointly and severally stop the U.S. excesses. I dare say for the good of the human race including the Americans.
The U.S. is the only nation that will push human into extinction through an all out nuclear war if uncheck. We humanoids on earth need to be very mindful of this fact and the U.S. powers must be checkmate at every turn and ever aspect. Militarily, politically, financially, economically and strategically.
The U.S. must be brought back into being a member of responsible human society where the common good of humanity must prevail over the selfish interest of the U.S. military industrial complex profiting from wars, chaos and violence worldwide.
China is a very peaceful loving nation and it survived 5000 years because it has a peaceful coexistence between nations as a priority. China don’t want enemies and certainly do not like war. Since 1979 some 44 years has passed since China last fought a war. But during that time China phenomenally grew rich and strong to deter any nation from threatening them.
China wants a peaceful world where we can live peacefully and harmoniously. We can all get prosperous and live better and longer lives. And we trade with each other. Today there are only some 12–15 nations that are part of these war threatening pack. Most of them are either forced into this pack as slave vassal states or coerced or bribed into this grouping. Glued together by the U.S. and the western media, this loosely defined as western powers need to be dismantled for good.
Chinese history
Cajun Beef Po’boy Sandwiches with Red Eye Gravy
For Cajun Beef Po’boy Sandwiches with Red Eye Gravy, sirloin steak is rubbed with espresso coffee powder and pepper, then broiled to perfection. Red Eye Gravy is added to the steak.
cajun beef po boys
Ingredients
Po’boys
1 (1 pound) beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick
6 teaspoons espresso coffee powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 large French bread rolls, split
8 slices tomato
1 cup shredded lettuce
Redeye Gravy
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup diced tasso or pancetta ham
1/4 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup hot water
2 cups beef stock
1 to 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (Louisiana-style)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Rub beef top sirloin steak with 2 teaspoons espresso powder and pepper.
Heat broiler to HIGH.
Place steak on rack on aluminum foil-lined broiler pan so surface of beef is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil for 16 to 21 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning once.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium heat; whisk in flour. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until caramel color, whisking often. Remove mixture from pan; set aside.
Melt remaining tablespoon butter in same skillet over medium heat; add tasso, onion, Creole Seasoning and garlic; cook for 10 minutes until onion is translucent.
Dissolve remaining 4 teaspoons espresso powder in hot water; add to skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until browned bits attached to skillet are dissolved and sauce is reduced almost completely.
Whisk in butter mixture until smooth.
Add beef stock, hot sauce and Worcestershire; bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce is reduced to 1 cup.
Add roast beef to skillet. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until heated through, stirring often so sauce coats beef.
Divide beef mixture between rolls. Top beef with tomato and lettuce. Close sandwiches.
There is no need to answer such boring questions anymore.
All infrastructure in China, including logistics, communication, power supply, water supply, and gas supply, is very complete.
In 2021, China produced 8.5 petawatt-hour (Pwh) of electricity, approximately 30% of the world’s electricity production.
There are two most advanced transmission technologies in the world, one called “ultra-high voltage transmission” and the other called “flexible direct current transmission“. China is far ahead of other countries in these two top technologies.
Overhead power lines can easily cause fires and can also lead to power outages.
Outdoor power poles and overhead power lines in China have been basically cleaned up during the renovation of old cities, and all cables have been buried underground without any exposed or disorderly phenomena.
If you have traveled to cities in Taiwan, Japan and Chinese Mainland, you will find that only cities in Chinese Mainland rarely see bare overhead power lines.
I haven’t experienced a power outage in China for 40 years.
Young people born in China after 1990 may not even understand what it feels like to have a power outage.
In China, even remote rural areas have stable electricity supply.
The Tibetan village at an altitude of 5000 meters has also been electrified.
But whether it’s India, Vietnam, or the United States or Europe, power outages are frequent.
The machines running in the factory require electricity, while the computers in the office require electricity. If the power supply is unstable, how do you make the enterprise work?
Taiwan’s power system has always had various problems. Taking TSMC as an example, due to a power outage in Tainan City, 30000 wafers on TSMC’s production line were damaged, resulting in a direct loss of US$200 million. No matter how rich TSMC’s finances are, it cannot withstand the losses caused by several major power outages.
Anyway, since you want to attract foreign investment, the first step is to ensure a stable electricity supply.
Otherwise, these enterprises will have to face downtime and production stoppage.
Through the the Belt and Road Project, China will help these countries improve their power systems and will actively transfer some enterprises to countries along the the Belt and Road.
China’s homegrown TP500 unmanned transport plane makes maiden flight, and transportation between Chinese cities will be faster in the future. Goods that originally took 3 days to arrive can be transported in 2-3 hours.
I was a workaholic, working 16 hour weekdays and 8 hour weekends. This was about 20 years ago.
It was Christmas eve, and I still hadn’t done my Christmas shopping, I had my list for everything, most of it specified by my nieces and nephews.
I had been reading how a few malls in our city were in trouble, as everyone was switching to big box stores to shop. They showed pictures of traffic jams in big box store parking lots. I was finally out of time and had to shop, and hope I could get the stuff on my list, at the last minute.
I pulled up to Sears at the local mall, that had been featured in the news, as being in trouble. The parking lot was empty. I was afraid it was closed. I parked in the closest parking spot to the door. I walked in and manager saw me enter, and was on me like glue. I was the only customer in the store, ON Christmas Eve!!
He asked me what I was looking for and I pulled out this long list. He smiled and called someone over to get me a hot chocolate from the mall, he sat me down in a recliner in the furniture section, and called two more workers over, and asked them to get the stuff on the list.
We talked, and I drank my hot chocolate. He was pretty sure Sears wouldn’t last another five years, and he needed it to, to collect his pension.
After about 15 minutes, the workers were back with my presents. I paid for them. They had a gift wrapping service, which normally cost extra, but he said that the staff weren’t doing anything anyway, so it would be free.
In another 10 minutes, they helped me load the wrapped presents in my car.
It was maybe 25 minutes from when I walked into the store, and I was done. Wrapped and everything.
I had almost never shopped at Sears, but after that I was a regular, until they closed the doors. I saw the manager until he successfully retired.
I later read that Sears ended up shorting the pension fund. I hope he made out OK, as I have never had service like that, before or since.
Just read this out to my wife and she burst out laughing. In 1996 I had been widowed over five years when a crazy woman burst through the door of our car sales site with so much enthusiasm and vibrance and chatter and said she wanted to buy a car. It was a quiet time so I stopped playing my guitar and set about helping her. She bought a car and left and I turned to my mate and said, ‘She’s totally bonkers’, he replied, ‘you’re telling me’, I replied, I could do with some of that’. I delivered the car a few days later and took her to the pub for a chat, after a few dates we were driving towards the Mersey tunnel, Merseyside from Wirral to Liverpool and I asked her if she would like to go on an adventure and her answer was yes, just then we entered the tunnel just as the petrol light came on, I said, ‘welcome to the adventure’.
We sold our houses, bought a B & B, called it ‘Firkin House’ and thirteen years later retired to sunny Cyprus and will have been married twenty years next May with lots of fun and laughs along the way.
Oh, boy. I’ll never forget this one as long as I live.
I had been living with my significant other for about four years. He always treated me well … but other people? Not so much. In this case, it was his grandparents, who I adored. They were just the sweetest people. They really loved their grandson, too, even though he rarely gave them the time of day. They wanted him to fly home for Christmas—I’d made plans with my family, so we were going solo that year.
Anyway, this guy refused to buy a plane ticket unless his grandparents paid for it. Here’s the kicker: he had the money to spend on plane fare. He just didn’t want to. A$$hole that he was. So, his grandfather, who was around 90, had said that he’d put the check in the mail. It hadn’t arrived, due to the holiday mail delay.
I bore witness to this guy browbeating his elderly grandpa into Fed-Exing another check over the phone. This was two days before the cut-off date to book the flight. So his grandfolks sent another check, because they wanted their grandson home for the holidays. These were old, frail people who barely got out of the house. Not good drivers. You know, why didn’t my S.O. just pay for the fare and let his grandfather pay him back once he was there?
A day or so after he left on the trip, his grandfather’s original check arrived in the mail. I looked at his spidery handwriting on the signature line, and I felt positively ill.
I ended up breaking up with my significant other because of that, and for countless other times that I’d seen him be really mean to other people who loved him—family members, even. I knew that one day, I could be next in line, and I wasn’t about to wait around for that to happen.
I am out of the hospital, and I am feeling much better. I can’t wait to get back to business with the start of the new year. The world seemed to be passing me by. Just excited and ready, but my engine is purring. All is good.
…
STORY 1
When I was 16 years old, I went horseback riding with a girl-friend (not a girlfriend) and we were riding in the woods. Well, there were some low hanging vines, and sure as shit, one caught my neck and rubbed it raw. I mean, it was brutal. All my skin was removed.
To everyone at work… it looked like a big “hicky”; a huge sucker bite.
That wasn’t the case, of course, but the razzlin’ and all was really excessive, don’t you know. It took me months to get out from the hasslin’, but you know it was the early 1970’s and that kind of stuff was common in the work-place.
I was still “sweet 16” and never been kissed. That ended shortly afterwards when two of my “girl-friends” fought to become my girlfriend. Which resulted in a sidewalk kiss, that I will never forget.
STORY 2
We were leaving a “sweet 16” birthday party of a classmate. She, a girl named Robin, invited me to it, and I as clueless as ever didn’t know what to do. When we left, and we were on the sidewalk… walking home she stopped turned to me and and “Kiss me”. And so we did.
That was my first kiss.
Robin went off to college, got married, and last I heard was doing well. I’m happy for her.
People, as cherished as those memories are, there is no way that I want to relive similar events in another life. I am tired, and have no desire for another reincarnation. I’ll tell you what.
The star of the whole show, in my opinion, is the turnout of Big Business.
No, not what President Xi said, but the audience composition. Namedrop a household corporate name and the CEO was probably in attendence, Tim Cook and Elon Musk included.
The movers and shakers of Wall Street paid handsomely for the privilege of WELCOMING President Xi. In fact, the visiting Head of State may have gathered THE star-studded corporate audience in recent years, bigger than any Democrat or Republican convention. Even King Charles and the Pope will struggle to demonstrate the star appeal lighting up San Francisco this November WEEKEND.
It was a dinner worth trillions upon trillions in market cap. One need only imagine the private jets lining up to pay hangar premiums for parking rights.
America NEEDS China, economically.
That is why Janet, the top-ranking finance official in America, welcomed President Xi on the tarmac personally.
image 143
Note that both Janet and Gavin visited Beijing PERSONALLY to arrange the visit.
Both the tarmac welcome and dinner highlighted the conspicuous absence of the State Department. No more James Cook Hotel browbeating and public attempts at humiliating the Chinese contingent.
What’s the key here?
American corporations are suffering in the downturn and the captains of industry want guarantees from Joe that the situation with China will not deteriorate further. The chips they have on the table? 20–30 billion in election funding for 2024.
We can expect a freeze on escalation of the new cold war, but not a ceasefire. The militaries will resume direct communications, which is nothing more than “we’re continuing with the harassment, but we’ll inform you first, with your acknowledgement”. However, we can expect cabinet officials to either be gagged top-down or bottom-up, or instructed to be cordial and tone down on provocation. In other words, Gina et al. morphing back to friendly beaver mode rather than “feet to the fire” wolf warrior incarnation.
That’s the tone for 2024. I don’t believe Joe will repeat the “genocide determination” stunt next year, having committed to extravagant molly-coddling in San Francisco, amidst the sea of bipartisan support for playing the China card the corporate-sanctioned way.
Lobbying works, both ways.
This is why President Xi appeared relaxed throughout, almost as if he was on holiday, totally unlike the tense atmosphere in Anchorage, Alaska, back in 2021. People have short memories.
President Xi was being feted and courted, and he was only here after two years of intense US diplomatic efforts to re-establish ties torn down by the State Department, no less.
Crazy world, isn’t it?
Note: The welcome dinner also reassured the Chinese, and gave them the confidence to negotiate deals with the Fed. Corporate America’s turnout is the real deal, in a fiery red vs. blue battle to the death.
I’ll probably never be as successful as my dad and I’m perfectly OK with that.
If anything I’m proud of him. At one point he was overseeing a $50 billion annual budget as Undersecretary of Defense. The dude earned his Wikipedia page.
My father is also an excellent case study. He is certainly very smart. But it wasn’t like he was always the smartest guy in the room. In fact, he was keenly aware when he wasn’t. Yet many of my dad’s peers, who were smarter on paper, fell way short of his success.
Why? It’s mainly because of his people skills and his diligence. He is an excellent listener. He knows how to dial in and pick up on what is important. He is also conscientious and very ethical. He treats people equally regardless of their position.
I’d say if anything, my dad’s superpower is the ability to size people up quickly and judge their character.
He has a special distaste for self-serving people, which is probably because of his career with SEAL teams, where teamwork is a religion.
This is where many highly intelligent people fail. They lack the soft skills, the ability to relate with many types of people.
Cliche as it sounds, many gifted people also have an underlying arrogance they mask. Business textbooks are filled with case studies of executives’ careers being destroyed by pride. My girlfriend is a college professor and complains constantly about the incessant egos at academic conferences.
And to be fair, I can’t totally blame them. When a person is told from birth that they are brilliant, and their test scores affirm that praise, and they live in a world that prizes intelligence — it is probably hard to stay 100% humble.
No matter how talented you are, remember you are dealing with human beings in your career. Success isn’t a MENSA test. Soft skills matter—bigtime.
The U.S. should but it won’t and it can’t. The U.S. thinks like a racist, xenophobic superior white Caucasian nation that their neighbours should be kept as savage, poor, undeveloped nations that it can invade anytime it feels like doing. So they won’t help these nations. It is beyond them. People like Donald Trump can term them robbers and rapist so that he feels very good as the Aryan Superior. So the U.S. abused them instead of helping them.
Of course now that the Chinese decide to help them the U.S. will term it “Debt Trap” China will help to make these former Spanish and Portuguese stolen nations rich and successful.
Anyway they can’t help them. The spent all its money and resources in forever wars, war mongering, war financing, war orchestrating, chaos and coup tormenting. And barely have enough to help US homeless and poor. The U.S. own infrastructure were also 20 century relics and dilapidated beyond repair in the U.S. so they cannot help. Even if the wanted to they will set a thousand conditions including signing over their sovereignty to Uncle Sam.
She Can’t Answer This Simple Question About Marriage
My cat goes on a rampage when he wants to wake me up, knocking every conceivable item off of every flat surface until I finally give up on sleep.
He did it to me the other night. I’d fallen asleep on the couch and woke up to the familiar sound of the TV remote control hitting the floor, then the Roku remote.
I could just make out the little guy’s form on the coffee table through blurry eyes without my glasses. My smartphone was the next thing to hit the hardwood (I have a military grade case precisely for this reason), then he violently smacked a bottle of pills so hard they ricocheted off an end table and went spinning across the room.
Next he hopped onto the end table, upending a bag of restaurant tortillas and swiping my keys off. A water bottle went flying. I heard my vapor pen skidding in the opposite direction.
The little f—er is relentless.
(“Does it look like I’m judging you, human? Because I am.”)
If that doesn’t work — and sometimes it doesn’t, because I know giving in just emboldens him — and he runs out of things to smack and wreck, he’ll pad over to his litter box and start punching the cover flap with his paw because he knows it squeaks and it pisses me off.
He’s a super vocal cat too, so all this is accompanied by high-pitched trills like “RRRRRRRUUUUPPPP!” and “BRRRRRUUUU!”
And you know what the most ridiculous part is?
He’s not asking for food because he always gets a bowl of dry food before bed. He wants to hang out and snuggle and be buddies. I can’t be mad at him.
So yes, it’s pretty common for cats to wake their people up for no other reason than they want us awake, acknowledging them, or giving them scritches and affection.
It’s not always tied to more concrete requests like food, although sometimes it is.
You’ll also notice that cats have no regard for your sleep, but they’ll give you the feline death stare if you rudely interrupt their naps. Such is the pecking order in feline-ruled households.
It is possible to train them out of waking you, especially if they’re young. If your cat is a kitten then she’ll adjust to your schedule. If she’s an adult, well, good luck with that. You can break the habit, but you’re going to make sure you never give in or you’re just hitting the reset button by proving to her that if she makes enough noise, you’re going to get up eventually.
In that case, grab a package of earplugs off Amazon for a few bucks. Your brain will thank you for wearing them.
(“I am a sweet little kitty cat and none of these vile lies are true.”)
We were at an airport in Mexico, going through customs and immigration. Once your bag is xrayed you pick it up, and walk to this green button and push it. If the light above flashes green, which it almost always does, you proceed on. If the light flashes red, and the buzzer, buzzes, you get pulled into a side room and they go through your luggage thoroughly.
There was a huge line up. We had waited an hour to get to the X-ray machine. We were up next. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone from a culture that doesn’t believe in queuing, walking alongside the line, right up to the front, I actually stepped in front of him, so he couldn’t get past me, and his wife took the luggage and threw it on the X-ray conveyor belt. At this point I admitted defeat, and let them go.
They get through the x-ray, and push the button, in my place. It flashed red, and they were led off to a little side room, It would have been me, if they hadn’t barged into the line.
I waved to them as they were being led into the little room.
He is the manager of my neighborhood gym, a very rinky-dink gym.
He makes ~$35K per year. It isn’t terrible money. You can certainly live on that, but it isn’t great money in the US. His salary isn’t specifically why I have so much respect for him. It’s the context:
He was a big-time lawyer here in Tampa. He had a fancy degree and a job making huge money. He did it for 15 years. He had the respect of his peers, the fear of his opposition.
He was fully capable of continuing his relentless march as a litigator.
But he realized, “Nah – this isn’t the right life.”
He walked away – chose a low-stress job, managing this local gym.
When the end of the day rolls around, he goes home and work doesn’t chase him. He is free to indulge the rest of his life.
I see him 3-4 times a week while I sign into my gym. He is always in good spirits. Relaxed. Not troubled by some unseen threat that looms on his calendar.
We grow up. The people around us tell us they just want us to “be happy,” but at the same time, they are pushing this maximization mindset: maximize grades, maximize salary, maximize reputation, go, go, go.
You see plenty of people that maximize. You see plenty of people who don’t.
But how often do you see people who maximize and then walk away? Who goes from introducing himself as “Senior Counsel at XYZ” to answering calls, “Hello, ABC Fitness! How can I help you?”
It’s surprisingly rare. It’s hard to kiss the ring of ambition for so long and then drop it.
He’s a bit of a novelty in my life. On my bad days, I envision what it would be like to be him — that one guy who stepped through the paradox of happiness and ambition.
And although I suspect I don’t have the guts to do what he did, walk away, I have a surprising amount of respect for a guy who is capable of so much, yet aspires to so little.
He did it his way. And he’s happy. Does anything else really matter?
A girl I quite fancied took me to meet her parents for dinner – which turned out to be lasagne. The only prior experience I’d had with lasagne had been at school, many years before – about a millimeter thick, cooked in trays half a mile wide, with about 50p’s worth of ingredients and left to dry out under a heat lamp for a year. 🙁
But I had to be polite.
“I’m not very hungry,” I said. “just give me a little.”
Turns out that lasagne cooked by an Italian mother was rather different to the filth churned out at St. Mary’s. So I asked for seconds
In the 1980s, state law in Florida required that all public high school students take a one-semester class called Americanism vs Communism, or AVC.
The State-approved AVC textbook can be summed up this way:
“Rah rah rah! We’re #1! America, fuck yeah! We won WWII and saved Europe and Russia! America is the best at everything! Woohoo! Look at how amazing we are! America, go us!”
Like, seriously, it was embarrassingly bad. We’re talking Soviet-Union-textbook bad. If George Orwell included a page from the AVC textbook in Nineteen Eighty-Four, critics would be all “nah, bro, too unrealistic.” You wouldn’t think it’s possible to fit so much cringe into one book.
I cannot fathom the degree of insecurity that went into passing the law that required teaching this class in schools.
Fortunately, I lucked out. My high school teacher, a WWII vet and survivor of the Bataan Death March, hated and loathed the class requirement and textbook with every fiber of his being, and made that very clear on the first day of class.
He refused to teach from the book at all. He told us point-blank “The state requirement for this class is complete propaganda bullshit. As far as I’m concerned, this is a class in Russian history, and that’s how I intend to teach it.”
He made his own teaching materials for the class and it rocked.
China has already stopped investing in U.S. Treasuries.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine War, China has been selling its Treasury holdings. As of October 2023, it continues to hold about $820 billion of U.S. Treasuries. This is a reduction of about 18% in one year.
Russia previously sold all its U.S. Treasury holdings, after the United States began to sanction it in connection withe Ukraine War. In about 2017, Russia encouraged the world to do the same.
At the same time, the Federal Reserve is selling the U.S. Treasury Bonds that it purchased during covid.
The combined actions of Russia, China and the Federal Reserve are driving down the value of U.S. Treasury Bonds. In the past six months, the value of 30 year bonds has fallen by about 50%. This raises interest rates in the United States, because the U.S. government must pay more to borrow.
The higher interest rates have greatly limited America’s options, financially. Housing prices are poised to fall, due to higher interest rates. Even worse, interest payments on the U.S. national debt have doubled. Interest payments will soon exceed what the United States spends on national defense. Thus, as you can see, the tactics of Russia and China have limited America’s ability to fight wars. We are seeing just the beginning of the cycle.
Your question is — will the United States face a financial crisis?
The answer is yes. If the United States (a) continues printing dollars, and (b) continues supporting a violent response to conflicts in the world, two things will happen:
The planet will refuse to work with the United States during America’s foreseeable crisis; and
The U.S. dollar will collapse, due to continued printing and the planet’s rejection of the dollar.
The collapse of the dollar will be devastating in the United States, because American society is dependent upon cheap gasoline and cheap imports, which will no longer exist in the United States.
The United States imports 28% of its crude oil. This leaves the United States vulnerable to a falling dollar. Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not “energy independent,” and remains vulnerable. The United States imports 5 million barrels of crude oil per day more than it exports. That is a lot of oil that won’t be coming into the United States when the dollar falls. In addition, President Biden foolishly sold decades of oil stored up by the WWII generation in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. America is not ready for the foreseeable crisis coming to its shores.
Expect riots and shortages in the United States. If Biden continues to pursue violent solutions to global conflict, those wars will return to the United States when the dollar comes down. The American people will be fighting over limited resources. There won’t be any jobs in America, when the shopping malls close.
Normally the work product belongs to the company, not the worker. In the early days of solid state circuitry, my BIL developed much of it. Although his name is on the patents, the company owned them.
I was an independent contractor managing HOAs. ( Also a lawyer). I started by managing my own while my kids were preschoolers. It ran very smoothly so no one ever wanted to be on the Board until crazy ass lady and her group of idiots came on. True nut cases. One insisted on judging the Holiday decorating contest, then picked her own house as winner. One shot my dog. Board meetings were like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.
The Board was 3/3, three humans, three horses asses. When one human was on vacation, the three asses called a special meeting and “ terminated “ me. Now they knew I would just sue them on my 2 year contract so they made paying me for another 18 months conditional on me delivering all the Assn documents and computer data on fees, violations etc on discs within five days. This belonged to them.
I was happy to get out of the nut house. The Assn owned the file cabinets. I just put them on a dolly and walked them to a Board member’s house and left them. I downloaded all the data in computer language and gave them the disks.
Problem was, I used a program I bought that was made by a company that had gone bankrupt. It was a great program. Totally unavailable for purchase anywhere. But I had no duty to give them my program. The computer disks were useless. The finances were also kept on a very old edition of an accounting program. I had no duty to provide them with my copy. The financial disks very useless to them without paying a few thousand for the program. It was a very specialized program used by CPAs
They spent a fortune going through old files and bank statements and quarterly financials to recreate payment records etc. And, I had fulfilled my duties. I got the next 18 months of my contract paid. They also received a cease and desist letter from me. The Assn ‘s original documents had a problem and no lender would loan on a house without a document called a Subordination agreement. Only a lawyer can write one. I always wrote them. No cost. It was my own HOA. But the first time they copied one on a new sale, I hit them with a cease and desist letter and reported them to the Bar for the unlicensed practice of law. So then they had to pay a lawyer for the next 150 or so documents. Lawyers are not free.
So, what the employer owns and what the employee owns is a mixed bag.
I was in an elevator on a cruise ship. Some wiseacre saw my polka-dot suspenders.
He smirked, “Nice suspenders. You from Wisconsin?”
I replied, “No. Ever since my cancer surgery, I can’t wear a belt.”
His smirk instantly evaporated. The elevator doors opened on my floor, and I got out.
Soft tissue sarcoma caused by Agent Orange in Vietnam, They took out 1–3/4 pounds of me from my groin to my beltline. It left a notch where a belt would sit, so I can’t wear a belt comfortably.
Two years back, I was on a road trip on my bike to Meghalaya. While returning, as I was tired I was riding slowly. I was still some 70 miles away from home, and it was already dark. On the highway, I saw a car parked and some people arguing. I rode past them, however before passing them I caught the sight of two women crying and eagerly looking through the front window.
I took a turn and came back to the spot. I saw four boys, around my age, were arguing and pushing a man of around 50 years old. Turns out, the family was returning from some function and lived in another town which was about 90 miles from mine. They were stopped by these four boys on bikes and asked them for some money. They started misbehaving when the old guy refused to pay. He asked his wife and daughter to stay in the car and got down to reason with them.
I heard the story from the old guy, while the boys asked me mind my own business and get the f**k off. I simply turned and started walking towards my bike. The man begged at me to stay and help him, and looked at the women in the back seat and felt their eyes pleading me to stay. But, I kept walking!
Here comes the twist! Now, during my rides I always keep a hockey stick on my bike. Bad luck for the guys who never knew this. They laughed at me, calling me names. One even said, “Yeah, keep walking you p***say.”
I took the hockey stick and came back running. The boys didn’t get time to react and I started beating them. The blows landed everywhere and I think two or more of them bled as well. I didn’t show them any mercy. Someone threw some punches and kicks at me too, but I had a more formidable weapon than them. Seeing me in action, the man also jumped in; his wife and daughter also got down and helped in whatever way they could. All beaten up and even not being able to stand properly, two boys somehow managed to run off on their bikes while the other two ran after them.
I told the man to start the car and keep driving, while I rode in front of him in case the boys decided to get help and chase us. When we entered the man’s town, we went to the police station and lodged a report. The daughter was smart enough to note down the bikes’ number plates. As it was very late, the man requested me to spend the night at their place. Once reaching home, the family thanked me for helping them. He wouldn’t even allow me to leave early next day, saying that he can’t send me off without a proper meal. Family, friends and relatives came to thank me for my heroism. I stayed for lunch and returned home.
To this day the gentleman calls me occasionally. He even invited me to his daughter’s wedding.
Now, let me tell you something. I’m not the brave person they take me to be. I was equally scared that night. I was terrified. It took me a lot of courage to do what I did. After this whole thing was over, I was so proud of it!
Companies Are Ditching Hiring Fresh Female Graduates
My grandparents were too poor to afford a private jet or a private helicopter, they had to rely on government programs like public roads to get by.
They couldn’t afford to hire private tutors for my parents, and so had to send them to public schools to learn to read and write.
As one might expect, this cycle of dependency continued: My parents also didn’t have a private jet or helicopter, and they also had to rely on government programs like public roads to get by. They also sent their kids to learn to read and write in public schools.
And here I am: made lazy by all this generational welfare, I’m not pulling on my bootstraps nearly hard enough to afford my own private airport. Like my parents before me, and my grandparents before them, I depend entirely on government programs like public roads (or worse, public transit!!) to get to work.
There is no means testing in place for using public roads, which leads to rampant abuse. I’ve seen people use them to go for a stroll, even though they could have afforded a treadmill. Not only that, but these type of government handouts kill any incentive for most people to get a private helicopter, they’d rather stay dependent upon the government provided public roads.
It’s truly a modern tragedy, with no end in sight.
Years and years ago, when I quit smoking, I found my temper would often flare up during the first few weeks of abstinence.
I worked at a remote branch office with a staff of six. One morning when I came to work early, something went “wrong” and I was so angry that I impulsively gut-punched my office door.
The door was hollow core wood; I punched right through it.
I admitted my foolish outrage to my office mates when they entered an hour later.
And little was said about it; I believe they were sympathetic with my situation, and supportive of my effort to quit smoking.
There matters laid at rest; nothing more said.
Until the office Christmas party, when staff from all branches and the headquarters office (over 100 souls) gathered at some central location for a cocktail party and most sumptuous feast. Everything paid for by the company as a treat to us. This was followed by after-dinner drinks, and the “awards ceremony.”
The awards ceremony was a production of the employees and was in the nature of a good-humored “roast,” drawing upon such amusing things as had happened involving any of them over the past year. Some of the recognition was by actual funny trophies which were passed from one recipient to another; others were unlikely objects constructed of broom sticks, hub-caps, old radios, or heaven knows what.
Because I and my cohorts were from the remotest branch, none of us received, or ever expected to receive, recognition at this ceremony. We had our OWN Christmas party, for that.
Thus it was quite a surprise, to me, when I saw that my associate, Greg, was called upon by the master of ceremonies to announce the grand prize winner. He briefly described in very general terms the struggle of one individual to overcome a serious addiction. I was as curious as everyone else to know who, and to know the story. The room became very quiet, as the subject appeared to deviate from the laughable to the serious. The recipient was as yet unnamed.
Then a cloaked object was carried onto the dais, looking for all the world like a draped coffin.
With the words, “And the winner is, John Scott Geare,” the black drape was pulled away to reveal my actual office door, with a precise halo painted around its wound. Somehow, the damned thing had been spirited from our office, and carried the 60 miles to the party, unbeknownst to me.
And it became the stuff of legend.
You owe me half
Chick was only going out for a free meal. And he says…
Cajun Style Tip Roast
2023 11 09 15 20
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) tip roast
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine vegetables, spices and oil.
With a sharp knife make 8 to 12 deep V-shape slit pockets, stopping an inch from the bottom of roast. Fill the pockets with the vegetable mixture, reserving some to rub on top of roast.
Bake uncovered for 2 1/2 hours or until thermometer reads 140 degrees F for medium rare beef.
Serve with pan juices.
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 391; fiber 1g; carbohydrates 2g, Protein 61g, Cholesterol 160mg; Sodium 509mg; Fat 14g (32% of calories from fat)
A number of years ago I worked for a large US company. My role was in sales (industrial product). In my third year, I was selected for management. As such, I was trained in recruiting and helped district managers hire talent.
I visited one district and held a recruiting fair and ultimately recommended 10 applicants to the manager. The manager had his own candidate and asked me to interview him. In my opinion, his choice was terrible. He did not have any of the qualities successful people in our business had. I told him this.
Jump ahead six months. I become the manager for that district. My predecessor had hired the guy I did not recommend and did not even call any of the 10 I recommended.
Within three months i had hired five new sales reps. Four did very well and stayed for years. One failed within six months. The one that I did not recommend? I had to let him go due to poor performance and poor attitude. When I told him I had to let him go, he held onto my desk and told me he really did not want to be fired and would not leave the office. He would continue to come to work. It took several hours to convince him that he was not a good match for our industry. I continued to pay him for one month as he searched for another job.
Please don’t tell me I am mean and unfeeling. In my 30+ years of managing, I have supported many people in many different ways. The bottom line, if someone is not doing well in a job, it is usually because they are not trying or they are just in the wrong job. The latter is almost always the case. If you have a good, hard working person, try to find a different position in your company for him/her. That’s the mark of a good manager.
I first noticed this phenomenon with a guy named Dr.Layne Norton. Layne has a PhD in biochemistry. This man has forgotten more about the human body than I’ve ever learned, and I’ll have my Masters degree next month.
He’s an elite level powerlifter.
And a pro bodybuilder,
He also runs a youtube channel where he shares some advice on bodybuilding and powerlifting. I began to notice that the comment section was particularly toxic.
People were insulting this man’s intelligence, his personality, and his family.
I didn’t understand why. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Until I stumbled upon the answer.
One commenter said, “I’m sure you know what you’re talking about, you just seem arrogant though.” The comment had 100s of likes.
Scientists tend to speak in very absolute terms. Why? Because they’ve studied the shit out of whatever it is they’re discussing. And because they speak so unequivocally, people get turned off.
For example, I wrote an answer in which I said working out in the afternoon is best for muscle building and performance. The hormones and body temperature are in a better position to support a workout in the afternoon.
How do I know? I wrote a 20 page paper on this topic for school (supported by 30 peer reviewed studies).
Some guy told me that I was a liar. Why? According to him, testosterone is obviously highest in the morning… because men get morning wood…..
Like many have said, scientists have spent years studying a topic, and they’ve forgotten more about said topic than most will ever even hear. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve EARNED the right to be a little arrogant when it comes to their subject.
I was adopted at birth. From the time I was able to understand anything, my parents called me their Chosen Child and gave me a poem with that name. I was raised to feel special. When I was in 3rd grade, one of the spoiled little rich girls tried to make fun of me, saying mean things, like, my mother hated me and got rid of me so that I had to be taken in by strangers out of pity – really wicked thing for an 8-year-old to say. When she finally took a breath, I responded by saying that I KNEW my parents wanted me, they CHOSE me. Then I said “I bet you were an ax-i-dent!” and walked away. When I got home from school, my mother said she had gotten a call from that girl’s mother, wanted to know what happened, and asked me how in the world I knew what an “accident” was, laughing all the time! I was only 8, had no clue, but I had heard her talking on the phone when she mentioned a girl getting pregnant by accident. Obviously, she didn’t know I heard her or that I understood the gist of the conversation. She was laughing when she told daddy – and that was when I began hearing her say to her friends that “little pitchers have big ears” as she changed the conversation. I don’t know what a little pitcher is, and that may not be what she said, but that’s all that I heard before they started a new conversation!
If they said they would be home at a certain time and didn’t call to ASK if it was ok that they stayed out later, I would call the police. I give them 1/2 hour past designated time to call and if they didn’t answer 2 calls and 2 texts all done within 1/2 hour time frame, the police would be informed of how worried I am about their safety because it’s now an hour late with them not calling or answering multiple calls and texts. Let them deal with the cops questioning them about not contacting you or answering you. The cops will let them know you only concerned about their well being and they will also rip them a new one for informing you and also for leaving their child alone with a babysitter who is now upset that something had happened to them. Trust me, they will never do it again to any babysitter. I say any babysitter because after that, I would NEVER babysit for them again, even at 4x’s the amount of money.
This Creole pork sausage is an old local favorite dating back to the 19th Century, but Chaurice isn’t as easy to find as it once was. It would seem to have come to Louisiana with the Spanish, and was adapted to local custom and ingredients; the term is similar to the Spanish chorizo. It’s great with white or red beans, and good for breakfast too, with eggs.
2023 11 09 15 18
Ingredients
4 pounds lean fresh pork, butt or shoulder
2 pounds fresh pork fat
2 cups onion, finely minced
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground red pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves, crushed
5 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
3 bay leaves, finely crushed
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3 yards small sausage casing (optional)
Instructions
Cut the pork at fatback into small pieces. Mix together and run once through the coarse disc of a meat grinder into a large bowl.
Add the seasonings and mix thoroughly until the stuffing is very smooth and well blended.
Make into patties, and use within three days or freeze.
Notes
You can also put chaurice into casings; make each sausage about six inches in length.
When he was 87 and slipping into dementia, I asked my father exactly this on one of his “good days.” He smiled and said that it had been worth it, even when he became the last of his siblings alive and started to lose his ability to remember names, first, and other things later.
He became a very gentle person to be around (he had been an angry and argumentative Democrat for most of his life) and enjoyed his children, grandchildren, and even their pets. We got along better than we ever had. I remember taking him to the Fourth of July parade and whispering the names of people who came up to greet him. Once he knew their names, he could have a great conversation. Then I brought him back to a school reunion and that was wonderful. He needed no introductions as everyone wore a name tag.
Having watched my father in those years, I hope that I may live long enough to navigate old age just the way he did despite his obvious infirmities.
I’ve worked with the company I’m presently employed with for not quite 12 years. Up until a year ago, we were a small personable, easy going, family owned company of about 250 drivers. If you were around for any length of time, everyone in the office and shop knew you, and vice versa. That was up until about a year ago when the owner of the company retired and threw us under the bus by selling us out to a larger company and everything changed.
It’s common practice for just about any trucking company to require any damage to their equipment be reported and documented. With my company, if the damage was minimal, the report would still go in the driver’s jacket, but no further. It would stay in-house instead of being reported to a national data base.
I’ve always been the type to man-up in situations such as this. I was raised that way, and it was the right thing to do. Even leaving small damage unreported could result in the next driver having to have it repaired and possibly being late for a delivery.
So, after pulling out of a customer’s driveway and cutting it too tighly, I felt something go bump in the night. Upon further inspection, it appears I clipped one of those large landscaping rocks placed to prevent idiot drivers like me from cutting corners too tightly, and running over their curbs. When I stopped for the day and was doing my mandatory post-trip inspection, I came upon this,
image 114
Thinking it was no biggie, and my company would normally think likewise, and wanting to do the right thing, I called it it. What happened next was nothing short of a shit storm. The new people acted like I ran over a carload of nuns. Initial phone call to my parent company, followed by a call to the new company’s safety department, followed by a call-back the next day from same, followed by submitting pictures and a full accident report, followed by a call-back from the new company to review of same, followed by a never-heard-of-before-review from Greg in our safety department.
When I related the story to the former head of our . safety department, her reaction was, “It was just a fuckin’ rim!”, as she shook her head.
Trust me, if it ever happens again, I won’t think twice about going palms up with a “Dunno nuthin’ ‘bout it. When I dropped it off, it was fine “, should anyone inquire.
I was driving down the freeway and all of a sudden I couldn’t see the cars ahead of me. It was if someone had pulled a shade down in front of my line of vision. I could see all around the shade, but not right in front. Although it was only for a few moments, the terror I felt was devasting.
I was a 21-year old college student, a senior at academically prestigious school, getting good grades, working part time, and enjoying a fun social life.
So, what was the matter? Where did the intense headaches come from? Why did I frequently wake up in the middle of the night, jumping out of bed and running to the bathroom, to vomit repeatedly? Why did I feel that I was about to fall down whenever the sidewalk was a little uneven?
Then there were those crazy nightmares I was having.…. I dreamed one night that I was driving on the freeway. The car next to me pulled up right beside me. The driver pulled a gun out. He shot me in the head. My head exploded. Everything became dark. I woke up in a terrified sweat. What on earth was wrong with my head that I would have such a dream?
In spite of everything, I was doing okay and maintaining my studies. But finally it became too much for me to handle. Especially the shade covering my eyes on the freeway.
I saw several doctors. They said I was fine.
I went to a psychologist. I figured that since the doctors said I was fine, it must be all in my mind. The psychologist listened to my symptoms. He said that I didn’t need to see a psychologist. Instead, I needed to see a neurologist and he urged me to see one right away.
I took his advice and went to a neurologist. The neurologist admitted me to a hospital. Still no answers. Many tests were done, but it was during the days before C-T scans or MRI’s were used, so it was hard to figure this out. Finally a diagnosis was made: brain tumor.
Surgery was scheduled. They operated for 10 hours, and were able to remove half of the tumor. The surgeon told me the tumor was the size of a large orange and that if I hadn’t been diagnosed when I was, I would have had 6 months left to live. It was just taking over my whole brain and growing so fast.
I was in intensive care for 2 weeks. I can’t remember too much about that time. It seemed like a dream, for just a few hours.
Then, more surgery. And then some more.
I lost the ability to walk. I couldn’t see very well. I lost hearing. I was fed intravenously. Because I had stroke-like symptoms, one side of my body became weak and uncoordinated. I no longer could hold a pen and write.
I had physical therapy and occupational therapy to regain some of the skills that I had lost.
I finally left the hospital and went home to live with my parents. The tumor was not all gone, but I needed a break. I needed time to get stronger before the next onslaught of surgery.
While I was home, I had physical and occupational therapy at a nearby hospital. I still couldn’t walk or write, but I was beginning to feel better. In physical therapy I worked on learning to walk with a walker and then eventually on my own. In occupational therapy I worked on strengthening my very weak hand. I did many activities with my hands, including making some beautiful crafts. Occupational therapy was so much fun! I loved therapy.
I went back to the hospital and had the last surgery. Finally the tumor was gone. After some more time had passed I felt that maybe it was time to return to school.
Living on my own again was not easy. I still couldn’t walk or write well. But I persevered. Sometimes I fell down. I used a tape recorder during lectures since I couldn’t write fast enough to take notes, and my professors gave me extra time to write exams. With the support of my family and professors, I did well and succeeded.
As graduation approached, a brilliant idea occurred to me. I remembered the great time I had in occupational therapy, and how I had been helped so much. Maybe I too could become an occupational therapist. I thought of how wonderful it would be to spend my life helping others just like I had been helped. I decided that yes, I would try, and so I applied to a master’s degree program in occupational therapy.
There were many more applicants than spots available, but much to my delight I was accepted into the program!
The program was so difficult and very competitive. But I worked hard and after two years became an occupational therapist.
That was 40 years ago, and I am still going strong. I have worked with literally thousands of patients during my career, from little 1-pound premature babies all the way up to 103 year-old patients in nursing homes, and everything in-between. I have loved every minute of it.
Occupational therapy is a flexible career with an abundance of interesting and meaningful jobs available. During my career, I traveled the world, met and married my husband, gave birth to and raised two beautiful children, and enjoyed my life!
I turned what could have been a terrible, frightening experience into something really wonderful.
My sister-in-law once called me to borrow my fax machine. This was in the days before most people had computers and internet. She had a very important document that had to be faxed to a company showing proof of payment.
I took my fax machine to her house that night, hooked it up, walked her through the simple instructions and left.
She called me at work the next day in a panic. She said she had tried to send her document several times and it would not go. This was important, and she needed it sent right away. I was getting off early that day so I agreed to go by her house and help her with it.
When I arrived I checked the machine and connections and everything seemed fine. I told her to send it again so I could see what was going on. She did everything correctly and at the tone hit Send. The fax machine pulled the paper through and indicated a successful receipt at the other end. My sister-in-law grabbed the paper as it came back out of the machine and said, “See. It doesn’t go, it just spits it back out.” My jaw hit the floor. It turns out she thought the actualpaper was being sent over the phone lines.
After I explained the concept to her, I let her know that this story would be told at every family get together for the rest of my life. It is now firmly a part of the family lore and enjoyed by each successive generation.
My sister-in-law fortunately took it in stride. She declared it her worst blonde moment and laughs as hard as anyone when the story is retold.
P.S. My sister-in-law did call the company still to confirm receipt. They told her they had four copies and that was absolutely sufficient.
Close? I accidentally found out I was going to be demoted which lead to me quitting.
In my 20s I worked at one of those places that made huge cookies, I was specifically hired by the manager to be the assistant manager, she’d worked with me as a key holder at another place so she knew I would be good at it. A few months after I was hired the owner sold the business.
One day I was hanging out with the Manager L when she got a call from one of the kids at cookie shop. “Hey L, the owner is in here with some chick he says is the new Manager, what’s going on?”
Too bad L had no answers for her, we had no damned idea what was happening. She and I jumped in the car and headed to the cookie shop to talk, in person, to the owner.
Sure enough, he was demoting L into Assistant and me into just a regular employee. Neither of us had done anything wrong, the new owner just planned to make this new lady a manager. He told us a bunch of BS saying she had experience bla bla… but we found out later she was actually just his girlfriend. We told him how messed up that was, and that both of us would quit if he planned to do this. He was unrepentant, even gaving us the whole “I’m sorry you feel you need an apology” line.
She and I looked at each other, got up and walked away.
Apparently he truly didn’t understand what had just happened because when he saw the kid who called us changing the schedule he was confused. When he was told by her we had just quit, he was completely stunned and didn’t understand why we would have done that. Dude, we literally told you to your face that’s what we’d do if you demoted us for no reason other than to put someone else in as manager, WTF did you think would happen?
Turns out the girlfriend was horrible as a manager, and the owner ended up folding in a few months. Funny how that happens when you take actions that force the people with a clue out, and put someone clueless in just because you are dating them. The two of us were the ones who knew how to run the store, knew how to run the fundraising side, which is where most of the money was made. He screwed himself by being an idiot.
Cajun Butt
2023 11 09 14 20
Yield: about 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
1 (6 pound) boneless pork butt
15 to 20 garlic slivers
3 tablespoons red pepper flakes (or less)
4 tablespoons yellow mustard
3 tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Original Seasoning
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cut 15 to 20 slits 1 inch deep on external surface of pork butt. Press one garlic sliver into each slit with thumb, to bottom of slit. On top of each garlic sliver, insert 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes in the slit. Pinch slit closed.
In a bowl, mix mustard, Cajun seasoning, brown sugar and black pepper. Mix well and apply to pork butt. Lightly dust with a coating of red pepper flakes.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Smoke-cook using apple and hickory chips on a covered barbecue pit off the heat for 1 hour per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F.
Perhaps one of the most effective improvised weapons was the Rhino tank. An ordinary tank – usually a Sherman but with improvised steel teeth welded to the front.
In 1944 just after D-Day the Americans, Canadians and British troops were getting held up in the ‘bocage’ countryside of Normandy. Bocage consisted of high hedgerows built on thick banks of earth. This environment proved ideal for German ambushes, providing plenty of defensive cover. It also meant that the Germans could pick off tanks because they would be funnelled down the lanes, or forced through the narrow gaps in the bocage hedgerows. The Germans knew exactly where the tanks would come through and could lay anti tank mines, or train their guns on that exact spot. If the tanks tried to avoid the gaps and instead drive over the top of bocage embankment, it was so steep that it would expose the thin underside armour. Allied tanks were getting wiped out. Until this man, Sergeant Curtis G. Culin had an idea.
image 109
When one of his fellow soldiers joked and said they needed a big set of teeth to bite their way through, Culin didn’t laugh but took the idea seriously. He welded some of the steel that the Germans had used as tank traps to the front of his tank, like this.
image 108
The teeth allowed the Sherman to burst straight through the hedgerow, surprise and then destroy any Germans waiting in ambush on the other side.
When General Omar Bradley saw what Culin had done and saw how his tank was able to smash its way though the bocage hedgerows, the General ordered that as many tanks as possible be fitted with this improvised weapon. The Normandy beaches had been filled with landing spikes which were conveniently just the right shape and type of steel to make the ‘teeth’.
This simple but effective innovation enabled the Americans to swiftly move on and cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and then move south and meet up with the British and Canadians cutting off the Germans in the Falaise Pocket.
I bought the house we are in now exactly 10 years ago in “as is” condition. In fact this was the entire listing:
“Seller and agents make no representations and warranties. Sold as is.”
The house is in a fairly upscale suburb, and was about 15 years old at the time. There was plenty of cosmetic damage — water damage on the hardwood floors, a filthy kitchen, holes in some drywall, a half-full leaky pool clogged with algae. Plus the interior and exterior were just sad looking, with ugly brown paint and outdated stained oak stairs.
image 107
But the funny thing was that no matter how carefully I looked, I could not see any actual serious problems. In fact, it was a bank repossession, and I eventually figured out that since it looked so bad they just assumed there were real problems, and they listed it the way they did to avoid any liability. Over 100 people looked at the house, and we were the only ones who put in an offer, and we got it way (way!) under the asking price, which is rare in Toronto.
I was planning on doing a full renovation anyhow, so I didn’t care about the drywall and flooring. The entire kitchen went in the dumpster. And for $600 we repaired the pool, and it worked perfectly.
I’ve been here for 10 years now and we have not had a single serious problem with the house.
I am sitting outside Quoraing this morning and I took this picture 60 seconds ago:
When you can’t destroy a target by dropping bombs vertically, you can drop them horizontally. That’s what the 617 Royal Air Force Squadron did in May 1943.
The squadron carried out Operation Chastise, designed to destroy German dams and hydroelectric power stations. Reconnaissance and simulated bombing runs revealed that bombs dropped vertically on top of dams were not effective. So instead, the RAF used an experimental bouncing bomb, designed by Sir Barnes Wallis, that was dropped at low altitude onto the surface of the reservoir and skipped along the water horizontally until it hit the face of the dam.
The strategy proved effective. “The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached…Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more were damaged. Factories and mines were also either damaged or destroyed.”
image 121
Lancaster bomber dropping bouncing bomb during the Operation Chastise raids on Germany’s Ruhr Valley.
The operation was later the subject of the movie Dambusters, released in 1955.
I remember seeing a girl, her parents were millionaires due to a massive inheritance.
She would try and talk about her “Working class background” how the struggle was real.
One day she was telling me how her parents only bought her a brand new mini when she passed her test and how that went to show how much her family had struggled. One of her school friends got a brand new Range Rover.
I listened to that thinking “My Mum couldn’t have afforded a driving lesson let alone a car”
My sister’s daughter and her husband were about to lose their house in Texas because neither of them had jobs, they had one very young daughter and were expecting another baby. My 80 year old mother couldn’t stand to watch this happen. So, she took out an equity loan on her house and lent them $100,000. They were supposed to make the equity payments for my mom, and at first they did and were supposed to pay the whole loan back when they sold their house.
A few months later, they sold their house but told my mother they needed her money as a down payment on their new house in california. So, they kept the money, and continued making the monthly payments until they had a big fight and split up. Suddenly, no one wanted to make the payments on my mother’s equity loan so my mother had to. If she couldn’t keep up on them, she would have lost her house.
She is now 85 years old, completely disabled, living on a tiny pension, and trying to pay off this loan. Since my niece split with her husband, they did not make payments on their house either. So, it went into foreclosure, and Mom cannot even put a lien on it to get her money back.
Needless to say, I am truly disgusted by my niece’s behavior as well as her husband’s. I have now sent my mother money; my sister has sent her money, and another one of my nieces has sent money. The only people in the family who do not seem to feel terrible about this are the two people who should.
When i decided not to break up with my boyfriend at that moment.
I had just joined post graduation course and found this guy who was extremely caring about me. Within a month, he proposed me. I was confused however i said yes.
We use to talk, study and laugh together. However even after six months, i was not sure about our relationship.
AND Here comes the blow. He was back to his hometown. He was ill since a week. Meanwhile, i had a introspection round with my roommates. I found i was still unsure about our relationship. So i decided, on the next call, i will tell him that this is not the right time to fall in love etc., we should be friends only.
He called me around 8 PM. I was full prepared to say him a No. As soon as i picked the phone, he was crying on the other side. He was suffering from a fatal disease, Meningitis. I could not gather courage to leave him at this crucial moment. I just said, “I am with you today and always. No matter what happens.”
He was not in position to join college. His parents was insisting him to leave the college and repeat next time. He refused and joined the college next month. He had not recovered fully. In fact, he lost his hearing power around 40%. When he came back, he told me – how my words motivated him to join the college again. I took care of him. I used to call him reminding his medicines, diets etc. Meanwhile, i actually fell for him and then never told about that breakup thought.
Today, i am happily married with him.
P.S. I do not want my husband to know about my breakup thought even today. He is on quora. So i am writing anonymously.
I visited a radio station for an interview, at the station manager’s request. At the time I was somewhat “known” as a pleasing radio “personality” and therefore many stations wanted to talk to me.
Part of the interview process includes a station tour where the owner or manager shows off their office, production facilities, etc.
But at this particular station, I noticed all the shelved albums (well over a thousand) were locked in place by a steel bar which prevented their removal from the shelf, unless the bar was unlocked.
But who the Hell would steal the records? During business hours, when the station was open, advertisers or promoters might come in, but they were always accompanied by station staff, so visitors couldn’t steal an album (or even a 45). So, when the doors were locked after 5 PM, who did that leave as a potential thief?
Answer: the DJ who was on air, and the news guy or gal. Sometimes, the sales manager might come in.
So, the owner of the station was paranoid about theft from his or her own people! I had worked at a number of stations, and had never seen a lockdown of the music library. It had to mean that employees and top management were not happy with each other, and I was NOT going to work in that kind of environment.
Thus, I stopped in my tracks and said, “Thanks for the tour, but I don’t think this will work for me.” And I was out the door before anyone could say, “Huh?”
Years ago, I lived in an apartment in a two-family building. Upstairs and downstairs.
The landlord had rented the downstairs to a woman and her three teenage kids. They were obnoxious, had fights constantly, played music so loud it literally shook the walls, and despite multiple complaints by other neighbors to the landlord and the police (because yes it was that bad), nothing was done.
While technically, landlords are supposed to do snow clearing after a snow fall, getting some landlords to do so in a timely manner is more effort than digging out the snow yourself. This was one such landlord.
That winter we had a bad snow storm, a few feet of snow.
The downstairs neighbor knocked on my door to ask when I, the older woman with no kids, would be shoveling out the apartments and driveway, all of it, by myself.
I told her I wouldn’t, but we could split the cost to have someone come over and do it since the landlord was extra full of excuses as to why it would take days to get to the property and do so.
She laughed and said she wasn’t paying. She then told me I was welcome to hire her 3 kids to dig out the entire property. Her kids were a big part of the problem as to why the cops were coming over constantly, and so no. I’d previously had problems with her children opening my mail and putting it back in my mail box or opening deliveries of mine. There was no way I’d pay them.
Oh hell no, first you expect someone older than you to do the work for free, then expect that I will pay your kids, who are apparently perfectly able to do so, to dig YOU out? Fuck that.
A friend’s husband was offering to dig people out for a reasonable rate. I contacted him and hired him. When he got there, I explained the neighbor issue and what I wanted and was willing to pay for. He was only to clear out MY half of the driveway/garage/sidewalk. Her sides were still untouched, because no one(Me) would pay her kids to do it.
He went the extra mile, splitting the snow between the yard, and her side, of everything. AKA her side ended up with more snow that needed to be cleared.
This level of petty
image 117
Picture from Google.
She complained to the landlord that:
1. I refused to shovel her side of the property for her and her family (I was not obligated to do ANY property maintenance at all)
2. I had refused to hire her kids to do it
3. I had hired someone and refused to pay him to clear her side.
Now this was a kinda shitty landlord, but still… I was amused that the landlord contacted me about it and agreed to reduce my rent the amount I paid to have MY side cleared, as well as tell me about the downstairs neighbor’s complaints about me.
Until I moved out, whenever there was snowfall, you would see a similar clearing pattern on the property. SO much so the other neighbors joked about it, and refused to hire her kids to clear their properties as well.
EDIT: Apparently there are a large number of people who feel the need to comment about how she could just use my side of the stairs as if I lack a functioning brain. Seriously, the level of condescending ‘splaining in the comments is a sad statement on so many here. Thanks all you Captain Obvious’.
Of course she could, as could the postal worker who had to use them to deliver mail(Something not one of those commenting about her using the stairs seemed to consider).
Her being able to use them or not wasn’t the point. So many of you making the same comment as if the more of you who say it, the more I will regret it, or as if I didn’t realize that years ago when I did it is mind-boggling.
For those clueless ones that feel the need to comment the obvious, you all missed the obvious point that it wasn’t about her use of the stairs, but the refusal to clear her side on her command.
My partner (not my husband). My mother had been really sick from cancer for 18 months, we were told that she was unlikely to make it past the weekend. With that being said I was completely distraught… my partner of 9 years said pack your stuff and leave first thing in the morning (400km drive). He woke me up at 430 am, had already packed the car and fueled it up for me. Had a travel mug of coffee ready and said call me when you get there. I left 5am Friday morning.
mum passed 8am Saturday morning (the next day). I called my partner and told him, he said I’ll move heaven and hell to get there as soon as I can. I said, don’t worry, there is nothing you can do, just be here in time for mums funeral (the upcoming Friday).
in the mean time, it was my birthday 4 days after mum had passed. My family tried to make it as special as it could be. But, it was quite a somber occasion. At 8pm, there were headlights at the top of the drive way (rural property). I know the sound of his car. I’m like it’s *partners name.
he had worked 12 hour shift (construction) then drove 400km to be with me in my darkest time to help me feel better on my birthday. In the days after mums passing I had not been able to sleep, or cry or anything but just barely function. I slept solidly that night.
I know most would say that or like to think their spouse would do the same. But, that level of love and support got me through my darkest days. Love this man so very much.
Unfortunately, this is the point. The U.S. is not filty rich but filty poor.
All those money for Ukraine and Israel we got by using the printing press. We’re now $33 trillion in debt.
We can’t pay for basic utilities to keep our house in order but we believe we’re still able to live the high life of showing off to the rest of the world how powerful we are.
Genghis Khan, the legendary Mongol conqueror, had a unique approach when it came to treating his soldiers. Known for his strategic brilliance and military prowess, Khan understood the importance of a strong and loyal army in his quest to build the largest empire in history. So how did he treat his soldiers?
First and foremost, Genghis Khan believed in meritocracy. He valued skill, loyalty, and bravery above all else. Regardless of their background or social status, anyone who demonstrated these qualities had the opportunity to rise through the ranks of his army. This approach fostered a sense of unity and purpose among his soldiers, as they knew that their achievements would be rewarded.
Khan was also an astute observer of human nature. He recognized that soldiers needed to be motivated and inspired to fight with unwavering dedication. To achieve this, he led by example. Genghis Khan was renowned for his courage on the battlefield, often placing himself at the forefront of his troops during crucial engagements. This not only boosted morale but also instilled a sense of camaraderie and trust among his soldiers.
In addition to leading from the front, Khan took great care of his troops’ physical well-being. He ensured that his soldiers were adequately fed, equipped, and cared for. The Mongol army was known for its skilled horsemen, and Khan prioritized the breeding and training of horses to provide his soldiers with superior mounts. This gave them a significant advantage in maneuverability and speed during battles.
Furthermore, Genghis Khan implemented a system of rewards and recognition for valorous acts. Soldiers who displayed exceptional bravery or achieved notable successes on the battlefield were given honors, titles, and even land. This not only motivated his soldiers to excel but also created a sense of pride and camaraderie within the ranks.
However, Khan was also a strict disciplinarian. He demanded discipline and obedience from his soldiers, as he believed that a well-disciplined army was crucial for maintaining order and achieving victory. Disobedience or betrayal was met with severe consequences, ensuring that his troops remained loyal and committed to the cause.
Woman EXPOSES The INEVITABLE Problem With Dating Modern Women | TRAINED/GROOMED To Be Masculine
I was in talks to design a business plan for one of those “Become a Millionaire” guys – aka a “Life Coach”.
As we moved along in talks I immediately got the heeby jeebies from the guy.
He was in his late 50’s and only seemed to brag about things he did in high school and his early 20’s. When I would ask about subsequent years, just to understand his career narrative, he would get thin on details and then squirm and change the subject.
So then I watched a few of his media interviews where his go-to story was about this incredible and vivid vision that came upon him when he was a child. A vision that he would someday become rich.
To his credit, it indeed came true. He was a wealthy man.
But it became true because he inherited his dad’s company when his dad passed away unexpectedly. He then immediately sold the company and spent the next 30 years doing a whole lot of nothing.
So now he is one of those people going around telling everyone he knows “that ONE special secret to getting rich”. He released his first book on becoming wealthy, which a bunch of unfortunate suckers bought.
And, no, I won’t tell you the title because he will sue the hell out of me.
But I’ll give you the cliff notes version, “Get rich by having a rich dad.”
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that are like him.
Preying on people’s hopes and dreams in search of a dollar.
The American industrial system does not have such production capacity.
American shipyards do not have such production capacity: There is only a dry dock suitable for manufacturing aircraft carriers, and aircraft carriers waiting for repair are still queuing;
The steel mills in the United States do not have such production capacity: The last scandal involving the use of low-quality steel made in Kobe, Japan, by US nuclear submarines has not yet passed. This batch of nuclear submarines with quality issues cannot dive at all, and diving into deep water will explode due to increased pressure. American warships are even unable to withstand the impact of fishing vessels, which fully proves the quality issues of the steel used in their shipbuilding.
There are not enough skilled workers in the United States
20 And Back – The Super Soldiers Defending the Kuiper Belt
Joe Biden is taking the World to the brink of World War III
What can the American people do about it?
SQUAT
…
Until 19/1/2025 at least, there is nothing any American citizen can do about it except watch the World plunge into war under the watch of a senile idiot who needs Diapers
So what is the use of saying
Biden is destroying USA and he must be kicked out
It’s just empty gas isn’t it. It’s just 10 words at the end of the day. Biden laughs and keeps doing whatever he likes for four years, unchecked
…
Same with every Democracy in the Planet
At the end of the day – WHAT IS THE END RESULT OF ABUSING OR CRITICISING THE LEADER?
Nothing
Either the Media suppresses it or people shrug and brazenly keep doing what they are doing
…
Take India
We have had Protests on every decision that has ruined the country
Demonetization, CAA, NCR etc
They matter Squat
Once in, Modi is in power for minimum 5 years and he can’t be shaken by the common man
…
France?
Same story
All those Protests and Screams and Shrieks about Pension reforms and Macron did exactly what he wanted
He is in charge till 2027
…
Same with South Korea , exports plunge to historic lows and people scream and protest but does it matter? Nopes
Taiwan?
Japan?
Germany?
So many protests begging to end the war and Germany openly and brazenly calls for Escalation
So what is the use of this damn free speech? You can say the words but they are worthless in every possible way
Now China
Yes
Maybe in China, saying these 10 words could be counter productive
However the people’s voice in China is heard much better than in any democracy
Lockdowns were ended post protests
Rural Banking Reforms were initiated after Protests
Crackdowns on Real Estate Financing was initiated after Protests
1.03 Crore Jobs have been added due to vigorous Weibo Netizen criticism
Tagging Schoolkids Or regulating online gaming has been deferred due to Weibo online protests
Plus the Biggest Biggest Thing…
Recently on the XI Jingping app, they asked if Chinas History for 6–9 Classes be modified and whether Chapters on the Boxer Rebellion and the Opium Wars had to be reduced
The Question was asked of Students who had already passed out their 9th Grade and above
79% Students said NO.
DON’T CHANGE HISTORY
They didn’t.
…
In India, US, and all those wonderful democracies – they don’t ask the kids do they????
So on one hand you have Western Democracies and their lapdogs where you can say what ever you want but can do zilch
Or China where your criticism must be tempered but as citizens you can achieve much greater control on Governance
The Chinese say WE LIKE OUR MODEL BETTER
I kinda agree with them
So you keep your Senile Alzheimer’s Ridden President and your ‘Freedom and Democracy’ and let the Chinese have their own version
I think you might want to edit the question to ask which item from Italian cuisine does the US actually get right.
Italian American cuisine is a cuisine in its own right. Millions of Italians immigrated to America and they adapted their traditional dishes to use American ingredients. Some of the ingredients they used at home were unavailable or too expensive in America, so changes were made. Successive generations didn’t know there was a difference between what they were eating and what was being cooked in the old country. They just accepted the food their families prepared as being Italian cuisine, which at heart, it is.
There’s a lot of water between America’s East Coast, the epicenter of Italian American cuisine, and the old boot herself. It’s that distance that led the creation of Italian American classics. If I had to point at one item the made the leap unmolested though, I’d name Sfogliatelle.
Sfogliatelle are a flaky pastry that originated in Campania. They’re made by rolling out dough, brushing it with lard or oil, rolling it up, cutting it into portions, shaping the pastry, filling it and baking. Sfogliatelle can be baked unfilled or filled with sweetened ricotta, almond paste or candied citrus zest. They’re simple to make and don’t call for any exotic ingredients. It’s the thin flakey layers that make sfogliatelle unique.
image 116
Ricotta filled:
image 115
If you’ve never tried these pastries, seek them out. They’re amazing and their recipe has not been molested by time or distance.
Life robbed me of my childhood. My parents had to quit school after grade 9 to help support their families. They vowed that my brother and I would not be barred from finishing school and going to University.
But we were poor, so they had no way to pay for it. So they propped me early. I knew by grade six that if I wanted to go to university, I would have to pay for it myself.
So in grade 8, I started mowing lawns and shoveling snow.
In grade 9 I got a part time job and worked 20 hours a week, in grade 10 ,30 hours, and grades 11 and 12 it was 40 hours. I graduated first in my class. I lived in a 10×14 ft room, with a roommate and the bathroom, was down the hall. I worked in the dorm cafeteria. When summer came I got a camp job, where I worked 360–380 hours a month, and they also paid room and board.
This was the way I graduated from university debt free.
So, as soon as I turned 13, I stopped having a childhood, and had an adulthood instead. So much for life being easy for baby boomers.
I’d do it all over again in a heart beat. Its what it took to break the cycle of poverty.
Because I am 71, I knew people who were in their prime of life a hundred years ago (1918) and there were definitely things that they did easily and routinely that are rarely done today:
Baking bread and caramel rolls. My grandmother learned it from her mother but did not pass it on to her daughters, probably because sliced store bread had essentially taken over.
Writing cursive and writing letters. I have saved some of my grandfather’s letters. For a person with an eighth grade education, he wrote simply but beautifully.
Sewing and mending. My grandmother was not wealthy, but she was capable of producing wonderful pajamas for all of her grandchildren on her trusty Singer. My generation has lost the ability to create heirlooms.
Gardening and canning the things they grew. In an era when you were not going to see fresh fruit or vegetables in stores after growing season, people developed great preservation skills. Things like pickles, berries, tomatoes were canned as were peaches and plums when in season. I do not remember kale or zucchini, however, and that was also a blessing.
Memory work. I grew up with great uncles and aunts (all born about 1900) who had memorized massive amounts of poetry and famous speeches as well as scripture. Rote learning was fairly normal in their education, so they did group memorization. We loved to hear their recitations.
I miss those folks. They just slipped away one at a time between the seventies and today.
This wasn’t me, this was my wife. She is a lawyer and was interviewing for a job managing the sale of properties. She was interviewing at a firm that specialised in really expensive and tricky sales and when she turned up to the interview she was told by the recruiter that the partners had told the last two people who were interviewed to leave midway through so they were quite abrupt!
She went to the interview, which went quite well, and they asked her to prepare an answer to a legal sale question. When she looked at it, she knew she had no hope: it was madly complicated and about a type of property sale that is known to be horrendous to do. She thought about trying to brazen it off and decided to be honest and say she had no idea.
It turned out the partners knew from looking at her CV she would have no idea about how to do it; it was something so complex the partner himself had had to do it himself. What they were trying to do was see how she reacted to something she didn’t know. The last two people interviewed had tried to make something up and so failed the test.
I was nowhere qualified as a computer tech but one time a friend of mine brought over a a desktop machine and keyboard and asked me to see if I could get it running as it wouldn’t boot up. Every time you’d plug in the power cord to the wall socket a strange odor would start permiating from the cover. I figured something was wrong with the power supply, which if push came to shove I could’ve probably went to an electronics supply store and bought another one and installed it. I was adept at soldering and replacing some common components at the time, which is why my friend thought that I could fix it.
Anyhoo, I removed the screws holding the cover to the unit, lifted the cover off and got the most absolute shock of my life!! Hundreds of live cockroaches start running out all over everywhere not to mention many more that were obviously dead inside that cover!
I came unglued along with a major panic attack! I’d never, ever had to deal with roaches after I became an adult. I despised them because while growing up my family and I always had a major problem with roaches and they were always into everything and would drop from the ceiling when you went into a room after turning on lights, etc etc etc.
I spent 2 hours stomping on and smashing roaches trying to prevent them from getting into places in my apartment where I couldn’t reach and in the long run wasn’t successful. Ended up moving out to get away from them making sure in the process that I didn’t inadvertently take any with me.
I was not happy with my friend. It caused a major, almost homicidal argument with him and it would be several years before we spoke again. The creepiness and ick factor of watching those roaches pile out of that machine that day still haunts me to this day.
Huawei refused to disclose its foundry information, sending the Biden team into madness.
Let’s talk about smart children. Particularly smart children in the United States. Particularly those in grades K-8 at a public school.
A lot of you reading this are, yourself, a product of the American public school system. Think back to your K-8 years. Do you remember people whose only job was to deal with the students with behavior problems? Were there “special education” teachers who had special classrooms with aides and all kinds of equipment for just a handful of students? Do you remember being bored a lot in school, because your teacher didn’t have the time to challenge you, because they were so busy re-teaching things to the students who didn’t get it the first time? Do you remember a handful of students who seemed to set the pace for the whole class, and that pace was much, much too slow for you? Do you remember a handful of students whose attitudes and behavior set the tone for the whole class? And was that a negative tone that left your teacher spending most of their time dealing with that small handful of students?
That was my experience, at least. In grades 4–8, I was one of about 20 students in a special gifted program in my school. But that gifted “program” was just two teachers who were given a spare classroom in five schools in the district, and they went to a different school every day of the week, and pulled out the gifted students from their classes for an hour, to play logic games with them.
One hour per week. That’s what we got.
Meanwhile, the students on the other end of the spectrum had resources thrown at them, including permanent classrooms with full-time teachers for students whose only “special need” was that they didn’t give a damn about learning.
I remember one incident in particular, when I realized just how much time my teachers wasted trying to get one particular student under control. His name was Anthony. One day, in seventh grade, we were learning about feudal Japan by playing a game where we were all on teams, given items to trade, and could use money we made to hire soldiers, and then there was a huge map of Japan on the wall, separated into regions, with the number of regions under each team’s control represented by different colored push pins.
My team started in Osaka. To this day, I know exactly where Osaka is because of this game back in 1992. I remember that we were the blue team, our main thing to trade was fish, and we began with five pushpin armies.
Also Judith was in my group, which made it even that much more enjoyable for me. She was forced to interact with me for a few minutes each day because of this.
It was a computer-less strategy game. I loved it. The game was supposed to last for a few weeks.
It lasted two days. On the third day, Anthony vandalized the giant game board, and some of his friends laughed. And that was it. The teacher was tired of putting in so much effort for something that students like Anthony just kept ruining. We did the rest of the unit, and every unit afterwards for the rest of the year, through textbook reading and worksheets.
But, as I thought about it, I realized that Anthony had been that way since he was first in my class in second grade. He was always out of control. He always set the pace and the tone for the class. In middle school, he got kicked out of class a lot, which just wasted a lot of time because he rarely went willingly and they had to call and wait for security. But he was always back in the class the next day. He just needed to “chill out.”
That was actually the name of the kick-out room for students like him: the “chill out room.”
I just Googled him and found a story that he was sentenced to six years in prison in 2004 for “domestic battery, drug possession, and forgery.”
Yep. All of that extra time, effort, and money the public school spent on him… how’d that work out?
That would be fine, if the public schools spent the same amount of time, effort, and money on the upper end of the spectrum.
My point is this: What’s the saddest truth about smart people? Public schools just aren’t equipped to deal with your special needs, because they’re too busy dealing with the special needs of students on the other end of the spectrum. The very people who have the most potential to give the most back to society are the same ones who school prioritizes the least.
Imagine a school system where every dollar spent on students on the lower end of the special needs spectrum had to be matched by a dollar for students on the higher end of the spectrum.
Imagine if, just like schools have resources in place for when the teachers need to kick out the Anthonys of the world, those same schools had resources for teachers to send out the students who were too smart for that day’s lesson.
“Timmy, you can read this and learn it on your own in five minutes, but I’m going to be teaching it to the rest of the class for the next hour. You can go to the gifted resource room and work with the teacher there on more advanced stuff.”
Imagine if, just as schools pay extra attention to students with special needs due to federal laws and fears of getting sued, schools did the same for students on the high end of the spectrum. Imagine if parents could threaten a lawsuit because the school wasn’t meeting the needs of their child… the legally-mandated requirement that the school challenge them on their academic level and not let their classmates hold them back.
Imagine how high your hot air balloon could be now, if not for the classroom sandbags that weighed you down when you were in school.
Instead of “No Child Left Behind,” it should be “No Child Forced To Wait.”
Gavin Newsom goes to China, one-ups Biden and meets Xi Jinping
“As a Californian, I can tell you that not only is Newsom not acceptable to the rest of America, California is not acceptable to the rest of America”.
It is likely that China will sell virtually all of its remaining U.S. Treasuries.
It is useful to look at Russia’s experience in this regard. Russia sold virtually all of its Treasuries in 2018, fairly quickly. At that time, Russia encouraged the world to dump U.S. Treasury bonds. Thus, it is possible for a country to officially not hold Treasuries.
After 2018, Russia continued to hold some foreign currency reserves in U S. dollars. When the Ukraine War started in 2022, the United States and its allies froze hundreds of billions of dollars held by Russia.
As a result, the world has been forced to look elsewhere to store its savings. Both China and Russia are storing much of their wealth in physical gold. Other countries are doing the same. The planet is also increasingly doing business in currencies other than the dollar.
As a result of these trends, China will increasingly no longer need U.S. Treasuries to do business. In October 2023, China bought its first oil for Chinese Yuan. If this continues, China will get its oil for free, by printing Yuan. America will be forced to trade hard goods for oil in the future.
America’s leaders were very short-sighted to weaponize the dollar. A global reserve currency requires trust. The United States had a money-making machine, and voluntarily gave it up.
FLASH TRAFFIC ADDED – TURKISH NAVY DEPLOYING 100 SHIPS AGAINST ISRAEL –~FIFTY (50) U.S. Military Transport Planes in 24 Hours to Middle East
FLASH TRAFFIC ADDED – SEE 12:27 PM EDT UPDATE BELOW —— From Friday-into-Saturday, the United States sent no fewer than fifty (50) military transport planes loaded with troops to the Middle East. In addition, the list below shows “unprecedented” naval deployments. Today, Iran said they WILL NOT abide U.S. warnings to stay out of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
We begin with Naval Deployments into the Middle East showing 11 Countries in Support of Israel:
All of the above, along with Submarines and other support ships show an utterly massive naval deployment. I am told this present deployment is larger than the ones done prior to the US war(s) against Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 1991 and again later.
In addition to all the above vessels, another Aircraft Carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth II, transited the Strait of Gibraltar yesterday morning around 11:00 AM, enroute to the eastern Mediterranean:
In addition to THAT additional aircraft carrier, the Navy of Italy is also now deploying vessels:
AIR
In the 24 hours period from Friday into Saturday, the United States flew 49+ military transport aircraft from the US to the Middle East, carrying TROOPS!
On top of those troop transport flights, a Significant number of C-17A Globemaster lll and C-5M Super Galaxy Transport Aircraft from the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command have been arriving in the Middle East.
The flight info above DOES NOT even cover the regular commercial airline flights the US has chartered to exclusively move troops!
Yesterday, Saturday 28 October 2023, Germany put 1,000 soldiers on alert for deployment to the Middle East in case of emergency The German Army keeps 1,000 troops on alert for possible deployment to the Middle East in case of emergency, given the prevailing tension in the region as a result of the war between Hamas and Israel.
This flight from Fort Sill, OK has my attention at the moment. Fort Sill is home to a THAAD battery and this flight appears to be headed overseas. There are no helpful ACARS for this flight, but this is possibly a THAAD battery flight enroute to Saudi Arabia:
At about 1:47 AM eastern US Time Sunday, which was about 11:00 AM in Tehran, Iran, the President of Iran said Tehran will not follow US warnings against interfering in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. According to the Press service of the President of Iran: “Israel has crossed red lines, forcing everyone to take action.”
The President made it a point to also say “the presence of U.S warships in the region will make no difference to Tehran’s decision.”
Hal Turner Analysis
Based solely upon the movement of ships, troops, and planes, it is obvious to me the United States is going to war. A big war.
Trouble is the federal government under the Biden Regime has intentionally left the US southern border with Mexico, virtually open. Literally millions of illegal aliens have been entering the country via Mexico since Biden took office.
It is my opinion that many – but not all – of these illegal aliens are a “5th Column” sent here by adversaries to be “sleeper cells.” I believe that when war erupts in the Middle East, that WE HERE IN THE USA will also be attacked by these sleeper cells.
YOU must be ready with emergency food, water, medicine, a generator to make electric in case the grid is taken down. Have CASH MONEY in your possession incase cyber attacks take out the financial networks, making credit, debit, and SNAP/EBT useless. After all, almost no one takes checks anymore. So folks with cash will eat. Those without cash will go hungry.
The utterly massive movement of troops and weapons indicates to me that hostilities are imminent. Which could — and I emphasize “could” (not necessarily “will”) — trigger sleeper cell attacks here in America.
If you wait until trouble starts, then YOU and every other person who failed to plan, will all be rushing to stores at the same time trying to get food and supplies. In short order, store shelves will be empty and those of you who took no action, will find yourself standing in an empty store.
Don’t be like “the masses who are asses” that wait until the last minute to get supplies. Do it right now. Today.
And gas-up your cars, trucks, and spare gas cans for your generator.
Lastly, have COMMUNICATIONS GEAR – a CB or a HAM (Shortwave) radio — so if things go wild weasel, and communications like phone, fax, email, cellular/Internet all go down, at least YOU will be able to communicate locally (CB) and hear international news on shortwave (HAM).
Of course, some of you will say that this story and its advice is sort of like “Chicken Little, the sky is falling.” To those who would scoff I merely point out that, this morning, a U.S. E-6 Nuclear Command Post is now flying over the US East Coast:
The E-6B Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It provides survivable, reliable, and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command.
So it isn’t just ME telling you to take steps to prepare, it’s the US Military, too. Take the hint!
(PERSONAL: Sorry my coverage today begins at this late hour of 11:00 AM EDT. I slept-in this morning. Didn’t wake up until 9:25 AM. I was literally exhausted.)
********** FLASH ***********
UPDATE 12:27 PM EDT —
The Turkish Navy is, right now, transiting ONE-HUNDRED Naval Warships through the Bosporus Strait from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
It is BELIEVED Turkey plans to engage Israel over its ongoing military action in Gaza. War may break out between Turkey and Israel within Hours! ! ! !
Unlike its better known relative, the Enigma machine which was infamously deciphered by code-breakers at Bletchley Park throughout the war, the Lorenz cipher posed a much greater challenge. Utilising 12 wheels to scramble up the message being sent as opposed to the 3 or 4 rotors found in the Enigma machine, the Lorenz cipher was incredibly secure. As a result, unlike the Enigma that was used by the German standard armed forces, the Lorenz cipher was used only by high command with messages coming from Hitler himself. As a result, to crack the Lorenz cipher (or Tunny as it was code named by the British) would have the potential to change the course of the war.
Not much headway had been made in breaking the Lorenz cipher through the war until a German operator made a catastrophic mistake on 30 August 1941. When a German receiving operator did not receive a message correctly, he asked the transmitter to resend the information and despite clear protocol against it, the two operators resent the message without changing their key settings (the settings that determine how the text is scrambled up). However since the message in question was 4000 characters long, the lazy German operator abbreviated several words, thus changing the length of the message. Since their key settings were both the same, the two messages had the same scrambling pattern of characters. Thus by comparing the locations where the message text changed, details of the way the rotors worked could be determined.
These two messages were intercepted by the British who soon realised the importance of what they had discovered. This task of cracking Tunny was given to W T (Bill) Tutte who began to find repetitions in the cipher which allowed him to reverse engineer the Lorenz machine’s logical structure in what would be later described as “one of the greatest intellectual feats of World War II”. In order to support the painstaking decryption of German messages, the British Colossus was built in 1943 by Tommy Flowers, the first ever modern computer.
image 112
The Colossus Machine
The impact of the decryption of Tunny was enormous. It gave the British intimate details of Hitler’s most secret communications which was most notably vital in D Day where the Allies were able to deceive the Germans that they were going to attack at Calais as opposed to Normandy and at the Battle of Kursk in 1943, Germany’s last ditch attempt to reverse their fortunes on the Eastern Front and one of the largest battles in history. Involving 3 million men, without foreknowledge of German planning provided by the British, the Soviets would have been badly prepared defensively and could have lost this crucial battle and as a result, the war would’ve been prolonged. In fact, historians estimate that the breaking of the Lorenz cipher shortened the war by two years and thus saved millions of lives all due to the careless mistake of two lazy German operators.
However this pivotal event is not well known due to the Official Secrets Act keeping the nature of the code breakers working to break the Lorenz cipher secret until 1974 and some former staff even today still refuse to break their vow of secrecy, preferring to take their knowledge to the grave.
image 111
W T (Bill) Tutte, the man responsible for cracking the Lorenz Cipher
Cajun Pot Roast
2023 11 09 14 23
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) beef sirloin or chuck roast
2 large garlic cloves, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
3 cayenne chiles, or jalapeno chiles, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 (4 ounce) can whole or sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Creole seasoning to taste
Instructions
Cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch slits into beef. Stuff one piece of garlic and one piece of chile into each slit. Season the roast with salt and pepper.
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add beef and brown well on all sides.
Add onion, bell pepper and minced garlic land sauté until tender.
Add water to pan to cover the beef.
Stir in the mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce and season with Creole seasoning.
Simmer, covered, for 3 to 4 hours or until tender, adding more water if needed to keep liquid level halfway up the beef.
Notes
You may stir 1 tablespoon flour mixed with 1 cup cold water into liquid near end of cooking for a thicker gravy.
I broke off a 10 year off and on relationship over a single piece of gum.
He and I weren’t on great terms for a long while. It was mostly out of his cheapness. He wouldn’t take me out to eat-we ate at his place. That wouldn’t have been bad except that he bought cheap items and used foods that had expired. I told him I wasn’t eating his cooking anymore, thank you. We watched TV but only shows he liked-he didn’t want to waste his time on my shows. I could watch them at my place.
Things were coming to a head and I knew the next fight we had would be the last. It was November when he called me and asked me to come over and fix his computer. I wasn’t in the best of moods-I finally had a free afternoon with the kids out with their father and I had things to do. Ok, I decided I would go over and see if I could do something to help. I got there and he already told me I had just an hour to get things right. Perfect start-no thanks for coming over, great to see you, etc.
He offered me a piece of gum. I haven’t chewed gum in years because it sticks to my dental work, and he knew it. Why was he offering me gum-was my breath stinky? After I thought about it for a moment, I took a piece. I didn’t even get it open when he started to yell at me-why is everything in your life a big decision? Don’t waste my gum-either take it or don’t! I paid money for that!
I immediately put the gum back on the table. He flips out again-you touched it not you don’t want it! What’s the matter with you? With me? I don’t chew gum, not in years! You knew that! I thought you were hinting my breath stunk so I took a piece of gum. Now you don’t want me to take the gum! Why don’t you make up YOUR mind?
He immediately moved my tech bag away from his computer and began to work on his computer. Don’t you want me to do that? No. You asked me to cone down here to help you, now you don’t want me to help you? Silence. Are we really going to have a fight about a piece of gum after I wasted my time and gas to come here? Silence.
I sat on the couch for a few minutes. I could have just stormed out the door. I wanted to compose myself and make it clear what would happen. I told him that I have spent 10 years doing for him, taking care of him when he was sick, lent him things like my cell phone and my car, then paid the repairs when he broke them and he never paid me back. I have put up with all this, and if we didn’t resolve what was really going on, I was leaving and not coming back. All I got was silence. Are we really going to break up over a damned piece of gum? Silence.
I picked up my things and I left. I never went back. I blocked his number from my cell phone. I had a feeling I knew what happened because he did it to me before. He used to get moody around Thanksgiving time and lots of times we broke up so he could avoid my birthday in December and Christmas/Chanukah/Valentines Day. He used to call around March to renew our friendship but his birthday was in April and he really wanted a present. I just had enough of his childishness, his cheapness and his abusive control. It was just one fight too many and I was done.
He did email me the following April-after I sent nothing for his birthday. I emailed him back that I told him that after our last fight, I was done and I wanted nothing more to do with him. He replied that he forgot what we fought about, and I told him that it was over a piece of gum. Then I blocked his email.
He called from another phone the following September, demanding I stop being stupid and get back together. What a lovely invitation, no woman can resist that, I answered. Then he threatened me. I told him to come over and try to f*** me up. I had an old lead pipe my father had and it had his name on it. I told him I’ll invite my neighbors to watch me smear him all over the street. My temper broke and I told him about the horrible things he did to me over the years. He finally said “I guess you’re mad at me, huh?” I hung up and blocked his new number too.
He attempted to contact me a few times through his friends but I told them I would go to the police and file harassment charges. He finally moved out of New York City-he attempted to contact me from his mother’s home in Tennessee. I blocked that too. He’s been blocked in every social media site so I don’t have to deal with him.
He had 10 years to grow up and apologize. The words aren’t in his vocabulary. I know the piece of gum wasn’t the reason our relationship ended-it was years of my giving and him taking and never appreciating what he got. But that stupid piece of gum was the catalyst. To this day, when I see a pack of Wrigley’s gum, I still smirk with amused disgust.
I interviewed for a support engineering role, the interviewer asked me how a fluorescent light fitting worked. I explained what I knew about the ballast, starter and gas tube etc. He delved deeper and I drew a rudimentary circuit diagram. When he asked exactly how the starter worked I was stumped, so I said “I don’t know”.
He told me that he must’ve had 2 dozen other applicants attempt to convince him how it all worked, but being able to admit I didn’t know something landed me the job. I learnt how knowing one’s limitations is so important.
Despite increased attacks on US occupation bases, Joe Biden has reportedly turned down more ‘aggressive bombing options’ in Syria out of fear that a wider conflict may erupt
NOV 13, 2023
(Photo credit: AFP via Getty Images)
Several missile and drone strikes targeted US occupation bases in Syria on 13 November in response to the latest round of US airstrikes on alleged Iranian targets in the country.
Fifteen missiles targeted the US base in the Conoco gas field, sources told Al-Mayadeen, adding that US helicopters began making flights ten minutes after the strike.
“The Conoco base was targeted with advanced Grad missiles, which led to the death of four US soldiers,” Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent reported.
Field sources told Al-Mayadeen that the attacks were carried out by the “Popular Resistance” in Syria.
In a second response to US airstrikes, three drones struck the Al-Shaddadi military base in Hasakah, northeastern Syria.
The US Green Village base at the Al-Omar oilfield northeastern Syria, was also hit with a drone. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is a coalition of Iraqi resistance factions formed last month in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
The coalition was formed to confront US forces in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and in rejection of US support for Israel in the war, and has been targeting US bases on a regular basis.
Hours before Monday’s attacks, US warplanes carried out several airstrikes in eastern Syria.
Washington claimed the attacks targeted facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent, the US airstrikes “targeted a house in the town of Al-Mayadeen, which led to the death of a citizen and the injury of another.”
US jets have struck Syria several times over the past month in retaliation to the unprecedented surge in resistance attacks against US military bases in Iraq and Syria. Washington has labeled the attacks as “self-defense.”
According to the New York Times (NYT), US President Joe Biden “has rejected more aggressive bombing options proposed by the Pentagon out of fear of provoking a wider conflict with Iran.”
The newspaper also cites Republicans in Congress as saying that Washington’s strikes on Syria “only invite more frequent and more dangerous attacks against US troops in the region.”
There have been at least 48 resistance attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria since 17 October, the Pentagon said on Saturday.
“At least 56 U.S. service members had been injured. Roughly half of those suffered traumatic brain injuries, and two had to be flown to Landstuhl military hospital in Germany for treatment,” the NYT adds.
There doesn’t seem to be many who are rude. My story is about a beautiful and kind woman.
Many years ago I was in O’Hara airport getting ready to fly home from Navy boot camp. As I waited, I saw what looked like a Hollywood photo shoot going on. I walked over with my nearly bald head and baggy Navy uniform and talked to an absolutely beautiful woman, dressed like an Elf. She was friendly and asked where I was from and what my home was like. We talked for about 10 minutes. As I needed to catch my plane, I thanked her for taking the time to speak with me. I asked her what her name was. It was Ann-Margaret. Surprise! I’ve had a soft spot for her since our meeting.
There have been a lot of memes lately, discussing this subject:
It’s viewed as a sort of work-around to all of life’s problems:
These’s memes are funny and all (sometimes), but they also have some truth.
A good portion of depressed people definitely view suicide as a way out and they genuinely think it’s the only way.
But it’s not.
Sunday, Nov 18 is my late-uncle’s birthday.
No one ever talks about him in my family. And of the few times he’s brought up, is always in relation to his suicide or mental illness.
He lived a pretty amazing life, but the memory of his suicide looms over the conversations around him.
It’s not like we never talk about him, or that suicide is strictly the only thing that we remember about him. There’s just no solace to the memory of his passing, suicide is something that is preventable, it didn’t have to be this way.
And, unfortunately, it’s the same with my idol, Chester Bennington.
image 120
In every Linkin Park YouTube music video, all the comments are the same. They’re ALL about his depression or his death.
No one talks about his life, how he made it big after a period of being homeless. How Linkin Park immediately knew who their lead singer was after his audition; how Chester would always do screaming vocal warmups, which could be heard several changing rooms away, before each of his live performances.
No one talks about that anymore.
If I’d killed myself on year ago, all I’d be remembered as was “that quiet kid who killed himself.”
You have a lot to be remembered for.
Stan Lee, who passed away on Nov 12, 2018, is positively cherished by fans.
So much material was circulated recently about his life and work.
image 119
There was a meme about how he drew the Peter Parker meets MJ comic strip based on the time he first saw his future wife. There were memes of his cameos in Marvel movies, memes of Infinity war, Spider-man memes….
It was awesome.
And nobody was particularly sad, rather they celebrated everything he did in his 95 year life on Earth.
You have a lot to live for.
And a lot to be remembered by.
And even if things don’t get better quickly.
Don’t tarnish that with suicide.
It’s not worth it.
You are worth it.
You are worth a good life and the world deserves your proud legacy.
During my very first visit to China, there were a couple of things that took me by surprise:
Massive malls absolutely everywhere
I’ve heard that Chinese food is so much better in China than what you get in other countries, but that’s is a massive understatement. There is so much diversity in food options, all of it is amazingly delicious and very reasonably priced. I could not get enough of it, and I can’t wait for my next visit so I can stuff my face with all that deliciousness again!
I didn’t expect to have that much trouble finding restaurants or shops that accept foreign bank cards. Some locations only allow Alipay. Also, apps like Didi are not available to foreigners as you need a Chinese number to sign up, and hailing a taxi is not always easy.
I saw very few tags or graffiti on buildings in big Chinese cities. Those are a major issue in pretty much every European city, as even historical buildings get smeared in tags, so this was a welcome surprise.
Excellent public transportation – so cheap and easy to use!
All the people I’ve met were absolutely lovely and extremely helpful. Also, there are so many older people in the parks, exercising or dancing, which is refreshing to see.
There is never any paper in bathrooms, so you have to carry a roll with you
The only thing that slightly threw me off during my very first visit was that people in China often take pictures of foreigners without asking. I’m very visibly a foreigner, so I always get quite a bit of attention when I’m travelling in Asia. I’m used to that, and I never decline a picture with some curious locals, as I find it a sweet experience. However, in China, while many approached and asked for a photo, there were many more who just tried to ‘’sneakily’’ take it, which made me feel a little bit uncomfortable at times.
As a tiny woman travelling alone I felt quite safe, even at night in less populated areas.
My wife and kids lived upstairs in my parent’s house. My Dad passed before my Mom. When she passed, as the only child, I had to sort out her bills, insurance, etc. My Mom was a school teacher for many years and received SS and a pension. At her time of retiring, she did not make as much as teachers do today. A few days after her funeral, I was sitting at her desk going through her checkbook to see what was paid and so forth. When I looked at the deposits, I started to see bill after bill after bill being paid, leaving her with very little left over. I am still saddened to this day, many years later, that I never knew the depth of how bad things really were. We could have contributed more to the household, but she hid most of this from us, trying to spare us any hardship. This is the single biggest regret I have in her passing, knowing I could have eased her burden, as she was the most loving mother one could ask for. She worked her whole life to teach children and raise me, who deserved so much more in her retirement. I am shedding tears as I write this, and hope that others can take more of an active role in their parents lives (when allowed) while they are still with us.
While employed as a pizza delivery rider, after the lifting of the COVID lock-down, our company decided to pull a fast one.
A memo from the head office was circulated among all restaurant staff at all branches. It basically said that the company was so concerned about our welfare in these trying times that they were willing to keep a percentage of our weekly salary for us as a form of savings. The memo also mentioned that if we agreed to this ‘Pizza Savings’ (my term, not theirs) that we will be getting 0% interest.
My delivery co-worker and I had a field day with that memo. We read it several times in disbelief and laughed. The owners could not be serious.
It was obvious they wanted to get a loan/invest in something. It was as if they told themselves instead of taking a 16% interest loan from the bank why not simply take it from their uneducated restaurant workers, all they needed was our signatures.
I went around some of the co-workers joking about it. Most of us laughed it off but two of them couldn’t understand what was so funny.
‘But we’re getting 0% interest!’ an older woman working the grill said.
She seemed to have the idea that this was a good thing. Apparently she had had so many loans in the past that to her the word interest = bad.
I explained to her it was a savings and not a loan. That with savings you want the highest interest you could get and the exact opposite when it comes to a loan.
‘But isn’t it good to have a savings?’ one of the teenaged girls working the pizza table said.
I explained to her it is a good thing but it makes no sense to save your money with someone giving you 0%. I tried explaining how banks work, about buying shares etc and getting the best rates for your money. Both women looked at me in silence.
In the end they both decided to ‘try it out.’
I didn’t know what shocked me more. The fact that the restaurant attempted that stunt or the fact that it actually worked on two employees.
Controller got fired for all the right reasons. On his way out, and before his access was deleted, he programmed a very, very offensive message on the Windows start menu for the entire company-something along the lines of “fxxx you, (name of the CFO)”. Now I’ll admit the guy had it coming, but will also say that the CFO was the biggest a-hole I’ve ever met. Anyway, it took the IT guys weeks before they were able to fix it (always wondered why it took sooooo loooong).
As a 45 year old, I started feeling very tired. I fell asleep in the bathroom at work one day. Went home and thought I was coming down with a cold. Never actually got cold symptoms, but could barely move my body. It felt like all of my extremities were filled with lead. Then I started getting dizzy. Then I started to vomit. I went to an urgent care center and told them all of the above symptoms and how now I’m vomiting and peeing every 5 minutes. I even told them I was vomiting black stuff which they informed me was blood. I was told I just had a stomach virus like people get on cruise ships. I said I have never been on a cruise ship in my life. I was sent home with antinausea meds. I had lost about 15 lbs in 3 days. That night and next day still vomiting and now breathing in short gasps. Now my body is shivering uncontrollably and I can barely move and still vomiting blood. My kids found me on the kitchen floor and took me to the ER. I was rushed back and found out I was in diabetic ketoacidosis. My body was shutting down. I was about a day away from death. My blood sugar was 854. I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic.
While hospitalized, I received a survey from the urgent care center asking how my experience was. I’ll told them that I almost died thanks to them, but other than that it was great.
Years back when Subway still gave you tickets to collect for free subs, my kids’ mother and I were going to have dinner and movie night with my brother and his wife. Subway was the night’s choice. Well, it is Friday evening and the video store is packed. So we’re standing in line waiting to check out our movies, and she is going through these Subway tickets. She asks me,
“I don’t supposed you’ll eat a 6 inch?”
To which I responded, in a building with over 150 people in it, without even missing a beat,
“No, if I don’t get 12 inches, I’m just not satisfied.”
Children were laughing at me. Had it not been so hilarious, I would be mortified of that story getting out.
A United States Air Force E-4B aircraft, which is a designated National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC) took off from Offutt Air Force Base this afternoon, headed out over the Gulf of Mexico, and Transmitted an Emergency Action Message (EAM) to US Nuclear Missile Submarines, using Very Low Frequency (VLF) Comms.
There’s something unnerving seeing a E-4B NAOC (GORDO16) and a E-6B TACAMO (FULL02) launch from Offutt AFB around the same time. As you can see from the FlightRadar24 map image below, that’s what happened.
The E-4B
The E-4B serves as the National Airborne Operations Center and is a key component of the National Military Command System for the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In case of national emergency or destruction of ground command and control centers, the aircraft provides a highly survivable command, control and communications center to direct U.S. forces, execute emergency war orders and coordinate actions by civil authorities.
The conduct of E-4B operations encompasses all phases of the threat spectrum. Additionally, the E-4B provides outside the continental United States travel support for the Secretary of Defense and his staff to ensure Title 10 command and control connectivity.
The E-6B
The E-6B Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It provides survivable, reliable, and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command.
Only One Job:
The E-4B and E-6B at the end of the day only have one job: getting the message out (Nuclear launch codes) from the NCA (National Command Authority) to the United States Nuclear Triad by any means necessary.
Those means include a variety of waveforms including VLF, HF, UHF, SHF and beyond.
A B-52, B-2, ICBM Silo, or Submarine, will decode these encrypted messages and either launch their nuclear weapons at an intended target – – or not – – based on the decisions of our elected public officials.
So imagine my dismay when surveillance picked up the E-4B transmitting an EMERGENCY ACTION MESSAGE(EAM) while out over the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon! More specifically, the aircraft was messaging our nuclear missile SUBMARINES because it was using VLF, Very Low Frequency, to send the encoded message. VLF is the band that penetrates the ocean to sufficient depth, to reach our submerged nuclear missile subs.
USA civil war?
The state of Colorado ruled Trump ineligible for the 2024 election. An account of something something insurrection democracy something.
As it stands, Trump will compete in only 49 states in the election.
It is likely, others will follow. If a few swing states do it, then result of the election is successfully altered.
If supreme court does not strike these down, the United States is officially no longer a democracy.
If supreme court strikes it down, the damage is still done. People will lose trust that their vote matters.
The country is headed into civil war.
Posted by: FieryButMostPeaceful | Dec 21 2023 16:26 utc | 3
Began the telemarketer. We’d been getting a lot of those calls in the past few weeks and I was about 19 or so, so my evil little comedic mind was at work.
Here’s the thing: no one asks those bastards (you know I wanted to say something else) to call us personally! We want them to stop. It was back in the early days of this crap and many of the accents over the phone were still American.
“I have amazing news!!”
“You found a kidney??!”
“Uh, what?”
“You found a kidney!!!! You’re from the hospital, right? We’ve been waiting by the phone and- and I just can’t believe this is really happening; bless you; thank God!”
“Um…no… I’m… calling about (something he suddenly had dramatically less confidence in).”
“You- you’re not from the hospital?”
“No, sorry, I-“
(I turned my head from the phone and didn’t really muffle it properly.) “Oh, don’t cry, Sarah, sweetie! They’ll find one! It’s okay sweetheart, don’t worry.”
(I turned back to the phone.) “I’ll just call back later.”
“Thanks; I’m sorry: could you please keep the line clear? We’re waiting to hear from the hospital.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do that.”
It got played about 2 more times and then those bastards stopped harassing us by phone to buy or sign on to their whatever.
Meanwhile, about China…
US are completely paranoid about China overtaking them, their tactics to block them has simply backfired spectacularly, so the US resort to scaring every neighbour of China into thinking they are going to invade them, including us.
Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand 19h This is a good read on “why the American technological war against China could backfire” and “supercharge China’s creation of an independent computer chip industry”. theconversation.com/why-the-…
It’s exactly what is happening and at the end of the day, as the article makes clear, it’s all about hubris.
It was always beyond delusional for the US to believe that it could stop the technological progress of a country that IS AHEAD OF THEM on all metrics that matter for it, as detailed in the article: – “Chinese high schoolers score the highest in the world in reading, science and mathematics” – “Chinese universities are outperforming institutions in the rest of the world in the vast majority of disciplines”. For instance, critically, China has 6 of the top 10 universities in the world in engineering whilst the US only has 2… – China produces more than double the number of STEM PhDs every year than the U.S. – “In 2022, China overtook the U.S. for the first time as the country or territory publishing the most research articles in prestigious natural science journals” – “China published the highest number of scientific research papers annually between 2018 and 2020, and had 27.2 per cent of the world’s top one per cent of the most frequently cited papers, compared to 24.9 per cent for the U.S.” – According to research done by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute “China is leading [the world] in 37 of 44 cutting-edge technologies, including nanoscale materials and synthetic biology” – Etc.
Conclusion from the article: “When it comes to the use and production of knowledge-based industries, China has more advantages than any other country in the world. American actions will create a new generation of Chinese high-tech firms that will compete directly with the U.S. and western businesses from whom they used to buy their products. These firms will produce more affordable products than their western counterparts, and could dominate technological infrastructure in the Global South.”
In a nutshell the very notion that China is a country whose technological progress could be stopped is almost criminally deluded, and derives from both a deep misunderstanding of China by the US and a deep overestimation of American capabilities… Adopting this strategy is backfiring big time and will without a doubt yield a considerably worse result for the US than if they’d favored a “coexistence” collaborative approach 🤷♂️
When I worked security, I knew people whose job consisted entirely of occupying a space for a long period of time.
Technically, they were securing the area and they had a walkie-talkie to call the rest of us if anyone tried to go into the area who shouldn’t have been there. But no one ever tried to get into those areas.
I worked at an outdoor concert place that had upscale restaurants around the perimeter of the grounds. Those restaurants closed when the show started, and security guards were put in the restaurants to make sure no drunk concert goers tried breaking into them.
I volunteered for that position once, and never again. I literally sat in a dark, empty restaurant for four hours. I could hear the music outside, and I could see people walking by the windows, but no one tried to come into the restaurant. No one ever tried. It was so boring… I requested to be in front of the stage for shows after that.
I was skidding through my freshman year, sleepwalking to classes and nursing hangovers. I’d just stepped into an elevator on our first day and noticed Professor Kaplan standing next to me. I’d heard about him. He was allegedly one of the best professors, a former Harvard lecturer.
image 346
I turned and said, “Greetings professor! I believe I’m attending your lecture today.” Holding his notebooks, he turned, smiled, and said, “My condolences.” And then he proceeded to give one of the best lectures I’ve ever seen. His display of humility in that elevator made him that much more endearing.
Self-deprecating humor, done lightly, and framed in a positive way, is powerfully charismatic. It makes people feel comfortable and appeals to their insecurities. But if you make a joke about your third wife leaving you, you might be overkilling it.
A lot of people think I’m paid to write the things I write, I merely have a fair bit of free time. Today was the last day for my day job until next year, tomorrow is a massive party though…
Anyway me and a couple of other shit posters irritate enormous amounts of westerners merely by our free time shit posting.
People don’t like to argue against me because I like to use western media to debunk western media. Last night for instance a person said the BBC is honest. I then showed them two BBC clips together and one was very different.
Imagine 500million extra internet users even MORE aggressive and shit postery than me? I say 500 million because while 900 million people can write English to an OK level only about 500 million are proficient.
Imagine ME x 500 or x 5000. And here’s the thing, I’m overseas born, so I’m a hell of a lot easier going than a lot of Chinese people.
Back in 2006 me and a friend had been Christmas shopping, and it was a big outing for me, I had been battling Leukemia for a number of years, and after having a bone marrow transplant I was finally able to be out of a sterile environment,.
We went into a Restaurant and were seated right next to a table where 3 quite over weight women were seated.
I was very thin, I am 5 foot 7 and at the time weighed about 105 lbs. I didn’t have much of an appetite, so when finished my meal was barely touched, the waitress asked me if I wanted a box to take food with me, and I said no.
Well that prompted one of the “ ladies” to loudly say say “ Skinny Bitch, you can tell SHE is on drugs”!
I just looked at her and said “ well, not since the bone marrow transplant, thankfully I am done with Chemo.”
Back in 1981, I was kitchen manager at a new pizza place in town. We were about 4 months in and turning a good profit. The guy who managed the place was a great guy and everyone who worked there loved him. The actual owner of the place had a daughter with a boyfriend. He fired our boss for no reason and said his brat’s boyfriend was the new boss, a guy who had never worked in food service before (it’s just a pizza joint, how hard could it be?). Then we were told we would need to be attend a meeting to talk about these changes at 4:00pm. We did the following: 1) added shit-tons of salt and cayenne pepper to existing pizza sauces, 2) changed the printed recipe for dough to make it unlikely to rise correctly, and if it did rise to certainly taste bad, 3) change the sauce recipe to make it inedible, and 4) swap all the lines around for the soda machine, so that when you dispensed from Coke, Dr. Pepper came out, etc. We only had beer in bottles, and our bottles were longneck deposit bottles, and they hadn’t picked them up yet, so we loaded all the beer into the back of a pickup truck, filled the beer cooler with empties, and took the beer to an undisclosed location. Four o’clock came around and everyone was there. New boss, his girlfriend, and the owner were there and as soon as the new manager was introduced, we got up, walked out the door, and soon found ourselves at said undisclosed location, partaking in recently purloined beer and repeatedly calling in take-out orders that would never be picked up. Did I mention, there was a reservation for a party of 30 that night at 6:00?
Besides making a bad life decision that cost him his life, he also got the opportunity to take a step back but decided to dive back in immediately:
There is an island called “North Sentinel” which is home to 150 natives who vehemently refuse all contact with the outside world.
This rule makes sense, as these human beings are not accustomed to the diseases of the modern world, and any contact could lead to contamination that would be fatal to their small tribe.
But this didn’t stop John Allex Chau, a 27-year-old preacher, from travelling to the island to preach about Jesus Christ.
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He was showered with arrows which, fortunately for him, all missed their target.
Logically, he decided to return the following day for a second attempt.
A completely dumb decision, as the poor man would never leave the island alive.
Didn’t he think God was maybe sending him a divine message the first time the arrows missed his head?
A few years ago, I was charged with ordering breakfast sandwiches for everyone in the office for our morning meeting.
As I went around and got everyone’s orders, ‘Dave’ specifically asked for no mayo on his sandwich. I made a note on the order next to his name that said “NO MAYO” and sent in the order.
Half an hour later, I was distributing the sandwiches and heard Dave say, “Oh, har har har. You’re so funny, Kate.”
I came over to see what he was talking about and started laughing.
Dave’s ‘sandwich’ was comprised of two buns that were swimming in mayo.
No egg.
No bacon.
No cheese.
No ham.
Just an ungodly amount of mayo everywhere.
Someone had to have emptied half a container of mayo in between the buns, and thought, “Hmmm… not quite enough”. And then slathered the outside of the buns, and then thought, “Nope, doesn’t cut it!”. And then wiped more mayo on the inside of the packaging.
After I finished laughing, I took it back and showed the cashier who was absolutely appalled at the mayo monstrosity in my hands.
She went in the back and asked the other guys what the hell had happened and why on earth they made a mayo sandwich.
Apparently they thought it said “Only mayo.”
In which case, they fucking nailed it.
Modern Women Are FREAKING OUT As 63% Of Men Have WILLINGLY Left The Dating Scene
Keep it simple. 50% of women in the 20s and 30s today will NEVER get married, and will NEVER have children. Up your game girls
I was 18 and at home with dad, while mom and my brother had gone out of town.
He asked me if I wanted to watch any movie and I replied a big enthusiastic yes.
I suggested a Bollywood movie Gangster. He agreed. I hadn’t seen the movie’s trailer. What a mistake.
We went to the mall, got the tickets.
When the awkward scenes started, he turned to me and said,
“You should watch such movies with your friends. Why did you tag me along?”
“I am sorry I didn’t know they had such scenes.”
“No worries. Let’s see the movie now. Next time see the trailer before suggesting it to me.”
When it got over we went over to the food court for dinner.
I noticed a guy and wondered where have I seen him when my dad said,
“He is not your type.”
“What?”
“He is not your type.”
“Who? I was not looking at him in that sense.”
He smiled.
“What makes you think he is not my type.”
“He has a moustache. You hate moustaches.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well you know right, I had a moustache till you were a toddler? You would constantly pull them and say you hate it. Why do you think I have been moustache free all these years?”
I smiled at the memory when he pointed to another fellow and said,
Not me, but I was there. My mom was driving and my brother & I, about 9&6 years old, were fighting in the back seat. She’s yelling at us to stop fighting, and didn’t realize that she got into the town speed limit zone (35 instead of 45).
The cop came up and asked why she was going so fast, and she told him. Next thing you know, he’s got the back door open and is lecturing us about how mom needs to pay attention while driving and if we are fighting in the back seat she can’t. And if he catches us fighting in the back seat again, he might have to arrest us. Then he told my mom to drive safe, and to let him know if we caused any more trouble.
Years later, I asked her if she remembered. She laughed, and let me know that of course she did. He had been one of her classmates, she had known him since they were little kids.
I read a book about a magician who performed a stunt where he was locked into a glass box above the city. He did not eat for 53 days, he could only drink water. His stunt had to quit as doctors were monitoring his vitals and after 53 days they started to get too bad.
I couldn’t believe someone could fast that long without food and live, so I wanted to try it myself. I like challenging myself in weird ways I guess. But, I had to make sure I wouldn’t die first, a lot of people told me I probably would.
It turns out, fasting has been used for centuries as a form of healing. Catholic churches had fasting centers where people could come when they got sick back in the day. Jesus, Gandhi, and pretty much every religious figure did it. It was well known that fasting healed the mind and the body.
I read a lot of literature on how fasting has reduced cancerous tumors and even autoimmune diseases. I read about all of it’s supposed health benefits: teeth whitening, skin clearing, tumor shrinkage, plaque eating, and fat reduction. They all sounded good to me. It said you got a heightened clarity of mind after 21 days so that was the time frame I decided to do.
I began my fast. The first day wasn’t bad. The second day I got really hungry and then it went away. The third and fourth day were bad. I was so hungry I didn’t even leave my couch. I just sucked down water all day and slept. Apparently, after 72 hours your body goes into ketosis and starts living off of fat reserves. I think it took closer to 96 hours for me.
After that, I completely lost my hunger. I actually had a lot of energy. The hard part wasn’t eating, I no longer wanted food. The hard part was boredom!!! I suddenly went from eating 3 meals a day to eating nothing. The time I spent cooking, eating, and washing dishes was given back to me, probably at least 4 hours. I couldn’t work out (bad on a fast) so that was out. I couldn’t do any social things because those all involved eating a meal, drinking coffee, or alcohol, none of which I could do at the moment. So, I became ultra productive. I got all my homework done weeks in advance, I started crocheting and painting, and I slept a lot. My mom and friends received calls from me every day. I had so much TIME.
Some days I felt weak, but other days I had a ton of energy. I felt great and really happy. My skin cleared up a lot after the 10th day and I did notice my teeth getting whiter. My tongue got white stuff on it; according to the internet that’s a way your body gets rid of toxins. I lost around a pound of weight a day.
After the 21st day, I was ready to eat again out of boredom. I started by drinking a decaf coffee. That was a mistake, my stomach had lost its lining so the acidity of coffee made me throw up. Everything I ate was really intense. Fruit tasted sweeter and everything had so much flavor.
Overall, I’d lost 24 pounds and I looked really good. But, I had never regained hunger. That meant I still had fat stores on me. If you fast long enough, you’ll regain hunger one day which they call your “true hunger”. That means your fat reserves are up and your body will start eating your muscles to survive, so you really need to start eating after that! I’d also lost some muscle, I was weaker at the gym now, but I regained my muscle quickly.
Most people, if you’re a normal weight, can fast 20-40 days before regaining hunger, before their total fat stores are up. After regaining hunger, your body starts to eat muscle tissue for energy, which includes your heart, and it’s only a matter of time before it will give out. Perhaps 7–20 days until death as preducted by some studies.
But, if you’re overweight or obese, you’ll have a ton of fat stores ready to use. One guy fasted for 384 days under medical supervision on nothing but water and tea with no adverse affects. I’m sure he could have made it quite a while longer until his fat stores were completely up but he ended the fast when he hit 180 lbs.
So the answer is, it varies. But, if you’re of a normal weight, your maximum is probably somewhere from 20-40 days until your muscle tissue begins to get compromised.
Yep! I was 17 working at a mom ’n pop kinda thing, local hardware store. The type where entry-level workers just write in what they can work on a calendar posted in the back room.
Well, one day, the owner came to me and told me that there was about $50 missing from my register. I was usually one of the closers, and I always went to the bank with the nighttime lead to drop off the deposit. I thought maybe I just counted wrong or something. The owner said that if he saw that kind of discrepancy again, I would be fired. I said ok, yes, I understand. I worked for about another week, but I could tell that I was being watched by hawks.
So when I went the next week to write myself in on the schedule, I saw my name crossed out with White-Out on the calendar. Confused and a bit suspicious, I wrote myself back on. When I came in for work, the owner pulled me aside and told me that there was another $70 found missing from my drawer and that I was no longer employed there. Well, ok, fine. Maybe I can’t count, or I’m just an idiot, but whatever. I kind of knew I was going to be fired soon when I saw my name whited-out on the calendar.
For the record, I was at a party with a bunch of random neighborhood friends a few years later, and I overheard a guy I used to work with talking trash about the hardware store and how he robbed the place blind and didn’t even get fired for it—someone else did.
Almond Chicken
almond chicken
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons soy sauce
12 ounces Chinese pea pods
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup natural whole almonds
3 to 4 tablespoons water
1/3 cup sherry
Instructions
Skin, bone and cut up chicken breasts into 1/2-inch cubes.
In a bowl, mix ginger, honey and cornstarch and blend in water, soy sauce and sherry.
Thaw pea pods if frozen. In a wok, heat oil over medium heat.
Add almonds, stirring and cooking for about 3 minutes.
Add chicken and cook just until meat turns white.
Pour in sherry mixture and cook until sauce thickens.
I was working in a supermarket in October 2001. I bent down to pick a can of beans off the bottom shelf on an aisle.
As I stood up, my vision shattered.
Image: My vision shattered much like looking into a light diffuser on a fluorescent light.
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I also began with a severe headache on the right side of my head.
Over the next few days the headache went away but my vision remained poor inmy right eye.
I was sent to a local eye hospital by my doctor and there I was told after several days of testing that I had Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome, an auto-immune disorder in the same family as Lupus.
The eye problem was a blood clot that had formed and destroyed the blood supply to the retina of my right eye. Treatment was to be life long and I would need to take blood thinners, then Warfarin though today I take other blood thinner drugs.
I also had to have extensive laser surgery on my right eye to prevent further damage from the clot and resulting new blood vessel growth.
Five and a half years later, when I was going through a non theraputic dosage of Warfarin. I had a similar event, a blood clot formed in my left eye. Destroying that retina and leaving me legally blind.
Let me help to makes western admirers amongst orientals such as Japan-and South Korea, people from greater China such as Hong Kong and Taiwan and neighbours such as Phillipines and Vietnam see light.
I am qualified to advise and share my experience. I was born in Malaysia and now a Singaporean who were a starry eye west admirer for say the first 20 years of my life.
Today I am a practical and pragmatic person who sees things differently. If your nation is a direct neighbour or in Chinese neighbourhood, try to comprehend the following.
China has been around for 5000 years as your neighbour and during 4800 out of the 5000 years China were really really strong. In fact so strong it could if it wants to, to walk right into your nation and claimed it for good. But they didn’t. Japan, Korea, Philippines, India, Vietnam and others remain a fully sovereign nation. Appreciate that.
Just look at the nation that lies and spread fear about China, the U.S. it is barely 247 years old yet it started as a 13 states union and in less than a hundred years it stole another 37 states from its neighbours. And what did the U.S. do in Asia! It murdered 3 million Vietnamese, a million each in Philippines in Mindanao, Laos and Cambodia, and at least 2 million suspected communists in Indonesia and colonised the Philippines for close to 50 years.
And they do that as a nation 10 thousand miles away from Asia! China is stone’s throw away from your shores yet you are still independent! So be logical and honest about who is the aggressor and who respects your sovereignty? If you are fair China is a 5000 years gentleman. The U.S. is a 247 years hoodlum you never ever want to get close with, unless you are inviting trouble.
Next let me help you know your future. China is the world’s most humongous market. Your nation is blessed to have such a huge market at your door step. They can buy your products and resources and yet supply you with value for money product for a song.
They are not the despicable west who wants to change your way. They even say their socialism with Chinese characteristics is not exportable and urge you to seek your best political and social system going forward. US says it is their way or the highway! In fact they murdered 5 million Indo Chinese to make them democratic unsuccessfully in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Go to the U.S. to have fun and travel around, do business with them as they are a big spender. But whatever you do remember who really is with you and where is your future with. Most of all remember where is your nation is geographically and China will always be there! It cannot be floated away and so are you, you are stuck there.
Don’t ever let your nation be another Ukraine, the U.S. want your people to die and your nation to be destroyed just to poke China in the eye, just like how they used Ukraine to poke Russia in the eye, unfortunately one time too many. Don’t let them have even one CIA or NED officials in your nation. And don’t ever be used as a cannon fodder.
Grow up and know right from wrong. Korea for example, whether you stay rich and get richer depends on China not the U.S. The only thing the U.S. can help you is simply to get your nation destroyed! China will always be there, it will grow to be 4–5 times the size of the U.S. economy before then of this century. And as a market for Korea, it will be bigger than your next 20 biggest market! So get real, grow up like me, be a realist and be smart.
Vote in a pro Chinese candidate. Vote in a leader that has no inclination to do shit for the U.S. And tell the US. that you are a friend and a partner of China, and that you want American’s as tourist and investor. But under no circumstances will you allow them to interfere in your nation and in Asia. Asia is for Asians. If you have issues involving the US is a sure way to implicate the issues and create discord.
A bunch of young dumb grunts are meandering about the country looking for bad guys, WMDs and whatever else General Mattis (pbuh) felt was appropriate at the time. In this case it was myself and the United States Marine Corps.
Being young, dumb and American, we naturally did not speak much Arabic besides the usual peacekeeping terminology like get your hands up, stop, get down and f#ck off. As is common in these conflicts, we tend to recruit native speakers to act as interpreters.
For reasons unknown, I happened to remember one of these dudes in particular. Let’s call him Joe Hammad for the sake of security. Now these guys usually don’t work anywhere near their hometowns in country because let’s be honest, in the eyes of the bad guys, hell even in the eyes of many locals, these guys are narcs. Snitches get stitches and all that but ramped up to 3rd world standards.
In exchange for helping us communicate with an often unfriendly populace, these dudes are offered visas to go stateside should they fulfill their obligations. For many reasons, this often doesn’t happen. Remember the snitches thing?
Fast forward to 2014. Suburb of a large Arizona city. My broke ass is out of the military and between employment so I decide to put an ad on Craigslist to let a room of my house for rent. Thank goodness I was financially smart enough to have owned my own home at the time.
Within a few days of placing the ad, I have a nibble or two but this one guy comes with cash in hand. I meet him on the porch when he arrives. He’s an Arab man of medium height, about 45 years old and well spoken with a sharp sense of humor. Within minutes we both had a clear spark of recognition.
And that’s how Joe Hammad from Iraq became my roommate after the war in Iraq ended.
I can’t say for sure whether or not you’re missing any secret ingredients, since I don’t know your recipe. I am certain you’re missing one key component though, and that’s heat.
Chinese restaurants cook over commercial wok burners, which put out 125,000 BTUs of heat. Your home stove might generate 15,000 BTUs out of its largest burner. That’s a pretty significant difference.
The heat of a wok burner imparts a distinctive flavor onto foods. When foods hit the polymerized surface of a hot steel wok, they instantly release moisture, which leaves the food in the form of steam. The foods are tossed through the rising steam, where they capture the droplets of water, and fall back into the wok. This action, repeated over and over, is the essence of wok cooking. The intense heat also causes rapid browning and caramelization and gives the food a distinctive smokey flavor. The flavor, known as Wok Hei in Cantonese, is what makes Chinese take out so crave able, and can’t be duplicated on a home stove. None of what I described can be duplicated, to the same degree, on a home stove. It just doesn’t generate enough heat.
My daughter’s car was hit by a speeding unmarked police car. I have written about this and she is recovering well. When I got to the scene, she was still trapped but the fire brigade were on the scene and had everything in control. While they were waiting to cut my daughter out, the lead fireman came over to me and told me to take as many pictures and as much video as I could and to make sure I got pictures of the officers involved. As soon as I started taking pictures a uniformed policeman came over and said that I had to stop as it was an active crime scene. I said that was nonsense and carried on taking pictures. He carried on saying I should stop. I told my wife who had just turned up to take pictures as well. The policeman just walked away. We took loads of pictures and videos, the witnesses telling us what happened. It took two months for the police to give my solicitor any indication that an officer was involved in the crash and this was only because he sent them some of our photographs. They now say there will be no criminal charges to either driver and that his speeding was legal as he was on a covert operation. He was unhurt and walking around, he never once came over or asked how my daughter was. I am glad that I did not listen to the policeman and I am sure that the video and pictures will help in the civil case.
Back when I was (a lot) younger, after a softball game both teams (mine and the other side, who were all good friends on and off the field) came back to our cars to find someone had parked lengthwise behind three of our cars. None of the three could get out because this unthinking individual parked lengthwise and not in a valid parking spot behind them.
We waited about 20 minutes or so chatting, hoping the person would come out and move. They never did. It was a smallish car, a Corolla, so several of us carried the car to the space in the hedge where people had access to the softball fields beyond. It fit perfectly, the front bumper against one side of the gate and the rear bumper within two inches of the other side. Note this wasn’t a metal gate, it was a hedge with an arbor vitae forming the “sides” of the entrance.
Then, out of sheer schadenfreude, we waited. Some left, of course, but most of us were there about 45 minutes later when the person came back to discover their car was basically unmoveable without cutting down a tree owned by a private entity, or have it dragged out by tow truck.
Going Anonymous as my parents follow me and I don’t want them to know this.
I was young ,probably in 7th or 8th standard when I used to do this.There is a bakery near my home of which I still am a regular customer .I buy things from the place at least 5 times in a day.
As we were regular customers we had credit system of paying the owner .We used to pay our credit on a monthly basis. So basically anyone from my family could go and get anything from the bakery and the owner would just write it in his accounts book and we used to pay the whole amount at the end of the month.
Me being really smart found a loop hole and would buy a lot of snacks,basically all kinds of items available for me to eat . I would just buy snacks worth Rs 2000 or so when the owner was not at the counter. He had an assistant who did not know how t read or write so he used to tell me to write it in the accounts book and I would just pretend to write everything and hand him over the book and he never used to check or bother about it.
I did this 3–4 times when I started to feel guilty about this because clearly it was shoplifting or stealing.
I later made a promise to myself that I will never do this again and would pay the whole amount I had stolen to the shopkeeper once I start to earn .
I completed my graduation this year and started working at an MNC and after I got my first salary the first thing I did was to take the money and confess to the shop owner about this.
He got angry at first but looking at my honesty he accepted the whole amount that was due which was about Rs 10000 and thanked me for this.
I told him not to tell my parents about this as they will be really disappointed .
This was the happiest day of my life as a big burden that I carried for almost 6–7 years was finally gone.
I’m not a mechanic, but wanted to share this story.
I needed a new battery for my Jeep Cherokee. I went to the local place that handles my maintenance. I was in a hurry and also needed an oil change. I brought the vehicle into the Maintennance bay. The guy went to get a new battery. He said something about the battery being backwards, or similar statement. It had something to do with not having the exact battery needed. The engineer in me thought that we should wait to get the right battery, but I didn’t push the issue. I had to be somewhere and was in a hurry. The guy puts the battery in and asked me to try to start it. Smoke billowed out of several places inside the vehicle. Wtf was going on?!? This guy had reversed the poles on the battery and had effectively electrocuted my jeep. To say that the electrical engineer in me was upset was an understatement. I had to be somewhere. I got them to fix my Jeep so that it would run. I was irate. It was a Friday. I had to be somewhere all weekend. I was back on Monday morning. Thankfully, they did pretty much everything right. The mechanic had quit, thankfully. There were some additional repairs that had to be completed. Everything was covered.
A few years later, I needed some warranty or recall thing done. The dealership wouldn’t handle the recall work because of non Jeep parts. I went back to the local shop, and they replaced everything with Jeep parts. The dealership handled the recall work.
while I was mad about the incompetence of the mechanic, the local shop did the right thing.
It’s a wild assumption, but one very likely case is Yemen
image 30
For those who quite don’t know, the situation in Yemen is like this
image 29
The green region is under Houthi control (backed by Iranians), the light red is controlled by Hadi government (backed by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain and even USA), the yellow is the Southern Transitional Council (a movement that wants South Yemen to come back as it existed prior to 1991), and the white is al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, also called AQAP
Now one would expect either of the sides to fall, however seeing the way each one is sticking to their captured lands, it looks that another division of Yemen may actually happen. If the AQAP could be vanquished , then the country would end up with three separate authorities, leaving the whole field very much open for a possible trifurcation . It’s quite possible that the Southern Council could get vanquished too, if that happens then a bifurcation would happen, leading to once again a North and South Yemen to emerge.
The difference would be that unlike the previous versions where North Yemen was an independent Arab Republic and South Yemen was a communist state, this time North Yemen would be an Iran-backed client state whereas South Yemen would be a Saudi-UAE backed client state.
Too white
Chicken Cubes with Cherries, Pineapple and Lichees (Bo Lo Lichees Gai Kew)
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Ingredients
1 chicken breast
1 teaspoon sherry
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon anise pepper
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 egg white
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups vegetable oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup lichee juice
1 cup lichee meat
1/2 cup maraschino cherries
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
Instructions
Bone chicken and cut into cubes; mix sherry, light soy sauce, anise pepper and chopped scallion together, pour over chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.
Beat egg white and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch together. Pour over chicken breast mixture.
Heat oil to 325 degrees F. Deep fry chicken. Drain on paper towels.
Mix sugar, ketchup, vinegar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and lichee juice in saucepan; stir until thickened. Add lichee meat, cherries and pineapple. Stir until hot, then serve over chicken.
This was Central Florida, the lawns were St Augustine grass that with lot of water, mulching and fertilizer, they grew a couple inches a week, and the leaves are wide and tough unlike the soft lawns up north.
My neighbor disliked me because I built a 2 story house and that blocked the view of the lake. We worked for the same company and he was upset that I was hired in at a management level although he didn’t work for me.
Our lawns were about a 1/3 acre, so a Saturday cut and trim would easily take 3 hours with a normal lawn mower.
He bought a basic riding lawnmower, and he would drive his mower on my property, up to 5′ before making a U Turn. That was OK, except he would make the hard turn on top of my sprinklers. Almost every week, I had to replace the broken PVC pipe, digging up my lawn. I tried several things to dissuade him, but in the end on a Friday night, I brought home about 20′ of a high strength braided steel cabling. It was the smallest diameter I could find. I uncoiled it surrounding the sprinkler heads pushing down into the tall grass so you would never see it. But you would hear it, and I was in my garage when I knew he ran over it. The racket it made was frightening.
Even a 25″ blade on a 10 HP motor couldn’t cut it. But it did wrap it around the shaft and stalled the motor. All 20 feet of the cable was gone from my yard.
He had to push his mower to the garage, and spent the rest of the day disassembling his mower to untangle the mess.
The Only Billionaires who are restricted from leaving are those who are Directors of Public Companies or Director’s/Top Executives of Companies that owe minimum 10 Million RMB in Loans to Banks or vide Public Bonds
They need an exit visa
Others can leave when they want
Many Billionaires from the Mainland have their families in Singapore, Australia and USA while they live in the Mainland for 6–9 out of 12 months a year
The only rule for them is they cannot repatriate in excess of $ 300,000 a year out of China , that too for very specific reasons
So what they earn in China, must be kept in China at all costs
They try sending more money out, they face upto 18 years jail
So keep your family wherever you want, have Villas in Sydney or Florida, Send your mainland sons to UK for school but THE MONEY YOU EARN IN CHINA CANNOT LEAVE CHINA OR YOU NEVER SEE DAYLIGHT AGAIN FOR AT LEAST 10–18 YEARS
How about instead of notorious we focus on an evil genius that should be more notorious? Nazi scientists always get all the focus but what if I told you Japan had their own version of an evil scientist and he was an absolute monster.
Meet Shirō Ishii – a serious piece of sh%t
image 348
This guy was a Doctor and microbiologist- and a rather smart one at that. He was regarded as a brilliant person for nearly his entire life. He was well educated and joined the army as a doctor. While there he caught the eyes of his superiors and was sent for further education at Kyoto Imperial University.
During WW2 he was placed in charge of Unit 731 and this is what he was known for.
What was unit 731? Well, they were a scientific unit that conducted experiments and thought up new ways to win the war. Some examples of things they did include
Imprisoning women, raping them until they got pregnant, and then running horrid painful experiments on them just so they could see how certain poisons affected pregnant women.
They would infect people with syphilis and then cut them open (while alive and awake) so they could see what their bodies did as the infection progressed. Women, men, and even children were forcibly infected
This is called vivisection- its the practice of cutting someone open while alive to see what their body is doing and its typically done when experimenting on animals. In unit 731 they did it to people without anesthesia- always resulting in a slow agonizing death for the person.
Injected people with animal blood to see what happens (bad way to die)
Placed people in centrifuges and spun it until they died
Deprived prisoners of food and water to see how long it was until they died
Placed people in low-pressure chambers until their eyes popped out
Burned people alive to see how long they would live
Injected people with saltwater to see what would happen
Poisoned people to see the effects
gave people radiation poisoning to see the effects
Leave 3-day old babies in the cold just to see how long it took them to freeze to death
Tested flamethrowers on live people
Tested grenades on live people
Removed organs for fun. For instance, they would remove someone’s stomach and attach their esophagus to their intestines directly.
Tested hundreds of diseases and biological weapons on people
In all, around 10,000 prisoners were killed by Unit 731 and as many as 20,000 were tested on. The biological weapons produced by this unit were used to kill as many as 500,000 civilians
On a side note not even the Nazis used chemical weapons in WW2 (they only did in concentration camps). The ONLY nation to employ chemical weapons against civilian and military targets in WW2 was Japan.
You may wonder what happened to Shirō. I mean we caught him and put him on trial for war crimes right?
Nope
He was given full immunity in exchange for full disclosure of his tests. American microbiologists stated that Shirō’s findings were extremely valuable and impossible to replicate unless the experiments were done again.
Shirō lived out the remainder of his life a free man and died in 1959.
A businessman went to a shoe store to purchase a new pair of shoes. He was a prominent person in that town. After selecting a pair of shoes with size 8 he asked the salesperson to pack it. The salesperson had just started his career and joined the shoe store a few days back.
The businessman soon discovered that he had left his wallet at home. He told the salesperson that he would take the shoes with him and make the payment the next day. The salesperson being new to business excused himself in order to discuss this matter with the store manager. The manager knew that the customer is an eminent businessman; however, was reluctant to deliver the shoes without payment. At the same time, he was not ready to lose a sale too. He advised the salesperson to handle the situation in the best manner possible and left the place.
The salesperson stood there frozen for a few minutes unable to decide. He then returned to the customer, started packing the shoes and handed the package to the customer.
The next day the customer arrived at the store with the shoes he had purchased, made the payment for his purchase and told the salesperson that “After opening the package I found one shoe with size 8 and the other with size 7. Maybe you packed them by mistake. Can I have the shoes with size 8 please?” The salesperson apologized for the inconvenience caused and replaced the wrong size shoe with the correct one. The customer collected his shoes and left the store with satisfaction.
The manager happened to overhear their conversation and realized that the salesperson had used his presence of mind and handled the situation very well. They didn’t lose their business as well as the customer.
Moral
It is by the presence of mind in untried emergencies that the native metal of a man is tested. If an individual has a calm state of mind, his attitude and views will be calm and tranquil even in the presence of great agitation.
In the fourth grade, Mr. Mowry, our high school biology teacher, visited and gave a lecture. Afterward, he asked the class to name the smartest animal.
One kid said “chimpanzee.” Another said “dolphin.” I kept waving my hand, but he ignored me. (He later told my mother he knew I knew the answer.)
Finally, after the rest of the class ran out of ideas, he asked me. The class looked incredulous when I said “human beings.” After all, people aren’t animals.
His response was “Life has only two choices. Plant or an animal. Which is it?”
(When I had him as a teacher in the tenth grade, I pointed out there were other life forms, such as fungus and bacteria. He acknowledged that, but figured it was a bit much for a fourth grade class.)
In any case, it felt like my fifteen minutes of fame.
I was at a wedding once where the Groom ended up in hospital with achohol poisoning, but it wasnt what you think.
There is a tradition where I live, where right after the ceremony, the bridesmaids “steal” the Groom and take him for a drink. While the groomsmen do the same thing with the Bride.
An hour later, right on time, the groomsmen had the Bride at the next venue where the dinner and dance was to be held, but there was no sign of the bridesmaids and the Groom.
We guests sat around for a bit, wondering what was going on, and eventually food was served despite the fact there was no Groom, and the Bride was looking more and more upset.
It wasn’t until the start of the wedding dance that news filtered through about what happened.
The Groom had never, up to this, had a drink in his life. And the over enthusiastic bridesmaids had made the guy down several hard drinks in that hour.
And, he reacted really badly to them.
So badly they had to take him to the emergency room to be treated for poisoning, and that is where he spent their wedding night.
The rest of the wedding evening for us as guests, kinda fizzled out as you can imagine. But that poor Bride was in tears and left shortly after the dinner to be with her new husband.
Once you VISUALIZE CORRECTLY, the SHIFT happens IMMEDIATELY. (This Is How)
A lot of things, but I’ll focus on just one for this answer. Maybe other parents can relate:
Cooking for the family is a one-person job.
My children always want to help me cook. I remember, as a child, I always wanted to help my mom cook, but she only let me help on the weekends. Now, I usually only let my kids help me cook on the weekends, too.
In fact, during the week, I kick them out of the kitchen, just like my mother did with me 30 years ago.
Why?
Because, after a long day at work, cooking is actually very relaxing… if you’re doing it alone. Cooking with children is mostly just teaching and supervising. I do that all day. I don’t want to come home and do more of it most days.
Plus, when children “help” you cook, it just slows you down, and I’m usually in a hurry to make dinner before my wife gets home.
My children also tend to stand right behind me when I’m cooking, and I’ve tripped over them before. So now, for speed and safety reasons, I have a “the only person who should be in the kitchen while I’m cooking is me” policy on weekdays.
My mom took me to see this doctor when I was 8 years old and she wouldn’t tell me how come. When we got there the nurses took me in and got me ready for the doctor. They had me laying down with things on my arms and legs so I couldn’t move. I thought this was really funny but I was really embarrassed because I didn’t have clothes on and they could see my boy part. When the doctor came in she started looking at my boy part and she asked me if I know why my mom has brought me here this morning and I didn’t know why. I was like yikes when she told me that in a moment they are going to be circumcising my boy part. I have friends that are circumcised and I know what that means and I was like yikes. They give you stuff so it wouldn’t hurt but I still feel her doing stuff to it and I was like yikes thinking about what she is doing. After it was done and mom come in and got me I was really embarrassed because everyone seen it and know what happened to me. We went for breakfast after and mom told the waitress why I had pajama bottoms on. That was the most embarrassing day ever.
Because the biggest killer and tormentors of Muslims (IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES) this century has been the UNITED STATES!
Back home, Muslims have been discriminated, and watched like a hawk by the authorities, especially those of Middle-east descent.
The last time America “rallied” the Muslim world was the first gulf war, where a UN coalition liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. Cooperation has been downhill ever since. Even MBS, the Crown Prince of Saudia Arabia, has cooled relationships with America and delivered repeat diplomatic snubs. America’s strongest and most important Muslim ally in the Middle East is working hard to diversify risk, such as settling in non-dollar currencies.
Besides, the evidence is weak, and nothing like the blatant genocide/war crime broadcasting live from the Gaza strip today.
I was camping at a campground in Northern California, and had gone to the bathroom in the morning. A guy was washing his hands with his ten year old son. This guy was decked out with a full on safari outfit, right down to the hat and it was clearly brand new.
When they had finished washing hands, the Dad took a few of those super cheap, thin, brown paper towels and dried his hands. When his son reached for his own paper towels, the Dad said “uh uh. Waste not, want not!” And handed him his soggy, used, brown paper towel and the kid had to try to dry his hands with this gross, soggy wad of used paper towel. The dejected look on the kids face said it all.
I was so disgusted with this guy and felt so bad for the kid. If he was so desperate to save such a minute amount of natural resources, he should have let the kid wash and dry first, and used the kids leftovers.
it really felt like psychological abuse, but he said it with such vigor that I think he was just an ignorant narcissist.
It was a Friday night and the last day of school. My son would be a Senior in the fall.
When I pulled down our street on my way home from work, I noticed both sides of the street were lined with parked cars. You probably guessed it. My son had turned our house into Animal House! We had just had a pool built and it was full of kids every afternoon. I didn’t mind. I could relax knowing where my son was.
But this wasn’t one of those afternoon get-togethers. This was a full blown wild party. Girls were naked in the pool, and there were whiskey and beer bottles everywhere. It looked like half the high school was packed into my house.
My fear was someone leaving drunk. I couldn’t let that happen. I found my son. I told him and the group with him that I was going to my room and would let them have their party, but I needed everyone to leave me their car keys. I didn’t want anyone leaving drunk.
In my state, 17 yr-olds are not old enough to drink. I am responsible for each one as long as they’re in my house. I’d also be responsible for them drinking at my house, I could be arrested. But my worry was getting those keys and keeping them from leaving. I’d figure something else later.
I had what looked like 10 sets of keys that kids had gave me. I told them to write their name on their keys. I thought that once I got their keys, I wouldn’t be so worried and I’d contact parents and let them know what was going on.
I’d been home about 15 min, and went in my room to change out of my work clothes. In under 10 min, I was out of my room and was going to get more of the kids’ keys. Problem was, no one was there. The house was empty, and the cars on the street were gone, except for a few that were probably passengers now. Not one kid was in sight, only a few articles of clothing had been left floating in the pool.
I was furious. My son had left too. He wasn’t answering his phone either. I called a few parents and explained. A few didn’t enjoy being bothered with it. None of them seemed concerned. I was so upset I puked. I didn’t know what to do, or where to look. I just prayed they were all safe at someone’s house. I cleaned the house, and every 30 minutes called and texted my son. He never replied. I tried to sleep, but I kept thinking about all the terrible things that could happen to them, how one night of partying can ruin the rest of their life. I couldn’t stop thinking. I probably buried my son a dozen times in my mind that night. Around 3am, I dozed off
At 4:14am, I got a call. The connection was poor, and I couldn’t hear every word, plus there was a lot of noise. I heard “this is blablabla with —-sheriffs —-EMT paramedic—-permission to treat———!l? Ma’am? Hello? We need permission —-accident involving 4 minors—-please ma’am!
I was yelling, “ Yes, yes, you have my permission to treat them.” I kept saying it over and over, because our connection was so bad. I wanted them to hear me.
The call was dropped. I hit redial on the phone, but it wouldn’t reconnect with who just called. I didn’t know where the kids were, who was with my son, or the details of the accident and the injuries. It was like being trapped in a horrible nightmare. I didn’t even know where to begin. I called all the hospitals and police stations in the area. Nothing.
I have never felt that much pain and heartache at the same time. I wanted to be with my son. I was no longer angry, I just wanted to to be where my son was. I kept envisioning the worst. I paced the floor while holding my bible, and praying those next few hours. I hit my knees and begged God to take me and leave the kids here in good health. For hours I was frantic. I was shaking and felt so helpless. The not knowing was tearing me up. I felt crazy.
At 6:20am I get a call from the hospital. She can’t discuss the accident or injuries. She just gave me the address and names of the passengers. These 4 boys were in a hospital a 4 hour drive away. I had to drive 4 hrs, having no idea of what condition my son would be in. This had become the worst night of my life.
This drive was a long 4 hours, plus a bad storm had rolled in and made driving difficult. I kept thinking, “ Why doesn’t my son call? It has to be bad if he’s not calling me.” The hospital was in a small town on the way to a popular city on the bay. I couldn’t believe it! They had left the house and driven to the beach. I kept thinking about all the empty beer bottles and whiskey bottles I’d picked up at the house. My mind was thinking the worst.
It had gotten pitch black, and the wind was gusting. I was driving into a bad storm, lightning struck all around me. The rain was so heavy, I could barely see the lights of the gas station ahead of me. The cars on the road had all pulled in to wait out the storm. I figured I should too. thought I’d fill up with gas, but there wasn’t a pump not in use. I pulled over by the air pump and just then lightning stuck a transformer, it was on fire. My nerves were shot. The explosion scared me so badly that I almost pee”ed my pants. I couldn’t take it. I decided to get out of that parking lot before a gas pump exploded. Just as I was about to pull out, I heard the sirens. Tornado sirens! Wtf! I was done, I couldn’t handle this. I just wanted to be with my son. I didn’t know what to do. The rain was now falling almost perpendicular to the ground. My windows were rolled up, and still the rain was coming in. My car was shaking. I put it in park, turned off the key, and just sat there crying and praying. I couldn’t see anything out of the windows. I heard another loud explosion, but couldn’t see what it was. I shut my eyes and cried. I listened to the wind and thunder and sirens. My car was shaking so badly I thought the doors were going to open. Then everything stopped. The wind had pushed me to the end of the parking lot next to the railroad tracks. There were railroad tracks (the big wooden beams) all around my car. I guess the wind pulled them up and tossed them around. I put the car in drive and drove. I was hyperventilating, and pulled over at a rest area. I began thinking I would never make it to my son.
I made it to the hospital, and found the corridor they were on. When I got off the elevator I was looking at a waiting area. My son and his one friend were sitting there talking and laughing. A cop was sitting with them. I ran to my son, and he stood up. At that moment I didn’t know if I wanted to hug him or punish him. (Of course I hugged him.) I was looking at his face and arms and I wanted to count his fingers and toes just like I did the first time I held him. He was holding me as I was crying tears of relief. Not a scratch on my son’s body. All four boys were fine!
The cop told me that he had seen a car in a corn field and stopped to check it out. Apparently the crash had just happened when he arrived because the tires were still spinning. My son had fallen asleep behind the wheel. When the car went off the road onto the shoulder he woke and his reflex was to turn the wheel. This caused the car to spin and he lost control. It hit a cable line and the car flipped 5 times. One boy in the back seat flew through the windshield and landed 30’ from the car. He drove a hatchback, and the other boy in the back seat was thrown out of the back. No one was wearing seat belts, but not one boy needed a stitch. Thank God! The cop said he didn’t think he’d find anyone alive. It was the worst accident that little town had ever seen. I was so relieved that everyone was fine. The cop told me that when he was walking up to the car he followed a trail of beer cans all the way to the car. They were unopened and no one had been drinking. They were tested and they were all found to be sober. The car had flipped through the corn field, and the cop said the corn probably softened the blows.
We had to go to the wrecker yard to pay for towing The cop told me to prepare myself. There was no way to prepare myself for what I was about to see. His brand new car didn’t have one place on it that wasn’t damaged. You couldn’t tell what you were looking at. The front and back looked the same. The door handles were the only thing that made you know which end was where. Ears of corn were sticking out everywhere. It was a sight. I stood there crying and holding my son and his friend. They cried too.
I don’t remember if my son got a ticket. I do remember that I had to drive him to alcohol awareness classes twice a week for a month. And once a week I had to drive that 4 hrs to see the judge for a month. The car was sold for scrap for $325. I joke now, and say that we would have gotten more for the corn. The other two boys were arrested for having marijuana on them. They had to wait for their parents to get them.
This happened 19 yrs ago. Last year I was visiting friends near that little town. We went to play bingo one evening. I was talking with a couple sitting across from me. I had mentioned that the last time I’d been down this way was for a bad accident that my son was in. The man looked at me and said “OMG! You’re —’s mom!” He knew my sons name, and said he was the cop on the screen. He told me how he has never been able to forget that morning and the accident. He still has nightmares about walking up and finding 4 dead boys. His wife said it really got to him. She had told her husband that he needed to maybe find the boys and once he knew they were okay, maybe the nightmares would stop. But he didn’t have contact info. I showed him pics of my son and grandson. This man cried right there in the bingo hall. I think it did us both good. I hope he’s sleeping better.
I truly believe we a learned something that day. It definitely changed all involved.
Also there’s another more shrewd reason: Any beer that is NOT opened isn’t one that they have sold and it can allow them to 86 a patron who is sneaking in beers to drink.
While this is, of course, uncommon in higher class establishments, in lower-end bars, patrons have been known to BYOB as the prices of the bar’s offerings are unacceptably high in their opinions, necessitating the “need” for them to sneak in their own and defray some of their drinking expenses. The bartender and servers can tell if they see a beer that’s unopened or witness a patron opening their own beverage that the bar didn’t sell it, and they can eject the patron(s) involved.
This actually was quite common at some of the establishments that I used to frequent in North Carolina decades ago. One of the worst fights that I have ever witnessed was when a bartender tried to eject a patron who brought their own and the patron struck the bartender with a bottle. Unfortunately for the patron, things weren’t like a movie and the bartender proceeded to beat the shit out of him which including some kicks to the head when the man was down. Had some other patrons not stopped things, we probably would have witnessed a murder. I left shortly afterward and I never returned to that establishment.
Anyway…an unopened beverage is one that wasn’t sold by the bar and that’s another reason for the bar to open theirs.
Suddenly (for me). He had been planning it for a while as he had met someone else. I found out and confronted him. He admitted it and left. I cried alot mainly because I had two very small children and another on the way. To be honest I was scared. However within a few weeks I began to notice things. The atmosphere in the house was calm and happy and it was MUCH tidier and better organised. . I was far less stressed and not shouting at the children. Mornings were a breeze because I was in charge and there was now a routine. Bedtimes were easy for the same reason (this had been a nightmare before). I enrolled the children in after school activities which they loved and hadn’t been able to do before because ‘we couldn’t afford it’. Also their friends could come over for tea (not allowed before). I had loads of spare money because no one was buying cigarettes or alcohol. Then the icing on the cake… a gorgeous new baby came along. Life was good and 21 years later its better than I ever imagined possible. The woman he left me for is much better for him. She treats him the way he treated me. I am happily married and the children are all grown up. The end of that marriage was the beginning of my life.
Chicken Slices with Sichuan Peppercorn Sauce (Jiao Ma Ji Pian)
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Ingredients
1/2-1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
5 green onions, green part only, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound cooked sliced chicken
Instructions
Soak the Sichuan peppercorns in a small bowl of very hot water for 5 minutes; drain.
Puree the peppercorns, green onions and salt in a food processor; transfer to a small bowl.
Add the broth and soy sauce, stirring until well combined; stir in the sesame oil. Drizzle over the chicken slices.
I’ve written this before and it seems right for this answer.
When young, this is the strangest thing we found in our yard.
Dad had a house built in a new subdivision just out of town. It was one of the first houses. It used to be prairie land.Here’s the story.
Yes. We had a very large, beautiful back yard with fruit trees, lilacs, birch and spruce. It was like a park. Anyway, mom had my older twin sisters and I doing yard work, or helping in yard work because she wanted us to learn about planting, growing and nurturing. Lori and Tracy hated yard work. It was like being on a chain gang to them. “When I have my own place, I’m not having one, bloody plant,” Tracy said. Only she didn’t say bloody. The twins were sixteen here, I was fourteen. I was digging a hole to plant a small tree mom had bought and my spade kept clunking on something.
Lori was raking and Tracy weeding in the garden with a hoe but no plant was safe with Tracy around. Good and bad plants were sliced to death. She figured the worse she did, mom might not ask her to help anymore. “They’re all green anyway!” The girls had better things to do. They would have much rather been with their friends, boys, or shopping for clothes.
I dug around this thing, pulled it out and cleaned some of the mud off of it. It was a small, very old statue like object about a foot and a half long and a eleven inches high.
“Hey guys, come here,” I called my sisters. I always called them guys. They came running over glad to get away from work. We cleaned off the mud as best we could. “Holy shit! Do you know what this is?” Lori exclaimed. “RJ, bring it by the house.”
It looked like it was made of cement. I lugged the heavy thing to the house. Lori turned the hose on it and washed off the rest of the mud. When finished, we stood there looking at a small, very old, well worn statue of a baby kind of laying down in its side. That’s what it clearly was.
Lori looked at Tracy, then me. “I think it could be a grave marker, for a baby. Maybe some pioneer’s child died and they lived around here and buried the child and the father made this statue to honor the baby.” My sisters were real life Nancy Drews plus they had vivid imaginations. Lori had it figured out in minutes. Tracy and I agreed. We couldn’t come up with anything better than that.
“Unless,” I said, “This is a prehistoric baby that was buried and fossilized.”
“Don’t think so,” said Lori quickly.
“Ok,” I said agreeing with my big sister maybe a little too quickly.
“There were no humans in the dinosaur era,” she added, “it’s a babies grave marker.” We lived a way out in the suburbs. Dad bought the land and built a rather large house on it. Pioneers could have lived here and buried their child.
We got mom and dad to come out and have a look and they thought it quite interesting. “Dad, maybe if I dug up around there I might find some more neat things,” I said holding my spade. The twins agreed. “No,” mom said, “knowing you, you’ll have this backyard looking like a prairie dog village.”
We wondered what to do with the baby statue. “Why don’t you put it by your pet cemetery?” Mom said. In the far corner of the yard we had a little pet cemetery with some birds, turtles, fish, my gerbil Gerry, and a squirrel we found dead in the yard. All our pets who died except the bird that flew through the open living room window and my rabbit I took out in the back yard the first day I got him. He hopped away, under the fence and was gone. I was not allowed any pets after that except a fish named Cleo, after Pinocchio’s fish. Cleo was kept in Lori’s room because I overfed the last two fish and they died. “You’re supposed to sprinkle food in lightly,” said Lori, “not give it a big buffet!” I was not trusted with fish.
Anyway, I’m getting way, way off the subject here. We liked the idea of the baby stone guarding our pet cemetery and that is where our unexpected find ended up, watching over our deceased pets. “We have a lot of pets buried out here,” I said after setting the statue near the cemetery.,
“Yeah, and you killed most of them,” Lori said messing my hair. Tracy laughed.
“I did not,” I said, “just two fish that I gave too much to eat and the turtle who escaped and was found under my bed.”
“Cause you left the lid off his pan,” Tracy said. “I think he was trying to crawl into bed with you.”
We stood there looking at the stone baby, as we called it.
“Back to work guys,” mom called, “Tracy, you’ve chopped weeds and good plants, I told you the difference.”
“They’re all green mother, all look the same,” Tracy said under her breath as she walked back to the house.
It was a pretty neat find that we all remember. To this day, we are still not sure of its story but it was a small statue of a baby laying on its side in rest.
It is a child laying on its side in a fetal position facing you, head on a pillow.
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Legend of the Phantom Fortress | The Ghost Plane that Flew and Landed Itself
A girl I knew, we’ll call her Jen, had a pretty lousy dad.
He was on disability from the government and hadn’t worked in years because of a ““““back injury”””” that didn’t hinder him from partying, playing basketball and romping around with girls.
Consequently, he was perpetually broke and living paycheck to paycheck.
Jen’s mother divorced her father when Jen was 2, largely because of his inability and lack of desire to work.
She remarried another man. They had kids, which was fine, but Jen always felt like an outsider in that household.
Her biological dad was in her life but never came through in the most important moments.
Her birthday came around and when I asked if her dad got her anything, she said, “He couldn’t afford to get me a present.”
Without thinking I said, “But wait? Didn’t he just take a surfing vacation to Mexico?”
She sulked and said, “Yeah…”
I felt terrible. Wished I hadn’t said anything.
A birthday present might seem like a small thing, but it is a big deal to a kid.
Airlines have a rule that everyone must be in their assigned seat on take off.
It is because if there is an accident it makes their processes easier after the fact.
Once the plane is in the air, the attendant may move people around.
You have the choice of moving or not – often if you do, the seat offered to you will be better than the one you have. But check first.
I was in the situation where I had an aisle seat in a bank of 3, and the other two seats were taken up by a couple who were extremely fat. They didn’t speak the language I spoke, but by gesture the man was pretty clear what he wanted, and was getting really angry with me. However, I had sat down and stayed there. There literally was no room for me between them, as it was I could barely keep my seat. He called the flight attendent and was insisted I swap. She explained to him, and then to me, in English, that she had to insist we keep our assigned seats until we were at cruising altitude, and she assured me I wouldn’t have to sit in the middle. When she came back, she asked me if a window seat in bank that had no other people in it was acceptable – of course I jumped at the chance. (I tend to be a bit claustrophobic and find being able to look out the window a true joy.)
But I did go, on the mistaken belief that the pedicurist could relieve the discomfort from my ingrown toenails. So a friend told me.
I had no appointment; had to wait. Reading women’s magazines and crayoning in the coloring books for children. I never was very good at that.
The air was thick, redolent, I should say, with estrogen fumes; choking. They were sucking the oxygen out of the room.
There they were, all those females reclined in chairs, sort of like dentist chairs, their feet in little bath tubs. I had never seen that, before. Good Lord, deliver me.
So I deployed my best defense: I turned invisible.
It must have worked; none of the women seemed to recognize my presence, or even my existence. No problem, there; I get a lot of that, anyway.
But, alas, as my power of invisibility slackened, a technician noticed me, and motioned me toward a chair. We could not speak; her language was Vietnamese and mine was Klingon. Hand signals, gestures.
But then, as I reclined, and the warm water engulfed my feet, I started to relax. Then came the gentle massaging of my feet and toes, soon followed by the most gentle clip-clipping I have ever known.
The finale was a massage of my lower legs whereto were applied various emollients and ointments, emitting scents of citrus and of juniper, frankincense and myrrh. I wondered if I was being prepared for burial.
Its called tip creep, I was in a hardware/automotive store a few months ago, when I went to pay, it asked if I wanted to leave a tip. The top suggestion was 35 percent. I glared at the poor cashier, and she said, dont blame me, the new credit card/debit machines all came preprogrammed like that. She had no idea if management had asked for it, or if essentially all new machines were like this. She told me to complain to management, not her, and so I did.
I think its an American problem. I was shocked that many states had frozen minimum wage increases for 25 years.
In some states you only get a couple of bucks an hour, if you make your minimum in tips. This is sick, boost minimum wage to 15 or $16 an hour. Get rid of the bribes, err , tips. When I was in Egypt, if you wanted your government paperwork processed faster you paid a facilitation fee, if you wanted the plumber to move you up the priority list, again it was backshees ( I m not sure of spelling) or a facilitation fee.
Thats what we are moving towards. First it was restaurants and bars, then hair stylists and masseuses, then fast food restaurants, then pick up at pizza joints, then hardware stores. At a hardware store, where I self served, who gets the tip? Would the cashier get 35 percent of all sales, I want that job.
Here in Canada where minimum wage is $15 or $16 , we pay the same tip as the US where its $2.33
So my guess, is that the credit card machines have tips as a default, and fast food restaurants have no incentives to remove it, because who would they give that tip to?
Years ago, I was traveling with a gentleman who owned multiple companies, all successful, and was worth multiple hundreds of millions. He had rented a car several days before my arrival (I flew in later), and he offered to drive to the airport for the flight home. As he drove, he explained to me that the car was not full on gas when he picked it up, but the rental car checkout person had given him his business card and assured him if there was an issue with the amount of gas on return, he would handle it. As you might expect, on return they wanted to charge him something trivial like $15 to top up the tank. He was livid. He paid, just to get to the flight, but then spent the next hour on the phone and at the gate, and onto the plane, stopping only going through security, arguing on the phone to have it removed. Couldn’t let it go. This man was probably made more money in interest in 1 minute just sitting than he would have saved in a hour+ of arguing. It could not have been worth his time, or rather, his time could have been so much more effectively used.
In my experience with folks at this level, and I’ve met a few, it’s a compulsion. They simply cannot let it go. They will spend a million dollars to make $1.2 million in an instant, but will not spend $5 if they feel taken advantage of.
Col Douglas Mcgregor: “It’s OFFICIALLY OVER! We have WASTED TRILLIONS OF TAX DOLLARS ON THIS..”
Rest assured the CEO is not doing it out of the goodness of his heart.
Most likely what happened is the CEO or company realized they need your expertise in something or to train your replacement. Or perhaps as some others pointed out, the company forgot to dot their I’s and cross their T’s when terminating you. Perhaps they had to fire you for cause but didn’t follow progressive discipline procedures. In order to protect themselves and avoid a lawsuit they are bringing you back to perform these tasks.
If you do go back, insist on signing a contract for a certain duration like 12 months. I’d also insist on a certain raise like 25-100%. Whatever you think is reasonable. Insist on no derogatory information in your file. I’d also add language that the contract could only be voided for cause and company bears the cost of the arbitration.
If the company brings you back keep in mind they will try to part ways with you when they no longer need whatever short term assistance so start looking for another job immediately.
Do not under any circumstances come back under their ‘reinstatement’ conditions. You are better off collecting unemployment and looking for other opportunities.
In China, the subway is a social infrastructure, not a profitable business.
Although the subways are operated by “subway companies” in various cities, they are usually state-owned enterprises.
In other words, the equity of the subway system is controlled by the government.
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Therefore, in an accident like the Beijing Subway, there will be two different responsibilities.
1. Legal liability
The subway company must make up for the losses, which includes repairing damaged vehicles and facilities, rescuing injured passengers, and paying their medical expenses and emotional distress. They also face criminal prosecution if anyone dies.
In short, they must bear all the responsibilities that a Western subway company should bear.
Of course, insurance companies also play a very important role. They will activate insurance clauses to provide necessary compensation.
2. Political responsibility
Since subway companies are state-owned enterprises, they must bear more political responsibilities than private companies. In other words, an official must be held responsible for the accident.
First, the subway director of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Management Bureau must bear direct responsibility. He may be subject to isolation and review to determine whether he has committed malfeasance. If suspected of committing a crime, he would be thrown in jail. If not, you are usually fired.
Secondly, the director of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Bureau must assume management responsibilities. He usually needs to make a public apology and be demoted or transferred to a minor position.
Also, the director of the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau must assume management responsibilities and accept investigation. Are they doing their job and completing routine inspections and supervision? If not, it’s usually demoted or fired.
In China, for any important social incident, government officials will be investigated and held responsible. If you think that after the accident, some official stood up and said: “We are very sorry.” Then it could be over, and then you’d be totally wrong.
I don’t know if it’s witty or not, but it stunned the other person and was extremely satisfying.
When I was in my early twenties I worked at one of those cookie stores in the mall. I was working With my friend L who hired one day when a man in his 60s or so came up. I started helping him and L went behind me and kind of playfully kicked me, I laughed and told her not to kick me. I’ll agree it was childish, but that isn’t what upset that man. I’m guessing that just dropped me that last little bit lower in his eyes and he figured he needed to tell me off.
“I think you should be kicked for having that shit in your face.” I had a small nose stud at the time.
For just the tiniest hair of time I was stunned and had no idea what to say… then he opened his mouth again.
“What does your dad think of that?!” Big old smirk, oh he thought he had me on that one.
But I knew I won.
“I don’t care, he was an abusive alcoholic that almost beat my mom to death and molested me at eight, and he’s dead now. My mom however thinks I’m amazing in every way and is happy we all turned out well.” Big smile. All true by the way, I just don’t normally tell strangers all the details like that in go.
His face fell and he stared. Then he grabbed his cookie and stomped away.
We had to announce to the rest of the family any time we were going to use the bathroom, and how long we thought we’d be in there.
This was because we only had one bathroom and my father got really mad at us if we interrupted him while he was in there, or if my sister was in there for a long time, as she tended to do when she was a teen.
Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of my sister knocking on the door to get into the bathroom, like it was an emergency, shortly after my father went in there. It was never really an emergency. She just needed to fix her hair or something.
My dad: [Goes into bathroom, newspaper in hand.]
Thirty seconds later, my sister comes out of her room and starts knocking like crazy on the bathroom door.
My dad: [Godammit I just got in here! Leave me alone!]
So, every time any of us needed to use the bathroom for any reason, we’d stand in front of it and say, loud enough for everyone in the house to hear, something like:
“I’m going to the bathroom now! I’ll be in there for about ten minutes!”
Then we’d pause, in case someone wanted to use it quickly before we went in there.
I didn’t realize until I was an adult that announcing to your family that you were going to the bathroom wasn’t a normal thing to do.
YES… when I was in South Africa, I hired a maid through an agency. She arrived on the appointed day. She gave me the agent’s papers and introduction letter, and she asked me where she should start. I said she could start with cleaning the oven. “Oh no,” she said, “I don’t clean ovens”. “That is OK,” I said, “make yourself a cup of tea and make some breakfast for yourself and then I will give you your money and you can leave”. She looked very crestfallen and told me she needed the job. I said “OK; then clean the oven and you can stay”. She cleaned the oven.
She stayed for 30 years, and every month we had the same conversation. She left the agency after a month and she became my best friend, my companione.n, my housekeeper, my babysitter, and my nurse when I was ill. When she retired, I paid her a pension for the next 12 years till she died of COVID-19. I miss her very much. She was a wonderful woman.
In my youth I was hard up for a summer job so I took a position delivering newspapers. I was a substitute driver for the regular person doing the route. My paper had a shed where I and the other drivers would come to load up our papers at about 4 am, and across the alleyway there was another shed where the rival newspaper distributed papers to it’s drivers.
One morning I park in front of my paper’s shed to load up. As was my usual practice I used the tying machine in the shed to secure a couple dozen papers to throw at the beginning of my route and loaded them in my car. I then loaded stacks of papers that I put rubber bands on while driving to use for the rest of the route.
I found that while I was doing all this, the delivery truck for the rival paper had unloaded several large stacks of their papers just behind my car. I was ready to leave for my route but could not start because the papers were in my way. I went over to the other paper’s shed and asked the guys there to please move the papers so I could leave my parking spot. They laughed at me and said I could move them myself.
So, I did. I got in my car, started it up, put it in reverse, and backed out of the space. The stacks of papers went flying, my rear wheels driving over many of them. I then accelerated forward over the papers and they shot out in a satisfying rooster tail all over the parking lot and I was off for my route.
I was working in a record store that had booths to listen to records before you bought them. I was in a booth setting it up for someone to listen when the boss/owner was outside the booth, not knowing I was there. He started to complain that he did not like my hippie looks and did not trust me. The next day, the manager quit (I do not know the reason), and the boss came to me the next day and wanted me to take over as the store manager. I told him I would think about it. After work, I called the ex-manager and asked why he quit. He said he was sick of the two-faced liar that was the boss and he had got a job with a new company called the Wherehouse (an up and coming big chain record company, He asked me if I wanted to be the assistant manager which paid a lot more than I was making.
The next day, I called the boss/owner and told him that I did not want the manager job, and, by the way, I quit. He tried to talk me into staying when I said, “Then why did you say…” and repeated everything he had said about me.
“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans”
In 1914 the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia (in the Balkans) would be the event that led to WW1
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Then in his final days, he said
Jena came twenty years after the death of Frederick the Great; the crash will come twenty years after my departure if things go on like this.
Exactly 20 years after Bismark’s death Germany would lose WW1 and nearly collapse.
In his final meeting with Wilhelm, he stated
“Your Majesty, so long as you have this present officer corps, you can do as you please. But when this is no longer the case, it will be very different for you”
Indeed when the present officer corps moved on and were replaced by the next generation Wilhelm was forced from power and exiled in shame.
Let’s tell some more Bismark facts because the guy was just such a hoot.
During his younger years, he famously got in an average of one duel per month and never lost. Duels as in fights to the death with swords.
While working his first job for the government, he disappeared and left his post randomly only to appear weeks later with the daughter of some English gentry.
There was an assassination attempt during his rise to power. A man shot at him six times and then was disarmed by guards. Bismark said he was fine and walked home. Hours later the royal court doctor finally got in to see Bismark despite the protest of Bismark. Turns out all six bullets hit him but none of them did much damage. Bismark was just unconcerned about the whole thing.
Bismark was a local lord in his younger years. He had an estate with some peasants who worked for him. He would announce his entrance into their homes by shooting a gun in the air or releasing a fox.
He would drink two bottles of champagne and smoke two cigars for breakfast
There was a period where rebels took the Prussian King (his king) hostage. At the time Bismark was still a countryside lord minding his land. He decided to raise his farmers into a peasant militia and free the king. As he went to leave with his militia, a local man told him to stop whipping up the peasants and go home. Bismark responded, “You know me to be a kind man, but if you try to stop me I will shoot you”.
For all of his antics and wild personality, he ended up marrying a very calm, devout, conservative Christian lady.
The rest of his story is a little less flashy but just as interesting. The man was a freak of nature. He played Europe like a chessboard for decades. He created Germany and accidentally the French Republic, and he was one of the most brilliant political minds ever.
Let’s end with some fun quotes because why not.
“If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.”
“There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America.”
Next a few Andrew Jackson facts.
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After being elected president of the United States, Andrew Jackson faced an assassination attempt. Richard Lawrence bought a gun and approached Jackson to shoot him. The first shot misfired, and the second shot misfired as well. Jackson noticed this and proceeded to attack the man and beat him with his cane. Jackson’s guards had to pull Jackson off his assassin — what a mad lad.
After winning his election, Jackson threw a rager in the White House inviting a ton of random people in to drink heavily. The party went on for hours and was out of control. Jackson was forced to flee the out-of-control party through an upper-floor window.
Andrew Jackson loved to duel, like step back and shoot each other type duel. In a duel with Charles Dickenson, Jackson did something bonkers. As the men turned, Jackson just stood there. You see the rules were that both men had to stand still until both shots were fired. Charles turned and shot hitting Jackson around his ribs. Jackson then took his time to aim so that his shot would be fatal. He calmly took a bullet so he could kill his opponent guaranteed.
When Jackson’s friend approached him about this, Jackson said
“If he had shot me through the brain, sir, I should still have killed him.”
I have been living in the US for about 7 months now. I am strictly comparing my life in India and here:
India has PayTM: You don’t need to carry cash, cards. Most businesses, even small stores, auto rickshaws have paytm facility. Here I cannot, cannot, leave my credit card at home!
Public Transport: Is almost non-existent, at least where I live. There is the Caltrain, at a 1 hour frequency, and some buses and VTA, but they usually do not cover the routes I need. And I cannot just take an auto rickshaw to the grocery or Target/Walmart. If I don’t have a car, I need to depend on Uber/Lyft which are expensive.
Online shopping experience: Myntra, Jabong, Flipkart, Amazon, most e-commerce biz in India have home pickup for returns, which you don’t have here.
Laundry is a headache: Most apartments do not have in house laundry, dryers, and making several trips to the laundry room is not something I enjoy. Not to mention, it is expensive too ($1.5 laundry + $1.25 dryer per load)
Medical Services are way too expensive and not easily accessible: Medicines and vaccines are expensive. Something like a tetanus shot which costs Rs. 50 (less than $1) in India, costs $80 here. I can get spectacles made for Rs. 2000 (~ $30) in India, but it would cost me upwards of $300 here. In India, I do not need an appointment in most cases, and I can walk in to a clinic. For my son’s eye checkup, I got an appointment for after 2 months. For the spectacles, the optometrist said they do not have the technician available and can only accommodate us after 3 weeks(!!).
Paper wastage: I get so many paper adverts in my mail every two days, which go straight in to the bin. Sheer waste of paper! And the DMV refused to accept a soft copy of one of my documents. They said they need a hard paper copy! I thought the US was at the forefront of the Digital revolution.
Tipping: Expect to pay about 15%-30% more than your actual restaurant bill, for the tip. There is no service whatsoever, servers just come and put your food on the table.
Shopping experience: Shopping here is not something I enjoy. There is usually no one around to help you with sizes, suggestions or finding something. They simply tell you to go help yourself by saying that whatever they have is out there, so you are left to find stuff yourself.
Lifeless atmosphere: Every city, village in India is vibrant, full of life (and noise 🙂 ). I miss that very much here.
Of course, my answer is restricted to my observations and my small sphere of life. There are definitely greater differences, social, political, economical, which some people have put up here. I just listed some that common folks like me might experience.
Thank you for the upvotes!
Just a couple of months short of completing a year in the US, and I keep finding things that I wish were different ( I know I sound very cynical, but I am not, and I do appreciate the good things in the US too)
Going to add a few more to this list:
10. Road trips aren’t as much fun as they are back in India. Half the fun of those long road trips lies in watching the scenic beauty on the way and halting at roadside dhabas or tapris for chai and bhajiyas or food. Be it any highway, you are bound to find one or two such small roadside hotels or dhabas where you can stop and savour hot food and talk and laugh with your companions. I do not find that here. Road trips are just driving on long freeways or interstates where sometimes people tend to fall asleep due to the monotonous driving.
11. International shipping : There are very few choices in that regard, namely FedEx, UPS and probably DHL. And they are quite expensive. FedEx gave me an estimate of between $100–200 plus $30 for the box ( which is not charged separately in India) for a 4lb (less than 2kgs) shipment. Whereas, our parents sent us 8 kgs of Diwali faraal 🙂 from Pune for less than $70.
12. I miss the air of celebration or festivity here. During Diwali, Indians might put up their festive lights and diyas on their patios, but they do that and go back into their houses and shut the doors or pull the blinds. That’s that! That was Diwali here. Sad. But, the same Indians celebrated Halloween with such gusto, I was left wondering is this what happens when we move to the US? That we forget to celebrate our own festivals the way they ought to be while embracing the festivities of the West? While I see nothing wrong with the latter, I would have definitely loved to see more enthusiasm towards the former.
13. Gun violence: The gun violence happening in the US is being covered in almost newspaper and sites. It has created a general unsafe atmosphere. Especially the shootings in schools and colleges, innocent young lives being snuffed out by some senseless act of violence are tremendously sad.
14. New Year celebrations: India – restaurants, malls, roadside dhabas, almost everywhere that you get food, open till 5 am. US- most restaurants closed post lunch or early evening on 31st Dec and closed whole day on 1st January. So, we had very limited choices of restaurants to go to for New Year’s Eve dinner.
15. Limited places for kids to play: Most apartments here do not allow kids to play inside the apartment premises. Kid scooters, bicycles are not allowed. Playing in corridors is also discouraged so as not to disturb residents during quiet hours. Going to a park everyday is not possible. So, all in all, kids have only the school grounds to play mostly. It would be very helpful if apartments designate a play area for kids.
When my son was an infant, after my wife’s maternity leave was over, she went back to work about 30 minutes from our house. My job was about 90 minutes from our house. I had to leave home by 6am every morning to take my son to my in-laws for the day, so I could make it to work on time. Then, I had to be the first one out the door at work to make it back to my in-laws so I could pick up my son and bring him home. On a good day, I would be home with him by 6pm. On a bad day, particularly if it was snowing, we might not make it home until 8pm.
One day, my son slept through the morning ride to my in-law’s place, and was asleep when I went to get him at the end of the day. I realized, when I went to sleep that night, that I had not seen my son awake that entire day. Worse… he hadn’t seen me that day.
So I started looking for a job closer to home. Over the years, I’ve taught at four different schools, always getting as close as possible to my own house, to maximize the time I get to spend with my children. I’ve got my commute down to fewer than ten minutes now. It’s great! I even come home on my lunch break so I can walk the dog some days.
When I was very young, I’m guessing about 5 ,my uncle gave me a letter holder that was shaped like a dachshund, it became my favorite toy.
My grandfather was visiting, and he saw me playing with the letter holder. Which was dogs front and rear separated by coils, which would have held letters.
He said, “you’re playing with office equipment, that’s not for little boys, you don’t want that do do you “ I assured I did, that it was my favorite toy. He took it anyway. My mother wouldn’t stand up to him, and he was gone.
When he died about 10 years later. I went to his office to get my toy back, just on principle. It wasn’t on his desk, my grandmother said that she had never seen anything that looked like what I described.
When I was about 8, we had a standalone bathroom sink that just stuck out of the wall. My grandfather very nicely made us a stand that went around the sink, with two doors on the front. It allowed us to store stuff in the bathroom. It looked professionally done. He said it was practice for the one he would build himself.
A month later, he came down with one that was miscut badly. He took it into the bathroom and replaced the good one with the garbage one.
He said that he needed the good one in his nice house, and the crappy one wouldn’t look out of place in our house, and he didn’t want to spend the money on new supplies.
Honestly! Who would take back, what was supposedly a gift of love, that he had made for his daughter.
Writing anonymously so it don’t come to bite me back…
To win some times you ‘really’ have to lose
I was working for a US based MNC in India’s self proclaimed Silicon valley.
I was leading a team, the work was too strenuous. I was clocking in around 12–17 hours of office time everyday for almost 8 months. My health started to deteriorate (constant back problems) due to long hours of sitting. I was not able to spend time with my newborn baby. Had to practically live in office for almost couple of months. And to top it all , Management was the least bit supportive , they take employees for granted and make their life hell. As in most services based companies , work life balance is a distant dream. They thought Vacations are an aberration, And thought that the more miserable an employee became the more productive he becomes.
To cut the long story short , I decided enough is enough and that I would pull the plug on the job. I work for my life sustenance and not the other way around. The problem is we have to serve 3 months of Notice period, which is a big NO for most recruiters. During the week when I was mentally preparing for this ordeal, my Manager approaches me saying , your performance is OK, but we are initiating a Performance Improvement Program (PIP) for your own benefit. Which they thought would make me more productive. They thought this would make me teach a lesson, and I would work ‘HARDER’, and this was a process were they monitor me for a month and would let go if employee is not performing better. This is an absolute horrendous experience for any employee to go through. Let alone somebody who literally ‘broke their back working’.
But this was a boon in my scenario if I fail not only they would let me go in a month but also they would give me four months Salary ( They don’t want the undesirables to hang around). I kind of simply stopped working , and made sure I fail in ALL the review meetings , we don’t want to leave anything for chance do we? , with a puppy face of course. So at the end of the Month , I was relieved of my duties and I received 4 months of my salary in due time. And I landed the next job in 2 months which gave me 30% hike as well.
There was a time, quite a few years ago, when I worked as a cashier at Burger King. I mostly worked at the front counter, taking orders and keeping things neat and tidy up front.
One night, I noticed that our drive-thru times were seriously lagging, even though we weren’t that busy. The kitchen was sending food out quickly, and I was bagging it up just as fast, so why did we have four orders waiting to go out the window?
I went to investigate and found my drive-thru employee in the middle of a meltdown. We had a dinosaur for a system back then, and the drive-thru was tricky because the register didn’t tell you how much change to give back, just how much the order cost. To help those who needed it, we kept a calculator by the register, but apparently, nobody had thought to let the new girl know it was there.
Honestly, though, she wasn’t the only one who struggled with making change, and it always shocked me how many people were incapable of doing basic math without technological assistance.
Long story short, I ended up teaching many of them how to make change without the calculator, but it was shocking how many high school and college kids could not make small change.
After my husband was killed in an accident, friends and family sent their condolences and were ready to help me with whatever they could. Many brought us meals and others took care of the yard work and some gave money and gift cards. I was very grateful for all their kindness. It was overwhelming how kind people were, it brought tears.
In time things began to settle down. I was cooking out meals and mowing the yard. But what continued on was the sympathy. I’d be in Walmart and I’d see a friend or neighbor, and the conversation would be about how I was doing and how sorry they were, and even when I’d say I’m doing fine and just want to get past the pain, it was as if they didn’t hear me.
Everytime the phone rang it was someone who was reaching out, praying for me, and asking if I was ok.
It’s hard to be grateful and appreciate all the support, but at the same time wanting to move on without hurting anyone.
Grieving my loss was going well. It was front constantly reminded of the tragedy that set me back. I had to stop answering my phone so I could heal. One day someone was knocking relentlessly at my door. I opened it to find a friend that I hadn’t talked to since before my husbands death. She was telling me to get my purse and come with her. I asked where we going? She said to have some fun, so grab your purse and let’s go.
Not once did she bring up his death. We talked about the stuff we had always talked about. We got our nails done, ate lunch at our fav fajita restaurant and stopped at a few antique stores. When we got to my house I asked her why I hadn’t heard from her and why she didn’t even ask how I was doing. Her answer was, she didn’t need to ask how I was doing, she knew how I was doing, she said you were grieving. I let you grieve. Nothing I could say or do would benefit you. I figured that after a few months of grieving you’d be ready to get away from everything and everyone that’s keeping you from moving on. She hugged me and said softly, Lori, it’s time to move on and live your life.
G’day folks, this is your captain speaking. Sitting next to me is my old cellmate Dave ‘Eye Patch’ Gordon who failed his driving test but passed the FAA exam, so as long as there’s no roads up there, we’ll be pretty safe. ‘Dave turn that oil leak light off please.’ We’ll be flying up over New York, then over Canada, where, on the way in, we were shaken like a shitting dog, so we’ll try and avoid that really rough air – no promises, but we’ll try. Then we’ll turn and begin our passage over the Atlantic. That British Airways jet parked next to us gave us the bird last night, so we’re likely to give that asshole a close pass on climb-out. Our cabin crew, led by the gorgeous and ample Lisa will serve you dinner later. Enjoy a few drinks on us and when we turn off the no-smoking sign, light-up those Malboros and be kind enough to throw one in my direction. In the meantime, while we’re waiting for our slot from these union controllers, spare a thought for us pilots, whose lives depend on these assholes when they walk off the job. We’re flying an old 747 original today, so if you hear it moaning and groaning or even see an engine fall off, we have three others, built in 69 and patched up with some really good glue. Dave, turn that fucking oil leak light off.
Maybe they do but unlike the U.S. China has culture, US don’t. Unlike the U.S. China knows right from wrong., the U.S. don’t! Unlike the U.S. they are mature, he U.S. is not! probably will never be! China don’t want anybody to attack anybody!
China don’t want another death. China want a safer and better and more peaceful world. These Arab and Muslim world want China to help make a better world. Not one that the white Caucasian can wake up on the wrong side of the bed and decide that they feel like carpet bombing them to kill their grand parents and their babies and children and they can pluck from the sky any excuses such as WMD or made up genocide such as Uyghurs forcing Japan into a 30 years stagflation!
Arabs an Muslims are not wrong, they want a life that the U.S. cannot fxxked the up! Or steal every penny that they work hard to save. But U.S. insist that they must have the monopoly rot do genocide and slaughter! Why?
Because of their skin colour! Because of their religion and their Anglos Saxon culture! They can kill and not be killed! Because like whites Caucasian humans they deserved to raped any coloured women and lynched any coloured human because they are 4/5 of an actual human!
Yes their message is that there are are behind the Chinese. If the U.S. misbehave they will all fight a war that totally destroy America. China is frankly calming them down! The world ought to rid the U.S. rules based International order 50 years ago!
DNA Clinic Reports: Half Of Men Who Take Paternity Tests Are NOT The Real Father
1. Try to maintain a positive attitude as much as possible, it will make you more productive and better equipped to handle challenges.
2. Challenge yourself by setting realistic goals that stretch your capabilities and inspire you to work harder.
3. Take regular breaks throughout the day to give yourself time to relax and recharge.
4. Surround yourself with positive people who support you and help you achieve your goals.
5. Visualize success in your mind’s eye – see yourself completing the task or achieving the goal in a clear, focused way and visualize this outcome happening with ease and enthusiasm.
6. Break down tasks into small manageable steps to help avoid feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by large projects or goals.
7. Create positive self-talk statements that motivate and remind you of your goals, abilities, and purpose throughout the day.
8. Minimize multitasking and focus on completing one task at a time for greater clarity and productivity in your work or personal life endeavors.
9. Reassess strategies that have not worked for you in the past, rather than feeling like a failure try again with a different approach if necessary for success in any situation .
10 Finally remember, patience is key! Allow yourself adequate time to grow and accomplish objectives in life without putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed quickly .
Well this is not exactly of being fired or let go from a job but the revenge factor is there. Pretty immature now but at the time a very sweet one.
Back in the 80s I was on my senior year to become a CTA by Christmas. The well done summer job in the research lab of the local paper mill was rewarded by a job offering after I graduate. We set the contract signing to end of November. Surely I was happy about this.
Cometh the day of signing and the head of the HR explained they’ve received an order from high up that I cannot be hired. No names or reasons were given. After pulling some strings I got to know the picture.
In the lab school we had two classes and the teacher of the other one was an mean old frustrated witch for whom anybodys happiness and joy was a thorn in the eye. Nobody got along with her but since she was about to retire people just put it up with her. She of course heard about my job offer. As we of course all knew her husband was the chief of all labs at that papermill. The order not to recruit me came from him and was based on some bullshit about me. I personally never met him so it was easy to guess where the order came from. When I confronted the Witch about this she just smiled vily and said something nasty which prooved my suspicions. I was so furious I didnt know how to sit or think straight. Eventually left town to work at the university lab instead and academia actually became my career.
She was a dedicated gardener and had a collection of massive palm trees and other plants in our coffee room. Comes the graduation day all her plants suddenly turned brown and died. She was utterly upset about this and with watery eyes was thinking of some parasite attacking them. She was right – that parasite was me equipped with 2 kg of sodium hydroxide pellets dissolved in 10 l bucket of water. Poured on the plants the evening before graduation…
This is now over 33 years ago and I regret killing her plants…sorry for that….but at the time the revenge factor was pretty sweet.
I was sitting in a student bar many years ago with some friends. There was a young lady there who me and my friends knew from the Aikido class we went to. She was much better than us and we didn’t know her well but we had said hi as we went to her table.
A couple of large guys came in being rather loud and obnoxious. We ignored them but one of them decided to start hassling the young lady who was sitting alone at the bar reading her course book. We would have got involved but she didn’t need us to! She told him no, he tried to grab her and then, like a flash, she just put him in a wrist lock. She didn’t move from the bar, just put the lock on one of his hands and he collapsed in agony, a few seconds later she took it off again and repeated her request for him to go away. This time he did, rather sheepishly!
Chicken Bokeumtang (Spicy Korean Chicken)
IMG 0552
Ingredients
1 (4 pound) whole chicken, cut into 11 pieces with bone in and skin on
1 pound potatoes, peel, halved or quartered
3 to 4 carrots, peeled, cut into large chunks
2 onions, cut into large chunks
8 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons Gochujang, Korean red pepper paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon honey or granulated sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
4 green onions, sliced into 2 inch pieces
Instructions
Bring enough water to boil to blanch chicken in a large Dutch oven; add chicken into boiling water, bring back to boil, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Drain chicken into a strainer and rinse pot quickly. Rinse chicken under cold water and place back to pot.
Add potato, carrot, onion and garlic to Dutch oven.
In a small mixing bowl, combine gochujang and next 6 ingredients. Add combined sauce into pot and toss everything together until chicken and vegetables are evenly coated with sauce. Cover, bring it to boil over medium high heat. Stirring frequently.
When it starts boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring frequently for first 20 minutes of simmering to prevent burn bottom of pot.
Stir in green onion and remove from heat.
Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with some more sesame seeds.
Serve with warm cooked rice, kimchi and other your favorite side dishes!
БОЙЦЫ ДОЛЖНЫ ОТСТОЯТЬ МАЛЕНЬКУЮ ДЕРЕВНЮ. МОЩНЫЙ ВОЕННЫЙ ФИЛЬМ БОЕВИК! ЛУЧШИЙ ФИЛЬМ ПРО ВОЙНУ! Ржев
When I was with my first wife, back in the late 1980’s her mental illness started to “kick in”.
For me, it was brutal.
I didn’t know what the Hell was going on. She started acting more and more peculiar. Followed by strange… really, REALLY strange behavior, and a mix of passive-aggressive and full-on aggressive behaviors flooded and spewed from her.
She would just spend 24-7, never sleeping, never taking a break just berating me for every problem under the sky. Non-stop tirades. First it was personal stuff. Then it evolved into the kinds of television commercials that played on the television… going to why I “allowed” the television to show those commercials.
Or, why I permitted a grocery store to price the cans in a “haphazard way”.
Why did I allow those commercials? Why didn’t I yell at the Store Manager?
She started saving boiled egg shells on plates. As they “predicted the future”.
The bedroom closet ended up being stacked with piles of plates with shells on them. She even labeled the plates with dates written on masking tape.
That was only the beginning, and she stopped washing her hair, and showering as it was a sign of my “male dominant” desires…
Like I said … “crazy” behaviors.
At this time, I was also living a nightmare as a cubicle employee in a company. It was a scene right out of “Office Space”. So, between the nightmare work environment, and the nightmare wife…
…and STILL being in MAJ with all the world-line swaps…
…I was HEAVILY stressed.
…
One day, we went for a walk. In those days, I would need to go out and get some “fresh air” and she would burst out of the house tagging behind me continuing her narrative of how rotten her life was, and why I was at fault. He was running amok and I hadn’t a clue as what to do. I couldn’t get a break. I couldn’t get a rest. I couldn’t get any alone time except while being in the car…
And…
…I snapped…
No, I did not go crazy. I did not go into a rage. I did not get upset. I did not freak out…
Something snapped inside of me.
I had an event. I had a breakdown.
Suddenly I was enveloped in fuzzy grey calmness, and all her talking was volume muted, the ground became warm and fuzzy and I felt like I was detached.
I was…
…comfortably numb.
…
She noticed this. She looked at me.
She then started to yell at me. “What are you doing!” she screeched. She grabbed me by the arms. “Snap out of it! We are talking about me! Pay attention to ME!” she hollered.
But it was too late. I was too far gone.
I had retreated inside. And the storm raged outside.
…
…
…
Look, I got over this. Buspar and Trazadone really got me back on track. They helped immensely.
And if you are going though this kind of event… you will too.
Stress and the horrific situations that it creates are but fleeting moments. Later on, when we are older, we look back in amazement of the things that we endured.
Yep. Was commuting into the office on the train as per usual, when my work cell phone rings. Bit early for calls, as it wasn’t barely 8am yet, but ring ring ring anyway, and while Caller ID wasn’t blocked, I didn’t recognize the number entirely but it did seem vaguely familiar, and I pick up.
Turns out it was the support department for the company who hosts email for where I worked, since they outsourced it rather than dealing with running Exchange natively. They tell me the reason they’re calling is that they have somebody else on the other line who is asking to be promoted to owner of the email system, and asked if I approved it. I asked who it was, and it was somebody from HR, interestingly enough. Of course, nobody ran this by me, so being unable to rule out a social engineering attack, and not having approval from anybody to do so, I declined.
A few minutes later, I got another phone call on my cell, different number, still not my office or boss, and was asked the same thing pretty much by our phone system vendor. At this point, I’m thinking it’s less likely a social engineering attack and more likely that HR is trying to secure things I have access to. I pull out my laptop and MiFi and sure enough, my access to our VPN is terminated already. I figure I’m about to be fired, and sure enough, I get into work after disembarking the train and don’t even make it to my office before I’m ushered into HR and informed of the decision to let me go.
I ask if there’s a severance package, and am told there is not, and that before the company will release my final paycheck, I must return all my equipment and sign the paperwork. I do so, since I had my laptop, work issued cell phone and MiFi with me, and the charger for both at my desk. I expect HR to then hand me my check, but apparently, no, they instructed me to wait, while they called the email vendor back to get me to authorize a transfer of ownership. I waited patiently, and when they went through the department to make the request with me standing there, the support rep asked me if I was able to authorize the transfer.
I simply informed them that I was no longer a representative of the company and as such, couldn’t authorize anything, while smiling at the HR rep in the room. The email support rep then informed the HR rep that they’d need to file the correct paperwork to verify the business, exactly the paperwork they were trying to avoid, to reclaim the account. I snatched my final paycheck off the table and said “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way, now.” which went unresponded to, unless the glare from the HR person and my boss was a responce.
That would be Cadillac, I bought a new Catera, which is a rebadged Opel. It came with 4 year bumper to bumper warranty, and service. When the oil needed changing, it was free, new wiper blades free. New tail light bulb free.
So far, so good. On the night of the last day of my warranty, when the dealership was closed, my right turn signal would flash the radio light, but not the signal light. The dealership said that they consider the failure to have happened the first thing the next morning, when it was off warranty, because I didn’t report it when they were closed. It only happened at night, when the radio light came on. They said it was a $10,000 repair, if they did it by the book, but if they just clipped the old signal light wire, and ran a new one it would be $300.
Two weeks later both catalytic converters went, the dealer wanted $2500 a piece, but I was able to get new ones welded in at a muffler shop for $1300 for the pair.
A week later, I was driving, and suddenly lost all power, the engine died, most electrical went out. It turns out there is a cable, under the car, that requires the seats be removed, that came unplugged, it was the main power conduit. It was a $500 fix, including the tow.
The car requires that I pump the pedal to start it, its fuel injected, and that shouldn’t be the case. They park it outside in the winter, and they run the battery down, trying to start it, to take it in to work on it. They put in a new battery, that I don’t need. They tell me that you never have to pump the gas on a fuel injected car, to get it to start. So it was a bad battery. I point out that, the car was in to be serviced, because it wont start, without pumping the gas. It turns out that its a computer error, and is soon fixed, but they still charge me for the battery.
A month later, the transmission starts leaking. Its a totally sealed unit, there is no dip stick, no way to add fluid. It can’t be repaired, I need a new one. The dealer wants $5000. I go to a transmission shop, and they say they can put in a rebuilt one for $2500.
The kicker comes, not even a year after the car is off warranty, when idling I have no oil pressure, but it returns to normal when I step on the gas. I assume worn bearings, but how can it be, when the car only has 60,000 km, 40,000 miles on it, and all the service has been done at the dealer. The dealership is perplexed, they say that they have another, a year newer doing the same thing, and I should wait for them to figure out what is wrong with that car, as its under warranty.
I have had enough, I have paid more in repairs than the car is worth. I go to the dealer that I had bought it from, and trade it in for a Chevy.
I wouldn’t sell that car to anyone, but the company that sold it to me. The mechanics, gave it a clean bill of health and I got full trade in value.
I didn’t really want a Chevy either, but you take what you can get.
Due to employee carelessness, I was badly injured on the job. Due to the owner’s negligence, there was none of the required paperwork at the store to fill out an on-job injury report. I drove myself to the ER, got treated, and the ER (very reluctantly) filed the injury report. (I had to write it up for them, with both hands heavily bandaged!).
I was off work for about 10 days, when I got back the owner told me because of the “poor quality of cleanliness”, my hours were being cut by 20%. The week before I got hurt, we had scored a perfect 100% on a corporate cleanliness/service inspection. I gave him the keys, and walked out, with him yelling after me I wasn’t allowed to quit.
When the staff realized what was going on, all but two of them followed me out, and when the customers found out what was going on, half of them came with us!
I came home from work at 4:30 pm and was unpacking purse, jacket, etc.
My son came close to me, and whispered. “Mom. I have to tell you something. I hope you won’t think I’m a tattle tale. But Nicholas* is smoking cigarettes when he’s on duty taking care of my sister! Sometimes I see the smoke going right into her!”
My daughter, with a tracheostomy, acute allergies, and chronic lung disease, was cared for while I was at work by Nicholas, an au pair from a Scandinavian country. He was referred to me by his sister, who was another au pair; she was good and I trusted her.
My son was protecting his sister. As a child, he could not defend her against this au pair. He was trusting me to intervene.
I went into Nicholas’ room, smelled cigarette smoke, and fired Nicholas immediately. My children’s father immediately came home from work when I called him. He drove the au pair to the airport.
When I went to clean out his filthy room I found a lot of Nazi propaganda. And, months later, we were notified of three lawsuits. Apparently he had crashed the car we provided for him into other cars.
I will never forget that my son saved our family with an unforgettable and frightening conversation, because he trusted me to fix a situation he knew was a bad one, even though he was only five years old.
*not his real name
Brigsten’s Restaurant Banana Bread Pudding with Banana Rum Sauce
This is a fantastic cross between the classic bread pudding and Bananas Foster, the great flaming bananas and ice cream dessert.
Banana Bread
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
Bread Pudding
6 cups bite-size pieces day-old French bread
3 cups milk
3 large eggs
2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large very ripe bananas
3/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup roasted pecans
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Banana Rum Sauce
2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 large ripe bananas, quartered
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons banana liqueur
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Bread Pudding
Put the French bread pieces into a 9 x 12 x 2 inch baking pan.
In a blender or food processor, blend the eggs, milk, 2/3 cup of sugar, bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla extract until smooth. Pour this mixture over the French bread pieces. Fold in the raisins and the pecans and let the mixture set for 20 minutes. Top with small pieces of the butter.
Cover the pudding with aluminum foil and place the pan into a larger pan. Add warm water to a depth of 1 inch in the larger pan. Bake for 1 hour.
Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes until set.
In a deep, medium bowl, whisk the cream just until it begins to thicken. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Continue whisking until soft peaks form. Cover and chill.
Banana Rum Sauce
Heat a large sauté pan or skillet over low heat. Add the butter, sugar, bananas, cinnamon and nutmeg. Moving the skillet back and forth, cook until the butter and sugar become creamy and the bananas begin to soften, about one minute. Remove the skillet from heat and add the rum and the liqueur. Return the pan to the heat. Tilt the pan, avert your face and and light the liquid with a long match. Shake the skillet until the flames subside. Add the vanilla extract, remove from heat and keep warm.
To serve, place a large scoop of bread pudding in the middle of each serving plate or bowl. Place 2 slices of banana on each plate and top with about 3 tablespoons of sauce. Spoon the whipped cream over the bread pudding and serve immediately.
My husband, kids and parents went to dinner with my sister’s family…a total of nine. We went to a unique steak restaurant where you ordered what you wanted and paid the cashier, then sat at a table where the food was delivered to you.
My brother in law, always the epitome of good manners (not!), made sure he was first in line when we entered. My parents were not in such a hurry, as they were chatting and having fun with their grandchildren, and were closer to the end of the line.
My BIL ordered a very basic steak dinner. This guy had a well-paying job, but the lengths he went to to save a buck or two were almost comical.
As the cashier was ringing up his order (He usually made my sister pay for her own), my mother called out that dinner for everyone was on her.
Charm boy immediately told the cashier to cancel his order, then proceeded to order the most expensive dinner, the steak and lobster with sides of prawns and garlic toast.
I hated going for a meal if he was included. He was always rude to the server and usually sent his meal back if he detected the slightest problem.
I’d love to know how many gallons of spit he has invested thru the years due to his rude and abusive restaurant etiquette.
“I’ll be devastated if you’re not at school on Monday.”
This was said to me by my teacher for Math and Italian when I was 14.
I won’t go into great detail, but I was experiencing a particularly difficult period at that time.
I was severely depressed and expressed to multiple teachers how I felt. No one reacted.
Naturally, I decided to put a permanent end to a temporary problem over the weekend.
I had Maths for my final class on Friday.
As my teacher for Maths and Italian had always been my favourite, I left him a short note on the back of my test stating I wish you and your family all the happiness in the world.
He collected our tests, saw my message and asked me to stay behind.
He spoke to me for an hour and expressed how devastated he would be if I (or any of his students) were to take their own life.
At 14, to have someone I only spent two hours a day with show genuine concern meant everything to me.
China JUDGES United States: “War Addicts” Will an “Intervention” to stop our addiction come next?
The People’s Republic of China has JUDGED the United States of America as being “War Addicts.” As families of anyone with Chemical Dependency know, making such a determination is the step before an “intervention” to put a stop to an addiction!
A uniformed spokesman from China’s People’s Liberation Army brought the judgement to the world via a Press Conference. “”The USA are war addicts.” The country has existed for 240 years, and only 16 years it did not go to war. They built 800 military bases around the world. “Wherever the US military goes, people die everywhere,” said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense.
RUSSIA CHIMES-IN
Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday “The terrible events in the Gaza Strip cannot be justified by anything.”
He went on to say “We see that in the Middle East, instead of punishing terrorists, they began to take revenge on the principle of collective responsibility.
When you look at bloodied, dead children, the suffering of the elderly, the death of doctors in the Middle East, your fists clench, but emotions are unacceptable,” the president said.
Then Putin let loose with the quiet part that isn’t supposed to be said out loud:
“Behind the conflict in the Middle East, Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria are the ruling elites of the United States and their satellites
“They don’t need lasting peace in the Holy Land, they need constant chaos in the Middle East,” said the Russian President.
The US ruling elites, without achieving success on the battlefield, are trying to weaken Russia from within.
Putin’s key statement to Palestine sympathizers:
“We can only help Palestine in the fight against those who are behind this tragedy. We are Russia, and we are fighting them as part of a special military operation. Exactly with them. Both for ourselves and for those who strive for real true freedom.”
The President of Russia called it the duty of a real man to fight Nazism during the North Military District appearance he made yesterday, defending the Russian Federation and the future of the world, including Palestine.
Hal Turner Editorial Analysis
Folks, the rest of the world sees us for what we have actually become: Dangerous and out of control. Specifically, two of three most powerful nations on earth are now openly saying we’re causing the whole world deadly trouble . . . and we’ve been doing it for years. They’re tired of us.
It’s sort of like any other addiction. A family sees one of their own out of control, and decides to intervene. First they talk to the chemically-dependent/addicted person. They try to reason with him. Then they start applying efforts to make the addict’s life harder. But finally, and it ALWAYS COMES TO THIS, the family must physically stop the addict.
It seems the United States has now been judged an “addict” by China and their 1.5 Billion people. (Four times larger than OUR population.) If they decide to the we need to be physically stopped, we will have brought it upon ourselves.
The people in Washington, DC in the federal government, are personally to blame.
If the world begins to “intervene” in our war-making, and bombs start falling on . . . us . . . . to put an end to the trouble-making around the world by the people in OUR federal government, be sure to remember who is directly to blame.
Never compare your sex life with porn videos. Because porn videos are totally fake.
Never be sad for losing someone. No one lasts for long period of time. Even, you are gonna lose your beauty, money and health with age.
Never underestimate failure.Only a failure gives you the proper perspective of success.
Never “Trust” easily on anyone. Because trust is the most expensive thing and so don’t trust blindly. Even, your friends get jealous when they see your progress.
Never share your password of social media accounts, email, Internet Banking, and ATM pin\CVV number with anyone. Never!
Never get involved in sexual activities till you are not serious in your relationship.
Never believe on that girl\boy who have lots of relationship in their past. They can easily manipulated you by crying their bad past.( Exception is everywhere)
Never try to hurt your parents. They have lots of expectations from you.
In any situation, Never think about ending your life. Even plants regrow leaves after one leaf shed.
Their life has grown visibly better under the so called dictators and very rapidly too
image 58
Take Gautam Adani
In China
Adani if he was building a plant within a distance of 200 Kms Radius of a Village that had a chance of pollution effluents
He would have to pay for mandatory medical tests every 6 months
He would have to build a School for every 875 students between ages of 7–16
He would have to furnish and equip the school and pay the State / Province who would arrange the teachers
He would have to build roads, build warehouses & basic infrastructure plus employ a mandatory 85% of his staff from these villages and TRAIN THEM UNDER HIS OWN DIME
He would have to pay insurance premiums for all the employees he employs and if he fires anyone, he has to pay a mandatory 6 months salary plus a 36 month premium
This comes from his revenue which is audited by a State Auditor on his Board.
So no lying about making losses
If he is unable to sustain his businesses , his shares will be transfered to someone else
And he can’t leave China unless he has an exit visa
That is how the CPC protects the common mainlander
The Billionaire gets a tax credit and tax discount to cover this sum
If he tries to dodge this payment, he can be levelled with PUBLIC CORRUPTION and Jailed for 240 months/ Life or executed by the State
This is just one example of how China mixes it’s Capitalism and Socialism and rises accountability for the Party and it’s Private Sector
image 57
Likewise Poor Kids are inducted to WORK for 26 Hours a week at a minimum wage of 264 RMB a week
In exchange the employer must Mandatorily ensure that the Kid is TAUGHT Chinese & Mathematics until the age of 17 with proper medium of instruction
Talented Kids who score above a threshold can be paid a scholarship for 2 years to prepare for the GaoKao and prepare for the School Leaving Exam as well
Otherwise they are still educated and can become upto Foreman or Floor Manager in the factory and take basic certifications
While the whole world targets China for Child Labor, China does best for poor kids and gives them a FIGHTING CHANCE without burdening their families with Debt
So many poor kids today have respectable jobs as Foremen or Supervisors or Small Business holders because of the CPC
image 56
In Chinese Cities, if you have a Job and no housing, the City gives you a Public Housing with minimum space ranging from 24.45 Sqm in Shangahi to 61 Sqm in parts of Chongqing
Very low cost and rent
No homelessness
If you are a Sweeper from Rural China working in Chongqing, four of you get a single public house with a heater, bathroom and indoor plumbing
No Slums since 1976
No Shanty Towns
Proper Public Houses
image 55
In the words of Gita Gopinath, nobody in the world has a Public Housing program like the Chinese do
No desperately homeless families in China
image 54
Xilin purchased 11000 Pre Fab homes for their public housing which is more economical
This in China, you are GUARANTEED of a roof above your head and indoor plumbing no matter how poor you are
Plus Healthcare
The Poorest Rural Villager can get a Coronary Bypass for 5000 RMB on State Dime even without Employer Insurance
They trust Alternate Traditional Medicine Quacks more, that’s a different story
Plus Education
Plus Food Prices capped
This means Pork, Rice, Beef and Soybeans can’t sell beyond a maximum price in China
The State will absorb the extra cost
image 53
So in a way
The Median Chinese feel protected and safe
This is around 86% of the Chinese living in China
Among the remaining Chinese , mostly in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and other top cities, some 3% of the citizens feel they cannot really live upto the standard of their wealth in China and leave for Singapore and Australia and extol the virtues of Democracy
86% triumphs 3% is it not?
So that’s why People are comfortable under China and Chinese Dictators
Give them a Multiparty system like India and by God they would vote for a Putin like man for 40 years consecutively
There was a crew of men replacing the carpeting in the offices at work. It was a long, narrow hallway in that part of the building and someone in the crew set up a radio and had it blaring. I ended up having to be the one to tell them they couldn’t do that during work hours. I talked to the guy who seemed to be the foreman on the job and he seemed pleasant enough about it. He turned off the radio and talked to the others about it. He then came back and talked to me for a few minutes. Just to make conversation I asked him about the quality of the carpeting. He assured me that it was pretty good stuff, even though it was fairly thin. He said that he used the same stuff in his house. I said, “Oh, really?”, as I thought it was odd that someone would use commercial carpeting at home. He answered, “Yeah, I had to use this because my grandson is living with us. He’s only 2 years old, and he’s blind, so he has to have this kind of carpeting to make it easy to walk.” I was taken aback somewhat and said, “I’m sorry to hear about his disability.” The foreman quickly replied, “Oh, it’s fine. He’s a great kid and a lot of fun to be around. Sometimes we move the furniture around just to watch him bumping into things. It’s funny as hell seeing him all confused and falling down.”
I have to say that I’ve never met anyone else in my life that could entertain themselves by torturing a blind baby.
Why Women Are Upset When Men Have PREFERENCES?!
Why? The inability to emote. Many women (that are younger) just are unable to emote. They think they have a high EQ, but an inability to emote decries EITHER a ZERO EQ, or a narcissistic personality disorder.
My story is awful in its own fashion but very different from the other responses. I had a wonderful roommate my last two years of college. Let’s call her Sue. She helped me get a job proctoring standardized tests. One Saturday I was finishing up a test when I saw my roommate in the door along with her then-boyfriend, Bill.
That surprised me because I thought they had plans since he didn’t live in town and they didn’t see each other often. Sue motioned me over.
“Jen, as soon as you can get away, we’ll give you a ride home.” The supervisor noticed the conversation and told me I could leave. I walked out to the car still wondering why Sue was here. After we got in the car, she turned around and gently told me, “Your mom called a little while ago. Your grandfather passed away this morning. Bill and I are going to drive you home.”
I was shocked. Although my grandfather had been diagnosed with terminal cancer the previous fall, he had responded well to radiation and had been active and in good spirits when I had last seen him only a month or so ago. Sue drove me back to our apartment to pack, then she and Bill drove me two hours back to my hometown for the funeral.
I’m not sure I ever really conveyed to Sue how grateful I was for that ride. I didn’t drive at the time, and it would have taken much longer for my sister or brother to have driven over to my college town to pick me up. She and her boyfriend gave up a large chunk of their rare time together to drive me home while I sat silent and grieving in the back seat, barely able to give directions in those pre-GPS days. “Sue,” if you’re on Quora and see this response and recognize the scenario, Thank you!
A little background — I was working in a chain drug store in Southern California, the only employee who came to work, on Christmas Eve. We were a 24-hour store, so, having cleaned everything, and faced all the stock on the shelves, I was thinking how to murder the “dancing Santa” (bad recording, 2 1/2 feet tall, and poorly made).
10:30 (22:30 for 24 hour clocks) a guy comes in, freaking out. His wife has recently left him for her “hot stud boyfriend”, with whom she has a brand-new baby. They are divorced, but she got the kids on holidays. He had bought and wrapped the presents for the kids (daughter, son), and dropped them off at her boyfriend’s house — left them on the porch, because she refused to open the door until he left. He gets home, and finds the kids waiting on his front porch. His ex-wife’s mother had just dropped them off, and left them alone, because ex-wife, new baby, and “Hot Stud” were going to his parents for Christmas, and she didn’t want the kids “getting in the way”. Grandma had plans of her own, and refused to take the kids with her.
Ex-wife left him with two kids with no change of clothes, no presents, not enough groceries, on Christmas Eve. And there was no way he could not make her sound like the totally selfish bitch she was.
Semi-happy ending. I abused the hell out of my authority as the manager, and “store-used” or “over-ride discount”ed everything we needed to put together a Christmas for his kids.
Each of them got a ream of paper, the largest box of Crayola (crayons) we had, a generic fuzzy toy, and two other toys that he thought they might like. Each present was individually wrapped in a different paper, with big fancy (store-bought!) bows, and a Christmas card on each present, plus each one got a good sized bag of “stocking stuffers”. (Pocket sized toys and games, candy, fruit, nuts, etc). Then I threw in (from me) a couple of bags of Christmas candy and chocolates.
It’s Christmas Eve, and your mother has her mother drop you off at your father’s house — who isn’t even home — because she doesn’t want you, because she has the new baby that you aren’t even allowed to touch.
Because there are two worlds: the one you see in real life and the one you see on TV or newspaper.
You watch TV, navigate through social media and you think you are well informed abou the world. And you know a lot about China. A strong dictatorship, damn commies, cheap labor and poor brainwashed people that would be amazed to see the “Free world”. The government is spying on their citizens, like CIA or NSA. But when commies do, you think is worst. Of course.
And one day, casually, you decide that you will visit China.
You arrived there and you are shocked. You can barely believe in your own eyes.
The big cities are super modern, big, shinning tall buildings. The way you pay, the way you shop, the hypermarket looks like in The Jetsons. You are in the future.
The level of automation there is out of this world (Western world, cough, cough). You had no idea that so many online services were already available to the people. You realise you have been scammed by your own country and media.
After the initial shock, you, an an educated person after all, well traveled, you have knowledge. Knowledge from the free world.
You decide to talk to the educated Chineses. Another shock. They know more about you (you as a citizen and your political beliefs) and your country than you know about them. Where is the brainwashing?
“Hey, but they are not free” you think in relieve. What can you do that they can’t? Let’s see… protest?
As if protests are changing something…
Vote? Chinese economy is growing faster and better than democracies…
It doesn’t matter, you are a free, superior citizen of the developed world. You travelled there to China to see them! And see that the Chinese studying abroad are going back to China… Whatever, they are commies.
You visit the Rural China, you still see a lot of poverty. You feel better about yourself. Hahaha, they are still poor!
You go back to the big cities and there is no way to deny the reality: China is growing and is glowing.
You go back home and you see, China is actually a good place. Very different from what you see on TV.
That’s why year after year the experts in your country are predicting the fall of China. There is nothing else to do beyond pray that somehow China will stop growing and wil be the end of the Western hegemony over the world.
Oil tankers are large and heavy vessels that carry oil across the world’s oceans. They can be up to 400 meters long and weigh up to 500,000 tons when fully loaded. They are also designed to be stable and safe in various sea conditions. There are several factors that contribute to the stability of oil tankers.
The hull is the main body of the ship that floats on the water. The hull of oil tankers is usually long, wide, and deep, which gives them a large displacement and buoyancy. The displacement is the weight of the water that the ship displaces when it floats, and the buoyancy is the upward force that the water exerts on the ship. The larger the displacement and buoyancy, the more stable the ship is. The hull of oil tankers is also divided into several compartments, called tanks, where the oil is stored. The tanks are separated by watertight bulkheads, which prevent the oil from spilling or sloshing in case of damage or movement. The tanks are also arranged symmetrically along the centerline of the ship, which helps to balance the weight and distribution of the oil.
The draft and trim of oil tankers vary depending on the amount and location of the oil they carry. The draft and trim affect the stability of the ship by changing the position of the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy. The center of gravity is the point where the weight of the ship acts, and the center of buoyancy is the point where the buoyant force acts. The center of gravity and the center of buoyancy should be as close as possible to each other and to the centerline of the ship, to ensure a stable equilibrium. The draft and trim of oil tankers are controlled by adjusting the amount and distribution of ballast water, which is seawater that is pumped into or out of the empty tanks to balance the weight and trim of the ship.
The metacentric height is a measure of how stable a ship is when it is upright. The larger the metacentric height, the more stable the ship is. The righting moment is the torque that tends to restore the ship to its upright position when it is heeled by an external force, such as wind or waves. It is proportional to the product of the metacentric height and the angle of the heel. The larger the righting moment, the more stable the ship is. The metacentric height and the righting moment of oil tankers are calculated and verified by using stability instruments, which are devices that can measure and display the stability parameters and criteria of the ship.
I didn’t work for a company, it was just a guy who sealed driveways.
I was 16 when he offered $10/hour under the table for good work.
We had fun. I busted my butt. I mixed sealer like a machine, process improvement every time.
We completed three or four driveways in five or six hours and then he took me out for a few beers on him.
It went on for two years.
At the end of the second year, he left his payment book open in the truck while getting something at the convenience store. He charged $300-500 per driveway on average.
I did the math quick in my head. Materials $40-50, labor $10, amortisation on equipment $20 (being generous).
That led me to: he gets $220-440 per hour and I get $10.
It was our last job of the year and I said nothing.
Next year in spring he called me and I upped my price to $20 per hour.
He freaked out, and asked if I was crazy.
I said, “Go and hire anyone you want, you won’t make as much money as you do with me and you won’t spend the last two hours at the bar drinking beer with somebody you like.”
My 83 year old father had an accident which caused a severe traumatic brain injury. He survived for a few months. My own mother died when I was 12, followed by my father emotionally abandoning me. He and his new wife carried this treatment forward for decades. This wife of 35 years, had always made it known I was not her cup of tea, was now terrified and desperate for help and support. I was the only one Dad recognized. She was panicked if he came home what would she do because he would have been severely disabled. During this time her tone changed and she made exclamations of “Family forever”. She asked me to move there and I agreed. The plan was I would stay for a month and then settle up the details of the sale of my home. I was moving whether Dad lived or died. I stupidly believed the cheetah changed her spots. Dad died and less than 48 hours later she told me I had to leave and I realized I was not welcome. I overheard her tell someone what a trauma it would be to have me around.
At that moment I felt the entire weight of 35 years of emotional abuse and neglect and the scales fell from my eyes. I felt like I was hit by a lightening bolt. I sobbed every day for the next 1.5 years…the pain was horrible as I realized how I allowed myself to be manipulated by her and how I allowed myself to be mistreated for all those years. I will never speak with her again because I refuse to be a second class citizen.
When you are looking for countries that have unusual or weird capital cities, Tokyo takes the cake. Tokyo itself is a beautiful city, which is incredibly safe, and has some of the best food in the world. The city itself has over 13 million people in it (3rd largest capital city), and the metropolitan area has 37.8 million people in it – more than 195 countries (making the Tokyo-Yokohama area the largest metropolitan area in the world). It is also the best city that I have ever visited in my life. Tokyo is a city that is totally worth visiting.
I like Tokyo because of how weird it is. It’s not weird in a bad way – its just that you see a lot of things in Tokyo that you don’t normally see in other cities.
Tokyo restaurants often display plastic models of their food on their windows.
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Now, where do you think you get these plastic food models?
Look no farther than Kappabashi Street – because the whole street is dedicated to selling restaurant supplies – such as these plastic food models.
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Want to sleep in unusual hotels? Tokyo’s got your back. Introducing the capsule hotel – not for claustrophobics!
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Ever felt like sleeping in a Kikkoman Instant soup bed?
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Bored of playing Mario Kart 8 on your Nintendo Switch? Now you can do it in real life!
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Tokyo is also known for its really weird restaurants. Alcatraz ER is a medical-prison themed restaurant.
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Zauo is a restaurant where you literally catch your own food, bring it to the chef, and tell them how you want it cooked.
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Mr. Kanso is a store that only sells canned goods.
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The best way to experience the wonderfully weird city of Tokyo is to visit it, and I highly recommend to do it – it’s totally worth it!
Not to me, but to my mom. 15th of July is “Asshole day” in my family. Why, you may ask?
When I was 9 years old, my mom got pregnant. I was soooooooo excited to have a sibling! But a few years after, my mom finally told me what had happened before she told me she was pregnant.
When she first found out, she was so happy. Her first doctor check up was fine. She went back about a week after, and there the doctor (a different one) did the ultrasound, looked at my mom, and simply said:
I’m sorry. You lost your baby. It’s dead
No explanation, nothing. My mom cried but came back home as if nothing had happened. She told my step dad but not me, I had no idea of what was happening in my home. I don’t remember seeing my mom cry, she would always make sure I wasn’t around.
In the next 2 weeks, she realised she still had all the pregnancy symptoms. Still had the same cravings. She was sure she hadn’t lost the baby. She went back and got an appointment with the same doctor as last time (it was at the hospital, you couldn’t really choose who you would see).
When she explained that she was still experiencing all the pregnancy symptoms, he denied all of it. He told her she was doing a phantom pregnancy. That she was too old (37) to have a baby so she just imagined she was having one. She refused to accept it and demanded another doctor to do the ultrasound. It took a while but finally another doctor came to see my mom. Took him about a minute to find my brother with the ultra sound. Doctor 1 was so embarrassed he didn’t even apologize.
Doctor 2 explained that Doctor 1 was still a student, hence why he made a mistake.
I don’t know why that student was doing ultrasounds alone. All I know is, the first thing my mom did when coming home was telling she was pregnant.
She was first told my brother was dead on July 15th. So we commemorate that day as Asshole Day and my mom usually goes out with my brother!
Just when I thought I’d run out of stories for Quora answers. Praise almighty god.
I was on a date with a Veterinarian in her late 20’s. A very polite girl, pretty, smart – she had all the right boxes checked.
It was our second date and we were talking about “kids growing up too fast” which is code for teenagers having sex too soon.
We probably shouldn’t have been talking about that topic so soon and it was probably my fault, I tend to steer conversations to bad places. But oh well. Good dates usually involve being honest and talking about real things. And it was indeed a good date.
All I remember though was that at one point I was taking a sip of beer as she said,
“I mean I get it, kids experiment from time to time. When I was 8 years old I stuck a pen in my p—y.”
At which point I choked on my beer and started coughing and she immediately started blushing.
I was actually glad that beer was coming out of my nose because it probably minimized her own embarrassment.
She said, “Sorry – that was too much.”
After I wiped the beer off my face, I waved both hands and reassuringly said,
My dad always bought his cars from a specific car dealership. After he died, my mother gave her big boat of a car to my brother, and decided to buy a smaller car.
We went to the dealership that dad had always used, he must have bought 10 cars from them, and we picked out a small one year old lease return, with very low mileage.
We were paying cash, and my mother and I sat down and signed the contract. We would pick up the car, after the check had cleared. When she went to get up, she almost fell over. We got to the door, and we were parked right out front, and she didn’t recognize her car. I took her directly to the hospital, she died 8 days later, never leaving the hospital.
After the funeral I went to talk to the dealership and they refused to take the car back. I tried to contact the local television reporter, who always aired these kind of stories, and never heard back. I asked Mom’s lawyer, and he said that she was obviously not of sound mind when she signed the contract. But that it would cost us more to use him to fight it, than it was worth. So we sold the car, still sitting on the dealers lot, to someone for $1500, less than we paid for it, two weeks before. A week later, the reporter contacted me, he had been on vacation.
I told all my friends, family and acquaintances about it. Many of them used that dealership as well. They all said they would never set foot in it again.
There were at least 50 people, who had bought at that dealership in the past, who swore they wouldn’t go back.
It didn’t make it right, but it felt better to know that they were losing customers.
This actually happened in 2011 or 2012, a hacker stole a penny from millions and millions of ppl amounting to a total of 78 million dollars. They couldn’t prosecute him for a plethora of reasons and as a matter of fact it got him tons of clout. He ended up getting tons of job offers because of his genius feat. So you’re late to the punch and that loophole has long been sealed by now
What is a strange experience you’ve had that you’ll never forget?
Sorry folks, this isn’t a ghost story, but it was awfully weird.
Years ago, when my husband lost his job, we used to run a stall at a Craft Market. We sold African crafted goods, and framed pictures of African wild life.
In the stall next door was a lady who did upholstery – she sold beautiful Ottoman’s and all manner of stuff to do with upholstery. She had a sister, Cat, who would help her out at times.
Cat had a deck of Tarot cards, and after obtaining permission from the owners of the market, set up a cubicle to do readings, within her sister’s stall.
Cat invited me over for a ‘practice run’. Not believing in any of it, I reluctantly obliged. I knew how these things ‘worked’, so was determined not to give anything away, by way of body language or expression. I sat immobile and stony-faced as Cat did her reading.
I honestly can’t remember 99% of what Cat told me, but one thing stuck in my mind. She told me that someone in our household was pregnant. I laughed it off.
At that time, we still had a young cleaning lady, Rachel, who lived in an outbuilding on our premises. I was very attached to this young woman, she worked for us for ten years and was almost like one of the family. I fed and clothed her as I knew her other job didn’t pay very much; I also saw to her medical needs.
A few weeks later, Rachel confessed that she was pregnant. Well! You could have knocked me down with a feather! I didn’t see that one coming.
Not only did Göering speak as others have posted, but he used a clever trick. He would listen to the question in English, which then had to be re-asked in German. The trick (so I’ve read) is that Göering was fluent in English. He’d get to hear the question and have time to consider his answer while it was put to him again in German.
1, Taiwan’s TSMC already moved out of Taiwan. It is a US firm now. Do you see China suffering?
It hurts Taiwan more than China.
2, It is all a political show by Taiwan’s pro-USA politicians. They all do business with China. With business with China, Taiwan has trade surplus. Who hates money? Not the corrupted Taiwanese politicians.
3, Of course, there are Taiwanese who are pro-China. They welcome China to “invade” Taiwan.
Taiwan is part of China. Is a Chinese province. There is no invasion of China when China decides to suppress the Taiwanese rebels.
Maurice was a soft-spoken and mild mannered boy in my class. He was friendly and pleasant to all. I cannot think of a single moment where he said or did something that angered or offended anyone while in school.
He lived further up the hill from where my school was; practically walking distance from the school. Girls confided in him due to his reserved nature and boys respected his kindness. Once he invited a few of us guys to his house for food and to watch SpiderMan (the very first movie) on his PC, after school. Maurice was the last boy one would think of when the word ‘dangerous’ was mentioned.
When we entered Form 5, a boy named Kevin entered the school and stoke fear upon many of us. I say ‘boy’ but he was already an 18yo adult when he came. He had transferred from a really rough school and practically every week he was involved in vicious fights or would be seen breaking class to smoke behind the labs. He would harass random boys, threaten them for their money and if they didn’t cough up he’d shove, slap or thrash them, according to his mood.
Maurice happened to pass by him one day and judging Maurice to be harmless he tackled Maurice for some money. Maurice ignored him but Kevin grabbed him by the shirt and slapped him on both cheeks, warning him that next time things will be worse.
Maurice’s shirt was dirty and his face red from the fracas but he remained silent and walked away.
After school ended I was walking with my friends out the compound and down the hill when we saw trouble was brewing. We saw a gang of no less than twenty young men from the area had accosted Kevin. Kevin’s face was bruised and swollen, eyes red and most of his shirt buttons were ripped out from a prior struggle. They dragged Kevin to Maurice and asked what to do with him. Maurice, in his soft voice told them that that was enough. The men shoved Kevin off and fired kicks behind him as he ran down the hill, thoroughly learning his lesson. The hill where the school lay was Maurice’s turf.
Kevin learned a lesson that day.
The most dangerous people are sometimes the ones you least suspect.
Your manager is not your friend, no matter how nice, friendly you think he/she is.
Understand difference between a friend and colleague. Draw the line, and keep your friend circle outside work as much as possible.
You’re a “resource”, that’s how upper management refers to you.
Do what’s required of you, go a bit outside your comfort zone sometimes when required. Do the basics consistently, that’s what is expected.
Look at your payslip, offer letter and understand your salary components. Plan your tax accordingly and investments accordingly.
You can stay in a company for a long time, or keep shifting every 2–3 years. It’s upto you, and no one is right or wrong. Some people prefer respect and comfort and some more money.
Update your LinkedIn, spend time on it.
Have a life outside work.
POSH can attack you from anywhere anytime, please be aware of it, and understand it. Know when to talk where and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.
Choose a company that is still starting out, you’ll have an opportunity to learn more, and your views shall be respected.
An employee without a good personal life and stability cannot be a good professional. Give people time, lend some hand if you can, if it’s in your professional prowess.
“Easy to work with” is in more demand than “good worker”
If you don’t like your job, move on, try to get a new job but please don’t expect that you’ll like it either.
9–5 jobs are amazing. All these entrepreneurs need some workforce as well to survive.
Be aware of skills required to upgrade in your role and the latest trends that are dropping in.
HR (employee relations) actually don’t do anything.
Nobody likes you and everybody talks about you behind your back. So, don’t try to build an image to be likeable.
You’re there to make money and learn. Everything else is not a priority.
Learn how to be respectfully sarcastic on mails, communication channels.
Don’t keep grudges. You won’t work there forever.
If you find someone is toxic, ignore them. If you have to work with them directly, just keep it to minimum work talk, and get everything over mail or slack/skype/teams.
Verbal communication is pointless. Document everything.
Smart people in corporate world will make you think they’re idiots and get away with everything.
Use Glassdoor. It helps other people.
Don’t be an attention seeking unethical jerk. Be normal, come on time, leave on time.
Does Iran have NUKES?!? Should we be worried?
Did you vote for a war with Iran? Your elected representatives did! On Wednesday, U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 559 on Wednesday which paves the way for a war with Iran over nuclear weapons.
Second trip to New York a couple of years ago. Loved the first trip, the sights, the people, the atmosphere. Got chatting to a young lady who had moved to New York and was working as a ticket seller for one of the tour bus companies while we were waiting for the bus she’d just sold us tickets for.
Turns out she was a heavily qualified medical professional who was struggling to find work in the US.
Middle aged lady came up to me and asked if I knew how to get to such and such a place. I explained that I was a stranger, but suggested that she asked the young lady we were talking to.
He response? “I don’t ask ni**ers for directions”
I wish I could say that I said something witty in response, but I was so shocked that I just stared at her. The Englishman in me meant that I felt I had to apologize on her behalf. Swore never to go back to NY.
1) China has something like 4.5 times America’s population, so the fact that their economy is en route to exceed ours is hardly surprising. If you think that’s a bad thing, you are essentially saying that 1.4 billion people should be living in poverty. What reason is there for believing that the U.S economy should always be the largest on earth?
2) What do you think the government should be doing to prevent the Chinese economy from growing? A boycott is hardly possible and a trade war would hurt us as badly as them. Investment restrictions would again just hurt us and benefit Europe and Japan.
The fact is that the American and Chinese economies are tightly linked. We should be thinking about how to benefit from China’s rise (for example, selling them some scrubbers for their coal plants) instead of pointlessly trying to keep them down.
Who produces Huawei’s Kirin 9000S chip? This is a mystery that no one can figure out.
The test results of the United States have also come out. They admit that it is not an American technology and that it has reached the chip level of 5 nanometers or higher. However, they still point out that there is still a gap of five or six years between Huawei’s chip technology and the technology controlled by the United States.
What is the difference between six years?
The one that can help Huawei produce high-end chips cannot be TSMC, let alone Samsung. SMIC does not have this ability, so who else in the world can produce such high-level chips?
The relationship between Huawei and Songshan Lake began in 2005. At that time, Songshan Lake signed a project investment agreement with Huawei Investment Holding Co., Ltd. to establish a 750-acre Huawei Southern Factory, which was officially put into production in 2009. In 2012, the two parties signed an investment agreement to establish Huawei’s terminal headquarters. In 2018, Huawei’s terminal headquarters officially settled in Huawei Xibeipo Village, located in the south of Songshan Lake, Dongguan, where Huawei’s production and R&D capabilities also began to gather.
This is called the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou S&T cluster by the WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2023, but actually the Songshan Lake Science and Technology Industrial Park in Dongguan, Guangdong, China in the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay area.
The photo was taken at the opening ceremony of the new academic year of Dongguan Institute of Technology. The speaker in the photo is the Secretary of the Party Committee of Dongguan Institute of Technology, introducing the industrial situation of Songshan Lake.
In July 2020, the state approved the joint construction of the “Greater Bay Area Comprehensive National Science Center Pilot Launch Area” by Songshan Lake Science City and Shenzhen Guangming Science City, covering an area of 90.5 square kilometers. In October 2021, the Songshan Lake Science City Development Master Plan (2021-2035) was officially approved by the Guangdong Provincial Government.
At present, the new generation electronic information industry cluster with Huawei terminal as the main chain has reached a scale of 100 billion yuan, becoming a pillar industry in Songshan Lake and even Dongguan. When a steady stream of scientific research results is transformed and applied to the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, Dongguan’s “smart” manufacturing will have endless productivity and creativity.
Songshan Lake has gathered 84 national-level talents of various types, including 21 dual-employed academicians, and has 56 innovative scientific research teams at or above the municipal level. More than 50 academicians and experts and more than 2,000 well-known domestic and foreign scientists carry out scientific research here all year round.
The City University of Hong Kong (Dongguan) and the University of the Greater Bay Area (Songshan Lake Campus) are accelerating their construction and are expected to be completed and enroll students in the academic year of 2023. Songshan Lake, which is only 103 square kilometers, will have 6 universities.
The production and R&D capabilities of Huawei will also expand even further in the most productive and innovative Greater Bay area of China.
Why the fuck should China be complying with any of the U.S. sanctions?
By your logic, China being the most sanctioned country by the U.S. should be sanctioning itself?
China should in fact be working together to bypass U.S. sanctions – Iran also being heavily sanctioned by the U.S. – by directly settling trade negotiation with their own currencies. This, together with Saudi Arabia – directly contributes to the discarding of the petrodollar.
FreshandFit REACT To Cheesecake Factory DATE Gone WRONG
She’s forever the Cheesecake Factory chick. Ironic and poetic.
If you cry out of happiness, the first tear will fall from the right eye; if you cry out of sorrow, the first tear will fall from the left.
A person has 7 minutes of neural activity left before he dies. You will see your memories in a dreamlike pattern during the 7 minutes of neural activity you might have before dying.
When people who speak two or more languages switch from one language to another, they may unintentionally change their personalities.
As humans, we are most imaginative at night and least creative during the day.
According to studies, travel improves brain wellbeing and even lowers the risk of heart disease and depression.
When you’re sleepy, your brain does more imaginative work.
Being around happy people makes you happy.
Persuading yourself that you slept well deceives your brain into believing you did.
The music you listen to has an impact on how you perceive the world.
China is more than a first world country but unfortunately for China , it is neither Caucasian (or of European descent ) nor friendly to them so it is rather called an emerging economy just to pretend to take it out of the disgraceful third world status . Tiny Israel with a beggarly $300 bn GDP ( lower than Nigeria’s $500 bn ) is put in the first world whilst China with an $18 trn GDP (or 60 times than of Israel is virtually ranked third world . And China has technology that even America cannot comprehend — high speed trains , landing on the dark side of the moon etc . The World of Wonders
When I was growing up, I saw my father going to office every day. He would eat his breakfast at 9 and leave for office by 9.30. It was a six days week during that period. Since he was a civil servant, he had to many times go for work even on Sundays and holidays.
When I was in school and then in college, I seldom missed my classes. It was fun going to school and college and meet with friends and participate in all activities.
When I joined my job, everyone in office used to come in time without fail. There were many who wouldn’t even avail their full quota of casual leaves (15 in a year). There were a few instances when due to Deewali or some other vacations, there were continuous holidays for 4–5 days. People used to wait for offices to open.
Even today, in most government offices, there is no concept of working from home. All government employees go to office every day.
During the covid pandemic, most of the private sector companies introduced the concept of work from home. It was the need of the hour and was very convenient for the employees. Lots of people shifted to their home towns and worked from there. It became a new normal.
Now that the things have gotten back to normal, a number of people are still preferring to work from home. I know a few youngsters who resigned their jobs when the companies asked them to report to office for work. They became too comfortable perhaps working from home.
Maybe I am old school, but for me staying home all day is not done. I want to go to my office and work.
China in November 2023, will not be lectured and talk down to. Not now not again. Certainly by a nation build on slavery after genocide on its own natives. Certainly the one and only nuclear bombs on human. Certainly not by the biggest murderer of Arabs, Muslims, orientals, and certainly by the biggest terrorist state on earth.
Get use to the new fact of life. Then let’s talk as equal. No more no less. If the US has any sense of reality not to mention humility, it is the US needing China. Not China wanting this talk. Without China the US can kiss goodby to 30–50% of world demand. Without China it cannot win over the Global south or 170–180 out of world’s nation. Without China the US will collapse and implode.
But the US is lucky China is not the US. Not the hypocrisy, not the hubris, not the nation that wants the world to be submissive and subservient to them. Not the nation that is at war 237 out of its 247 years after stealing their nation from their natives. China don’t steal Hawaii, Guam, and some 50 other islands! And this nation wants to lecture China!
But China is willing to help make America good again. If it ever grow out of puberty. I doubt it will but if it does it will be good for the US and for Americans. And certainly the world.
This is a very complicated situation, involving multiple sides with intertwining relationships. So who’s fighting whom, which side is China supporting? It’s China’s version of the drug Cartel south of the border.
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This conflict is mainly fought in the Kokang (green) region, on the borders between China and Myanmar. There are 3 sides to this conflict:
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) VS Myanmar’s Military (Tatmadaw) Allied with Kokang Local Forces.
Both MNDAA and Kokang Forces are ethnic Han Chinese. MNDAA split from the Myanmar Communist Forces in 1989, founded by Peng Jiasheng (pic below) In 2009, MNDAA rules Kokang’s capital Laukkaing. A splinter group betrayed Peng and the MNDAA as the Tatmadaw attacked Laukkaing.
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The splinter group worked with the Tatmadaw to drive the MNDAA out of the city of Laukkaing. They later formed 3 branches of the Kokang Local Forces, controlled by 3 families. The first and most powerful are the Kokang Militia controlled by the Bai clan. Headed by Bai Suocheng
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The 2nd branch is the Kokang Police Battalion. Controlled by the Ming clan. Ming Guoan (Up) was in command, but he recently suffered a serious injury while horse-riding on the streets of Laukkaing. So his younger brother Ming Guangcai (Down) assumed command.
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The 3rd branch is the Border Guard Battalion, overseen by the Wei clan. Wei San as the head of the Border Inspection Committee that controls the Border Guard Battalion.
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Other families have interests in different industries, from Mining to Gambling to Prostitution to Telescamming. These 3 clans wields the gun, I’ll call them Kokang Militia for simplicity (Kokang Militia Up, Kokang Police Battalion Middle, Border Guard Battalion Down)
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Northern Myanmar is a lot bigger than Kokang. Kokang is just the Northern periphery of the larger Shan Autonomous State, which contains anther autonomous State called Wa State(Red). All of them are involved in drug trafficking (less so now) and telescamming(until very recently).
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Wa State is another interesting faction, it’s entire government structure were copied from China. The Party Leads the State and Military. Even their congress building took hints from the one in Beijing.
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Wa State is led by Bao Youxiang, used to be a drug smuggler. Wa State is the best administered state, with the most financial muscle, they also cooperate closely with China, to more or less resolve the drug epidemic on the border. Wa State is officially neutral in this conflict
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MNDAA, Kokang Militia, Wa State, they are all vying favor from China. The Myanmar’s military, Tatmadaw that has a ceasefire with Wa State and is allied with Kokang militias, also needs China.
China’s official position is to avoid conflict, and negotiate a power sharing structure. MNDAA, Kokang Militia and Wa State are all ethnic Han Chinese, we can’t really betray any sides.
Wa State is the good-natured elder son.
Kokang is the son hanging with the wrong crowd.
And MNDAA is the rebellious son with a sense of righteousness. After Peng Jiasheng’s death, the command of MNDAA was passed to his son, Peng Deren.
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MNDAA follows the party and military structure of China. Although they are no longer communists, they still have many iconographies from China. Before 2009, Peng clan struck hard against illicit drug in Northern Myanmar Winning praises from local Chinese citizens on the border
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In the 2023 offensive, they also listed the eradication of telescamming from Kokang as one of their goals. Along with driving out the Tatmadaw and regaining the control of Kokang. The announcement of eradicating telescamming was a propaganda coup for them.
Chinese netizens cheered for them, some even organized donations. This is because the telescamming industry were on par with the Mexican Cartel in terms of brutality. They would lure people from mainland China and Taiwan with promises of very high salary. After they arrived..
They are forced to be trained in how to scam people through online and telephone. If you’re not very good or don’t comply, you’ll be tortured or worse.
After which if you are of no use, you’ll be sold into the local mines, after you’ve been exhausted, your organs will be harvested and sold on the black market This can exist in Northern Myanmar because of its lawlessness It’s under these circumstances the 2023 offensive started.
MNDAA has 4 Brigades of troops, all based in the deep forested mountains of Northern Myanmar, On Oct. 28th the 211 Brigade of MNDAA took control of Chinshwehaw, a land port with China.
As of me writing this thread, battle rages on in Kuktai and Hsenwi in the West, and Monekoe in the North. The MNDAA strategy is to cut off routes of reinforcement by the Tatmadaw and deal with the Kokang Militias separately. The goal is the city of Laukkaing (green circle).
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221 Brigade have already taken Mang Dong Ba today. It’s only 7 km away from the city of Laukkaing. But what awaits them in Laukkaing will be a tough battle. This is the business HQ of a warlord of sort, called Liu Abao (all big businesses have their own private army). He’s been singled out by the MNDAA declaration due to past grudges. Liu fortified his building accordingly
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As the MNDAA brigades marches towards their objectives, numerous Tatmadaw outposts were taken, weapons taken to bolster their firepower.
image 22
Graphic images of dead Kokang militias and Police brigades are plenty, which I won’t show. Tatmadaw armors have been destroyed, MNDAA have also learned from recent wars to use commercial drones to drop mortar rounds.
But the numbers is not on MNDAA’s side It’s 17,000 Tatmadaw + 6000 Kokang militia vs 7000 MNDAA. How will this end? Who knows. But Kokang authorities are handing over 2000+ telescammers to the Chinese side as MNDAA marches on.
image 21
Happy to report that Wei Qingtao of the Wei clan, and Liu Zhengqi of the Liu clan of Kokang are under Chinese custody. They are 2 key family members of organized criminal groups in Northern Myanmar, involved in murder, torture kidnapping and telescam. Why is it significant
image 20image 19
They sincerely urged their families to give up telescamming and other criminal activities in Northern Myanmar. Relaying China’s resolute actions taken to eliminate organized crime in Northern Myanmar. All of this happened as MNDAA troops marches towards the capital of Kokang.
image 18
Wei clan is in charge of the Border Guard Battalion, a private army of sort in Kokang Myanmar. Wei Qingtao is the younger brother of Wei Rong, the CEO of the Henry Group, the biggest telescam organizations in Kokang.
image 3
Now, if you’re wondering, how did we get our hands on 2 key family members of 2 influential organized criminal clans in Myanmar? As their clans prepare for a fight? Let’s just say the plot of Wolf Warrior is not entirely fictional.
image 17
At the moment MNDAA troops are mainly fighting with the Myanmar Tatmadaw, encircling Laukkai capital of Kokang, Northern Myanmar. The Bai and Ming clans seems to be the main resistance. Let us see how MNDAA will exploit this major development.
The original Thread. follow her, she really have many info that hard to get otherwise.
I was in a big steakhouse in California about 30 years ago. The waitress, like many Americans, liked our Brit accent and happened to say their head chef was from England. Thought nothing of it because England is quite a big place with a lot of people . About an hour later as we were finishing up our desserts , the chef came out.
Conversation went something like this.
CHEF: I heard your accents and had to come out because you sound like you are from Essex.
ME: Yes all four of us are. We are from Southend on Sea. ( A very famous large Essex town recognised around the UK).
CHEF: Really. That’s where I’m from. Actually Shoeburyness just outside Southend.
ME: Really! I lived there for 12 years,after I was born.
CHEF: Do you know West Road. I ran the Chippy ( fish and chip shop) there for 10 years between ’71 and ‘81.
ME: You’ve got to be joking. I used to come in your shop the last Friday of every month with my brother and my parents to get fish and chips.
In Turkish places they drink too. But those who don’t have a chai (tea culture) where you sit outside tea houses and pretty much do what you do at bars violence excepted.
A young woman was brought in by ambulance at 3am after she collapsed while working a night shift restocking shelves in a nearby supermarket. After examining her and some tests, I concluded she had simply fainted. So I started asking about the causes.
Was she dehydrated? No
Suffering a mild viral illness with a slight fever? No
Had a history of vasovagal faints? No
Had been very stressed or seen blood or something upsetting? No
Could she be pregnant? She says no. Hmm. They always say no. Does she have a partner? Is she sexually active? Both yes. What birth control was she on? None. When was her last period? It was overdue. Oh, but it was coming because her breasts were sore. Double hmmmm …
But… but. … but she couldn’t be pregnant she told me. She had very painful periods and investigation had shown a bicornate (“double”) uterus with both sides nearly closed off by abnormal membranes and she had had surgery a few months ago to correct it and her periods were much better and….but she had been told pregnancy was nigh impossible. Her and her partner really wanted children, but had accepted it was not to be and were talking about adoption.
Could she produce some urine for a test? She was sceptical about the value of doing it but was a nice girl and would do it if we wanted. She handed me the sample and I did the test myself. It was firmly positive. I did a second to be sure. Same result.
I took the test and showed her the two dark blue parallel lines. She asked what it meant. I told her.
She lit up like a Christmas tree. She was beside herself with surprise and delight. Suddenly, she asked what she should do. I suggested telling her partner. She checked the time- 4.30. He’d be asleep and had work in a few hours. She decided to phone her mum. It took a while for the phone to be answered, I could hear the sleepy voice. Where are you? At the hospital? What? Suddenly more awake. Are you ok? What? Pregnant? But… PREGNANT!
We could all hear her mum screaming down the phone, her Dad being woken, and then him shouting too. They were just all so happy.
It was just a really lovely experience, giving welcome news for once.
Modern Women DEMAND Chivalrous TRADITIONAL Men but Don’t Want To Be Traditional Women…
I got pregnant in my freshman year of high school, I even remember the day it happened. I was 14 almost 15. Too young to be having sex and definitely too young to raise a child.
The circumstances that lead to me getting pregnant weren’t ideal and I knew that I would be on my own. Completely. I knew that the father wouldn’t have anything to do with the baby, especially since he already had one that he didn’t see or take care of. My mother told me I’d be kicked out of the house, which wasn’t anything new since I had been living with friends when I got pregnant. My life was completely unstable and wasn’t a good place for me, let alone a baby.
The first time my mom kicked me out of the house was when I was 11, she always picked her boyfriend over me. So I bounced around from grandparent to grandparent and then eventually friends houses.
As any kid who is unsupervised and has no boundaries whatsoever, I did things I shouldn’t have. I missed a lot of school but no one ever bothered me about it since I kept a 3.8 gpa. I always wonder what I could’ve done had I actually applied myself, but I didn’t take it serious. It came too easily to me. I was more interested in partying.
Long story short, I got pregnant September, 1998. I was in denial for the first couple of months. The guy said he’d give me money for an abortion but then he spent it. I don’t think I would’ve gone through with it anyways.
When I was 5 months pregnant I wrote my mom a letter before I went to school. Looking back, that wasn’t the best way to tell her but I was scared out of my mind and she wasn’t the easiest person to talk to. When I got home from school she blew up. Asked how many periods I had missed and when I said five I thought she was going to have a stroke. She said, “it’s too late to get rid of it!”, to which I replied, “I know, that’s why I’m telling you now. I’m going to place her for adoption.”
I don’t think my mom thought that I could do it since that was her original plan for me. I think that is part of the reason she always told me that I wouldn’t be able to live there if I kept the baby. But I had my mind made up. I was going to find a maternity home and an adoption agency. My mom was in a maternity home when she was pregnant with me, so that was our first thought. Thankfully we couldn’t find it when we went to look. I do believe things happen for a reason.
I was absolutely blessed with an AMAZING teacher. I truly miss her and would give anything to see her again and express my thanks to her. She helped me find a nice maternity home that was about an hour and a half from my home. She took the time out of her life to drive me all the way up there to check it out. Took me out to lunch and most importantly talked to me like I was a human being and not another dumb teenage statistic. She helped me in so many ways and she will always have a special place in my heart.
So I moved into a Christian maternity home (a culture shock to me since I grew up with no religion) with four other girls. I was the only one who was planning an adoption. We soon became a little family and I had a wonderful time there. The staff was amazing. I’ve never met a nicer group of women who were so supportive of unwed pregnant teenagers.
I formed an extremely close bond with one of the girls. Shortly after I had arrived she had lost her baby. Her and I were the only ones going home without babies, I think that is what brought us closer.
The time came to find parents for my little girl. A daunting task. You wouldn’t believe the amount of profiles that I looked through! I had certain things that I expected though.
They couldn’t have a child of their own.
They had to be educated.
They had to live “comfortably” but not be too rich.
They had to live close (within a few hour drive).
Most importantly they to had agree to an open adoption.
A lot of people don’t want an open adoption, and I can understand that, but it’s my child, my rules.
I found couples who were extremely rich, couples with a bunch of kids, and I even found an Amish couple. Then I found my couple. Something about their profile made me instantly like them. They came from a large family, lived comfortably (she was a teacher and he was a business man), they only lived a few hours from me, they were down to earth, they couldn’t have children since she had a hysterectomy, and they were open to an open adoption.
I had my lawyer set up a meeting with them. I liked them right away. They were a little leery about a completely open adoption but after I told them my reasons they seemed to understand. I don’t think it’s healthy for a child to live under a lie, I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t love her and just abandoned her, and if she wanted to get to know me one day she could. I made sure that they knew I wouldn’t be in their lives constantly, but I had to know that she was ok.
They were the only couple that I met. I told them that day. I know they didn’t want to get their hopes up too much, but I knew.
So the big day finally arrived. I was in labor for two days! It was hell. She finally arrived very early in the morning. When they put her in my arms my heart melted. It was the most incredible feeling in the world. I didn’t know that I could love like that. Didn’t know a love like that could exist. The entire world stopped once I looked into those blue eyes. She was pink and perfect and I’ll never forget the way she smelled. I was lucky enough to spend four amazing days with her. Four whole days that I spent just looking at her, smelling her head, and making sure that I always remembered these things because she was going to be out of my life soon.
Those were the quickest four days of my life.
The other big day finally came. The day I had been dreading for months. They had been staying in a local hotel since I had called them before I went the hospital to let them know. I imagine those were the longest four days for them. I signed all the papers, took a thousand pictures, and held her as much I could.
Putting her in their arms was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done, but I knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do. I only had love to offer her and babies need much more than that. I had dreams for her, dreams she’d probably never realize had she stayed with me.
And she was gone.
Misery and depression became my constant companions. There are no words to describe that pain.
I was lucky though. Her mother sent me letters and pictures constantly. I saw my beautiful baby girl grow. Always happy and smiling with little curls and chubby dimpled hands.
Five years later I finally got to see her again. It was amazing. She knew who I was and was so excited to meet me! I was scared, but that day helped me so much. I got the closure that I needed. I knew I had made the right decision when I placed her for adoption. I backed off for a few years after that. I wanted to give them space. I wanted to let them be a family.
This past summer she turned 16. She’s beautiful, smart, and amazing. We talk once in awhile but I don’t want to intrude. She knows I’m always here if she needs me. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to see her again soon, but only if she wants to. I told her that I would understand if she didn’t want to, but she wants to meet up. She says that she wants to see me again and meet her sister. I’m thrilled.
I have thought about her every single day for the past 16 and a half years. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wonder what she’s doing, how she’s doing, if she’s happy, if she’s sad. I love her more than life itself.
I think of them as my family. It might not be your typical “normal” family, but it works. We love and respect each other. I’m incredibly lucky to have them in my life and I’m thankful every day that they are amazing parents to my girl.
I have had many embarassing moments as a foreigner in several other countries. But here are two of the most embarassing ones in Norway where I currently live.
“I accidentally did drugs, thinking it was chewing gum.
I was once at a pub with a few people. One girl on our table there was offering this one thing called snus to everyone seated at the table, except me because she knew that I am not into smoking, tobacco or any kind of drugs. I innocently thought it was chewing gum because it looked exactly like chewing gum, it came in a box that looked like a chewing gum box. I was wondering why she was offering it to all the others seated on the table but not me. Then I asked her for one She said, “It contains a bit of tobacco is that fine ?” I was like yes yes, convinced that it was harmless chewing gum. Then she told me that I needed to put it on my gums and I did that. Within 10 minutes, I noticed that my vision was getting blurry, someone was talking to me but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying, my head was aching so badly and I was getting really really dizzy. I felt very nauseous as well. I was so confused and upset about what was happening and I was almost about to cry. Then, I told the people there that I wasn’t feeling good for some reason. Then they guessed it was because of the snus and they asked me to spit it out immeadiately. Then they gave me loads of ice water and I was fine within a few minutes after that.
Image Source:BBC. This is how snus looks like. To me they looked like chewing gum on first sight.
I was told later that the amount of tobacco in one snus is equal to the amount of tobacco in ten cigarettes. To prevent air pollution, people in Norway use snus more than cigarettes. Almost everyone uses it here in Norway.
“Touching food with hand.”
In India, it is a common practice to eat with hands and to touch the food with your hands. But in Norway, they consider it unhygienic to touch food with your hands especially if it is out of a tray from which everyone takes food and if your hands are unwashed.
I once went to a bakery and instead of using the tongs to take out scones and pastries, I used my hands. Then the staff member manning the bakery at that time came running to me and said “Please don’t touch those with your hands, use these” and he handed me the tongs that were placed right next to the tray and I didn’t see those.
But, this wasn’t the first time this happened to me. This has happened with me many times. I frequently forget that I am not in India and take food with my hands, only to get told off by people.
But, now I more often than not remember not to touch food that is not mine yet and is for public consumption.
There are several more embarassing moments that I encountered. I plan to write a book about them one day.
China-Russia collaboration
China-Russia relations have become stronger through the collaboration of Presidents Putin and Xi. They have met some 42 times in both one-on-one and virtual formats, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. This contrasts with 17 meetings reported with Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden.
Stronger relations are marked by strengthening economic ties. In September 2023, monthly trade between Russia and China reached a record high of $21.2 billion which is up almost 60 percent from the same period in 2021.
President Xi said that “developing the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination with ever-lasting good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation is not an expediency, but a long-term commitment.”
The “long-term commitment” emphasized by Xi underscores a comment that he made to Putin on his visit to Moscow. “The world is undergoing changes unseen in a century,” he said. Putin agreed with the realistic assessment.
President Putin emphasized Russian support to the One China Principle and that Taiwan is part of China. His support for China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity was acknowledged by Xi. “China supports the people of Russia following their path to national rejuvenation and in safeguarding sovereignty, security and development interests of the country,” he said.
The changing international situation
The changes in the international system are indeed profound. The world is inexorably moving toward multipolarity. The Russian side describes the situation as a transition from Western “colonialism”. The Chinese side describes the situation as a transition from Western “hegemony”.
Both Moscow and Beijing stress that there are now new centers of development emerging. The Global South is rising in relative terms. Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are increasingly factors impacting the general direction of global development.
Thus, both countries recognize what can be called a period of global transition. This period may extend over a decade or two. The challenge is to maintain global economic development and at the same time attempt to bring stability to an inevitably more turbulent world.
It is recognized by Moscow and Beijing that increasing turbulence during the transition era is caused by the United States and West who are attempting to maintain their hegemonic position in the international system.
The international community, however, realistically sees the changing situation and desires to be on the right side of the transition.
President Xi underscored China’s commitment to work with Russia within the United Nations as well as within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Group of 20 (G20). Cooperation in the areas of food, energy, and supply chain security were highlighted.
For his part, President Putin emphasized continuing cooperation with China in the BRICS as well as in other multilateral mechanisms and platforms.
It was noted that the two leaders had an “in-depth exchange of views on the Palestinian-Israeli situation.” Given that the current Middle East crisis could expand into a regional war or worse, the cooperation of Russia and China to stabilize the situation is urgent.
Well my friend, that’s a terrible trap to be caught in, I know that hollow feeling only too well.
But the thing is, as dark as it seems right now, you will get through it..your not the first person to deal with or the last. It can catch up with you really fast. You put one foot in front of the other and you walk. The day will come when you will remember this all like a bad memory. I truly feel your pain, I’m an INFJ, I can’t help it. If you need to talk you can message me on quora. Things will get better, I can promise you that
Within 20 years, Chinese cars will emerge from vaporware into global consciousness.
There will be Chinese jets, helicopters, trucks, maglev trains and many other products traditionally the exclusive domain of the first world economies.
Why am I so confident?
Whatever Japan and korea and Germany can do, China can do better.
Because it has the scale and domestic market.
All the Chinese need is someone to point the way and teach them, and the Chinese market will do the rest.
Whatever emerges from the Chinese market will have gone through a baptism of fire like no other. China class is world class, because the Chinese market is incredibly open for an emerging economy. The winners that emerge pit themselves against the heavyweight champions who have decades of experience before entering the Chinese market.
The other thing about Chinese scale is data. Big user base equals mountain loads of data. And China has many megacities to do experiments in collecting and harnessing big data and ai. What is impossible to test in say, Korea or Germany is a walk in the park in china. Even the US will find it hard because big, dense cities are not that common stateside.
We are entering the decades of Chinese surprises and delights, and they will come one after another.
I’m Getting Married in 2 Weeks, But My BRIDE Was Involved in an AFFAIR, and so was an OnlyFans Model
I was probably 10 11 years old when I was at another friend’s house playing. We were playing in the garage where we were nurses and and the boys were our soldier patients. One of the boys, that I secretly liked, ask for everyone else to leave and let me stay with him as his nurse. I got so flustered I left and went home.
I have heard a few people say this, mostly pompous folks.
But in the mid 00’s I was at a hacker conference, and we were waiting for me to be on a panel. I was helping a colleague with his notes, and apparently I was taken for his assistant.
Another hacker asked me if I wouldn’t be a dear and get them coffee. The panel was about to begin. I said, “I don’t think there’s time to get people coffee — the panel’s on in a minute.”
The guy said, “Well that’s why the people who belong up here don’t have time to get it.”
I realized he thought I was an administrative assistant or something.
He doubled down, “Run now and we’ll be all set and then you can go do whatever people like you do when the tech jargon starts.”
I had worked at that time about 25 years online, and more than that in computer engineering. But being a woman who was not dressed informally meant that I must have some boss who made me dress up, I suppose.
I think that the “Do you understand who you’re talking to?” was justified, tbh. It isn’t always a “Karen” sort of thing.
edit: No, I’m not saying that a support staffer should have been treated like that either, and I was angry at the guy for assuming he could ask anyone to be a dear and get coffee. Condescending AF.
But I really do believe it was raw misogyny, and I wasn’t worried about being personally disrespected. I think he disrespected anyone female, and anyone he thought he could boss around (which was a superset of anyone female, to him).
Some hacker types are just asshats. I try not to be.
About a million years ago, some coworkers said, “John want to go to a concert with us?” I was a grad student, I didn’t know anybody and so I sensibly (and uncharacteristically) said “yes.”
I asked who was playing. They said “Pat Metheny.” Well that’s cool. I don’t know anything about Jazz, but what could possibly go wrong? I’d hear some Jazz from a great Jazz person that even a classical music weenie like me had heard of.
So it’s time for the concert, and I carpool with the others. We get to the stadium, and everybody is excited, and on the banner over the entrance it says “Joan Armatrading.” I growl “I thought we were going to hear Pat Metheny!” and my friends responded, “Pat Metheny, what are you talking about? It’s always been Joan Armatrading!”
Kind of pissed off, and having shelled out about two week’s worth of food in the form of grad student money, I went in.
I co-signed my ex-girlfriends mother’s apartment lease. We were together for 8 years and I knew her mother well. She had divorced my girlfriend’s father and was having trouble getting a lease. Her mom had a stable job and an above average income for the time. I considered her a pretty low risk. I was wrong. Her mom paid her rent for 3 months, then went and traded her paid off car for an expensive two door coup and bought a ton of new clothes. She started going out and missing work the next day and eventually ended up getting fired. The apartment manager contacted me to let me know that she was a month behind and they wanted her rent. I had a discussion with her mom and she explained she’s got a new life and will get a roommate if I could help her with just this month’s rent. I did help her, and the next month it was the same story. I could see where it was leading and had a deep conversation with my girlfriend and her mom. It was like talking to a pre-teen and my girlfriend couldn’t understand why her mother is not my responsibility when I told her she needed to be the one helping her financially. I spoke to the apartment manager and they agreed to terminate the lease if I could find someone to assume the remaining term. I did find a coworker looking for a new place and willing to move in and assume the apartment. When it came time for her mom to move out she refused to leave until the property manager explained to her that if she was actually evicted she would likely never be able to rent again and that she was being done a huge favor. In the end, I lost my longterm girlfriend, I was the bad guy. Her mom ended up living with her son in another state and losing her car. Not what I had wished for her, but that is the result of her choices. I was lucky to escape without an eviction or having to pay her rent for 8 more months. Never again. I don’t cosign or lend money to anyone. If I do help someone out it is with the expectation that it is a gift and do not expect any to be repaid.
Let me talk about the reverse, and healthcare in the US.
I’m British and live in Northern Ireland.
I have a chronic condition called Ulcerative Colitis, its a gastrointestinal condition, I’m seen frequently by my GP (primary care), I’ve also a consultant which I see every 6-9 months. I take a handful of medications every day plus a treatment called a biologic, it comes in an epi-pen injection format, which I collect from the pharmacist each month and inject at home at a time suitable to me.
All this is covered via the NHS via general taxation.
Prior to Covid in my previous job I was given the opportunity to take on a project in the US, before I accepted I investigated how my meds would work for the 4 months inwould be there.
My employer said I would be covered, as did my general travel insurance, and they would pay for everything on the days as needed, this proved not to be the case.
The company sponsored physician was an asshole saying I didnt know what i was talking about (despite having lived with the condition for a decade, and being a patient advocate, a mentor to those newly diagnosed and often asked to be a teaching aide to medical students), attempted to change the medication to what I assume was a medication he got kick backs for prescribing and refused to sign the script, it took a second doctor to give me the usual meds that worked for me.
If that wasnt enough, the trip to the pharmacy turned into a nightmare and a second argument at being forced to use the EpiPen injection there and then whilst being watched in disgust by a crowd of folk each time.
I then got a bill for $1375. This repeated for each of the 4 months,
It then took a further 6 months for me to be reimbursed by both employer and insurance for the costs I incurred which they had to argue for.
It’s a bloody good thing I had savings and a credit card or I would have been stuck.
There is a HUGE difference between the meaning of the two.
—
When you look at “Chinese Communist Party”, the actual noun is the word “Party”. The words “Chinese” and “Communist” are both descriptors of the word “party”. Going more specifically into linguistics, the word “Communist” is an adjective, while the word “Chinese” is an adverb.
Party: noun. Subject of the phrase.
Communist: adjective. Describes the subject.
Chinese: adverb. Merely describes the descriptor.
The phrase emphasizes the political party portion of the phrase. And Anglo propaganda loves to artificially emphasize the Communist part, because they have a raging boner for fascism.
—
But what happens when we do the same analysis for “Communist Party of China”?
China: noun. Subject of the phrase.
Party: secondary noun. A subset of the subject. (Not quite an attributive noun though).
Communist: adjective. Describes the secondary noun
Now the emphasis is on the word “China”. The entity is indeed the political party, but it is merely a subset of all entities that “China” encompasses. The Communist adjective indicates this party is but one of many political parties that China has had, and will have.
—
See how the Anglo propaganda works? Rhetorically the “Chinese” part is but an afterthought, and it can be dropped completely without changing any of the linguistic meaning. “Communist” could also be dropped, as the subject is “the Party.” Of course, Anglos will never, ever, ever forget to say the “Communist” part negatively as part of their overall support for fascism.
In reality, “Communist Party of China” illustrates that the entity is a political party that represents China, advocates for China, and promotes China. It isn’t just a political party performing actions, it is China performing actions. The word “China” is the subject, and it cannot be dropped without destroying the rest of the sentence.
Yes. Yes I have. And my teacher (actually professor, this was my second year of uni) literally said “this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” so I wrote, on my own time, a second essay supporting my assertions, and the next day he told me I “had a good point.”
My essay concerned ethics and morality. Specifically, I said that a lot of what we call “morals” aren’t actually morality at all—theyre custom and practicality.
As a simple example, people who migrate to cold climates need to wear clothing almost all the time to keep warm. After a while, as in generations, people simply become accustomed to seeing others almost always wearing clothing, and a few generations after that, not wearing clothing becomes viewed as “immoral.”
There’s nothing intrinsically immoral about not wearing clothing. Unless you’re out in the cold, it doesn’t cause harm. It certainly doesn’t harm bystanders. But the practicality of wearing clothing makes wearing clothing the custom, and because people get used to seeing others wearing clothing, eventually not wearing clothing becomes viewed as immoral.
The climate causes a practical change, that change gets cemented as a moral value because many cultural moral values are based on nothing more than “this is usually what I see the people around me do.”
So I said in my essay we should, as a society, unpack “this is practical and therefore customary, so not doing it is morally wrong” from “this harms others so it is morally wrong,” and stop labeling as “moral” that which is only practical social custom.
Anyway, unbeknownst to me, he was quite conservative and religious, and subscribed to a very different view of morality, so that caused some friction.
When I was first married to my husband, we attended his company Christmas party. It was a rather small affair but included satellite offices and clients. The boss and his wife were there when we arrived and we went up to them to greet them and wish them Merry Christmas. It just so happened that the boss’s wife and I were wearing the same palazzo pants though mine had a skirt overlay. She looked me up and down and barely spoke to me. As we were drifting away from them I heard her say to her husband: “Well she has a nerve dressing so well when her husband is only one of your truck drivers!” She had no idea who I really was, my background, my education, my past career history, nothing. It was the fact that I was married to a truck driver that made me, in her eyes, less than nothing. My husband had to grip my arm pretty tightly and keep me moving forward to stop me going back and slapping her face. It wasn’t the insult to me that bothered me so much, as the insult to my husband because of the job he had. Sure we didn’t have a lot of money and my outfit which outshone hers in spades was purchased at a thrift store for $10! Apparently it looked expensive to her though! lol
Beware: China’s MASSIVE DF-1000 Missile Is A New Threat To US
China’s upcoming DF-1000 missile has raised a lot of conspiracy recently. Its deployment with the PLA Rocket Force underscores China’s ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region. As regional tensions evolve, the DF-1000’s significance lies in its potential to reshape the strategic landscape and protecting the nations interests while also ensuring regional stability and peace.
Many years ago, over 40 years for sure, my mother and I were driving down an Oklahoma rural highway. It was a windy day, and we were following a pickup truck which had a huge cardboard box in the back. That box was wobbling back and forth in the wind. My mother and I were commenting like, geez, wonder what is actually in that box, because it looks like it is going to fly away any second now.
Well, that’s exactly what it did. That box flew out of the truck and into our windshield! We were expecting the collision to be mild, since the box seemed to be very light weight. Nope, it was a pretty good crash! Wanna guess what was in the box??? A bathtub!! Just a fiberglass bathtub, but still.
But that wasn’t the fun part! The fun part was calling the insurance company about our accident. You know, the one where we are just driving down the road, minding our own business, when all of a sudden we got hit by a flying bathtub!
Brigtsen’s Champagne Vanilla Sabayon
Champagne Vanilla Sabayon
Ingredients
12 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups champagne
2 cups granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
Instructions
In a mixing bowl, add the sugar and egg yolks. Beat with a wire whisk until light and creamy (ribbon stage). Add the champagne and vanilla bean. Cook this mixture over a double boiler on low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture becomes thick and frothy, 15 to 20 minutes.
Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the sabayon. Discard the bean.
The Perception value of a Chinese Brand is between 8% to 70% of a German or a Swiss Brand
This means even if China creates the same quality lens as Zeiss , a supplier would not pay more than $ 70 as against $ 170 for Zeiss
Thus China would be unable to compete and would be forced to sell high quality products at a loss
Now that’s fine if these products have a MASS MARKET
They don’t
Thus even after a decade, China won’t be able to expand enough to recoup it’s losses
Yesterday someone gave me a brilliant example of perception
India makes Audio panels, it exports the Audio Panels for $ 60 to Europe
Europe modifies the panel with around $ 20 worth of work and sells these Panels worth $ 110 including Import Duties and inventory BACK TO INDIA for $ 300–340
Indians gladly pay $ 2000 for these full systems (₹1.7 Lakhs) with foreign Brand name
If the manufacturers purchased directly from India, they could sell each system for maybe $ 1300–1400 but then the customers won’t buy as many
The Market Sphere for the 7 nm Chip is $ 88 Billion
China controls 3.1% of this market
The Market Sphere for the 28 nm Chip is $ 273 Billion
China controls 41.9% of this market
So you tell me what makes sense?
Blow Billions of Dollars into a market where no matter how high quality product you make, you can’t control more than 7% or so
OR
Blow a fraction of that money and utterly dominate the 28 nm market with the best efficiency and price and supply chain and use the 28nm to handle it’s potential in terms of maximum and be the BADSHAH
Thus Chinas 7 nm Manufacturing is for SELF SUFFICIENCY entirely
China will never compete in all these areas where the 7 nm is used. Except maybe smartphones
Chinas key for competition is 28 nm , 45 nm and < 100 nm process chips
These Chips run EVs, Flights, Superior Drones, Port Logistics and most aspects of Semblance related AI
When my son was in middle school, his German teacher asked the class if they’d like to do a secret Santa. They were enthusiastic about it. They all had the choice to opt out of they didn’t want to participate. My son picked the name of a female student and I helped him shop for gifts. The limit was $10 but we went over it, finding fun and useful gifts at the mall. He said she was really excited about two of the things he got her.
Day of the party, the teacher hands out gifts and my son got nothing. He said the teacher looked so embarrassed. This was on a Friday. On Monday, there was a wrapped box on my son’s desk. When he opened it, it was filled with candy and the kid that had picked his name said something to the effect of “I didn’t get him that!”
At first, when it happened, I figured maybe the kid’s parents refused to buy something, and the kid was too embarrassed to say anything to the teacher. So, I held no grudge. No, this kid was just an asshole trying to make my kid feel bad. He had bragged to his friends about it.
It was late at night on an Icelandic Airlines flight to Reykjavik (the old “hippy express). Most of the passengers were asleep, the cabin lights were down low. I gazed out at the window and noticed sparks coming from one of the engines. Suddenly it burst into flame.
I turned to my partner and shook her awake. “Do you get nervous on airplanes?”
“Nah”, she said. “I love flying; a piece of cake”.
“Look out the window”, I said.
She spied the burning engine and screamed. The cabin became awake, full of anxious passengers. The engine was spitting long, nasty flames now.
The captain’s voice came on throughout the plane’s cabin. He spoke in a confident, matter-of-fact voice “Good evening. As some of you have noticed, one of our four engines is having a problem. This plane can easily and safely fly on just three engines. You will be completely safe. We will be taking a slight detour to Gander International Airport in scenic Labrador to address our engine problem. Accommodations and food are being arranged. I believe you will have a pleasant stay. If you wish, go back to sleep and enjoy the rest of the flight.”
The engine stayed burning for a while, casting red shadows throughout the cramped the cramped cabin. Most of us settled down for a cold drink or two. My partner’s fingernails dug into my palm. “I hope he’s not bullshiting us”, she said.
She had withdrawn her and my dad’s weekly old age pension from the bank and was leaving the bank when a bloke tried to yank her handbag off of her. Surprising herself and her assailant she twisted his arm into a lock, forced him to the ground and sat on him. When a couple of minutes later the police arrived, he was heard to say, “l’ll come quietly, just get this fat cow off of me”
My mum was 80 years old, a little over 4 feet tall and as thin as a stick. It seems that all the years of watching my brother and I practice Aikido in the garden and sometimes using her, to show the other, how arm locks work had rubbed off on her.
She was affectionately known as the “fat cow” for years afterwards
If you ask this question in Chinese, mainlanders and those in the know will laugh.
And won’t stop laughing.
How does China achieve state objectives?
By getting people to work on them.
1.4 billion of them.
How do the people know what to do, what to expect, in order to reach set targets on time?
By being thoroughly informed.
How are the masses informed?
Through an information blanket.
Through TV, social media, radio, websites, posters, slogans, publications.
You name it, the Chinese have done it. From in-depth, to the lightest of touches.
It is called mass dissemination, and the Chinese are very serious about getting the message to everyone. It costs a pretty penny to get everyone on the same page.
Chinese society has changed so much in the last 40 years it is disorienting. How else do they navigate, much less keep up unless there has been a steady stream of information to guide their decisions and plans?
Learn some chinese. The western world leaves too much on the table when the Chinese generously serve lunch, and dinner to their guests.
They leave the feast untouched, and complain about hunger.
Not everyone does, but for those who do, have some empathy. Many become that way because they are suffering from bodily pain, require frequent trips to the hospital or doctor’s offices. Hard to have a cheery attitude if you hurt frequently.
Others are living in or near the poverty level. Some of these were good, loyal workers but were fired as they neared retirement so that their employer wouldn’t have to pay them a pension. Some people are living on only Social Security. That would sour anyone.
Some are lonely, sad, frightened, depressed. It often goes with aging. Being kind and thoughtful of older people could make a world of difference. I recently read of a young woman who goes out of her way to speak with older people, whether in grocery lines, on street corners, or elsewhere. She says she often sees sadness or loneliness in their faces and wants to help a bit. Yet most young people don’t even see old people. To them, they’re invisible. Try saying a cheerful word to old people you see. It just might make their day!
I have always said that it is really stupid for the American media to spread rumors about Xinjiang.
I am a Chinese, and I have been to Xinjiang (by the way, if you like cycling, Xinjiang has three desert roads across Taklimakan, also known as the Sea of Death, each of which is about 500 kilometers long, very exciting! Super interesting! You must come! During the day, the temperature can reach over 50 degrees Celsius, and at night, it can drop to freezing point! Except for the highway, there is vast yellow sand everywhere. If you dare to leave the highway, if you get lost, you may become a mummy within 48 hours. ! Particularly exciting. Ah, there is also a bicycle highway in China, which is a little more difficult but absolutely safe. It is a bicycle ride from 0 kilometers from the People’s Square in Shanghai to Lhasa. If you are willing to continue riding, the end point is Nepal, with a total length of more than 5,000 kilometers. kilometers, passing through more than a dozen provinces, climbing over 14 snow-capped mountains, and countless sharp turns! It is particularly interesting. Every year, many people in China ride this road. This road covers almost all the scenery in China, also known as: China’s landscape boulevard. Trust me, ride it once and you will come back and thank me! It’s so awesome)
*** Sorry, as a cycling fanatic, I accidentally said too much, let’s get back to the topic…
There are many friends living there, both in the city and in the countryside. The blatant lies of the Western media made everyone feel angry, and then laughed – how could they dare to lie so brazenly?
Do you know what they lost? trust. Even the Chinese who believe in the United States the most believe that the American media is fair and selfless. When praising the United States, we only need to say one magic word: Xinjiang. They just have to shut up because it’s so simple, clear and powerful. If they want to continue to defend the American media – we often say that a person can be stupid or bad – they can only choose to be stupid.
You have to know that there are not many people in the world, and there are even fewer people who care about Sino-US relations. One word, “Xinjiang”, can make 1.4 billion people share the same hatred and create a deep disgust for the American media. How difficult this is!
As credible as they say Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. As credible as those who said earth if flat. As credible as those who believe that Elvis is alive.
I grew up on a farm. There was a small forest, which we called “the woods,” on one end of the farm. Every year, my father would post “No Hunting” signs around the woods. But every year hunters would still come there, as the woods were filled with rabbit, pheasant, deer, and other game. When he saw them, my father would go out to the woods and explain to the hunter that these were his woods, he did not allow hunting, and they would have to leave.
One time, when I was four, my father was with my brother, who was six, when they saw a hunter at the edge of the woods, looking into the woods for something to shoot. My father took my brother’s hand, walked over to the hunter, and said “These are my woods. I don’t allow hunting. You’ll have to leave.” The hunter turned around, pointed his shotgun at my six year old brother’s chest, and said “I’ll hunt wherever I damn well please.” My father slowly backed away with my brother and went back to the house.
A few minutes later, he came out again. But instead of crossing the field that led from the house to the woods, he went to the side, where a chicken coop extended to the edge of the woods. He walked quietly behind the chicken coop, until he came to the edge of the woods, about twenty feet from the hunter, who was still intently looking into the woods for something to shoot. My father said to the hunter “Drop the gun and leave immediately.” Except this time, when the hunter turned around, instead of my father holding the hand of a six year old boy, he was holding a .38 revolver…which was pointed at the hunter’s head. As soon as he turned around, my father said simply “Drop it or die.”
My father passed away four years ago. It had been almost sixty years since the incident with the hunter. When I went to clean out my dad’s house, the hunter’s shotgun was still in his closet.
I actually had a customer – the owner of a similar business with whom we exchanged work where our capabilities dovetailed – come in on a Friday and tell me he’d seen my job listed in that week’s classified ads. He told me to call him on Monday, and when I did, he offered me a job. I worked for that fine gentleman for four years, and when I left, he shook my hand and told me, “It was good enough to hire you to stick it to that bitch you were working for, but even better that you spent every day proving I was right and she was wrong about you. Best of luck.”
Perhaps I’ve missed someone else offering this answer…
In 1911, about two hours north of where I live, a man walked out of the mountains. He was finally too lonely to continue being on his own. He was approximately 50 years old. He was the last of his kind.
image 40
Ishi, as he would come to be known, is considered the “last wild Indian.”
In 1871, 4 settlers came along and murdered 30 of the Yahi tribe, approximately 2/3 of the tribe. This was one of many such incidents that are categorized as the “California Genocide.”
As you can see, the Native American population in California declined quite rapidly until it reached its nadir around 1910.
image 39
In 1908, what remained of Ishi’s family fled upon seeing strangers. His uncle and sister disappeared. His mother remained hidden at the camp and then died from an illness. Now Ishi was the last of his people. He remained in the wilderness without anyone to talk to for a few years.
Upon descending, he was studied by anthropologists, chief among them being A. L. Kroeber, father to the famous science fiction/fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin
.
image 38
Ishi was able to tell anthropologists many things about his people. Unfortunately, he was often ill. About five years after descending from the mountains, he died from one of the many illnesses his immune system couldn’t fight off because he lacked any kind of immunity.
One of the saddest things about this is that Ishi isn’t his real name. We’ll never know what it was. “Ishi” was the word for “man” in his language. The Yati people had a custom that proscribed them from speaking their name unless formally introduced by another of their tribe. As he was the last of his tribe, he could only say, “I have none, because there were no people to name me.”
After 2/3 of your people are killed off, you spend the rest of your life on the run, watching as everyone else disappears, leaving you to be the last among your kind. Finally, too lonely to go on, you live amongst the people who killed your people until their diseases slowly whittle you away. That sounds plenty lonely to me.
But the most dispicable thing and the one that I just cannot ever forgive him for is.
I wet the bed until I was about ten years old and every morning my dad would get up and come straight into my room and rub my nose into my wet patch like I was a dog being toilet trained.
He actually screamed at me.
If you are going to piss the bed like a dog, then I’m going to rub your nose in it like a dog.
He would even give people to belt me if they taught I was misbehaving.
In the end I got up before my dad, stripped my bed, remade it and went to school or a friend’s house
China’s Breakthrough in HYPERSONIC Sector Has Baffled Scientists
Without a doubt, it has become universally recognized that China’s dominance in the field of hypersonic technology is nothing short of remarkable. With each passing breakthrough, China continues to surmount obstacles and unveil groundbreaking innovations that have garnered global attention. In a recent stride, China has once again achieved a significant milestone, firmly establishing itself as the frontrunner in the dynamic realm of hypersonic technology.
My wife and I went to see the war movie “Saving Private Ryan” in IMAX…. it was super loud. My wife had even taken hearing protection, because it was so darn loud. When the movie ended she was taking out her ear plugs and said..
“Wow, that was so loud”
Now, there was an old dude sitting in front of us, and he said …
Most of the time, Chinese don’t think about Koreans.
When I have heard Chinese talk about Koreans, they talk about good entertainment and food, hard work, and often more hot-tempered than Chinese. But they do not say this in an uncomplimentary way; they just say that Koreans are usually more hot-tempered and emotional than Chinese in a matter-of-fact way.
Simply put, by doing a good job, right up to the last day. Here’s my story.
I wasn’t fired, but I was forced out. Over 17 years, I worked diligently for my boss. I started out as a laborer in this construction firm. I had completed a 2 year course on building construction, but back then, you did not get a degree for vocational education. I worked my way up to running jobs for him, as a job supervisor. Building one job, I set a record within the firm for the highest profit job. The boss that’s because he bid the job right. At the same time, we had 2 other identical jobs going, and they were both losing money. I replied that I made sure he managed to keep that money instead of running it poorly.
Fast forward a few years, and over the years, we had both grown tired of each other. Little things. The boss visibly checking his watch when I leave at 3:31, a minute after quitting, all the while ignoring I started 10 minutes early. For some reason, he tells me I can not run jobs for him anymore, claiming that the jobs he bids on, they want to see that his supervisors have a college degree. I’ll keep my pay and vacation, but I am maxed out as a carpenter, so don’t expect raise for the near future.
At first, this arrangement was actually quite nice. I kept my pay and benefits, but the stress levels associated with running a job went away. All of the newly hired college degreed supervisors love having me on their job. After 17 years, I knew what needed doing and how to do it, and was happy to do so. That Christmas, I specifically not invited to the company Christmas party, as only supervisors were invited. It used to be everyone when we had a small crew, or supervisors and key personnel (Long term hires, not the guy hired last week).
Later that spring, the boss tells everyone that times are tough, he won the bid on the job, but it was low, I need everyone to take a pay cut. Everyone else agrees to take a dollar cut. My turn in his office, he suggests a $3.00 cut in pay. I tell him I can not afford that, I’ll need to immediately start looking for a job. He replies, okay a dollar cut. And says that if everyone pulls together and produces, I can raise their pay back. So… my pay depends on all the now demoralized employees.
So, of course after a few more months, I am feeling hurt by the disrespect, and a job is offered to me, same pay, new company, one with some real character and class. I took the job, of course. The boss looks at me and says, you didn’t think that pay cut was permanent did you? I just looked at him. Two weeks later, I am working the next job and loving the working relationship.
After a couple months, I get a call from him, he tells me it was a mistake to let me go, he didn’t realize all I did for him and how well I did it, offers me a good paycheck and restoration of all benefits, etc… I reply that this job has different challenges that I want to prove myself on, and politely declined. His response, oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. A few months later, I receive a similar call from him, and it goes the same way, though he offers me a little more money. Again, politely declined. 2 years or so after leaving, I see a prominent ad in the help wanted section. He placed an ad in my new locale, describing my experience and capability to the letter, offering a company truck, commensurate pay, etc.. I did not respond. After 17 years of the little quibbles we had with each other, I had enough. I currently had a secure job and wanted to stay there.
TLDR, do a great job right up to your last day and make them regret making you leave.
Christopher Reeve was so much more than the characters he played.
He was exceptional, having hit the genetic lottery.
He was a brilliant student and an outstanding athlete. He was kind and oozed work ethic, pursuing perfection in everything he did. Christopher Reeve could have done anything he wanted in life.
Acting became his first and foremost love. He landed lead roles in nearly every audition from grade school onward.
A famous actress, Olympia Dukakis, approached him after a childhood performance, saying, “I am surprised. You’ve got a lot of talent. Don’t mess it up.”
He later frequented the most esteemed theater groups, including the Harvard Theater Company.
After being accepted to a list of Ivy League Schools, Chris attended Cornell, and later — Julliard.
He was adored by his theater teacher, John Houseman, who was eager to see Chris’s career blossom, saying, “Mr. Reeve. It is terribly important that you become a serious classical actor. Unless they offer you a shitload of money to do something else.”
The latter phrase came to be
After a stint of leading roles on Broadway, Chris landed the lead role in Superman in 1978. He went on to worldwide fame, appearing in famous films throughout the 1980s.
Chris lived a life most men dream of.
He made millions of dollars while starring in love scenes with beautiful starlets. He traveled the world, dining with Hollywood elites and noble laureates.
And then he met Dana
It was 1987. Dana Morosini was performing in a small-town cabaret.
Chris was always a fan of theater and was in attendance. Afterward, he walked into the backroom to meet her.
She’d fully expected to meet an arrogant jerk, as one often assumes of men in his position.
She said, “The man I met was soft-spoken, tall, kind, articulate, and not far removed from superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent.”
She was caught off guard by his interest in her. Chris said he’d just come back to compliment her, but later admitted he’d fallen in love with her in the moment he’d seen her.
She was initially skeptical, knowing it could all be a ruse to get her into the sack.
He later called her and she agreed to go out with him. She quickly fell in love and their relationship progressed. They moved in and lived together for several years. Then they married and had a child.
Theirs was always a good marriage, not prone to turbulence and strife and the two were known for their public affection. They traveled and went sailing while pursuing their own careers.
Eventually, horses came into the picture. Dana had grown up riding. In an effort to be part of that passion, Chris began taking lessons.
Like most things he did, he went all in. He wanted to be his absolute best. He rode and took lessons 4–5 days a week.
He went into jumping — a very dangerous style of horseback riding and was doing fine, despite taking an ambitious progression in the sport. It typically takes years to progress into big jumps.
May 27th, 1995
The most dangerous accidents are often subtle and less violent than a kick or explosion.
Gravity can do great damage with a little distance and a bad angle.
As Chris’s horse surged towards a wall to jump, it panicked and stopped, (called “refusing” in riding).
Chris was launched over the horse. He landed headfirst, all 6’4, 230 lbs of him. His second and third vertebrae in his neck were shattered.
Seven months prior, he’d filmed a movie where he played a paraplegic. He’d spent substantial time around people with spinal cord injuries in preparation for that role. Every day, he’d left their clinic feeling grateful for not living in their predicament.
And now he was there.
Life sputters to restart
Chris laid in the hospital, completely immobile and powerless. He was waiting to have surgery to reattach his skull to his spine. He couldn’t even lift his hand to brush his own teeth.
Most don’t realize what nearly happened in the weeks that followed.
Chris was in heated arguments with his doctors. He insisted they pull the plug on his breathing machine. It wasn’t a bluff. He couldn’t fathom living in his current state.
He saw himself as a burden to those around him. He was also threatening that he’d kill himself if they didn’t.
One can imagine, after a life of such freedom, being able to do anything you wanted, with a budget to pursue any passion, just how challenging it would be to suddenly be confined to such a cruel fate.
Dana Reeve became emotional and sat with him, saying, “I am only going to say this once. I will support whatever you want to do because this is your life and your decision. But I want you to know that I’ll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You’re still you. And I love you.”¹
She urged him to just give it two years before they revisited the decision.
He accepted.
He eventually settled into his new life and Dana stood by her words, and by his side. They still lived, did things together, and found ways to have fun.
They were brought together by a push to make the world better for people like him, starting The Reeve Foundation, and raising money for people with spinal cord injuries.
He said during an Oprah interview: “We (humans) are all one big family. This has taught me a big lesson about complacency. We should never walk by someone in a wheelchair and be afraid of them — or think of them as a stranger. That could be us. In fact, it is us.”
Yet, it almost ended in that hospital room.
Chris couldn’t move a single body part below his neck. It was a far cry from his days as a free-roaming bachelor.
Yet he and Dana’s marriage was as strong in the second half as it had ever been before.
Sadly, Chris lost his life in 2004, due to complications from his injury. Shockingly, and only two years later, his wife Dana passed away from lung cancer. She was 47 years old and had never smoked.
Their story is terribly tragic. But within all of that pain, their love was consistent and they were happier than many others. It is yet another reminder, to embrace the moment and the blessing of good health.
The US government will destroy America’s semiconductor sector. Nvidia is the poster child of this event. It’s GPU semiconductors used in AI and cloud computing applications are a good example. At first, the US government stopped sales to the Chinese market of its 100 series chips, then Nvidia began a slower version in its 800 series chips. Now all Nvidia GPU chips are off limits to China. Not only that, but 21 countries suspected of reselling their purchases to China have been put on the entity list.
Talk about killing a company, Nvidia is a prime example of what is happening in the US semiconductor sector. The US is hell bent on denying semiconductors to the world’s biggest semiconductor market regardless of the damage.
Both TSMC and Intel have stopped work on their high end fabs because that market is fading away from them because of US restrictions. Intel and Qualcomm have established ‘innovation centers’ in mainland China and TSMC is trying to expand its Nanjing factory.
The US government is killing the very sector it thought its actions was meant to kill the Chinese semiconductor rise, only to find it is killing its own semiconductor industry.
When I was four, my father brought home this little white puppy for my sister. About a year and a half later, my mother got an orange tiger that became my cat. I loved that cat, and the cat and dog became fast friends, sleeping in the same bed together at times, and generally being the best of friends.
Starting in about fifth grade, I began to get really interested in retro TV shows like the Honeymmooners and Burns and Allen, and so many weekend nights I would fall asleep on the couch to those shows, either not going upstairs to my actual bed at all, or going to bed in the mmiddle of the night, at about three or four in the morning. Often enough I would let my cat in after he was outside for a few hours, as almost everybody who had cats at that time did; this was in the mid-seventies. He would make a kind of soft murr as he came in the door, and that’s how I knew he was in. That little white dog would be hanging out at his usual spot near the kitchen stove where his basket was, and the house would be at peace.
One cold winter night in February, when I was twelve, I got up to let my cat in. As usual, he did his usual murr, and I closed the door. Only this time the dog started growling and barking. Then I heard the sounds of a cat hissing. Then I heard the dog barking, and the noises of a cat and dog fighting. I couldn’t believe my ears because nothing like this had ever happened before. My cat and my sister’s dog were great friends so why was this happening? I was starting to realize that something was very, very wrong, and that there was probably a cat in our house that simply didn’t belong there. What else could explain the dog’s weird behavior? And by the way, what the hell was I gunna do now?
Well, what else could I do? I went upstairs to my parents room, opened the door and said:
“Ma? I think I let the wrong cat in.” See, I had figured out by this time that this other cat had followed mine into our house.
At that point, she and my brother came downstairs to see what was happening. As it turned out, quite a lot was going on because this cat and our dog were still fighting. And now my mother and brother were trying to get the damned cat out of the house. The cat was shrieking and hissing, flying around the kitchen, the dog was barking, and my mother couldn’t get her hands on the animal. My mother screamed at one point because the cat, quiet for a few seconds because it had tried to hide itself in a corner where we were storing insulation because my father was rebuilding our kitchen, screeched like a banshee when the cat sprung from his hiding place and attacked her.
Finally my cat, who had been paying no mind and eating his food in his bowl, finally got pissed off at the other cat and chased him out of the house. Then all was finally quiet, and we three all went upstairs to bed.
Meantime, my father, who was upstairs while all this was going on, got up to go to the bathroom, and he just started laughing his ass off. “It’s not funny!” I kept saying from my room, because by this time I was now in bed, and it was probably about 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning. Of course, the more I said it, the more he laughed, and the more he laughed, the more I found it funny, so I started laughing.
Just one of those classic stories from my childhood. And I can still hear my father remembering that story and repeating my words in the exact sheepish tone I used that night:
There was the time I helped a teenage girl run away from home. I hid her in my room, lied to my parents, and ditched school. And for years I was completely embarassed by it. That just wasn’t appropriate behavior.
Here’s the story. When I was about 17, I started dating this girl who was a year younger than me. She complained about her mom a lot. Hey, we were teenagers, we all complained about our parents — but as I listened to her, it started to sound like there was some real emotional abuse going on. One night she called me, and we talked for hours. At one point her cat came in; he was a bloody mess, apparently he’d been in a fight, and for her this was the last straw. She was in quite an emotional state as she cleaned up her cat and then told me, “I’m coming over. I need to be with you tonight.”
It was 2 AM and I knew my parents would not appreciate a girl showing up at our house at two o’clock in the morning. I told her no, but she insisted. She said she was going to ride her bike over and that was it, goodbye.
What could I do? I didn’t want her ringing the doorbell, so I went downstairs and checked on my parents — they slept on the first floor, my room was upstairs. They were sound asleep, so I eased the back door open quietly and waited for her.
She showed up, dropped her bike in the back yard, and headed for the door. Before I stopped her, she threw the door open . . . and the dog started barking.
Oh crap, I’d forgotten about the dog. I shoved her up the stairs and followed her up, telling her, “stay up here and BE QUIET!”
Then I came downstairs, just as if I had been awakened by the barking and was trying to figure out what was going on. My parents were stumbling out of bed also. My mom noticed the back door was open and there was a bicycle in the yard. Obviously, someone had broken into the house — but where was the intruder? Dad headed to check the garage and I offered to check upstairs. Naturally, none of us reported finding an intruder, and they assumed that the intruder had been frightened by the dog and fled on foot. Mom brought the bike into the garage and was going to call the police — but I said “If we call the police they won’t be here for another hour and we’re all tired. Why don’t we call them in the morning?” They agreed that this was the best idea and they went back to bed.
Upstairs, girlfriend was crying. She was trapped, couldn’t go back downstairs for fear of the dog barking again. Couldn’t get her bike out of the garage without my parents noticing. I said “You’ll just have to stay here till morning.”
“My mom will kill me!”
At this point I said. “You’ve been telling me how much you hate your mom and how you’d really like to run away. Now’s your chance.”
“Huh?”
“Stay here tonight, and tomorrow we’ll see what your legal rights are.” She agreed and we fell asleep.
The next morning I came down for breakfast. Naturally, my parents were still talking about the incident in the night. I volunteered to call the police. I picked up the phone, dialed Time and Temperature, and listened to the National Weather Service’s local weather forecast while making up an entire imaginary conversation with the police department. I told my parents, “They said they’ll be here in an hour or an hour and a half. Why don’t you guys go to work, I don’t have school till third period today anyway, I can talk to them when they get here.” They said I was a good, considerate son, and went off to work.
By the way — I don’t think I’d ever lied to my parents before. At least not since I was little. I was a terrible liar, and I don’t know how I was able to do it so convincingly, thinking on my feet with the pressure on. Of all the things in this story, lying to my parents is probably the thing I’m the most ashamed of.
They went to work and Jeannie came downstairs for breakfast. I called an adult friend, an attorney, and told him the situation. He said that if I really thought that there was abuse going on, that I should report it to the District Attorney. So I called the District Attorney’s office and made an appointment for Jeannie to meet with them that afternoon. We arranged to meet at school and I would drive her downtown, but at the moment she needed to get her bike out of my parent’s garage. She rode off to school and I would later tell my parents that the police impounded it.
When I got to school myself — late, I’d lied to my parents about not having to go to first or second period that day — I was met in the hallway by my English teacher, Mr. Nelson. His first words weren’t rebuke or admonishment. Instead he said, “You’ve been seeing Jeanne M—-, haven’t you?” Cautiously I admitted it, and he said with near-frantic concern. “Do you have any idea where she is? Her mom thinks she’s been kidnapped, there was blood in the bathroom and she’s missing.”
Blood? Oh, yeah, the cat was bleeding when he came home that night and Jeannie cleaned him up. So I told Mr. Nelson that Jeannie had been with me, and he said Jeannie’s mother was on the way and I needed to go to the principal’s office to straighten things out.
When I got to the principal’s office several things happened all at once. The principal greeted me (I was kind of a teacher’s pet, and he insisted I wasn’t in any trouble). Jeanne just arrived on her bicycle and was coming down the hall from the other direction — and in the front door was walking Jeannie’s mom.
Jeanne gave me a hug, right in front of the principal, saw her mom, and panicked. “Oh My God, Run!” she yelled, grabbed me by the hand, and started running like she was trying to save her life. I followed as best as I could, and behind us, her mother was keeping up with us, cursing and making dire threats against us.
We went down a couple of back corridors of the school and into the student parking lot. We got into my car and peeled rubber getting out of there, leaving Jeannie’s mom out of breath and swearing.
We spent the next hour driving around, hiding from Jeannie’s mom or anyone else looking for us, then went downtown where we told someone from the District Attorney’s Office what was going on. They asked Jeannie to go in for further questioning and evaluation and told me to go back to school.
I went directly to the principal’s office. I told the principal about Jeannie’s claims of abuse — he didn’t act surprised — and that I’d dropped her off at the District Attorney’s office. He just told me to go to class and I never got into any trouble for what I did, not even for missing several classes that day.
Jeanne called me that night to tell me she’d been put in foster care and had been placed with a family that lived in the East High district so she’d still be going to school, and the DA was investigating the situation. But I never did find out how it all worked out, because not too long afterward, Jeannie and I had a big fight and we broke up.
In the years that followed, I was ashamed of the role I’d played in the whole affair. I was a good student, not a troublemaker, the teachers and parents all liked me, I was a Christian kid, active in church and my youth group, not the kind of person to help minors run away from home or hide girls in my room or lie to my parents. As the years went by I was ashamed and embarrassed by the whole thing and didn’t talk about it.
Then one day, 40 years later, I started wondering about some of the people I knew in high school and started looking them up on social media. I found Jeanne. Since I’d known her she’d become a registered nurse, gotten married, had a kid, gotten divorced, and lived alone with a couple of cats. Nothing too extraordinary there.
Then I found a blog post she wrote, entitled “The Day My Life Changed.” She wrote about years of emotional abuse recieved from her angry single mother, the cursing and threats and insults. “You’re nothing but a worthless slut,” she was told over and over, and ever since she was little she just wanted to make the abuse end. She wanted to run away — but was never able to do it “until one night a brave boyfriend said he’d help.” She ran away, got into foster care, and a family that convinced her that she wasn’t worthless after all — decided to go to nursing school and make a life for herself.
“Brave boyfriend.” I’d never thought of myself like that before. For years, I’d been ashamed and embarrassed about what I d done, only to find out that I was the hero in someone else’s story.
Yes I contacted Jean after that, and we stay in touch by Facebook.
Cajun Cheeseburger
cajun cheeseburger
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried, crushed basil
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices Wisconsin Cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns, toasted
4 tomato slices
1/4 cup green onion slices
Instructions
Combine beef, pork, chopped onion, green pepper and seasonings; mix well. Shape into four patties. Cook and top with cheddar as directed below.
Place patties on oiled grill over medium coals (coals will be glowing). Grill, uncovered, for 5 minutes on each side to desired doneness.
Top each with Cheddar; continue grilling until cheese is melted. Place each patty on bun. Top with tomato; sprinkle with green onion.
I think it is inappropriate to say “China helps African countries”.
I have many business partners in China who are very interested when it comes to Africa. For the Chinese, Africa is a friendly business partner. Rather than “a beggar in need.”
There is a story circulating among the Chinese.
An Italian salesman went to Africa to sell shoes and found that Africans did not wear shoes at all. He returned to his country depressed and told his boss: “Boss, they can’t afford shoes at all. So our shoes can’t be sold.”
A Chinese salesman went to Africa to sell shoes and found that Africans did not wear shoes at all. He returned to his country excitedly and told his boss: “Boss, they don’t have shoes. Africa has huge market potential!”
Maybe you think that Africans can’t afford Chinese shoes, and that the Chinese are just being crazy. But the Chinese don’t think so.
There is a Chinese proverb, “Don’t bully a young man into being poor.” It roughly means: Don’t despise a person just because he is poor, but see his future.
In the eyes of the Chinese, although Africa is poor, it has huge potential. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford shoes, I know rubber is abundant here. You can make soles out of rubber and sell them to me, and I will use them to produce shoes. Now that you have earned money, can’t you buy my shoes? You guys get nice shoes, I get cheap rubber, everyone is happy, isn’t that good?
What? You can only get rubber juice and don’t know how to make soles? It doesn’t matter, how about building a rubber factory and a shoe sole factory? No funds? Not technical?
It doesn’t matter, just wait for me to make a call.
Soon, rubber experts, equipment suppliers, and sole designers from China arrived. Chinese bankers came too, and they even gave better loans than the IMF, with only factories and future profits as collateral.
A year later, a modern rubber factory was built. Millions of shoe soles, gloves, and even tires are produced every year. Thousands of people found jobs here, and they began to have money to buy food, new clothes, and new shoes.
Salesmen in China found that their shoes were in short supply and all the shoes were sold. And the Italian salesman was still thinking about why Africans couldn’t afford shoes.
in this whole game
1. Africans got a modern factory.
2. Thousands of Africans around have received job opportunities. They have all made money, acquired new skills, and their lives have improved.
3. The tax revenue of the local government has been greatly increased. The income from selling rubber products is ten times more than that from selling rubber juice. There began to be money to build roads, schools, and hospitals.
4. China’s investment banks received dividends from the factory.
5. Chinese equipment suppliers sold equipment.
6. Experts who go to Africa to teach technology are paid a lot of money.
7. All the salesman’s shoes have been sold.
Who loses? There are no losers here
Is China helping Africa? No, China is just doing business their way, and Africans are just their customers. They deal fairly with each other and do not need charity or mercy.
Only some Western media are shouting: “Oh no! The Chinese are plundering Africa’s rubber. This is neocolonialism!”
They have completely forgotten how they did it 100 years ago.
Americans have a tendency to talk with their “outside voice”, even when inside and in a place where quiet is expected.
Americans have a tendency to mistreat people like store clerks, fast food workers, and hotel clerks.
Americans appear to have a perverse sense of pride about (1) how little they know about Canada (2) what they think they know about Canada that’s absolutely wrong, and (3) how large Canada is. Americans tend to treat Canada as if it were the size of Rhode Island rather than it being a little larger than their own country.
Americans are sure all their stuff is better than all our stuff, and when you point out how wrong that is in any area and provide demonstrable proof, they still won’t believe it.
Americans call our currency “funny money” because it’s plastic and all the bills have different colours. That’s despite the fact that American counterfeit currency is quite common and Canadian counterfeit currency is pretty rare solely because of its design.
A few months ago, I received an email from my daughter’s school informing me about the tragic passing of a girl. She had taken her own life.
She was only 14! She should have had her whole life ahead of her to do anything she wanted, but she couldn’t anymore because she chose death. The school email didn’t provide details about the reasons behind her action, but through the conversation with my daughter, I discovered that she had been battling depression. She felt overwhelmed by how she looked and the hurtful comments some other kids made about her. Sadly, some of her peers even viewed her actions as brave.
While I felt so sorry for the girl and her family, I felt compelled to remind my daughter a lesson I had always emphasized: “Everything can be fixed, except death. Taking your own life is not an act of bravery. Why? Because dying is easy. Living is hard. You only die just once but you have to live every day.”
I told my daughter, if anyone ever hurt you, do not hurt yourself, just come home to me, I will make you dinner, we will have dinner together, and if necessary, we will go out there and hunt the enemy that hurt you together.
Teenagers, please remember: Everything, every mistakes can be fixed, except death. If you ever don’t know where to go, go home!
And parents, please please, tell your kids that they can talk to you about anything, they can always come HOME. Please don’t assume that they know. Just tell them, by words, sincerely.
Some background: I was a costume designer for many years. My life was all about color. I dated someone who didn’t have basic color knowledge. Most frustratingly, he didn’t know common color names: Magenta, aqua, salmon lemon yellow. Could have been Greek to him. It was a source of humor between us, like we were speaking different languages.
Call him Steve.
One day we were discussing how and when we had learned color names, and had a bizarre revelation. I realized I had learned all my basic color names from Crayola crayons (note for young Quorans: they used to have the traditional color names, instead of creative new names). I started asking my friends, and all of them said that yes, the Crayola 64 pack (or was it a 120 pack? The biggest one.) was where they first learned their basic colors.
Steve, it turned out, never had Crayolas. His parents only got him the little 8 packs of generic colors. Red, green, blue, yellow, brown, orange, black, purple.
My poor disadvantaged baby! Of course we started making up for lost time. He would ask me what color I called something, then he’d tell me what he thought it was. Like lovers from foreign countries learning each other’s languages.
Anyway…. Came my birthday, and he gave me a gift I will never forget. It was a little book he had made by stapling sheets of paper together down the middle. On the cover it said “Crayola-Steve Dictionary” Inside, on each page, were two columns. One had each of the crayola colors drawn on the paper, with its name. Opposite it was the color that Steve had grown up thinking that name referred to.
I have never in my life had someone put so much effort and caring into a gift.
Years later, when Crayola betrayed the artists of the world by changing their color names to updated and exciting things, so that kids could no longer learn their color basics from the product, he hunted down a pack of the originals for me.
He was a very special guy, and I will always remember that gift fondly.
ADDED: For those who are interested, here you can see the change in color names in 1990…art teachers, I warn you, have a stiff drink in hand…
When I walked up on an employee berating a very nice regular customer. Actually, called this sweet little old lady a very offensive name (you f’king ole b***h). Her offence? She asked him a question as he was stocking some items. I fired him right there on the spot in front of her. Told him to get his things and get out and I would be mailing him his last paycheck as I never wanted to see his face again.
What is this problem with people painting cats blue?
I was fed up with the crap at a place that I was working and interviewed for a job that was opening up at a new place. My boss had been driving 50 miles each way. The new company was opening a place down the highway from his house, cutting it to 12 miles. They offered more money, more decency, better products and overall better working conditions. When I interviewed, they hired me on the spot and asked if I knew of anyone else who would like to work for them that they could talk to. I set up interviews for my whole team before I even told them about it, then badgered them into going. I told them they could say no at any point and I’d never say that they interviewed at all. We all went. We got better jobs closer to our homes. We got better working conditions. We got more money.
Once upon a time in a far away place, there was a party called the Republican party that believed in fiscal restraint and cutting taxes as the way to win the hearts and minds of the American people and to transfer ever more wealth to the rich in America.
This policy was ingrained and enshrined in their thinking with the greatest avatar being the B grade actor Ronald Reagan. Reagan coined phrases like Morning in America and went around Washington having huge balls and a wonderful time. Jobs started to disappear and the Midwest became the ‘rust belt’ but Reagan slashed taxes for the rich, ran up the deficit and left it for Bush Sr to fix it which he could not as he was right when he called it, ‘voodoo economics’.
This let in Bill Clinton who worked with Newt of Gingrich fame and they balanced the budget and all was well as the country bled ever more jobs but it was don’t worry be happy. Remember that one?
But Bush Jr of hanging chad fame, became President, cut more taxes, had 2 wars at a trillion $ or so and the country was back on the debt cycle as 3 million more jobs went to China. The ‘oughts’ were the worst for the American worker and best for American rich in a century until it all collapsed in a big heap.
Bush left the US in the Great Recession, crashed the economy and left it to neophyte Obama to fix. Obama dawdled along, saved the auto industry and put through an expensive healthcare plan nicknamed Obamacare and after 8 years and the hubris of HRC another Republican, this time a 5 time bankrupt tv huckster, Donald Trump came in with the same old same old.
Cut more taxes but then he decided he didn’t care about budgets. Thus the story ended with yet another $7 trillion added in debt as every Republican President that was a tax hawk / cutter has added more and more trillions to the national debt.
Trump did something else and is the reason for this story, he ended the Republican party. It no longer is a governing party, it is now the party of the angry disaffected types who will vote for him even though he admits he lost the 2020 election and tried to steal it. They love it, his minions now run the House, the Speaker was a leader in the steal the election saga.
A Christian theocracy is now spoken of openly and history is being rewritten by the GOP to move the US to a religious based society run by evangelical GOP Christians where women have no rights any more and elimination of LGBTQ rights including the right to marry will be taken away.
The GOP no longer stands for cutting taxes for the rich, that has already been done. Now they want to destroy and dismantle the federal government and take rights away from those they do not like including black and brown people who are being gerrymandered out in state after red state.
To cut the power of the feds and give it to the states so that the states will devour each other in a free for all. The GOP no longer stands for anything other than chaos.
You don’t have to look far, the new Speaker’s first proposal for Israel was to partially defund the IRS so that the rich don’t have to worry about being audited.
In the end, the GOP now stands for chaos, tearing down the system, cutting taxes and screwing everyone including the military and making themselves the white masters of an evangelical Christian society where they have all the rights and will tell you what to read, what to think and what history will be taught.
I’ve heard men say the only reason they ever befriend a woman is because they want to get their dicks wet. I believe those men. They have no reason to lie, and I see no evidence that runs counter to what they say.
Those men? No, they probably should not. Not just because they’ll cheat if they can, but because they see women as basically a life support system for a vagina, and what kind of friend is that? Their friendship will always and forever be transactional, because at the end of the day they don’t see women as people.
Normal men? Yes, normal men should have friends outside their marriage. Including friends who are women.
Yes. Out for dinner with my wife, I ordered a budget-friendly red called Leaping Horse or something similar. Or, more accurately, that’s what I meant to order. Instead, I treated us to a $200 bottle of Stag’s Leap at five times the price of the other horsey brand I thought I ordered. Stag’s Leap wasn’t even on the official wine list.
To be fair, the server questioned it and double checked that was what I wanted. Each time I foolishly said yes.
The US Navy doesn’t try to minimize discomfort. Safety? Sure. Discomfort? Suck it up Shippy!.
Racks, Navy-speak for the bunks sailors sleep in, have straps. Typically we keep them tucked under the mattress. But when needed we can pull them out and snap hook the to the top of the rack frame. This prevents you from rolling out of your rack.
I have used the straps on a few occasions and they do in fact work well. During a trek from Norfolk to Pascagoula back in the mid-90’s aboard a Burke-class guided missile destroyer, we ran into a group of storms near Key West. This area is notorious for bad weather that pops up on short notice. The area is littered with wrecks from the Age of Sail all the way to the 20th Century. White Squalls in particular are some of the most dangerous and infamous. We happened upon what the Commanding Officer would later tell us the Coast Guard had determined was a White Squall. When it began I was actually on the bridge standing watch. We were taking heavy listing rolls and heaving up and down fairly steeply. There is a list gauge and pitch gauge on the bridge. The heaviest roll we noted was about 32 degrees which is fairly close to Burke-classes mast limit.
We posted garbage bags in passageway and at strategic points. Many guys got sick. I felt horrible but I didn’t throw up. That may have been because I simply couldn’t eat after it started. As I was leaving watch and heading to the Mess Decks for Mid-Rats or Midnight Rations, I could smell vomit. The hour or so beating we took while I was on watch had me dizzy and swaying. Even when the ship wasn’t rocking, I was. By the time I made it to eat everything was secured as ordered by the CO. At that moment the CO came over the 1MC (loudspeaker), which was a big deal because it was past TAPS and no announcements are normally made. “Everyone not on watch strap into your racks”. Engineering watch crew set about “Setting Condition YOLK” which closes a lot of doors on the ship along with ventilation. The gun mount was turn as far aft as possible and depressed (pointed down) as much as possible.
The next day it was very calm to start. Then all of the sudden a storm formed and hit quickly during dinner. The rolls approached 40 degrees. We nosed into one wave an it submerged the bow. The waves that hit the bridge smacked the windows hard enough that it broke several windshield wipers. The storm hit while dinner was being served. The salad bar, which was tack-welded to the deck broke free and sent the contents everywhere. At the time the boat deck and our complement of 2 RHIB boats were my assigned space and responsibility along with one of my comrades. Both of us had to go out on deck to make sure the boats were secured. That was fun. We got to the quarterdeck and an area in the open that we have to cross with nothing to hold on to. Just at we were crossing the open area the ship heeled an rocked heavy to starboard ( the boat deck is on starboard). We were standing straight up but looking straight down at the water. It was intense.
There is also a stanchion/wire system we can rig for the Focsle (bow). They screw into the deck and stand about 6 foot tall. Wearing a harness you can strap onto the wire. Although rigging it when the seas are already rough is problematic. You can also just take the top caps and screw them into the deck, attaching the wire.
Years ago, my then-GF had a friend who periodically hung out with us.
Her friend was in a fairly turbulent relationship with her boyfriend.
It wasn’t abusive or anything. It just wasn’t meant to be. They couldn’t agree on anything in life.
Honestly, I dreaded hanging out with them.
They typically were showing up when we were going out on the weekends.
I knew that when they drank, it only exacerbated their problems and they’d start arguing.
And look, I’m not knocking either of them for their dysfunction. They were both young, not in full control of their emotions. They definitely weren’t prepared for their own incompatibility.
These things happen. We live. We grow. We learn.
Eventually, he came to realize that they were stuck in a rut they would never get out of. He broke things off with her.
She did NOT take it well.
Within a couple weeks she had moved away.
She took something with her though – his child. She was pregnant and chose not to tell him. It was a savage, vindictive thing to do.
Years later, he found out through back channels about it.
He was rightfully pissed. And it turned into huge drama.
Some of the friends in our group knew about him having a daughter and didn’t say anything to him. (Thankfully I didn’t know.)
He had to take her to court to get access to his daughter. And he did get visitation rights eventually.
But it sucked. He’d missed 5 years of his daughter’s life and hadn’t met her until then.
I can’t imagine introducing myself to my 5-year-old daughter, but these things happen.
He and the mother found a way into an agreeable arrangement of co-parenting.
And, he found a way to bury his resentment towards her for the sake of the child, which couldn’t have been easy.
But it was a valuable sacrifice because in the end it benefited the most important person in the equation, his daughter.
But I hate seeing kids getting caught in these evil games adults play with each other.
Due to a wiring harness issue, my father parked his 1965 impala SS in the garage 2002 and there it sat until 2022 when we had to move it. Rather than calling a tow truck I figured what the hell l, let’s give it a shot. We put a battery in it, pumped the gas a few times, a lot and behold l, it started right up after 30 seconds of cranking. Granted it ran like crap but it did run and stayed running with 20 years old gas. At first I was shocked that the gas was still good. Then I realized that it was likely the fact that the gas was 20 years old that made it start fine. This gas was pre-ethanol.
Now all we need to do is finish the wiring harness replacement
No I don’t. I was 12 when I had my first set of twins. My father had raped me for almost 2 years, and I didn’t know about abortion then. I was a child who was forced into having sex, and procreate, against my will. I still managed to graduate early, and find a good man to love, but I’ll never be able to get that innocence or childhood back.
You want the good news or the bad news. Let me feed you the good news first. Not yet! Chinese, Russian or a combination of this that faced the U.S. excesses hasn’t reached the point that it wants to take out the U.S. in spite of the U.S. provocation and goaded behaviour.
But it might if the U.S. don’t recognised the red line and push and push and push. At some point it may have no choice. And now the bad news. The U.S. has lost its ability to act without repercussions. Up to 2000 these countries might not have the capability to take out the U.S. but by 2023 they certainly can. And absolutely could do so it push comes to shove.
My worry is that the U.S. might not recognises or in denial that those nations can and will do it if they are push into the corner. There lies the risk of a catastrophic disaster first of the U.S. demise and or worst the U.S. nuclear respond and of course China and Russia respond to the U.S. nuclear response. It is a dooms day scenario for our world.
When I first moved to Boston, I had zero money. I was 18, working for minimum wage, and supporting my own crappy little basement studio apartment which took half of my take-home pay every month. I saved up to shop at Goodwill.
Dressed in my best ragged torn-off shorts and a gingham halter top, I wandered into John Lewis, an expensive jeweller on Newbury Street. The smell alone told me I was out of my price range–there’s just a smell to really high-end stores.
I was bedazzled. No other word for it. They had totally gorgeous stuff in their showcases, and I lusted after every item. The clerk asked me quite cordially if she could show me something. I told her that I frankly couldn’t afford to breathe their air. Her response made a difference in my life.
She said that maybe I couldn’t afford their stuff now, but maybe one day I could. She showed me everything! Shelet me try on everything. To me, Macy’s was higher class than I felt I could enter, OK? An expensive Newbury Street merchant making me welcome? This was beyond belief!
They had a set of 18k gold jewelry, all custom-made, hand-carved in a strawberry pattern that I fell in love with.
Eventually I tore myself away, a dream planted in my heart. Twelve years later, when I actually had a little money, I bought a custom ring in that strawberry pattern from them. It cost about $2000, and after a couple of fittings I wore it continuously for 30 years.
If that lady, who knew for a fact that she couldn’t sell me anything that day, hadn’t been so wonderful, I’d never have entered that shop again. Her kindness made all the difference.
China don’t pander to millionaires and billionaires rogue and irresponsible business leaders who took advantage and hurt the Chinese people. US calls it too big to fail companies. China take them to task. The U.S. bailed them out using taxpayers money.
What do I think?
I think China is responsible, is doing the right thing, is making businessman think of serving their customers better. I think the U.S. should learn from China. That is what I think! What about you? What do you think?
Gave Cheating Wife a Taste of Her Own Medicine: She didn’t expect to see my revenge…
China will do whatever is necessary to the interest of China and the Chinese people and that include Taiwan, China. Taiwan is an island and a region of China. It is an unalienable part of China. It cannot be separated or snagged away from China by any means including the U.S. and western geopolitical games.
As a Chinese origin from the southern China where 90% of Taiwanese Chinese migrated from. I understand their psyche that most westerners who write such ridiculous question can ever understand. We want to see Taiwan as an integral part of China. Many Taiwanese are all out to support and help China achieved this honourable achievement.
Do we gives a shit about what white Caucasian westerners think or feel? Not at all. Not even bothered a bit. We care about keeping our nation together from the manipulative western behaviour. Forceful or peaceful it our god damn business. It is our Business not yours. Mind you own business.
As Prof Zhang Weiwei likes to say, China is no longer on the same track as the West.
She’s now running on her own track.
This is like what I tell my medical students — don’t compete with others, just do the best that you can do (in your own way that works best for you).
image 2
Edit 17 October 2023:
As a Chinese, I see China as still being more deeply Confucianist than Communist; though there’s some overlap between the two ideologies. The sworn goals of a Confucianist society are two: xiaokang 小康 (moderate prosperity — which China has largely achieved), and finally datong 大同 (Great Unity
, a classical Chinese concept for an utopian view of the world; or Common Prosperity).
This is very different from the approach of the Western nations, seeking hegemony over other nations.
“The report to the 20th CPC National Congress in 2022 drew a great blueprint for rejuvenating the Chinese nation on all fronts by pioneering a uniquely Chinese path to modernization, and pointed out that striving to build a global community of shared future is one of the intrinsic requirements of Chinesemodernization, affirming the close bond between the future of China and the future of all humanity.”
Whether you believe the report or not — just watch what China had been doing (in Asia, Middle East, Africa and South America), and is continuing to do in the coming years.
Edit 18 October 2023:
China is holding her Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) on 17–18 October 2023.
image 1
Attending the event are more than 1,200 representatives from more than 80 countries and regions
The list of VIP attendants is impressive, showing how China’s Belt and Road Initiative (2023 is its 10th anniversary) has attracted the attention of most countries (except those in US and her allies):
Vladimir Putin is top of the list.
Others: Indonesian President Joko Widodo,
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
Chilean President Gabriel Boric,
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic,
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev,
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape
UN Secretary-General António Guterres,
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez,
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong,
President of Mongolia Ukhnaa Khurelsukh
Prime Minister of Mozambique Adriano Maleiane
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar,
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin,
Kenyan President William Ruto,
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet,
Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith,
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe
President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso
It looks like many other countries have been attracted by China’s parallel track, and are leaving “the American track”.
Alpha Hubby Allowed Me To Open My Marriage Then Filed For Divorce & Ghosted, Left Broke & Penniless
I’m a former New Yorker. I’ve only visited Canada, but lived in London for the past 25 years. In the States, if you have a good job, you can live very comfortably. But if you have a serious medical emergency or long term medical needs, this can bankrupt you, you can lose your home & be very poor. For average workers, the medical insurance is very difficult as the insurance is very expensive and on top of that, you have to co-pay. And many can’t get insurance because of pre-existing issues. In the UK, medical care is free, doesn’t matter about your past history … the taxes we pay towards it is less than what people pay in the States for their insurance. People never have to worry about being homeless because of ongoing medical problems. Whenever I go back to New York to visit, I’m a bit shocked at how very poor many people are there – compared to London.
In the UK, if you are working, but not able to afford rent, the government will pay towards your rent. It may not cover all the rent, but it helps. If you have children & don’t earn enough in your job, the government will top up your earnings so you are above the poverty line. If you are unemployed, your unemployment benefits won’t stop as long as you are actively looking for work & attending the skills meetings. And if you do accept a job, but it doesn’t pay well, the government will top it up to make sure you are earning what they consider to be the minimum needed to live on.
My high-earning son had the opportunity to work for his company in the States, but he realised he has a much better safety net here in the UK for his family. It felt too much of a risk for him to have to pay for medical insurance for his family when it isn’t even guaranteed that it will pay for certain things.
The only thing I don’t like about living in the UK is the weather. But everything else, in my personal opinion, leads for a better quality of life.
So, I’m on the beach enjoying myself over a bit of beach calligraphy (this involves cutting sand out of the surface, and some fairly intense concentration) when the spell is broken by someone who has walked up to me, having walked over my work, stood on it at my side, and proceeded to ask me what I’m trying to catch.
The next time that happened to me I was ready with “Calligraphy” as my reply but then just dumbstruck again by being asked if I had permission.
image 12
EDIT I just want to add the following in response to some of the comments I’ve had here:
I’ve NEVER had a child walk up to one of my doodles without noticing it and being curious about it. I do occasionally have young children deliberately tread through it but that’s part of being observant. It feels interesting underfoot. The interaction usually leads to my offering the tools to the kiddiewinks to try.
I can’t help wondering if there’s a relationship between stupidity and being unobservant. I’m not sure but it’s clear that coming with a strong preconception does get in the way of open observation and surprise. Only an adult can come blinded by so much preconception that they fail to notice the beach calligraphy happening before their eyes and under their feet. To then layer that blindness with a preoccupation with permission …?! I make no apologies for my disdain.
There are some lighting conditions under which the beach calligraphy is barely noticeable and almost impossible to photograph: high sun, lit from behind the observer, very cloudy. The beach calligraphy depends on shadow. I’m very keenly aware of this. Usually, under conditions like that, I’m just practising close to the waters’ edge where it is constantly washed away in any case.
If I have to do a paid commission then I get careful and a bit possessive about it and I look for a spot on a beach where I can be alone. I don’t usually mind redoing work. I often redo it in any case just because I’m not satisfied with the calligraphy.
You can lose your work to a wave, dogs, or an unobservant idiot but you don’t lose the skill you build in doing it again.
Some people have said things along the lines of “You don’t own the beach!” and I do (very rarely) get that response on the beach if I try to ward someone off my work. It’s a stupid response because this is not about ownership. Stupidity, on the other hand … if you’re not prepared to own it, it will own you.
I was in a courtroom trying to evict a tenant, I was broke had massive loans on the property and down on my luck, I could not afford legal representation so I represented myself which judges generally do not like. I saw the judge wipe the floor and throw out of court room the others who represented themselves earlier that day. This was the days before the internet and I had to learn about housing laws from things called books if you remember what they are? Then it was my turn to step into the dock after four hours of waiting in the court during previous, I learned a lot about tenancy laws in those four hours.
Preliminaries over then the game was on, its was like a verbal tennis match on points of law, I knew I had my paperwork and facts right, he volleyed and I hit it back countering his serve. Forgive me because this was over thirty years ago so I don’t remember the joust word for word, the judge did not like this uneducated smart arsed whippersnaper giving as good as-he got.
Then he threw a curve ball question regarding arrears, and how much the tenant owed, I said the tenant was six months behind I wasn’t sure of the amount as it was irrelevant, I had not come to court to claim arrears ( separate application and hearing and nigh on impossible to get money back because she was claiming benefits ) I said to the judge I just want her evicted and my property back. Then he tried to bamboozle me with jargon after jargon and I got a bit confused he then said to me said to me,
‘Young man I suggest you get your paper work in order and go and see legal advice!’
I was so nervous and that is exactly what I didn’t want the hear, as it meant I would have to have my property repossessed and I would have lost everything I worked for, I was sweating profusely my mind was over revving I was trying to grasp at something I had read in the past six months that would get me out of this painful situation
Then it came to me, I knew that I had done everything right and that he had to grant me a notice to evict, from deep within my memory I recalled something and blurted out to the judge, your honour under section ( blah ) article ( blah) of the 1988 housing act I have served you all the correct papers within procedure and you are obliged to give me notice of eviction, that was it, my final serve I had nothing else to give.
The court went silent and the court usher gave a wry smile, the Judge turned and looked down his nose through his half rimmed glasses at me and stared for a moment, then he turned to the court clerk and beckoned him over, he whispered something in his ear and the clerk disappeared for a moment and brought back one of the biggest books I’d ever seen laid it in front of the judge and opened it for him. The judge flicked through the pages and ran his finger down the lines of one or two pages as he was reading, he then grabbed the gavel looked at me and brought the gavel down with a thud and said
‘ Notice of eviction granted, 28 days’
It may not seem much, but there is nothing better (to me ) than beating the system that’s so inherently wrong and stacked against you but the biggest victory was correcting a judge on a point of law, when I left the court house I felt twenty kilos lighter and like had just been set free from , I did get my property back 28 days later
‘If you don’t fight you never win, if you fight there is a chance you may win’
Muffuletta Sandwiches
In New Orleans the two best Muffuletta Sandwiches — bar none — can be had at Central Grocery or at Napoleon House on Chartres Street.
muffuletta3
Yield: 1 loaf bread; 1 to 4 servings, depending on appetite! about 3 quarts olive salad
Ingredients
Muffuletta Bread
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 package active dry yeast (about 1 tablespoon)
About 3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Sesame seeds
Olive Salad
1 (32 ounce) jar pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
2 cups pitted ripe olives, chopped
1 1/4 cups chopped pickled cocktail olives
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 cups blanched chopped cauliflower
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 medium carrots, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Muffuletta Sandwich
1 (10 inch) Muffuletta Bread loaf
3 ounces honey ham, thinly sliced
3 ounces Mortadella with pistachios, thinly sliced
3 ounces Genoa salami, very thinly sliced
1 heaping cup Olive Salad
5 slices Provolone cheese
Instructions
Muffuletta Bread
In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine water and sugar.
Stir in yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine 3 cups flour, salt and shortening. Add yeast mixture. Process until dough forms a ball, about 5 seconds. Stop machine; check consistency of dough. It should be smooth and satiny. If dough is too dry, add more warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, processing just until blended. If dough is too sticky, add more flour, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, processing just until blended. Process for 20 seconds to knead.
Lightly oil a large bowl, swirling to coat bottom and sides. Place dough in oiled bowl; turn to coat all sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. When dough has doubled in bulk, punch down dough; turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into a round loaf about 10 inches in diameter; place on greased baking sheet. Sprinkle top of loaf with sesame seeds; press seeds gently into surface of loaf. Cover very loosely with plastic wrap; let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 1 hour.
Place rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap.
Bake loaf in center of preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 375 degrees F; bake for 25 minutes. The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
Olive Salad
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to blend well.
Store in jars with tight-fitting lids in the refrigerator.
Muffuletta Sandwich
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut bread in half crosswise to form a sandwich bun. Layer the honey ham on the bottom of the loaf. Next add the Mortadella, then the salami. Spread the Olive Salad over the meats evenly. Top with the slices of Provolone cheese and place the top on the sandwich. Press down to compress slightly. Wrap the sandwich in foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has begun to melt into the Olive Salad.
Slice sandwich into 4 quarters. Use wooden picks to secure layers, if desired; remove picks before eating.
Notes
Not only can you use this Olive Salad as a dressing for a Muffuletta Sandwich, it also makes a delicious addition to tossed green salads, pizzas, and is a great relish to spread on crackers.
They Don’t Want Coffee Dates, They Only Want The $1000 Restaurant
When I lived in Milford, Massachusetts I worked at an appliance company as a Chief Project Manager in the R&D group. During that time, early on in the company, I was living with a model named CJ. She was extraordinarily beautiful, but a royal pain in the ass. Ugh! That’s a story for another time, I’ll tell you what.
Anyways, there was one of the guys in my company, way a youngish (in his late 20’s) man who worked in Marketing. I got along fine with him.
But my girlfriend, CJ (the chick that I was living with) told me that she had a “bad feeling about him”. But I shrugged it off.
About a month later, I noticed that he was driving around and waiting outside my apartment. I wondered why, but couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Later on, after that, CJ told me that he was following her.
…
Two weeks later, he came to work completely beaten up, and his face was a real mess. He worked for a day or two, and then quit. I never found out what happened to him, but I figure that he messed with the “wrong people”. Not me. But perhaps someone else…
I was asked, as a consultant, to handle a very delicate matter. It appears that the company president’s teenage daughter had taken a liking to one of the system assembly people who was building rack servers. He told her that he was busy and she was not authorized to be in the department. She complained to daddy, and the employee was subject to a screaming match in front of his co-workers and told by his boss that he needed to apologize by the close of business when the executive and his daughter left. And that some token of his contrition might be a nice gesture.
Near the end of the day, the technician located the daughter, said he was sorry, and gave her a handmade electronic sculpture as a token of his contrition. He then wrote a resignation note and left it with H.R.
I was called to resolve the issue and get the employee back to work because they had a backlog that was building on the workbenches. I could not find any reason why someone else could not build-out the server blades and none of the employee’s co-workers volunteered any information. That is, until I learned that he had fashioned the sculpture out of the all of the motherboard chips on hand.
There was no attempt to gain restitution for the ruined chips and the employee was paid in full — including two weeks severance. I later heard that the president reimbursed the company for the entire amount. I pocketed my fee — which only added insult to injury.
I Live Better in The Philippines Than I Did in The U.S For Cheaper – My Story
“It was reassuring to hear of JJ’s positive experience in BCG, and of his low monthly budget. I’ve been thinking a lot about my future retirement and moving somewhere that will provide a better quality of life for my budget. I’ll try to spend time in several countries, before picking a place to settle down. Thanks for another great video, Evan.”
Texas Iced Tea
2023 11 08 11 10
Ingredients
6 tea bags or 2 large tea bags
Water
1 cup granulated sugar (optional)
Instructions
Heat 1 quart to boiling 1 quart water in saucepan.
Remove from heat; add tea bags, cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
Pour into 1 a gallon pitcher.
Add sugar, if using, then fill pitcher with cold water.
To make sun tea, fill a 1 gallon glass jar with cool water.
Add 6 tea bags and place in direct sunlight.
Leave in sunlight until desired color (strength) is obtained (reddish brown) – about 2 to 3 hours. Do not leave in the sun too long (over 4 hours) as mixture may become bitter.
A very stupid woman in my social group was my bully. She hated me and did & said what she could to trash me.I was involved with someone that she had a crush on. She did everything she could to break us up, including making up stories about me sleeping around with other guys (I wasn’t), stealing $$$ from him (I earned 3x what he did), badmouthing him, etc. It did cause some tension in my relationship.
However, she thought it was funny and sent screenshots of what she had said & done to a friend of mine. She didn’t know he was an old friend of many years. He sent me copies which I gave my guy. He blocked her on the spot and cut off all contact with her.
At the time she was living with a guy in public housing and collecting disability. Again, Ms. Stupid sent to our mutual friend comments like she was only living with him so he would pay her bills. That she really didn’t have a disability but she had a corrupt Dr who would fill out “appropriate l” paperwork for a fee. And that she had a job off the books and making very good $$$.
He sent me everything. I filed a complaint on the doctor with the state medical board. I forwarded her comments to the Housing Authority and federal offices. But the best was, being crafty, I created a mini-book that listed all of her comments from her lies about me to using the boyfriend as a paycheck. I wrapped it up nicely and sent it to him at his place of employment. (I did put a note on it saying to open in private…he didn’t need to be embarrassed in front of co-workers)
So long story short, she lost her apartment but gained a new one at the local jail. She lost her boyfriend but gained a new corrections officer. She lost her social circle but gained new cellmates. She lost her lucrative income but got a job at the prison making cents on the hour.
On March 7th, 2002, Gabi Altaraz, owner of the Cafe Caffit was walking around his crowded restaurant, full of families and young couples, full of the sounds of children. He noticed a young man sitting alone at the table. The man seemed nervous, agitated and odd.
Despite the day being quite chilly in the tail end of the Israeli winter, the strange man was sweating profusely.
Gabi walked over and asked to take the order, figuring the man was just a bit distracted by work.
The man seemed annoyed by the question. “Just water,” he snapped, clearly bothered. He then asked who Gabi was, giving him the most chilling smile that looked murderous.
As Gabi listened, he noticed a very large backpack by the man’s feet.
Gabi didn’t change his expression, but said he’d get it. Instead, he went and got twenty three year old Shlomi Harel, one of the waiters. “I think we have a problem,” he said.
Now, with spiked hair, tattoos and a pierced eyebrow. Shlomi may have looked like some bored college student currently fetching drinks and food, but he was also a recently released elite commando.
Shlomi walked up to the table and asked in Arabic for the man’s ID card (which all Israeli residents must carry) The man produced a blue one, indicating he was an Israeli citizen. However, Shlomi had already noticed the bag.
More importantly, he noticed the wire which protruded from it, and which ran through the man’s jacket and through the man’s right sleeve to a detonator in his hands.
The cafe was full, 50 innocent civilians, women and children and elderly, all of whom were defenseless. In seconds, they would be a red mist unless he was willing to risk his life.
With a fearlessness bordering on superhuman, Shlomi pounced on the terrorist and threw him out of the restaurant.
Once outside, before the terrorist knew what hit him, Shlomi had already jerked out the wire, separating the bomb from the detonator, as he was trained. He then ripped off the pack, threw aside and slammed the terrorist to the floor to restrain him.
As he wrestled the terrorist to a safe distance, he also yelled to clear the streets, take cover and call the bomb squad, while using the skills of Krav Maga to make sure the would-be murderer didn’t go anywhere until the authorities could take him away.
Shlomi’s excellent training, heroism and sacrifice prevented a massacre. 10 kilograms of explosives and shrapnel was packed inside the backpack, enough to kill all 50 people and wound and blind and maim and mangle 50 more.
If a soldier has to resort to Krav Maga, the goat droppings have really hit the fan. Ideally, you never want to be in a position where you need to be that close to the enemy, but there have been situations where it was required.
Remember, Krav Maga isn’t just about a form of self defense so you can go home at night safely.
In the army, it’s about making arrests. (And his knee isn’t on the detainee’s neck but shoulders, as can be clearly seen by anyone with training)
It’s about disarming suspects.
It’s about self defense for situations like knife attacks.
And as the story makes clear, it has other uses.
So yes, soldiers use it. Otherwise, why would they teach it?
And yes, the stuff related to arresting and neutralizing terrorists. Not the stuff I do.
Me and a buddy were at his house watching TV and some person on the screen was eating a strawberry. I don’t really care for them, but it looked good and I asked if, by chance, he had any strawberries in the house. He almost laughed at me, we were two 20-year old’s with a higher chance of beer or mac & cheese or Fruit Loops than strawberries. About twenty minutes later, there’s a knock at the door and he goes to answer it. He yells out to me to come see something. His mom is standing at the door with one of those low-cut boxes with a bunch of strawberries. he said, “Tell Jeffy what you said!” She looks a little strange and says, “I was driving home and there was a guy selling strawberries out of the back of his truck and I thought, “I bet David and his friends would like some strawberries…” My buddy says, “Well, you blew it. We all have one wish and you wasted yours on strawberries.”
As an example, there was a woman who worked for me at one point. She used to always brag that she has a 174 IQ. Everyone was tired of it and it really kept her from forming good relationships at work (the “I am better than you” complex). One day, I was just not wanting to put up with it so I said “wow, your IQ is higher than Albert Einstein!” When she agreed, I responded “he invented the theory of relativity, what have you done?” She never mentioned her IQ after that. You see, IQ matters less than what you do with what you have.
P.S. I am a member of Mensa, too, and realize that it is just the measure of potential, not an accomplishment.
Edit: thanks for everyone who up-voted my response. I think this is my highest. I went to my first Annual Gathering (AG) this year and it just reinforced my belief. It isn’t what you have, but what you do with it. Many wonderful people, but just like the rest of society in so many ways.
How is she surprised he responded like this? She deserves everything she gets
Lordy! This is everything that wrong with the United States today.
Have you ever been accused of something very wrong ,and been totally innocent.
I have this mentally I’ll neighbor a block down the street ,he will say just about anything with no remorse whatsoever, he is so envious of me, from what other people have told me that it’s almost some type of fixation.I warned my new girlfriend about him and to keep her distance from him, quite frankly I don’t trust him at all.One day I see she was at the bottom of the driveway picking up the mail as usual only potty mouth is blabbering to her about something, he was out walking his dog. When she parks her car and heads for the house she usually stops to see what I’m doing. Today she goes straight up and into the house, I knew that idot had said something to upset her, unfortunately for me I was in the middle of spraying and couldn’t drop what I was doing.I head into the house an hour later and she seems very tense, but when I mentioned what did the ding dong down the load have to say, she said ahhh nothing really.
A couple hours later when we met at the doorway between the master bedroom and the bathroom, she actually ducted away from me. Now I knew something was wrong and I had to get to the bottom of it, but when I asked what was bothering her every time she had the same response, ahhh nothing really.
Finally I had enough, I said I want to know what is going on ,and we’re not closing our eyes until you tell me. Then she says, whatcha going to do hit me.I was totally floored, I have never in my life struck a woman and told this to her. She says that the guy down the street told her, he used to hear my ex wife screaming and that I had been arrested for abuse a couple of times.I started to chuckle a little and she says this is very serious ,and that if I layed a hand on her she’s going straight to the cops.
I pointed to a couple of shotguns leaning in the corner by my dresser. See those, well if I had any sort of domestic violence charges brought against me , there wouldn’t be any fire arms allowed in the house. She says you have several guns, that’s against, the law then. I warned you about listening to that asshole some time ago didn’t I ,she couldn’t believe someone would make up a story like this. So let’s just look up my criminal record and see how bad I am, in Wisconsin you can go to the clerk of courts on line and check out anyone’s history. Look here there nothing, nothing at all, squeaky clean. She seemed a little shocked. Now I said let’s check out your new friend, Oh Look two convictions for domestic abuse, spent two weeks in jail twice for failing to pay child support and a felony conviction for distribution of cocaine.Maybe now you will take what he says with a grain of salt. She still looked a little puzzled, but gradually got back to normal. One of these days he’s going to say something about the wrong guy and find himself in big trouble. I fail to see what he hopes to gain, except cause me grief. Maybe someone else has a clue, I just totally avoid him and have for several years now.
The expression, “get your ducks in a row,” means to get prepared to do something. But where did this expression come from?
Many years ago, an old-time JPL engineer explained to me the origin of this expression. Sadly, I don’t remember who it was. There are a number of people I regarded highly who might have been the source of this. I certainly believed them because it made so much sense.
Consider an old drafting tool used to hold splines to make curves. It is called a drafting duck, also known as a lofting duck.
What the heck is a drafting duck, you might ask?
Before we get to that, let’s talking about lofting.
Back in the days of building large wooden sailing ships, they used to create full size drawings of the ship. The only place big enough for such a drawing was in loft above the shipbuilding building. The loft had a lot of space without posts in the way. Creating such drawing became known as lofting.
If you’ve ever done any computer-aided drafting, then you will have come across splines. These are smooth curves passing through a series of dots.
But how did they do that in the days before computers? Well, they used splines! A spine was a long flexible piece of wood that was held down on the drawing to make a curve passing through the points on the drawing.
or the very long splines they used in lofting, they had a bunch of weighted objects to hold the spline in place so they could run their pencil along it to make the smoothly curved line.
Lofting Ducks. The little bent nose sticking out was poked into the top of the spline to hold it in place. The body of these ducks was something like steel so they would be weighty and able to hold the spline in place.
So, before they could draw the line along the spline, they had to …
get their ducks in a row.
And that’s where the expression came from. At least according to the ancient engineer I knew a couple of decades ago.
I promised the Screamy Blonde Thing £200 if she passed all her GCSEs except RE, which we don’t care about.
Yeah, my money’s safe because I’ve seen that kid’s Eng Lit essays. I’ve just spent two years shouting and cajoling just to get her Eng Lang up to scratch and the chances of her passing Eng Lit is the same as that of Kylie Minogue dragging me into Meadowhall Travel Lodge and giving me a damn good seeing-to.
Is what I thought.
Do you know what she bloody well did? Passed the bloody lot except RE. I swear she did it on purpose just to annoy me. Sigh. Bye-bye £200. I knew I shouldn’t have spent a week going through Romeo and bloody Juliet with her, still less another one going through The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Because of this, she now has a morning off from her computerses things at the Tech whilst the dim kids retake their Maths and English GCSEs. That kid has always been as jammy as a Co-Op doughnut, I tell you.
Anyway, the point. Stump up. You promised it, you bloody well deliver or you’ll be persona non grata in kidworld and they’ll never trust anything you say again for the rest of your life.
Back to the subject of the SBT, she’s spending her morning lying in bed playing with her Nintendo.
Or so she thinks.
I’m about to break the news that nobody could be arsed to do last night’s teapots and there’s a sinkful, and guess who’s drying? BWUHAHAHA! It’s not that I’m evil, it’s just……no it is. I’m evil. But not evil enough to renege on my promise for hard work. Get your wallet out.
In terms of absolute military power, they will never catch up with the USA. They simply do not have any intention to do this.
I think that Americans simply do not comprehend this. They live in a country that is accustomed to wars, The USA destroys countries and kills people in wars continuously. Afghanistan; Iraq; Syria; Bosnia; Somalia; Vietnam; Libya; Grenada etc etc. This has gone on for so long that Americans think it’s normal – as normal and ordinary and unremarkable as their regular school shootings.
China isn’t interested. They just want to build highways, sea ports, airports, railways etc; link up the world and do more trade and business.
“I know who’s wetting the grass mummy!” My three year old daughter one day stated proudly.
We were eating breakfast at the time and my husband and I both looked at each other dumbfounded. She continued beaming at us. Clearly very proud of herself.
“Honey what do you mean?” My husband asked her trying to make sense of it.
“You know daddy…” She said shaking her head as if it what she was talking about was common knowledge. I was struggling to keep a straight face. “Explain it to daddy,” I said to her.
“Ok mummy.”
“Well,” she said. “In the mornings the grass is wet right?”
“Right, yes it’s a dew.”
“No…” She corrects him. “It’s a man dressed in black.”
“Are you sure honey?” My husband asks her.
“Yes I saw him last night…”
At first we were dumbfounded, then we were very worried. Turns out she had seen someone. The next night I stayed in my daughters room and someone actually tried to break in. Luckily some fly spray in the eyes and a quick call to the police soon put him out of action… Though my daughter said “mummy don’t do that to the grass wetter”
Turns out he was a child abuser, not the grass wetter. Luckily he won’t be doing that ever again now. And my daughter still can’t get over the fact that I sprayed him in the eyes with fly spray…
What did she say to me afterwards? “Who will wet the grass now mummy?”
And the next morning. “They found a new person, I haven’t seen him yet but the grass has been wetted again.”
Kids. They are so innocent and at times hilarious 🙂
I’m technically homeless for the second time in my life. Finances were at a real strain earlier in the year but I held on until my son went off to college. At 68, my career in print media ground to a halt and with an exploding real estate market where I saw my rent quadruple in a matter of months. My life was unsustainable.
Car payments, car insurance, prescription medicines and food, I’ll admit, I was drowning. When my son left I no longer had a reason to maintain a household or a car. I stopped fighting the inevitable. My social security payment was all I had. I sold my possessions and booked a one-way ticket to the far east. I can live on the pittance provided me for my years of work as an American. I just can’t live in America.
Since I left the states, I’ve lived in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Nepal. Next week I’m heading to India for a month before returning and spending Christmas and New Years in Vietnam. I live in decent three star hotels typically with free breakfast.
My social life had already slowed considerably as I got old.
I stopped drinking nearly three years ago so I no longer have that monkey on my back. But life, in general is good. It’s adventurous. And I no longer have the burdens that come with life in the US. My son is happy and thriving. My older daughter and her family are doing very well. I’m a phone call away from them and we talk frequently. The difference is I’m alive and living with few worries.
My son had an FBI agent come to his apartment. He sold noncommercial DVDs on his web page of 80’s cartoons. Someone had bragged about not caring about copyright and given the FBI his name in order to get him in trouble.
When asked, he said, “Yes, I sell those DVDs on my web page. Oh, do you want copies of where I have the rights? What’s your fax number?”
Many years ago my first wife’s father was died. He was married at the time. He also had a girlfriend. When my mother-in-law, my now ex-wife, her grandmother and I arrived at the funeral we were expecting, of course, to sit on the front row. It is typical for the spouse to sit there. Unfortunately, the girlfriend with her children showed up prior to the wife and had seated herself and her kids on the front row. The wife, who had more restraint than I would have, decided not to make a scene and sat behind the girlfriend and her kids. If my memory serves me correctly, she did fire the girlfriend, who worked at the store now solely owned by my mother-in-law.
I get that the girlfriend was also grieving. After all, her sugar daddy was now gone. If she had had more manners and civility at the funeral, she would probably have been given time to find a new job (my MIL was a nice person), but since the gf intentionally embarrassed the wife in public, she didn’t deserve to be treated nicely.
My father was the epitome of impeccable health well into his older years, the strongest, healthiest person I knew. Walking 25,000 steps per day, always energetic, near perfect vision, mentally sharp (he had a PhD in mathematics), my father had every quality in his 70s that I wish I had in my 50s! Best of all, he was a very humble man and wonderfully loving father.
My dad was a renowned scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where he studied nucleology. Unfortunately, he and many of his fellow scientists developed sarcoma later in life, a rare form of cancer. Some of his cohorts had already died in their 30s and 40s. My father didn’t acquire sarcoma until the age of 73, striking with little warning and spreading quickly throughout his entire body. It remains unknown whether or not the fate of these scientists was connected to the decades of nuclear research projects they performed.
My father awoke in the middle of the night in pain, was driven to the hospital by my mother, and by the time he arrived 15 minutes later he had no feeling below his rib cage. A tumor had grown along the spine and rapidly shut off the nerves, blocking any feeling all the way to the tip of his toes. After some tests, the doctors gave him three to six months to live. He lasted three months.
The question
To answer your question, how did he know the end was near? After three months of being bedridden and paralyzed, with his spirits high and his faith strong, he was lying awake around 4:00 a.m. when he suddenly struggled to breathe. He summoned my mother who was asleep in the same room. He knew it was the end.
The finale
My parents had been together for 55 years, meeting when they were teens. My mother held his hand, and he whispered, “Will you be okay without me?” to which my mother replied, “I’ll be fine.” And within seconds after those words, he was gone. I was on a plane flying to come see him when he passed, so I didn’t make it in time to say goodbye. But we had spent plenty of time together, especially in the final months, so I was at total peace. The world lost one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century that day. But I lost the greatest father.
A co-worker and I were given new employee contracts to sign and we saw that if we were to leave the company we could not work as software developers for three years. We refused to sign, so the company controller came to us and asked why.
After we explained why we wouldn’t sign, he said, “Oh, that’s not what that means. What it means is that you won’t start a new, competing contract firm and steal away employees.” So I told him to change the contract language to state exactly what he’d told me. He just kept saying, “But you know what it means!”
I finally told him that until the contract says what it really means, I wouldn’t sign it. He said he’d have it corrected, but we never received a corrected copy, so we never signed a new contract.
His explanation made more sense than the contract’s language, but I wasn’t going to sign away my right to work on blind faith.
A husband
“This man worked a 13-hour day in 90-degree weather and walked through the door and said, ‘I’m home. What can I do to help you?’
Yet, these are words I hear from him often.
He is not a ‘unicorn.’ Men like these exist.
The kind who wash the dishes after you cook. Who do the yard work because they know you hate it. Who work 60+ hour work weeks and still come home and play with their kids, give their wife a kiss, and ask, ‘What can I do to help?’
Who gets up some nights to change the baby’s diaper while you get ready for a night feeding. Who gives the kids baths and puts them down for bed. Who spends his weekends with his family. Who cracks a cold one once the kids are down, and plays Farkle and Rummy with his wife.
Leader of the home, equal partner with his wife, provider, protector, and hands-on father. I’m so glad I married this man, and that he also acknowledges my hard work at home with two kids, nursing, cooking, and cleaning.
We take care of each other. It’s 50/50, and we are raising our boys to be men, just like their fathers.
I see so many women cry and complain their partner doesn’t help with the kids, bills, housework, give them any attention, etc.
My heart breaks when I hear, ‘Oh, that’s men,’ or ‘I just deal with it and suffer.’
Ladies, that isn’t a man. Make him do better or find better! If you have a good one who treats you like a queen, then treat him like the king he is.
Marriage is a partnership, not a dictatorship. My husband and I both take care of each other and are very happy.
Many blessings and happiness to all you kings and queens.”
Shared with permission via Jessica Maddux
Cajun Orange Mopped Chops
2023 11 08 11 12
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped green onions with tops
4 boneless loin pork chops
Instructions
Combine first five ingredients and pour over pork chops in shallow glass dish. Marinate for 10 or 15 minutes while heating grill or broiler to high.
Reduce heat to medium. Place marinated pork chops on grill or under broiler for 7 to 10 minutes per side, brushing marinade on chops as they are turned. Be careful not to overcook.
Serve with rice or potatoes and a vegetable or salad.
Something Very Βizarre Is Starting To Ηappen At Walmart.. (This Seems Unbelievable!)
Well, this is the first post for my new series: “Correcting Society Ills“.
This new series, as I have mentioned previously, is concerned with RECONSTRUCTION of the West.
As I have already mentioned, the threat of Global War has passed the DANGER ZONE. That was in 2020 through 2022. What we are experiencing now is a “lesser” state of war. Oh, sure, nuclear weapon threats are being bantered about, and provocations are seemingly everywhere at a global level, but the unseen global counter-threats are not being made public and they will quench any aggressive moves against the great Asian powers.
So, global change resembles this dynamic…
Change; old to new.
Threat of war… either occurs or fizzles out with a *pop*.
I claim that it fizzled out.
What is left is a ruined Western society.
And a need for RECONSTRUCTION.
So we are going to discuss that reconstruction and what needs to occur.
Mind you, actual war can still occur, it’s just that it becomes less and less probable as time progresses forward.
In our reconstruction discussions and talks we will cover all sorts of issues and maladies that the West are suffering through. From fat-generating use of polyunsaturated oils in Western foods, to the destruction of family culture, and the strange ideas of modern Western youth.
You will find all sorts of videos and discussions on related topics herein. It’s part of a phase in our society, and the world must go through this to get to the other side; one of an overall better quality of life.
I can’t answer for near overseas Chinese (that is Chinese in Asia). I can write about my UK experiences.
It was Christianity and FG being a very distant second.
Christianity preyed on recent immigrant types and how they were often alone and isolated having migrated. I had numerous xian types try convert me constantly mistaking me for a migrant.
Same shit when my mother got cancer, some how the jesus types found out and went to find her to try convert her.
I told them to fuck off.
Mother told them to fuck off.
$240 Billion Lithography Machine Order Canceled,China Achieves Full Technological Autonomy!
SMIC, a prominent chip manufacturing company, operates in various areas such as chip design, manufacturing, packaging, and sales. The quality and efficiency of chip production heavily rely on the technological level and precision of the lithography machines, a crucial equipment in chip manufacturing.
However, due to escalating global trade tensions and US export control policies on Chinese high-tech companies like SMIC, the company has been unable to purchase advanced lithography machines and other equipment from the United States. This has prompted SMIC to cancel a $24 billion lithography machine order with the US company ASML, attracting significant attention and raising concerns about alternative markets for chip sales.
The cancellation of the lithography machine order by SMIC is influenced by both the global trade environment and domestic policies. As one of the largest chip manufacturers globally, SMIC’s decision has implications for the global chip industry. The uncertain global trade environment has disrupted the chip supply chain, while the Chinese government’s support for the chip industry has limited its domestic development.
The event’s impact on the global chip industry is two-fold. On one hand, competition in the global chip market will intensify, requiring major chip companies to enhance their technological capabilities and supply chain management. On the other hand, SMIC’s actions may inspire imitation by other countries, further intensifying global chip market competition.
Analyzing the impact of this event reveals that SMIC’s cancellation affects not only the global chip industry but also the US technology sector. Intel, one of the major US tech giants, has highlighted the significant impact on the global chip supply chain, prompting questions about the effectiveness of the Biden administration’s policies for the US industry.
Addressing this challenge requires several approaches. Firstly, China should strengthen international cooperation to collectively navigate the uncertainties in the global trade environment. Secondly, domestic policies should be enhanced to support and promote the development of the chip industry within China. Lastly, SMIC should focus on capacity building, continuously improving technological capabilities, and enhancing supply chain management.
China doesn’t use forced labour to make shoes and apparel. It is another political bit of nonsense that the US government made up.
The US government even claimed that China uses forced labour to pluck cotton, just like how the USA enslaved black people to pick cotton in the past. Goodness gracious, what nonsense, who even uses human beings to pluck cotton nowadays. That’s the old primitive way of the USA. Most of the cotton in China is machine-picked and high-speed packed.
So, This is Happening in West Maui, It’s changes EVERYTHING for Oprah & the Rock
The way these people have been treated is beyond disgusting. Greene lies through his teeth. Banks should freeze their mortgages for at least a minimum of three years to allow the people to get back on their feet.
Funny story. In 1986, I went through basic at Fort Cambell, Kentucky. I had a two-year degree, and so I entered as an E3. A couple of weeks into the training, the 1stSgt called me into his office. He’s reviewing my record and commenting that he thinks my records are wrong. Because of my two-year degree, he thinks I should have entered as an E4.
He looks at me and asks, “When you enlisted, did they promise you E4?” I quickly answered, “Yes, 1stSgt.” He quickly responds, “I knew it! I will have you promoted to E4, but it will take a week or two. I said, “Thank you 1stSGT!” and was dismissed.
A couple of weeks later, the C.O. of the training company stopped me on the way back from evening chow and said, “I wanted you to know that your next LES will reflect that you were promoted to E4. I cannot have you pinned while you are in basic, nor can you wear the rank because you would be the same rank as some of the soldiers assigned to the company, but, you have been promoted to E4.” I said, “thank you sir,” saluted and went on my way.
As soon as I graduated, I upgraded all my rank insignia to SP4. I get to Aberdeen Proving Grounds for schooling, and as I check-in, the soldier behind the counter asks, “Are you promotable?” I did not know what that meant, but I said, yes. Because I identified as E4 promotable, I was assigned to the barracks with all the other E4s and NCOs going through the same school for retraining. No drill sergeants for me!
My Mum was a very formidable Italian lady (all five feet three inches of her!) and took very little nonsense from anybody!! When my sister was 15 and I was 9 my sister went out for the night with a young guy who was 18 (Mum didn’t know this or it would not have been allowed) She was told to be back by 10.00 pm, no later! Midnight approached and my parents were not happy (this was in the days before Mobile Phones) They finally turned up and my Dad went out to remonstrate with the young man whilst my Mum exploded at my sister who was well aware what kind of trouble she was in. Dad came back in with a cut lip where the young Guy had punched him!! Mum grabbed one of my Dad’s hobnail boots went outside and proceeded to bash the young guy around the head and shoulders, loudly cursing him in Italian! The guy screamed at my Mum that he would get the Police on her, she shouted back ‘Do it! my daughter’s 15!! I’ll have you in prison! and every syllable corresponded with another blow to his head and face! After about 10 minutes of the the guy ran away screaming in fear. The next day, right outside our house, the pavement was covered with bloodstains!
New IRS $600 Tax Rule For 2023 (Venmo & Cash App & PayPal)
Americans screwed over YET AGAIN. Good thing, everything is in my Chinese family, not me personally. $20,000 threshold to $600. No fucking way!
You need a drivers license in order to drive your privately owned automobile on public roads. If you drive on your own private property, or someone else’s private property with their permission? No.
The whackos who told you that a driver’s license is for commercial drivers belong to a weird fringe conspiracy cult called “Sovereign Citizens.” To give you an idea how dumb these loonies are, they’re the ones that Flat Earthers point to and say “god, those people will believe anything.”
Sovereign Citizens have all kinds of bizarre beliefs that basically focus on the notion “you do not have to obey any law you do not consent to.” They believe they do not have to obey any law enforcement officers except county sheriffs, they do not have to pay taxes, and that (yes, I’m serious) the Federal government sells each American citizen at birth, and so a “birth certificate” is actually a record of sale to a foreign government.
As you might imagine, these dingbats get arrested rather frequently. When they do, they generally go into court shaking their fists and screaming that the government has no jurisdiction over them and no right to put them on trial, which…goes about as well as you might imagine.
People and people, but this will put Americans into a coma:
Older people going naked in city center parks. (I am not going to post pictures, because if I do I will get blocked by Quora moderators who obviously are not German and have never been to Germany).
16 year olds drinking beer or wine.
Kids riding alone on buses and trains.
Autobahn on a Friday.
Some people will behave like concentration camp guards but when you forget your credit card they will send it to you in the mail.
The U.S. thinks that it is exceptional and that the U.S. must always lord over the world. There lies the problem it is certainly not exceptionally strong or good. It may be seen as exceptionally cruel and evil to the developing nations of the world.
China’s phenomenal growth and rise in a way, together with the phenomenal rise of the non western world has resulted in the ending of a Western centric or U.S. dominated world that is in fact a virtual colonisation post colonialism for 300 odd years.
In effect the poor and underdeveloped countries were forced or connived into the so call rules based international order but in effect it is a set of rules to preserve the wealth of the west and continue the looting and theft of resources of the poor to enriched the west. From 1946-at least 2000. You can call this virtual colonialism.
China together with BRICS effectively put and end or at least the beginning of the end of this virtual colonialism order. That upset the U.S. to no end. That is easy to understand. If the biggest mafia in town lost its ability to steal, to or loot at will it may burnt down some buildings and businesses and probably go on a shooting spree. So you can expect war mongering and doing some shit.
But it does not matter what or how U.S. rave and rant. Asia alone represents 60% of the worlds GDP and U.S. is now a mere shadow of itself since 1945 where its economy alone represented 52% of the world’s economy. Today in 2023 China’s growth alone is 36.4% and the entire G7 including the U.S. together adds up to a mere 25.6%! The Ukraine war and the U.S. sanctions and pure robbery of Russia’s reserves will lead to the end of U.S. dollar hegemony and so will western financial institutions.
To me the more the U.S. try to curb China the faster China will eclipse the U.S. There is nothing the U.S. that can do that don’t make the status worst for the U.S. Today it tries to stop the export of Chips to China. It won’t work. It actually means it actually heighten. It’s inflation and suffer crippling shortages. You see China itself now represent 30% of world demand and another 30% of worlds manufacturing. This ban in effect, deprives the U.S. companies of doing business to 50–60% of the world’s demand.
This act will means bankrupting US and its allies chip makers. China will face some challenges. But in a short 5 years 90% of its chips requirements will be Chinese made and in a decade China will totally handle its own demand and it will totally kill off the U.S. chips. Like everything China will make it faster, better and cheaper.
ANGRY Young Man DIES; Meets ANCIENT Soul Family He Has Known for LIFETIMES!
Still shot of a Blackwater contractor during the Battle of Najaf in April of 2004
Service members of different stripes in a circumstantial combat situation can certainly order each other around if it’s in a joint environment, but in the most recent conflicts, now private military contractors may just be giving the orders too.
During the Battle of Najaf in the early days of the Iraq War, Iraqi insurgents from the Mahdi Army began to surround a Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Building within the city of Najaf. Within the confines of the CPA compound, the personnel consisted of CPA employees, Spanish/El Salvadoran soldiers, a detachment of US Marines, and an eight man team of Blackwater contractors.
The situation was deteriorating with insurgents having grabbed an unfortunate El Salvadoran soldier, shoving a grenade into his mouth then pulling the pin in full view of the CPA compound. This was on top of the firefights were breaking out between those in the CPA compound and insurgents who were now attempting storm the compound with the mob that had just killed the soldier.
While this was all occurring, a Blackwater contractor called for help to his higher up’s in Baghdad who had been monitoring the situation. The Blackwater contractors in Baghdad then made an ultimate judgment call to intervene with the CPA compound battle when it became apparent that the US military itself will not provide any sort of assistance in the confusion.
Three Little Bird helicopters were then loaded up with six Blackwater contractors coupled with one Little Bird filled with boxes of ammunition and equipment due to the CPA contractors notifying that they were now dangerously low on ammunition.
The contractors then flew to the CPA compound, unloaded the ammunition and additional support, then evacuated a wounded Marine who had been shot during the battle.
With the additional support of the contractors and ammunition, the combined force of Blackwater contractors, Marines, Coalition troops managed to keep the insurgents from reaching the CPA compound. CPA employees would reload empty magazines then run it up to the men who were fighting off the insurgents, keeping everyone busy.
The Blackwater contractors would find themselves dictating where the Marines and other troops to head to during the battle, which would later draw controversy from critics who claimed that now mercenaries were giving orders to military troops.
Eventually, the siege of the CPA compound would subside after almost two days of battle which could be viewed on many videos via Youtube.
Infamous video of Blackwater contractor Travis Haley during the Battle of Najaf. Critics would later use this video to denote how he had no qualms killing random people with a second nature attitude when he was literally going after insurgents attempting to assault the compound.
The Battle of Najaf would serve as an example of how private military contractors mixed with troops in circumstances that called them to fight side by side.
This does not look like it would end anytime soon with the Russo-Ukraine conflict where Russian private military contractors from the Wagner Group and Russian troops are fighting alongside each other in the conflict.
SCOTT RITTER, ANDREI MARTYANOV, AND GARLAND NIXON JOIN ON NATO, UKRAINE’S TIME RUNS OUT
In this special roundtable, Scott Ritter Andrei Martyanov and Garland Nixon join the program to discuss the ongoing developments of the Ukraine proxy war, what it tells us about Russia, and the growth of the multipolar world in the context of history.
I’m going to try to provide an answer with a slightly different perspective.
First off, I’m an Australian Chinese (in that order), born and educated in Singapore. My family is Peranakan or Straits-born meaning that we were the products of intermarriage between the Chinese and locals in what was then British Malaya.
So I grew up speaking English and Malay and a smattering of dialects. As I was educated in English mission schools, I did not learn Mandarin.
As far as I can remember, I was taught to hate Chinese and Communists. Pretty much everything I read about Communists described them as a threat peace-loving people everywhere. And China was communist.
I think I was 17 when I first read Dick Wilson’s A Quarter of Mankind. This was followed by Emmanuel Hsu’s The Rise of Modern China. In those pages I glimpsed a very different China. So I started reading Chinese history, from the Qin dynasty, and continued my inquiry at university.
Most of my working life was spent as a journalist, a sub-editor to be specific, and much of my work involved, among other things, fact checking.
Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy opened up a new era of ties with China and Singapore was quick to get in on the act (read quick to realise the profits that could be made trading with China. That is the subject of a whole different set of questions and answers). Trading with the enemy? No, it cannot be. But it was.
The opening up of relations with China also led to a relaxation of travel restrictions on travel to the Middle Kingdom. Up till then, I had visited Hong Kong and could only imagine life across the border. I also visited Taiwan and imagined China to be everything the opposite of Taiwan.
Fast-forward many years when I moved to Australia and started travelling to China (Shenzhen, Chengdu, Guangdong, and Shanghai).
I saw modern cities, efficient public transport, rampant capitalism, and I felt completely safe even in quiet streets in the wee hours of the morning.
Many of the Chinese I met were as friendly as people in other places that I have travelled. Often friendlier. Especially to an ethnic Chinese who did not speak the language (I started learning conversational Mandarin at 54 and can now read a write a little).
To the core of the question: Much of the information about China that’s peddled about is false. Many people have very wrong impressions and ideas about the PRC. And most of the people who hold these ideas will never go to China to see and verify for themselves if what is reported is anywhere near the truth.
So I, and many others, try to provide a balance by correcting the grosser erros of belief held by many as a result of, well, propaganda.
A footnote: In my youth I wanted to move to the West (America, UK, the Scandinavian countries, … thataway). If I were young again, I would go east. To China.
Netherlands Reconsiders Huawei After 5G Successes
“If US is not learning from China, it is more important that China learns from US. China should never forget who forsaken her in its hours of need. To be kind to enemy is to be cruel to oneself .”
I won a scratch ticket for $100,000 one hundred thousand. the accoutant handled the taxes.
After claiming my prize we had 2 weeks where different reporters were looking for pictures and wanting to do an interview with the store that sold the winning ticket. churches and charities knocking on the door looking for a slice.
3 people i went to grade school with came knocking I had not seen them in 10 years. Family calling wanting to get a share or asking for a loan they cant afford to repay.
people were confused when I told them I spent it all.
I divided it up 3 ways and gave equal amounts to my 3 kids for thier college funds. I
f I ever hit another winning ticket I am getting a lawyer to deal with the bullcrap and I am gonna move to Alaska to a remote cabin in the middle of nowheresville with no phone or roads.
That you can hope to understand China using the English medium.
I am confident I am in the top 1 percentile when it comes to Chinese proficiency in the pool of English speakers beyond the mainland.
I won’t be surprised if I am in the top 0.1 percentile either.
But if I were honest, I will admit as an east Asian that I find it difficult to keep up with the mainland, even though I possess skills and networks to access media and contacts within greater China.
No, it’s not just about the language struggle, which exists even for someone like me with more than a decade’s worth of formal education in the Chinese language.
It is about developing a contextual understanding for mainland frames of reference and how the mainlander thinks.
That is mostly absent in this medium, even among the rare pool of articles grounded in facts. Most are written by east Asians, not westerners.
My advice? Don’t waste time on the China expert who doesn’t speak Chinese. Even foreigners who do are often wrong or misguided, because that is what it takes to pass through the stringent msm filter these days.
The new employee was just starting, his first day, first morning on the job…
Every morning employees would gather all of their supplies, tools, etc. and load their vans to be ready for the day’s work.
All new employees are to ride with a senior person to gain knowledge and get the hang of things. This was our busiest season and the day was FULL of jobs that needed to be done – all previously scheduled and set in time slots.
This employee was in the process of helping load the van when he came to me and said:
“I need to go to an appointment today; I need the (driver) to drop me off and then pick me up, or wait for me to get done.”
Me: “I am sorry, we are too busy to be able to do all of that on work time. If it is important why don’t you just take the day off, go to your appointment and come back tomorrow ready to go?”
Employee: “Are you F@*king kidding me? What kind of place is this that you don’t care about your employees!!”
Me: “Ummmm, I said you can have the day off, it’s your first day here and I still said go ahead and take the day and come back tomorrow ready to go, I am not sure I understand?”
Employee: “This is BullS@@t, I can’t believe you won’t take care of your employees and have him drive me to my appointment across town and wait for me, you’re F@*ing ridiculous.”
Me: “Um, I am trying to be reasonable here and work with you. How about you can take your own car and follow behind him and when you need to go you can just cut out and go to your appointment. We don’t have the time to do that for you. ”
Employee: “This is ridiculous, I can’t believe you treat your employees this way, you are being so unfair, this is Bull S#@t, F@*!ng ridiculous!”
Me: “Actually, why don’t you go ahead and go home and not come back at all. Thank you for your time.”
Employee then was shocked that I fired him and could not believe or understand why I was letting him go.
This was truly shocking to me. Fired him on the spot within ONE hour of being employed.
“Ukrainian soldiers are being DRUGGED and forced to fight” Ex-CIA Larry Johnson
We now have reports that captured Ukrainian soldiers are turning up drugged out of their minds on some kind of inhibition blocker. Reports say these soldiers are going on withdrawals after being captured. Ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson joins us to discuss.
The relationship with China from the U.S. perspective as always needs to be one of subservience and submissive to the U.S. That has been the default mode of what US expect it to be since 1945. Let’s call a spade a spade. The U.S. cannot deal with a nation that can and will say no to the U.S.
But if I should be completely honest to the US I will recommend to them to move on and keep your winnings. China with 1.4 billion highly discipline, extremely hard working people who are driven and industrious, today equipped with the state of art infrastructure and leading in 37/44 key and strategic technology cannot be push aside without untold damages to the U.S. itself.
But the U.S. political system, one based totally on popularity contest means that it cannot be pragmatic and realistic. It has to drain tremendous resources to try to keep its hegemonic place, even if it means bankrupting the U.S. that is precisely what the U.S is doing today.
For China is is so simple. Let the US have a long and strong rope to hang itself slowly to death. Lure the U.S. to fight China in a way that drains away the U.S. resources, influence and turned away its allies one by one. It does that be staying the moral high ground. It is the U.S. that is desperate so while the U.S. goes low, China stays high. It is winning without a fight. Remember Mohamad Ali “Rope a dope” the big George Foreman drains all its energy and knock him out in 15 rounds.
China is doing the “rope a dope” while the U.S. is ranting and panting away. Trump thought it wins popularity by starting the trade war with China. China pretends to avoid war but knows so well that it will hurt and harm the U.S. several folds of what it hurts China. Do you notice Biden wants to end the tariff and China says. Not so fast Amigo!
The implications to US allies are particularly bad and the more of a U.S. lackey the worst it gets. Asia is doing just fine and dandy.
How did it come to be? Well China grew astronomically strong economically, politically and even militarily and the U.S. is in denial and Americans are ignorant and naive about China till it is way past too late. The U.S. is in a quick sand. The more it struggles. The faster it sinks.
Since you asked about implications, The US pay the highest price for doing shit on China. The world is moving on faster than the U.S. realised. The U.S. dollar hegemony is all but gone. The U.S. and western order may appeal to a handful of its close allies. No different from a pack of street hoodlums hanging on to its biggest bully as beneficiaries.
US debts will reach 100 trillion in a decade, US deficits cannot go down. It cannot make anything at less than twice it cost worldwide. US standard of living has stagnated back 60 years to the 1960s. And the poor U.S. growing while it’s middle class is collapsing.
Meanwhile for China, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Once it made T-shirts and Toys. Today it makes your computers and smartphones. Soon it makes your EVs and AI and Jet planes. It middle class is now at 700 million will grow to 1 billion people within a generation. 4–6 times the size of the U.S. middle income.
Harvard Economist Reveals Shocking SECRET About China In 2023
Dr. Keyu Jin is one of the most outstanding China insiders. She is a professor at the London School of Economics and has an incredible knowledge of how the US and China both work. In today’s video I share with you her insights into China innovation and how China really works.
16 People Describe What A Dead Body Smell Like
1. “Understand that a pound or two of rotten meat only gives you a faint whiff of the smell of a full-grown corpse. The power of the smell is incredible. Personally, I’m not sure it’s describable. You want to gag when you’re fifty feet away. It can take years for the smell to leave a house. It just lingers in the background. Cars are totalled by the insurance company for the odor. And the guy driving the wrecker can’t drive fast enough to get away from the smell.
It gets on your skin and clothes. (People use bio-suits for body removal for a reason.) Maggots abound, fluids abound, and I’ve never read a good description of the experience. No matter how well you write, it will be but a pale imitation of the experience.”
2. “Buy a Boston Butt pork roast and let it rot. Pigs and humans are apparently similar, meat-wise. It actually turns like a sea blue-green color. (It smells like farts and then gets worse.)”
3. “A dead body, specifically a human corpse has a rank and pungent smell mixed with a tinge of sickening sweetness. Imagine a rotting piece of meat with a couple drops of cheap perfume and you’re halfway to understanding what a human corpse smells like.”
4. “It varies from person to person and how long they have been decomposing.
You get a very sharp, foul smell similar to horrible cheese mixed with the same smell you get from a full trash can in the sun.
If the body decompressed and they had a full bladder, you’ll also smell body fluids, so stale urine and straight fecal matter. For those who don’t know, toilet poop smells bad, but shit that is airborne, not water logged or anything is straight horrific on its own.
If you have flying insect and larva development increase smell this far times two. If it’s hot outside times three and if it’s cold out and the heat in the house is cranked it’s times five at minimum for the dry heat.
The worse part is the materials they died on. Wood mixed with death has a woody slime smell mixed with the death ratio above, carpet has a wet padding smell (like cat wizz) plus death and it’ll it’s on furniture it’s really fun as it usually leaks through to the carpet and wood subfloor.
If you’re smelling these things outside a house, you don’t want to be near it when they go in. Cleaning and deodorizing that is pretty rough.”
“I have assisted in an autopsy on a body several days old, and even though it was in a huge chilling compartment, the smell was in the whole complex. It smells like there are a million dead and rotting rats around you.”
5. “Rotten eggs, feces, and a used toilet left out for a month x 1000. It is unholy.
The smell gets into your throat and you can taste it. You will literally run to find some clean air. Even then, it lingers and you can’t quite get the smell away. Even though you can no longer physically smell it, you remember it and it takes quite a while to get over it.”
6. “A dead body to me smells like a cross between rotting meat and very dirty kitty litter box. Very distinct smell that you won’t forget.”
7. “You ever have like a dead mouse or something hiding somewhere and you just smell something awful? It’s pretty much that. The best I can sum it up to is like shit mixed with meat…in a weird way
8. “In my experience, any formerly living creature, whether human or non-human, has that same powerful, pungent, disgusting odor that I can only describe as a garbage can left to ferment in high heat for an extended period of time. It does vary some between species, though.
A couple of other answers written in this feed point to some things that are accurate. First, two chemicals, Putrescine and Cadaverine, are both found in decomposing tissue. Both are diamenes and they are produced as a result of amino acids (most notably Lysine) breaking down. They each gave their own characteristic odor which by themselves are bad enough. When they are combined due to the simultaneous presence, they are indescribable.
Second, pigs are indeed closest to humans in terms of the odor they give off when decomposing. Any animal with a musk gland (skunks, badgers, and muskrats are some examples. I’m sure there are many others as well) are also pretty stinky when they break down. All produce these same two chemicals because when you think about it, any creature that breathes in Oxygen and releases Carbon Dioxide is going to have a similar metabolic makeup that, when stopped is going to respond in a similar manner.”
9. “Once, I took a trip. When I returned, there was a terrible odor in my den. I know the odor of dead animals on the road or in the forests. Mom puts out poison for mice, so I have smelled them under things in her home. There was a rotten odor like this in my den, so I looked under everything, but I found nothing. The next day, I saw some cops and medics at the next apartment. I learned that my neighbor had died and decomposed for days before anyone found him. The odor is sickening. It’s hard to describe fully.”
10. “It depends how long it’s been dead but if you have ever smelled rotten meat it’s similar to that. some words commonly used to describe it would probably be rancid, foul, putrid, the smell of decay, etc. If it’s decomposed down to the skeleton there probably won’t be any smell anymore since the flesh, muscle, and organs are the ones that create the most smell and decay quickly.”
11. “I recently in countered a dead body that had been rotting in a van near my home for 5-7 days. At first, I though it was Korean people making kimchi, but after seeing the body removal with my own eyes I know that the smell was not of pickled vegetables. I work for a plumbing company so I’m always finding myself walking in raw sewage in basements. And I have to say the smell is similar to sewage or waste. Its nauseating and quite foul. Authorities have removed the body, but the area still smells of fragrant corpse. To be honest, I don’t know why you’d ever wonder about this. But yes indeed, it’s very disgusting. As a female I always find myself running out of breath when I’m dealing with sewage, but a body is about 10 times worse.”
Now, death depends on the environment in my opinion. I’ve smelt a few bodies in morgues and things like that, they just smell of death, it’s indescribable really, but you remember that smell. It’s a cold smell, a heavy smell (this is the best way I can describe it).
Rotting corpses of course just smell like any other rotting mammals, next time you spot some road-kill, stop and give it a sniff, pretty much what a rotting human corpse smells like.”
12. “I was a volunteer firefighter and police had to enter the residence before any of us could. The SCBA is automatic. So I quickly put it on a cop to enter the residence of a woman who neighbors haven’t seen in weeks. Those SCBAs block toxins and the cop ran out of the house drowning on his vomit. He claims he smelled her through the mask….That’s how bad a dead person smells. We eat everything. Those toxins in our bodies is what makes us stink so bad when we die. And to make it worse, when I got home I snorted soap while in the shower. A few hours later I began smelling the stench of her again. The bacteria is said to cling to your nostril hair and remultiplies later until it’s gone. I can’t tell you what it smells like. You’ll know it when you do.”
13. “Not very pleasant. It is a very strong, stomach turning, smell. It does in a way smell like rotten eggs, but it is much more intense. That is the best I can describe the smell, but I heard from someone else on how to make a small replica of it. Take a bag of soy beans, saturate them in water,let them stand a few days in heat above 70F while keeping them moist,crush some of the mixture.In a few days you will smell what decaying flesh/protein smells like.”
14. “My brother-in-law died in his appt. & was there 5 days before being found. When my wife & I went for the funeral (just a picture of him, no body) we went to help clean his place. I can’t describe the smell nor will I ever forget it. It permeated all soft things so badly they had to be throw out, we managed to keep a couple tables only. Even the TV stunk after airing out for week.
15. “Take some meat and leave it in a bag outside for about 3 days in the middle of summer. Then open the bag and mix in some Mexican food diarrhea. Add a good helping of the strongest catfish stink bait you can find. Mix well. This is the best that Death will ever smell.”
16. “Living in an apartment building and the guy next door fell in his bathtub (apparently). We didn’t see him often, so it wasn’t anything weird to not see him but his audio books were put on his doorknob and stayed for a couple days (he was blind, they delivered books to him to listen to).
Started smelling really weird, and since my son was just a baby at that time we’d initially thought somehow we hadn’t put a diaper in the garbage and it had ended up somewhere and was stinking up the place, searched high and low but couldn’t find it. The landlady knocked on his door (all our doors, handing out notices) and we mentioned we hadn’t seen him in a bit…half an hour later she was letting the police into his place.
I can’t imagine the smell in the same room though, it was bad enough being in the next apartment!”
No China don’t need the U.S. to survived or even to be a moderate growth economy in 2023. I will argue that containment, decoupling or de-risking of China which to me and most in the world means the same thing, is counter beneficial to the U.S. and good for China in the long term. The U.S. meanwhile loses the worlds. Biggest market or equivalent to the 2nd to the 10th biggest market for the U.S. put together.
There lies the enormity of the U.S. problem. Without China, the U.S. will suffer between 25–50% inflation which will highly impoverish American’s on the one hand with its U.S. brands becoming unsaleable and losing market share by half at least. All these while losing a humongous market.
By right the U.S. ought to not even dare to utter those threatening words but U.S. politicians lose too much to go soft after their media demonised China for a century. Sure China could be richer with the U.S. being rational. But China don’t take threats by the U.S lightly. The US political system is essentially a popularity contest and even if is suicidal the politicians compete to be a bigger China hawk while its own people suffer.
The trouble with threat is once you utter the word on banning China, sanctioning China, decoupling from China, containing China or even de-risking from China. China won’t hold back to defend itself. And China will make sure it will never depend on the U.S. and the west. That means China will totally do its own thing from now onwards.
That is very bad news for the U.S. as China do everything better, faster and cheaper than anyone on earth by a long shot. And the Huawei Mate 60 pro proved beyond doubt that there is nothing it cannot do! The U.S. should really think many times over before it challenge China for American sake. But the trade war and the chip ban proved to me and the world beyond doubt that the U.S. government don’t care about its own people and it’s own economy.
Don’t follow any instruction related to investing money or sanctioning a loan or allocating money UNLESS YOU HAVE A WRITTEN INSTRUCTION from your superior/cby email or whatsApp or paper letter
Never start smoking due to peer pressure or tension. Use bubble gum instead
First Beer with first month paycheck. First hard liquor after six months of paychecks at least.
Don’t express any political opinion or make any comment apart from work and movies and games and sports
Don’t ever go over your superiors head unless he is on leave or unreachable or is a total dumbo
When a woman wants to come to your office to talk to you, keep your door open or ask a friendly female colleague to sit in the office during the meeting under the pretext of taking notes
Never meet any Vendor or Supplier outside work or at your home. Always meet in office and keep your door open during the meeting and ask a colleague in to pretend to take notes
Never accept any gifts from Vendors or Suppliers whose value exceeds ₹2000/— unless everyone else is accepting the gifts and it’s been approved by your superiors
Never ever accept a meeting in a Hotel room with a potential client or customer. Always MEET IN THE LOBBY OR COFFEE SHOP where you have CCTV cameras
You may be finding yourself forced to spend a lot of money by being in the company of your superiors and indulge in pubs, golfing and high class call girls. Resist. Make excuses and resist until they get the message
No more than 120 ml of Scotch / Rum with 180 ml Club Soda Or Tonic Water Or 3 Tequila Shots at any office party , in fact my son makes the excuse that his liver is weak and avoids any drink entirely
Save around 45% of your paycheck if possible. At least 30%
Don’t ever eat Chickpeas, Beans, Cauliflowers, Kadalai, Sundal for breakfast. If you fart, you become a joke and it’s tough to recover your reputation
Never assume your female colleague who laughs and talks to you likes you romantically. Always ASK if in doubt. Simply ask “Are we friends or could this turn into something more”. Don’t presume.
She Is Against Mandatory Paternity Tests At Birth
This is trending in the United States. Jeeze!
“That woman who said requiring DNA testing would open up a can of worms scared the daylight out of me. Is she suggesting that a whole host of men are providing for children that aren’t theirs and letting this be known would blow up lots of families? What on earth have you women been up to?”
Graham Perry is a UK-based China observer, and wrote a good piece on China/US relations which is worth reading at length:
On the surface things look good in the US; unemployment is low; their economy is growing at 2.4% and inflation is falling. And yet consumer confidence, according to Irwin Stelzer in the Sunday Times, is at its lowest in four months. And Prof Percy Allen – in Pearls and Irritations – concludes that American society is more divided than it has been since its Civil War of the 1860s. “According to a Pew Research poll
about six in ten Republicans and more than half of Democrats have a very unfavourable view of the other party. Thirty years ago, fewer than a quarter in both parties rated the other party badly.”
A recent CNN poll showed almost 70% of Republicans do not accept the electoral legitimacy of the Biden administration. And almost 60% of voters lack confidence that elections in the US today reflect the will of the people.
Other polls by States United Action and Chicago University’s CPOST Research Centre found that over half US voters think elections won’t solve America’s most fundamental political and social problems, and almost half consider political elites, both Democrats and Republicans, are the most immoral and corrupt people in America. The US is fast becoming a dysfunctional nation – and that was before yesterday’s sacking of Speaker McCarthy.
But when it comes to China, Americans unite and rally around the flag. Hatred of China is the one single issue that brings America together.President Biden’s #1 worry
is that China will become the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world. Biden has promised to stop that. He has referred to China as “bad people” who when they have problems do “bad things” The demonisation of China has clearly worked. The 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 83% of Americans hold negative views of China. The share who says China is an “enemy” is now 38%. AnIPSOS poll
found one-third of Americans view China as an imminent threat and two in five Americans think that war with China is likely in the next five years.
The US under Bush and Obama held to the view that China’s economic growth and increased prosperity would bring a relaxation of political rhetoric as the number of Chinese middle class citizens increased. Expanding economic rights would lead inevitably to increased political rights and the downgrading of the role of China’s Communist Party. China would become “compliant reasonable and accommodating”. It has not happened. Billionaires may flourish in China (800+ in number) but the Party remains at the apex of power. China has not changed.
Trump heralded a new and antagonistic approach to China when he started a trade war by unilaterally imposing high tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the US. And when that did not work, he resorted to allegations of genocide against the Uighurs in Xinjiang province to try to demonise China in the eyes of the world. But it, too, has not worked. China remains China and continues to be welcomed by the rest of the world in part because of its Belt and Road Initiative – as historian Professor Francis Fukiyama has said “China has lent more than $1 trillion to more than 100 countries through the Initiative, dwarfing Western spending in the developing world and stoking US anxieties about the spread of Beijing’s power and influence”.
Trump’s successor, President Biden increased economic sanctions on China and announced that “he would not allow China’s economy to overtake America’s” even though, as Prof Allen notes, most economists think that this is inevitable given China’s huge population and income gap.
The flashpoint is Taiwan for two reasons. First, China’s long-standing policy to reunify China with Taiwan and, second, as explained in yesterday’s Post #473, the US is worried sick that a confrontation with China could seriously jeopardise the US economy by impeding, even stopping, the export from Taiwan to the US of essential semi-conductors. Within the US hierarchy – the White House, Capitol Hill, the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs of Staff – there are those who want to give China “a bloody nose” and fundamentally derail China’s economic growth by military action – the Hawks – before China is way ahead and out of sight. “Act Today Because Tomorrow Is Too Late” is their cry.
There are also Doves who fear hostilities and prefer an uneasy but non-confrontational approach to China. For the Doves, second place to China is preferrable to war with China It is not clear who will win but certainly if the Hawks prevail over the Doves the world will be set on a most dangerous path.
Oliver Anthony- Rich Men North of Richmond (Remix Mashup ft Dax & Jo Tyler)
At Papa John’s Pizza I was getting fed up that they weren’t hiring the sufficient amount of staff to properly run the store. Along with doing bike deliveries I also cashed, took phone calls, entered orders, swept, mopped and emptied garbage. They kept a skeleton staff of 3 workers per shift and whenever they had to pay overtime they grumbled and wanted explanations as to why.
Frustrated and fatigued I applied for Dominos Pizza delivery. This is how snippets of the conversation went during the interview.
Interview Lady: We pay the highest hourly rate of all pizza restaurants. $21 per hour.
Me: Papa John’s paid $20 an hour. This is just a dollar more.
Lady: Yes! The highest rate for delivery riders in the country!
Lady: When you come to the restaurant you’ll be happy to see that you’ll be getting so much deliveries. Endless deliveries!
Me: How much do I get paid per delivery?
Lady: $7 per delivery!
Me: That’s the lowest delivery payment of all the pizza restaurants.
Lady: Yes but you’ll be doing so many deliveries, getting so much tips that it wouldn’t matter.
(I later found out that Dominos charged customers $20 for delivery, the highest delivery charge of all fast food restaurants in the country. They paid the driver $7 out of the $20 charge and the restaurant pocketed the remaining $13 for themselves.)
Me: What are the closing hours?
Lady: 10:30pm.
Me: You mean like only on Fridays and Saturdays?
Lady: No everyday.
Me: Thats a bit late and taxis round here stop working around 8pm. Any transport provided for me to get home?
Lady: No.
Me: Will I be able to use the Domino’s motorcycle to get home? (I was allowed this benefit in a previous restaurant I worked that had this same issue)
Lady: No.
Me: Can I leave earlier then?
Lady: Of course. Due to your transport situation we’ll allow you to leave 10 minutes earlier!
Lady: We are a very flexible organization.
Me: How so? (inwardly groaning, expecting more bullshit)
Lady: We give you the choice to work either as contracted or non-contracted.
Me: What does that mean?
Lady: Contracted means that you work somewhat as a permanent staff. You can work all the overtime hours you want. However overtime would be paid at the usual rate of $21 an hour. No time and a half. The same applies for public holidays.
Non contracted is like temporary staff. We pay the usual time and a half for overtime but as you are non contracted you don’t get overtime hours as we send you home after you’ve made your 40hrs a week. We don’t allow you to work on holidays so you basically get your flat salary every week whereas with a contract you are allowed more hours.
Me: More hours at the same rate?
Lady: Yes.
Me: Wouldn’t that be a lose-lose situation?
Lady: No. It’s a win-win!
Me: Am I entitled to a free meal?
Lady: No.
Me: And the uniform?
Lady: We are the only pizza restaurant that provides free uniforms for staff?
Me: How many uniforms?
Lady: Two free Dominos shirts and a cap. We are having them laundered after being returned by a delivery driver who recently left.
Me: You’re giving me a guy’s used clothes?
No: No. She only used them for two days. They’re practically new.
Me: You’re giving used female clothing?
Lady: It’s a free uniform!
Suffice to say I instantly and humbly returned to Papa John’s and their skeleton staff.
Mystery Cambodia
A nice fun video that takes you to another world. LOL.
It will probably upset some folks, but too bad. This is real life. This guy interviews some prostitutes in Cambodia. If you don’t want the experience then you can pass on this video. It’s ok.
Originally Answered: How can we become a Winner at everything in Life?
What made Muhammed Ali the best Boxer in the world? What made Michael Phelps go above and beyond every time he swam? How come Gandhi made so much more of an impact than anybody else?
None of them were exceptional people since birth.
Sure, there is the claim that Michael Phelps, for example, has double the lung-capacity of most humans, which has been disproven.
And while he does have some physical advantages, like longer arms and shorter legs, while being tall, so does everybody else he is competing against!
What made the difference in their ability was not their born talents but rather the way they approached what they did.
They were willing to work harder and produce more than anyone else was willing to.
They are willing to do whatever it takes, go the extra mile and do more than those around them, which is what eventually gets them to succeed.
I remember reading an article back when Michael Phelps was just getting traction, that talked about how ridiculous his training regiment is and how it was way too intense.
At the time many doctors and health experts argued about his routine.
Today, I cannot find any article even mentioning that he was doing too much anymore.
After about 2 days of looking for that article I gave up.
All articles about him only praise his efforts and his routine; obviously because it worked.
He revolutionized the field.
The same can be said about Mahatma Gandhi, who did something no one else dared to do to make a statement that inspired millions.
And the effort that Muhammad Ali made can be clearly seen by one of his quotes:
I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. That is when I start counting, because then it really counts.
That’s what makes you A CHAMPION. — Muhammad Ali
Each of them made their entire day about training, sacrificing a lot of their day so they could focus on just that one thing.
And then we wonder why we cannot succeed.
The big question you need to ask yourself is: Are you doing enough?
Are the results showing up in the way you want to? Are you succeeding or do you need to do more?
Now, I cannot give you the exact stats of the men named above, as every page I visited had different numbers they boasted about, most of them disclaiming each other.
So I will instead share my own story and numbers to make this point.
Now I am by no means even close to as great as the men above, but I hope the point still comes across.
I started out as a Writer with a WordPress Blog.
At the beginning, it was just to practice my consistency and I wrote about 300 posts in my first year, yielding a total of 20 followers.
This was very little and so I switched to a site called Quora. In my first 6 months there I wrote about 1,000 posts, averaging 3 a day, before I wrote one answer that went viral.
This was back in 2016. Since then I have averaged about 3 posts a day consistently over the years.
I have been published on The Huffington Post, Time, and many more sites, have over 75,000 followers, 60M content views and get over 1M views a month still, and none of it because I was a good writer!
My very first post that I wrote was a page long block of text that was essentially a Writer’s Nightmare.
The only thing that pushed me through was that no one else wrote that much.
Many people wrote one post a day, if that, some even less.
And let me tell you this, after 18 Months of writing every day, the one viral post did not feel like a stroke of luck anymore, it felt deserved.
The point I want to make here is it is not about where you start or what prerequisites you have.
Winning is not about being better than everybody else.
Winning is about being the last person running in a race where everyone else gave up.
If you want to win you have to break through the noise by either doing more than others are willing to or doing it longer than they want to.
I have seen so many amazing writers leave Quora to never write again because they just did not break through the noise.
Mahatma Gandhi just did not eat, Michael Phelps only swam a lot, and Muhammad Ali trained a bit.
We have all done these things before, they are nothing special when you look at them like that. It’s not like they invented something none of us could ever dream of or did something that was so unbelievable it looked like Magic.
What made them special was the fact that they kept pushing and kept going with it when many people around them gave up or would have given up!
So let me ask you this then: Are you doing anything that stands out?
When you are working out do you do more and take shorter breaks than anyone else? When you are with your partner do you give them more attention and love than they can handle? When you are working at your job, do you work 10x more than any of your colleagues?
Are you doing anything that stands out?
You cannot expect yourself to win by just doing what everyone else is doing.
Sorry, but you are just not that special!
You have to become special by doing something extraordinary, and I mean that in the most literal sense possible:
Extra-Ordinary!
That means you do not overexert yourself.
Don’t expect to be able to train 6–8 hours a day, 7 days a week after having done no training at all.
Take it one step at a time but work yourself up and stay committed to it.
If you have the time and energy, then you can push further faster; it will get easier.
The 3 posts I wrote took anywhere from 3–6 hours a day at first. Now I can often write better posts in 15 minutes.
It does get easier.
Pick something, anything in your life that you wish to win at, and commit yourself to more of that.
Even if it is just an hour a day, if you do it long enough you will become absolutely amazing at it.
Push your limits day by day, even one more minute each day gets you 6 hours more in just one year.
“Let me tell you something you already know.
The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.
It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain’t about how hard ya hit.
It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.
That’s how winning is done!” — Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa
Breaking US Sanctions: How Huawei Changed US-China Tech War
Carl Zha talks to tech expert TP Huang about how latest Huawei breakthrough in advanced chip design and manufacturing is a game changer in the US waged tech war and economic war against China. Why ultimately US sanctions on China will fail. The rest of this interview is on my Patreon site
During WW2 there was a company that always submitted excellent paper work, head Quarters noticed this and moved their clerk typist to Headquarters, Battalion noticed him and moved him up to their office, he continued to be so dependable the higher ups wanted him, so eventually he ended up in Eisenhower’s front office.
One day, A hard nosed colonel came in to the office and demanded to see Ike, now. The clerk typist asked him, what does this pertain to? The Colonel started getting loud, said he didn’t need to explain anything to a clerk typist.
Ike came out to see the commotion, the colonel again was indignant.
Ike looked around the waiting room, saw another colonel sitting there, took an eagle pin off that colonel’s collar, and pinned it on the collar of the clerk, and said “ Now tell the colonel what you want”, and returned into his office.
The clerk was a colonel for the duration of his enlistment.
On a daily basis, my team and I would clean toilets, floors, rooms, the kitchen, our rifles, the floor around the barracks, our vests, our magazines and even the dog who lived in the barracks. I hated it.
I truly did not understand why I was spending months of paratrooper training time to clean up places that were spotless, instead of shooting and learning to fight.
And then I experienced my first operation.
My team and I were sent with four vehicles to meet up with a field intelligence unit, and prepare for the operation.
I remember meeting the field intelligence guys. It was the first time in my service meeting men, on duty, serving in a different unit than mine.
Their gear was obviously ill maintained, their vehicles were disgusting and dusty, and I could see the soot on the barrels of their rifles who have obviously not been cleaned in weeks. I wanted to tell their commander he was doing a shit job at maintaining his team’s gear.
And then it struck me.
All that cleaning during training has turned me into a neat freak.
Everything, even now in my apartment, needs to be perfectly placed, spotless and maintained. There are no excuses, and there should be none. An organized living is the basis for an organized life.
The lesson I took from all this epiphany?
There is shit in life you will not want to do, and you might even hate doing it, but truly successful people do the things they do not want to do, as best as they can, because eventually it will pay off in the long run.
China-Japan-South Korea Upcoming Summit: What’s Behind this Surprising Diplomatic Shift??
In a surprising turn of events, China has recently announced its willingness to hold a summit with Japan and South Korea leaders. This unexpected move begs the question: what has prompted this significant change? Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, revealed that the three countries have reached an agreement to convene a meeting of their foreign ministers “in the next few months,” with the intention of facilitating a gathering of leaders as soon as possible. Undoubtedly, this initiative is driven by the collective interests of the three parties involved.
This development comes on the heels of China’s denouncement, in late August, of the statement released at the conclusion of the Camp David summit. The gathering, which brought together the leaders of the US, Japan, and South Korea, raised concerns about transforming the Asia-Pacific region into a geopolitical battleground. However, China’s willingness to engage in dialogue with its neighboring nations demonstrates an intriguing diplomatic shift. Be sure to subscribe to my channel for regular updates on global affairs & geopolitical shifts. Don’t miss out on my in-depth analysis of significant events shaping the world today!
The US is digging for a deeper hole.
As Washington reportedly plans to update its export curbs against China in October, an analysis report by a Dutch media posits that the previous export curbs imposed a year ago exposed the Biden Administration seem to have no clear idea of their objectives.
According to Dutch media Bits&Chips, the semiconductor restrictions against China are likely a product of the US struggle between hawks and doves concerning the China issue, leading to loopholes and a lack of clear goals.
To consider the interests of US-based semiconductor equipment and material suppliers, the US government allows the delivery of equipment that may be used to make advanced chips, highlighting the incompleteness and inconsistency of the curbs.
The US Bureau of Industry and Security set a threshold that requires exporters to get a license before shipping to China for equipment that can make logic chips with FinFET or GAAFET architecture of 16/14nm or below. However, the current export controls are insufficient if US export controls aim to deny China’s production capabilities of 14nm and below.
On the other hand, the US may not achieve its intended results if it aims to prevent China’s progress in the semiconductor industry, as demonstrated by Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro, which highlights the fact that China can make advanced chips without advanced equipment.
Huawei has obtained crucial patents on 6G technology, which may allow the Chinese company to thrive in the 6G era, according to Simon Chen, chairman of Adata Technology.
A green Toyota Celica drove into the customers’ parking space and a man alighted and walked into the store.
He was a first-time caller.
He was supporting his trousers with his hands.
‘Please I just need a belt. My belt snapped in the car, and I live far away from here. I am late for work and I don’t have money on me now. Can you trust me, I will bring the money at the close of work today’.
O My God!
First business of the day!
A man I never knew?
And here in this country, Nigeria?
‘Give him, he looks genuine. Could as well happen to you!’, one side of the brain was preaching.
‘Don’t!! Could be one of them. You’ll lose if you do!!’, the other side was screaming and countering.
‘Why can’t we live in a world where we can trust people and help them without fear?’, I was trying to make sense of this mental back-and-forth.
I gave him a very good quality belt, made the necessary perforations and he thanked me profusely and left.
5:06 pm:
The green Toyota Celica pulled up.
It was him.
To make good his promise.
Why isn’t life just this good!
Today, many years after that day, he no longer works around the area or passes through the route daily, but for such a small thing, he is one of my most valuable customers and has repaid the trust many, many times over.
Texas Jambalaya
2023 11 07 15 37
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced celery
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup converted rice, uncooked
4 ounces smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
4 ounces ham, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cans Ro*Tel diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 cans Ranch Style Texas beans, undrained
Instructions
In a 5 quart saucepot over medium-high heat, heat oil.
Add onion, green pepper and celery; cook until onions are translucent.
Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer.
Add rice, sausage and ham. Cook 2 to 3 minutes to coat rice with oil, stirring frequently.
Add next 4 ingredients and heat to boiling.
Cover and steam 20 to 25 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
Remove bay leaf, stir in beans and serve.
The Exhausted and Unable to Survive, the Cat was Thrown Out on the Grass to Die
On the 1st of October, 331 B.C.E., the Persian king Darius III finally had that Macedonian pest Alexander the Great right where he wanted him – on a big flat plain where Darius could make full use of his cavalry and 2–1 numerical advantage against the Greek upstart.
The location was Gaugamela in what’s now northern Iraq. For the past three years Alexander had been making Darius’s life a living hell but it was payback time.
At the head of Darius’s forces were 200 heavy chariots. The plan was, as usual, to unleash these monsters running at full speed into the Greek infantry lines. The weather was good, the field was dry – perfect conditions for slaughtering the Greeks and sending them all the way back to the Aegean.
Things…. didn’t work out. As with any battle that took place 3,300 years ago there were different stories about what happened. The only things we know for sure are:
Alexander’s forces killed or captured most of the Persian army at a loss of no more than 1,500 troops; and
The chariots turned out to be entirely useless.
Alexander knew the problem posed by the chariots and was ready for them. He drilled his men to fall back into pockets that would allow the chariot to penetrate the line, only to be met by infantrymen with their spears jammed into the ground pointing directly at the pocket.
What would happen is the horses, running at full speed, would run into the pocket but, facing the spears, would stop suddenly. The charioteers would find themselves surrounded on three sides and no way forward, and horses and chariots don’t reverse easily. As you can see, the chariots mostly went through the gap in the Macedonian line, only to find Alexander leading a cavalry charge back at the gap that wiped them out entirely.
The tactic remained a military favourite against horse soldiers for most of the next 1,800 years.
When the tactic was revived in the 15th century, it similarly made knights on horseback pretty much obsolete.
After Gaugumela, Alexander’s tactics were similarly widely adopted and the use of chariots started to tail off as they became ineffective and easy to lose.
Rich Men North Of Richmond, but it’s a Rap Type Beat
Made a beat to the song everyones talking about rn – Rich Men North Of Richmond by Oliver Anthony. Had a lot of fun with this one, went from idea to finished product in a day. The song isn’t set to a bpm so forgive me for parts that are off time, it was tough putting it all in time. Also shoutout to @TimGuitarLessons I used his audio in some parts.
As you get older, you realize that people who lie constantly have some kind of mental problem. It might be a habit; a neurosis, or a DMS-4 illness. But they are not “right in the head”. Something (not saying what it is) is wrong.
Fully functioning adults do not need to lie. They say things as they are. If they don;t want to answer a question, they say so. They have self-confidence, pride and a sense of self-worth.
…
When I first came to China I started to compare my life as an American, to that of China.
And, as such, I quickly realized that SOMETHING was seriously, very seriously wrong with the United States.
The best way for me to describe this is to imagine that you are married to a mentally ill person. (I was, by the way. My first wife was schizo-effective; which had the worst qualities of bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia). Then you get divorced, and meet up with a healthy person.
It was like that.
…
I am in China. It is a healthy nation. It is calm and peaceful. The leadership works towards allowing people freedom and happiness, and it shows.
When I was in the United States, however, everything was a struggle. One problem after the other. And today, it’s only getting worse.
…
Why do I defend China?
Because a mentally ill nation is attacking it using every single DSM-4 technique in the book.
My girlfriend was to remove the patient’s prostate through a so-called radicalprostatectomy. It was Wednesday morning, a couple of weeks ago.
And Wednesdays can be tough.
A typical Wednesday typically includes brutally waking up very early, getting ready, driving to the hospital, and starting the first scheduled surgery at 8AM sharp. Usually a number of operations are planned, depending on the time they take, and urgency.
The afternoon typically consists of a large number of consultations.
After consulting, she usually drives to her father’s house (which is pretty far away from the hospital), because our daughter will be there, but before leaving the hospital, she always visits the patients who had surgery in the morning to have a little chat about the operation, about how the patient is feeling, and about everyday stuff.
When she was back home, we fetched a drink and talked about our day (“what a day, what a day, what a day”), and watched some TV before dinner.
Suddenly she shouted:
“I forgot to see my patient !!”
The prostate man. In all the Wednesday hubbub, she had totally forgotten about the patient, and driven out of the hospital with other things on her mind. She immediately called the hospital and asked a nurse to tell the patient that she would visit him first thing next morning — promised !
The poor man had been a bit worried, thinking that something was wrong, that the cancer was worse than she had expected, and that this was the reason why she did not come.
But next morning, when the doctor was in the house again, he was a happy man. The operation went as planned, and the cancer would be gone now.
Just because China puts up with US bullying doesn’t mean China has to put up with the same shit from a much weaker nation. In fact, Germany is seen kind of like a joke nowadays by the Chinese public, politically, due to it staying silent on NATO blowing up its Nord stream pipeline, and this public sentiment limits how much compromise the Chinese government can have with Germany. Instead of sitting idle and just take the unfair abuse on what’s now pride of Chinese companies for Huawei’s standing up to the US, China would more likely set Germany up as an example in the Chinese philosophy of “kill the chicken to scare the monkeys”.
I can see China starting by reacting proportionately with banning of Siemens from some operations inside China, as well as making life miserable for German cars, which are extremely dependant on China as their largest market worldwide and their factory as well since energy prices drove up costs in Europe, but China being China, it would reserve the stronger responses in hopes of descalation, and would only apply them if Germany escalates things further.
Things are going very, VERY, wrong; Netanyahu Tells Israelis to “Leave Egypt”
Things in the Hamas-Israel fight are going very much wrong for Israel. This afternoon, The US ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Strike Group to move into the eastern Mediterranean Sea to be closer to Israel. This signals ALL the players that the US is moving-in to get involved militarily. The Players are NOT backing away.
Hamas: Moving the American aircraft carrier does not scare us, and the American administration must realize the consequences of this step.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office calls on Israelis to leave Egypt ‘as soon as possible.’ This is a HUGE . . . no . . . . GIGANTIC . . . flashing RED sign.
Egypt was the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel, and depending upon what course Israel pursues in Gaza (i.e. possible Ground Invasion) that peace with Egypt may now be in very real jeopardy.
The Palestinian President Mohammed Abbas, who was safely away in Jordan, is now leaving Jordan and heading into Syria.
In earlier reporting, I mentioned Intelligence info that Palestinians in Israel got word to their allies elsewhere to be ready to turn up the heat on Europe if Israel engages in a ground war. Now, we see they also got word to their pals in New York City, where, this afternoon, supporters of the Palestinians and supporters of Israel faced each other in Times Square. Chanting . . . for now . . . .
American Middle Class Is the New Poor | Renters Are Out of Options
Working and homeless! The new slogan. It’s not always drug addiction that leads to this. We NEED to stop this stereotype. Cost of living, especially rent is far outpacing wages which are not even remotely keeping up.. For people with no roommates or family to move in with and not making more than 75K, it’s rough out there.
I most especially like the large shady kinds. As a boy in the 1960’s I used to climb them, and hike through the woods as my adventures would take me.
With each and every event, the trees made my life magical.
The earth was rich and moist, and the air was cooler, with the sounds of the swishing of the leaves from the slightest breeze.
aspen woods
When I moved to Indiana, I noticed that people there did not appreciate the trees at all.
Entire forests were cut down and replaced by either flat farmland or parking lots. And Indiana was a most boring place.
Let me tell you.
When you all have a moment, take the time to stroll in a local woods. Spend the day. Take in the scents. Feel the moist earth. And listen to the birds.
I was night manager of a large resort hotel. We had a spate of thefts. People weren’t locking their doors, and the thieves would walk up the hall trying door knobs. If the door opened, they took a few steps into the room and took what they could quickly find. A lot of guys left they wallets on top of the TV, so that’s what most often got stolen.
The couple were caught, it was a 17 year old girl and a 19 year old guy. The girl turned 18 before the trial, so her juvenile record was sealed. She looked pretty punk when she was arrested (this was in the 80s). She showed up in court wearing a tasteful black dress and looked very proper.
They were both found guilty. The judge said the girl looked like she was “well bred and just got caught up with the wrong people”, and sentenced her to time served. The guy got 12 years.
After the trial, one of the victims told me he worked for the court system and saw her record before it was sealed. She had all sorts of crimes going back to when she was 12. The guy had one arrest. It was unfair, to say the least.
Rio Grande Valley Pink Grapefruit Pie
9b296f5c257208e9cd42c4846c76ab15
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
4 medium to large pink or red grapefruit
1 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups water or strained grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (3 ounce) box strawberry gelatin
1 (8 or 9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Instructions
Peel grapefruit, separate sections* and remove from membranes. Place sections in a strainer over a bowl overnight.
Cook sugar, juice, cornstarch and salt until thick and clear.
Add gelatin and stir until dissolved.
Brush gelatin mixture over pie crust.
Chill gelatin mixture and crust.
When gelatin starts to thicken, add grapefruit sections.
Pour into pie crust and chill until set.
Top with whipped cream.
Notes
The grapefruit should be sectioned lengthwise. By slicing the ends off, the fruit can be set flat on the cutting board to make it easier to slice the rind off lengthwise. Use a small, sharp knife to then remove the sections from the membranes.
Oh I let them know I noticed, when I quit. I worked for a Spokane based home healthcare service. I’d been in hospice for a long time and the additional licence for this job was stupid easy. That should have been a clue.
This company has a jaw-dropping philosophy: they provide the barest minimum of service possible without getting sued. That’s it. They don’t give a damn about their clients. I actually offered to give a course in wheelchair safety because OVER AND OVER I’d hear about clients getting dumped on the floor by untrained caregivers. I’ve never dropped a client. Not in 13 years! I was told to “mind my own business.”
The absolute final straw was when I reported bedbugs in a home that had been treated just a few months before. The other two caregivers SWORE there were no bugs. My supervisor told me an exterminator had checked on my day off.
So I came to work that morning and went to make the bed. And it was ALIVE. And when I called the exterminator he said he hadn’t been contacted. So…my employer lied, and broke the law. I sent about 5 minutes of film to dispatch. Live bedbugs. Dead bedbugs. Bedbug and mouse poop. I told them I was reporting them. Well, that got their attention and a state case manager was there in 15 minutes. They got turned in. They got SUED. No job is worth the risk of contaminating my own home or carrying bugs to another client’s home! I’ve never, ever had an employer that literally didn’t care if the clients lived or died. In this case, the clients family had signed her very nice home over to the state to pay for her care. It’s heartbreaking! The state actually wants these elderly clients dead.
Cost have risen so high that labor intensive goods below a certain value are increasingly non-viable in a a growing majority of China’s industrial regions.
The most critical problem of cost, though, is the enforced step change in the price of Chinese exports.
The two biggest factors in the past decade have been the reverse Plaza accord, and Donald the Orange’s illegal blanket tariffs.
The reverse Plaza accord was kicked off by the devaluation of the yen in 2013/14. A top-3 global currency was given the political mandate to devalue 100% in a single decade, pulling most of the third world along, making the yuan more than double against most third world peers this century.
China was singled out as a currency manipulator and threatened with designation to force the PBOC to keep the yuan up.
We live in odd times today. The JPY is a mover and shaker in the immense global derivatives market, but a 100% devaluation has been consistently ignored over the past decade. A 10% devaluation of the yuan, which doesn’t even show up in BIS reports, is exaggerated as a meltdown that will bring the rest of the global market along for the “china collapse”.
Note that the yuan will have to trade north of 14 to the dollar to mirror the yen’s decade-long move from 76 to 150 today.
These conditions created by the first world have sent shock waves rippling through margins and prices of Chinese exports.
Instead of climbing a gentle slope, the Chinese have had to struggle up a steep staircase, due to the speed of the enforced change.
But the biggest driver of long-term change in China is the replacement labor. In the 2000s, less than 10m students took the Gaokao. Today, that number is hitting 13m from a smaller cohort. There are fewer factory workers to go around, and the only answer is automation, and moving up the productivity ladder.
Take footwear. China competes on speed and quality, because there are entire shoe manufacturing ecosystems concentrated geographically that can turn idea into product within mere hours/days. Chinese speed underpins the success of Temu and Shein, which has redefined the fashion shopping experience by affording quality at the very forefront of trends.
In a nutshell, the jobs that cannot be automated away will have to eventually leave China, and the belt and road will be a big enabler. There are Chinese-run business parks in Pakistan, Laos, Vietnam and elsewhere, all enabled by infrastructure that didn’t exist before the Chinese came calling.
China will continue supplying the components, and as skills improve overseas, the lower-margin component lines will also be transferred.
My husband and I were living in an apartment but when we found out that I was pregnant we had to move, our landlord didn’t allow children (it was legal at that time and place). We looked for another place to live and found a lovely little cottage in a small village about 20 minutes out of town.
The day after we moved in, our neighbour to the right knocked on the door holding a plate of baked goods, she didn’t linger, just welcomed me to the village and gave me the goodies. Living there for the next few years, they became the best neighbours I’d ever had. They reminded me of The Waltons, so wholesome, cheerful and friendly. Two of their boys often came over to cut the lawns, shovel snow or to babysit. I’d stop by for visits and we’d share fruit from our trees to make pies and fruit salad.
My neighbour to the left side was a younger couple with small children, so when my daughter was a toddler she played with their children while their mom and I sat and enjoyed a chat and a cuppa.
The entire village seemed to be equally as kind and helpful. At the grocery store they packed my bags and delivered them for me, no charge. The local Ford dealership often fixed my car for no charge or just the cost of parts, and the local jeweler owned several homes that he rented out for low rent. Our landlady was a young woman who’d inherited the cottage, but she was happy living with her mother who worked at the post office, each of them were always pleasant. Generally the entire town looked out for each other. It was nothing like I’d experienced before, having come from an urban area and never lived in the country.
I doubt that it’s still the same, it’s been over 30 years, developers did their thing and it’s no longer a quiet little village. The grocery store has bars up the windows, the Ford dealership is a used car lot now, and the jeweler is probably no longer with us, but it was a very good time in my life that I still think about once in a while.
GERMANY Beg CHINA For Money As They Resume Economic Trade!
Germany should apologies to China and offer tea and stay sorry to China.
Let’s start answering this question by addressing the “elephant in the room”.
If you read any Western press, you will be aware of the “common expectations” of what a war with China, and what it would entail. These are clearly explained in policy papers and popular media. The strongest promoters of this narrative is the legacy media to include Yahoo, CNN, BBC, FOX, ABC, MSNBC and all of Australian and Indian “news” media.
This is a “seeded” and intentionally promoted narrative, and no deviance is permitted on this script. This the narrative popularized by NEOCON publications, the United States Congress, and legacy media such as Forbes, Bloomberg, New York Times, etc.
It is a CIA / NSA / NED narrative concocted out of Langley, Va.
[CIA / NED Narrative]
China continues it’s “provocations”.
And “invasion” of Taiwan occurs.
The USA, through it’s proxy nations, intervene.
Chinese advantage is ONLY with numbers and proximity. And thus the PLA run like cowards to the massive military might of the combined Allied forces.
China does not have the ability to innovate, and are novices in fighting. They fall into the “new Verdun” that the United States constructed. The Chinese leadership is also swamped by plagues, famines, and internal revolts that suddenly cropped-out out of nowhere.
A long, drawn-out war ensues.
It will be limited to the South China Sea, and Taiwan.
All trade with China stops. All BRI are interrupted, and Naval blockades are complete.
It’s World War I all over again, only inside of Chinese territory.
China will pour weapons and men and material into those designated war-zones, and the Allies will do the same from their staging locations in Japan, The Philippines, Australia and South Korea.
Eventually, after a few decades, China backs down and surrenders.
The Chinese people, tired of their pathetic lives, revolt and topple the CCP.
Peace overwhelms the planet and everyone enjoys democracy and freedom under the brilliant leadership of the President of the Untied States.
Sound familiar. It should.
And only an ABSOLUTE IGNORAMUS would actually believe it. Because it relies on a plethora of lies, distortions, falsehoods, in order to arrange and fabricate a narrative that many WISH and HOPE to occur.
That is exactly how propaganda works; it tells lies that you WANT to believe.
…
But, you all know, it’s not really “rocket science”. This scenario has already been “gamed out”. At least the early stages. The United States has been following the well-worn, tired and true playbook for decades…
The United States initiates a provocation.
China refuses to act on it.
The United States the stages a “false flag” event, supported with a media barrage.
China reacts militarily and destroys all belligerents in the area.
What happens next depends on numerous factors, but I will break it down in really simplistic categories.
[Planned Response]
This is pretty-much a rehash of the earlier CIA plans.
This is what the Straussian NEOCON psychopaths want. This is their objective.
The United States now has the excuse for a war with China.
As a result, it starts blowing up Chinese cities, ships and assets. The plan is for overwhelming superiority in aircraft and missiles from numerous nations, Naval vessels, and bases.
The plan is for a victory over China, and the assumption that China would be incapable of fighting back in any positive way.
Now, this is where the NEOCON plans go “off the rails”.
Instead of fighting a conventional war, on American terms, to an American defined timeline, and on Chinese soil, using the well-worn war-playbook, China does something different, and unexpected.
I argue (it doesn’t take too much effort, either) that China would…
China and Russia work together lob hyper-sonic nuclear weapons at key cities and infrastructure in the United States directly. This is done at the same time as China is attacking the invading forces and their staging centers.
Most of the United States population centers, as well as those of the proxy nations, are erased from the face of the globe. New York gone. Los Angles and Silicon Valley; gone. Virginia… all of it…gone.
The dinged-up USA responds with nuclear weapons.
The Chinese shoots most of them down with their laser umbrella.
But even with a hand full of American detonations, the Earth experiences a global catastrophe. North America and Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea, and Australia are radioactive wastelands.
[The USA backs down]
This scenario describes the highest probability event cycle.
This concept of withdrawal is unheard of in the United States and Western media, but historically, this is almost ALWAYS the case. This is the Afghanistan, the Vietnam, the Korean War event scenario. Thus, this is a higher probability of occurrence than what one might otherwise think.
The USA performs a politically motivated war plan. While technically well-gamed out, political considerations force erroneous assumptions.
The plan goes to shit early on. FUBAR occurs, and the entire backbone of the plan collapses.
A period of aggressive losses in manpower and material occur, and Washington disengages from the battlefield(s) under some context.
The American and Western media praise the “Great American Win”.
But the impact of very bad Geo-political decisions ignite a “ticking time-bomb” internally.
American domestic opinion turn against the administration.
A nation-wide American civil war breaks out.
It is a catastrophe for the West, and aligned nations all experience internal violence. Japan, Europe, Australia and South Korea suffer massive changes at all levels.
[USA first strike]
This is the great concern, of the “Global South”; the rest of the world outside the G7 led by the United States. But, personally, I really do not see this ever happening. The American military will not allow it.
The USA launches MAD in the belief that China will stand down. Full spectrum war is unleashed, but unlike the earlier scenario, this one engages nuclear weapons from the start.
The SLBM’s and ICBM’s start flying
The Chinese shoots most of them down with their laser umbrella.
But severe damage still occurs inside of China.
China and Russia launch nuclear weapons at the entirety of the West.
Most of the United States population centers, as well as those of the proxy nations, are erased from the face of the globe. Europe is no longer a population region. The United States glows at night.
The, being leaderless, under the control of “the deep state” and rudderless, the United States continues to engage the world in a nuclear war on auto-pilot.
It is a global catastrophe.
[USA Sanctions China & interrupts shipping]
This is the “China Lite” version of war that is debated within the NEOCON publications and talks. I can confirm that this has a great deal of support as a “war on China” option in Washington DC.
The USA decides to implement sanctions (Russian style) against China, and also starts sinking ships. American piracy, and shipping losses enter billions of dollars in losses.
China readies it’s long-planned counter-actions. And they are BRUTAL.
A period of time passes, while the United States, and it’s proxies tries to ignite a “cold war II” fuze.
The Western media is on a full-war gallop…
The American led provocations are numerous, and dangerous. China continues to avoid all of them.
So far, it appears that this is on-going right now. Which makes this scenario the most worrisome.
Then, during a point in time when all the American “leadership is in one place”, such as during an election, or government event, China launches hyper-sonic nuclear weapons at major American cites. The idea being to completely unleash maximum damage in a very short amount of time.
America is erased from the surface of the planet. There simply isn’t any American government left.
The USA auto-retaliates with a MAD nuclear response.
The Chinese shoots most of them down with their laser umbrella.
But even with a hand full of American detonations, the Earth experiences a global catastrophe. But, the USA is the most destroyed nation on the planet.
…
It is a lose-lose in every scenario.
No one wins.
How ANYONE can advocate World War 3 clearly shows how idiotic, moronic, and deranged the Western “leadership” actually is.
How anyone can think otherwise is amazing to me.
There is absolutely NO SCENARIO where the world becomes a better place. Instead, it becomes HELL, and most people DIE.
…
At this point in time I want to address some misconceptions.
One of the greatest is accepting American anti-China propaganda as truth. It’s insidious, and everywhere. If you get any information about China, make SURE that it is from CHINESE sources in CHINESE. Otherwise you are regurgitating CIA propaganda and disinformation.
As a (now deleted) troll said “China only has 300 nuclear warheads, while the USA has over 6000”.
Oh, really?
And, “China is unable to make more because of <insert technical jargon here>”.
China can build two (x2) 6,000 bed hospitals in ten days.
China can build a 62 story skyscraper in two days.
China can design, manufacture and produce cutting edge IC chips, complete with it’s own OS, operating system, and includes satellite comm ability in four years.
China can lock down an entire nation of 1.6 billion people, with only 5000 deaths…
But it cannot make nuclear bombs.
Uh huh.
Sure. What ever you say.
(Eye roll.)
…
Drinking the American propaganda is dangerous as it is in everything. In fact, nothing is left untouched. Those in the upper (the very top) know its all a lie, but have succumbed to their own hubris; the believe their own lies. Oh man. That is dangerous.
So I have to ask…
How do you know that the United States has 6000 nuclear bombs?
Well it said so in an American report, and in American publications.
How do you know that the USA did not blow up Nordstom 1 & 2 pipelines?
Well, it is investigating the issue. American and Western publications say so.
How do you know that the Apollo moon landing program put men walking on the moon?
Well, NASA filmed the guys doing it, and the American government verified it happened.
It is not that EVERYTHING that the United States says is a lie. It’s just that most are distorted truths… approaching the laughable.
How do you know that America is recovering from the “disastrous Trump administration” and inflation is only a mere 3% today?
Well, the American government announced the latest inflation figures.
Crazy huh?
…
The world is spiraling all out of control, all because a group of psychopathic nihilistic narcissists with delusions of ultimate power. And they all are in a circle-jerk believing their very own lie-machine.
What will happen?
No one actually knows, but we do know this;
In 1995, the CIA remote viewed the year 2025. They remote viewed the world 35 years into the future.
You might not believe in “remote viewing”, or the CIA. But you have to admit, that there is no way, that in 1995 anyone would be able to predict the world we live in today.
The predictions are uncanny.
And, if you think that the future is not going to unfold this way, then you are delusional.
VOA tried to sabotage Indonesia’s new high speed rail opening
Indonesia’s brand new, China-built and financed high speed railway officially opened to the public yesterday, with most Western media being surprisingly fair in their reports. Voice of America didn’t get the memo, apparently, and ran with a story using their typical, blatant misinformation, posting a picture of an old train directly under their headline. I rode the brand new train during a test run about ten days ago and will share some of my experience with you today, including a chat with a local reporter.
What Is Third Wave Coffee?
Coffee has undergone several major transformations in the past century, commonly referred to as “waves” that denote shifts in how coffee is produced, processed, and consumed. Here’s an overview of the progression of coffee waves.
First Wave Coffee: Accessibility and Mass Production
The first wave of coffee began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This era was characterized by the mass production and widespread accessibility of coffee.
Brands like Folgers and Maxwell House emerged, making coffee a staple in households across the U.S. and beyond.
The beans were often robusta, chosen for their yield and price point rather than quality and flavor. Brewing methods were basic, with drip coffee makers and percolators commonplace.
Espresso drinks like cappuccinos were rare outside of Italian immigrant communities. Overall, coffee was viewed as a commodity rather than a specialty product.
Key Features of the First Wave:
Instant Coffee: The invention of instant coffee made it easier for people to prepare and consume the beverage.
Branding: Major companies began advertising campaigns, making coffee a household name.
Consistency: The focus was on producing a consistent taste, often at the expense of quality and flavor nuances.
Second Wave Coffee: The Rise of the Coffee Shop Culture
The second wave, which began in the 1960s and peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, saw the rise of coffee shops and espresso drinks. Brands like Starbucks, Peet’s, and Costa Coffee played pivotal roles in popularizing this wave.
Beans were sourced from specific regions and often single origin. Roasts were lighter to preserve the distinct flavors of bean varietals.
The emphasis was on taste and freshness. While speciality coffee chains drove the second wave, independent cafes also popped up throughout the US and helped fuel coffee connoisseur culture.
Key Features of the Second Wave:
Espresso-Based Drinks: Lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas became popular choices.
Coffee Shop Culture: Coffee shops became social hubs, places for meetings, work, and relaxation.
Variety: Consumers started to become more aware of different coffee beans, origins, and roast levels.
Third Wave Coffee: Appreciation of the Art and Science
The third wave of coffee emerged in the early 2000s and continues today. This wave strives to produce the absolute highest quality coffee through control of the full production process from crop to cup.
There is an emphasis on direct trade, single origin beans, lighter roasts, and freshness. Brewing methods highlight the distinctive qualities of each bean, with pour over, cold brew, and microbatch espresso common.
The barista is viewed as a skilled artisan. Innovative coffee shops focus on the total coffee experience – the aroma, taste, feel.
There is also transparency about sourcing and farming practices. Third wave coffee is complex, nuanced, and treated more like wine or craft beer than a mere commodity.
Key Features of the Third Wave:
Direct Trade: Coffee roasters and shops often build direct relationships with coffee farmers, ensuring fair prices and sustainable practices.
Specialty Coffee: There’s a focus on high-quality beans, often graded 80 points or above on the Specialty Coffee Association’s scale.
Brewing Techniques: Methods like pour-over, siphon, and cold brew highlight the unique flavors of each coffee bean.
Traceability: Consumers can often trace the coffee’s journey from the farm to the cup, understanding its origin, variety, and processing method.
Fourth Wave Coffee?
Some speculate that a fourth wave of coffee is emerging, focused on sustainability and fair treatment of coffee farmers and workers.
But others argue the industry is still deep in the third wave, working to perfect coffee quality and the consumer experience.
Whether the fourth wave coalesces remains to be seen. For now, the focus is squarely on continuing to improve coffee quality.
Potential Features of the Fourth Wave:
Technology: From blockchain for traceability to apps that connect farmers and consumers, technology plays a central role.
Sustainability: There’s an even stronger emphasis on eco-friendly practices, from farming to packaging.
Education: Consumers are not just passive drinkers; they’re educated about every aspect of coffee production and preparation.
The progression of coffee waves shows an increasing appreciation of coffee as a complex food product requiring care and craftsmanship.
What began as a commoditized morning drink is now regarded as an artisanal product that brings nuanced flavor, community, and connection.
The future of specialty coffee promises even more dedication to the bean, the farmers, and the drinkers who savor every sip.
Ukraine SitRep: Bad Demographics – End of Support
Via a Responsible Statecraftpiece I came onto a EU study that tried to predict the future demographics of Ukraine’s population.
The study is from early 2022 and is based on Ukrainian casualty numbers from only the very first month of the war. Their worst case scenario was this:
Our third and fourth scenarios assume that the war will continue for a month or longer so that further casualties and refugees are expected. We assume the following casualties: 5,000 deaths among soldiers and 1,500 civilian deaths based on the current trends. There will be 5 million refugees, which is an estimate by UNHCR (UNHCR 2022a)
The real refugee numbers are twice as high and the casualty numbers, wounded and dead, are of course about 100 times higher than the study assumed. It was thus not worth the money that had been spend on it.
Still, some graphs in it are usable.
Yesterday I shortly discussed the op-ed by the former British Minister of Defense Ben Wallace in which he asserts:
The average age of the soldiers at the front is over 40.
He then urges the Ukrainian government to throw more young men into the meat grinder.
The young Ukrainians are gone. They either have fled from Ukraine or are wounded, disabled or died. You can not mobilize what is no longer there.
Unfortunately the real situation is worse then I had thought.
The ‘age pyramid’ in Ukraine isn’t a pyramid. In 2020 there was a huge lack of 15 to 20 years old people. They were simply not there. They never existed. The number of newborns around 2000 must have been horribly low.
The reason for that was likely the serious downturn of Ukraine’s economy after it had separated itself from the Soviet Union.
It took a decade long severe recession for Ukraine to find a bottom for its economy. Bad economic times and low expectations of betterment had influenced the desire of its people to procreate. Two more downturns followed during the global recession around 2008 and due to the 2014 Maidan coup and the civil war following it.
Thus when the war started there were only half as many people of 20 year age than 40 year old ones. It is no wonder then that few of younger age are seen at the front line.
There is still one measure Ukraine might take to increase the numbers of young soldiers. There currently are exemptions from mobilization for those who study at a university. If Ukraine would draft these if could probably find a few ten-thousand additional soldiers. But it would also strip itself of its future elite.
The already bad demographic prediction some 20 years out would then look even worse than they currently do.
Early this year Ukraine’s birthrate had hit a new low:
To keep a population steady, research shows it’s necessary to have an average of about 2.1 babies per family — known as a replacement rate. In Ukraine, fertility rates have remained under that threshold since 1990. Over the last two decades, the rate has often dropped below what experts call a “very low” fertility rate of 1.3, when a population begins to shrink at an ever increasing rate. In January 2021, a year before Russia’s full-scale invasion, the fertility rate was 1.16, according to national statistics.
Birthrates in Ukraine have fallen by 28% in the first half of 2023, compared to the same period prior to the war, marking the most significant drop since Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 25. … Due to the ongoing war, millions of Ukrainian women with children were forced to leave the country, while men aged 18 to 60 were prohibited from leaving. As a result, many couples were physically separated, while others delayed starting families, the report says.
In the first half of 2023, there were 96,755 children born in Ukraine. Since 2013, the country’s fertility rate has been dropping by approximately 7% per year.
The population of Ukraine will shrink further. In 1990 Ukraine had a population of more than 50 million people. Twenty years from now the country will have less than maybe 25 million inhabitants. This even if all refugees return. A large if that this is unlikely to happen.
As Russia has become more bloodyminded, Ukraine’s allies seem caught in their own conflicting boundary conditions. There is no willingness to mobilize to defend Ukraine. There isn’t even a serious effort to ramp up military production to an adequate level to match, let alone surpass, Russia’s output.
And that’s before getting to the fact that Ukraine as a county has become a very costly ward of all its backers.
Yesterday a meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers on further military assistance for Ukraine ended without results (machine translation):
The foreign ministers of the EU countries at today’s summit in Kiev could not agree on the allocation of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 5 billion euros for 2024.
This was announced at a press conference following the event by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel.
The EU’s budget for 2023 was €168.6 billion. €5 billion are peanuts but the EU countries could not unite over it. The senseless generosity has reached the end of the possible.
Earlier, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrel said that the cessation of military support for Kiev from the West will lead to a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine, but as a result, the country will lose its independence.
Look at the demographics and economics above and ask yourself what 30 years of ‘independence’ have done for Ukraine.
To end it could well be the best that could ever happen to it. Unfortunately for it Russia is unlikely to step in and to subsidize its further existence.
Posted by b on October 3, 2023 at 13:30 UTC | Permalink
Something TERRIBLE is happening to me right now!
We are all in the same situation, Tucker is just the FIRST. The agencies will get away with this because CONGRESS won’t stop it.
U.S. CONGRESSMAN: ” . . . IF WE’RE GONNA LOSE THE DOLLAR . . . “
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaking about the growing BRICS nations engaging in “de-dollarization,” Gaetz told reporters “. . . if we’re going to lose the dollar . . . .”
Does Gaetz already KNOW the Dollar is doomed?
Here is the one minute, fifty second clip, so all of you have context of the Congressman’s remarks:
This off-the-cuff remark by Congressman Gaetz made me sick to my stomach when I heard it. In __my__ view, this validates ALL the reporting I have been doing on this web site and on my radio show, telling my readers and listeners the US Dollar is collapsing and will be rejected by nations around the world as a means of trade.
That would utterly cripple the United States since we don’t manufacture mcuh of anything here anymore; we import most of it from other countries.
If those countries stop accepting the US dollar in trade, how will WE get what WE need?
Stock-up, folks. Food, clothing, medicines, etc.
Get what you need NOW, while it still can be gotten.
If this collapse takes place, I suspect it will happen like a lightning bolt out of the blue.
No advance warning before it all goes to hell.
Don’t let the US fool you: China is AWESOME!
“For a person who have been to China multiple times, I absolutely love and envy China. It’s absolutely a big disappointment when I return to India and hear all the negative news about China. Chinese people absolutely love Indian people and we instead are preaching hatred towards them. It’s a very very sad affair. Even my children are asking why we are always saying bad things about China all the time. They went to China with me too. I can’t answer them. What can I say? ….India afterall is my country and we are supposed to hate China.”
Israel Confesses War Crime
No, not really. Israel did not confess war crimes. It never does. It proudly announced that it will now commit a war crime:
Israel’s defence minister described Palestinians as “human animals” and vowed to “act accordingly,” as fighter jets unleashed a massive bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip.
Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, an area of about 365 square km, and home to 2.3 million Palestinians, which has been under an Israeli-led blockade since 2007.
“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant said.
“We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly,” he added.
The Israeli air force has dropped 2,000 munitions and more than 1,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza in the last 20 hours, the army said on Monday morning, having shelled 20 high-rise residential buildings, mosques, hospitals, banks and other civilian infrastructure.
Israel military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the army drops hundreds of tons of bombs in attacks in the Gaza Strip, and —— “the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy.” — Haaretz
… On Saturday they were already talking about wiping out entire neighborhoods in Gaza, about occupying the Strip and punishing Gaza “as it has never been punished before.” But Israel hasn’t stopped punishing Gaza since 1948, not for a moment.
After 75 years of abuse, the worse possible scenario awaits it once again. The threats of “flattening Gaza” prove only one thing: We haven’t learned a thing. The arrogance is here to stay, even though Israel is paying a high price once again.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears very great responsibility for what happened, and he must pay the price, but it didn’t start with him and it won’t end after he goes. We now have to cry bitterly for the Israeli victims, but we should also cry for Gaza.
Gaza, most of whose residents are refugees created by Israel. Gaza, which has never known a single day of freedom.
—
The Israeli government has called up another 360,000 reservists for a total of 660,000 reservists plus the 170,000 in the regular standing forces. Israel’s total labor force is 4.4 million.
This is not sustainable for more than a week or two. With 660,000 mostly young people, 15% of the total workforce, suddenly absent, Israel’s economy will immediately tank. The Shekel and the Israeli stock market have already dropped significantly and the central bank had to intervene to keep the currency stable.
Meanwhile 200,000 out of a total of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza are now displaced. Israel bombed their homes to smithereens and they have nowhere to go.
A few days ago Netanyahoo told people in Gaza to leave. The only place they theoretically could go is Egypt. Today Israel bombed the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
A ground invasion of Gaza will be difficult and likely lead to massacres – on both sides. Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria would likely see a ground invasion of Gaza as a reason to intervene. It has missiles and drones that are precise and can reach any part of Israel. Israel may then retaliate by attacking the Syrian government. Iran and Russia would thereby get involved in the war. The U.S. of course would jump in on Israel’s side.
This war could really, really escalate and do so soon.
Posted by b on October 10, 2023 at 14:42 UTC | Permalink
First Time in U.S. History: SPEAKER of THE HOUSE — OUSTED
Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown, a first in U.S. history, that was forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and threw the House and its Republican leadership into chaos.
McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, forced the vote on the “motion to vacate,” drawing together more than a handful of conservative Republican critics of the speaker and many Democrats who say he is unworthy of leadership.
It was the first time since 1910 that a vote has been held on whether to remove a Speaker and the only time such a motion has been approved.
McCarthy is now the shortest-serving House Speaker since the year 1876.
Next steps are uncertain, but there is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority.
Stillness fell as the presiding officer gaveled the vote closed, 216-210, saying the office of the speaker “is hereby declared vacant.” The Hammer fell at 4:49pm EDT. Here is video of the historic moment:
Moments later, a top McCarthy ally, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., took the gavel and, according to House rules, was named speaker pro tempore, to serve in the office until a new speaker is chosen.
The House then briskly recessed so lawmakers could meet and discuss the path forward.
Trump Wanted U.S. Out Of NATO!
Among the list of Biden administration accomplishments, the expansion of NATA is usually mentioned prominently by the President’s supporters. And that represents a stark contrast with Donald Trump, who at one point during his presidency declared an intention to pull the U.S. out of NATO entirely. But he soon backtracked, which has led a number of observers to speculate about what might have changed Trump’s mind.
Huawei has established the third truly COMMERCIAL Asian Tech Ecosystem from China and the eighth in Asia after Toyota, Nikon, Canon ,Samsung , BYD, Trina and Xinyi
The Huawei Ecosystem now has
The Chip
The OS
The 5G Modem
The GPU
The Networks
Yet Huawei Ecosystem is fragile because SMIC the manufacturer of the 7 nm Node depends on Advanced DUV equipment from ASML
Now SMIC has stockpiled massive orders from ASML and that will keep SMIC going till maybe 2026
However that’s still dependence, a lot of dependence on the West
So i would say HUAWEI has made a start
Meanwhile people forget the REAL WINNERS of the three companies that have established it’s own dominant ecosystem on which the West is entirely dependent on :-
BYD
BYD has:-
The Chip – The Mature 28nm Chip that only China can today manufacture cost effectively and in huge volumes
The Software
The Satellite Navigation System
The Battery
The Dynamic Unit
It’s completely and entirely Independent from Western Technology
Trina and Xinyi who have :-
The Intelligent Chip
The Micrograde Wafer Panel (That to this day no nation can produce except France but at 87% higher cost)
The Carbide micro layering etching equipment (Chinas equivalent of the EUV Lithography Machine)
The Silicon extraction process into Mono, Poly Crystalline Silicon with infusions
Yes Huawei deserves all the admiration for its clawback and fighting
Yet BYD, Trina and Xinyi actually get Proprietary License Fees from the West which is unique for a Nation that to thia day didn’t kowtow to the West unlike Japan, Israel and South Korea
Huawei to win, needs SMIC to become another BYD or Xinyi or Trina
If SMIC can achieve that, then China truly begins the challenge to the established Semiconductor industry
Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home| REACTION *TEARS*
Oliver Anthony is breaking a spell we’ve all been under with his pure unfiltered honesty. It’s just disarming and appears to allow everyone to drop the mask we put on everyday and speak to each other from the heart. I haven’t not cried yet.
First you ought to understand the issue in the first place. Anything made in the U.S. simply cannot compete and won’t sell. Why?
Your workers demand 5 times the salary and is willing to work half the hours, expecting 10 times more benefits. You CEO wants 100 times their income, your workers refused to be train, your colleges turn out lawyers and bull shit artist and not STEM engineers, your infrastructure is dilapidated, Your government spends all its money fighting wars instead of helping industry. You offend all your prospective customers.
So my friend. You need to outsourced your production. China offers a best value for money. You Choose China. China don’t choose you.
So you want to stop. Can you? Can you ask US workers to get 20% salary, work twice as hard, accept 10% of benefits, your CEO earn 1% it did, you stop fighting wars, making wars and building infrastructure? Can you? I doubt so.
You can’t have the cake and eat it too. Choose one! I think this questioner will choose war because you have been conditioned your whole life to think the U.S. must bomb any nation that refuse to be submissive and subservient to you. Your media and your politicians made you what you are.
ER DOCTOR reacts to BRITISH PUBLIC guessing US healthcare costs | Dr Jmack
Heyo!! Today I’m reacting to the British public reacting to the cost of healthcare in the US. I thought this would be a cute and funny reaction video, but it really turned into something else. I may or may not have ended up ranting for 20 minutes! Topics hit: absurdity of US healthcare costs, does US medicine already have a combined capitalist/socialized structure, do doctors/nurses care that the system is rigged?
When I was in middle school, I took “typing” for all three years of my tenure there, and I never learned to type. I never did anything in the class except draw, use my Gameboy, or shoot the shit with my friends. Somehow I always got a passing grade, like a ‘B’, and I didn’t ask any questions. it wasn’t til my second year did I figure out what was going on….
The teacher always wore a decent conservative business suit, carried a large hard side briefcase (this was the late 80’s), and never really taught us anything. He only taught typing and “computers” and the computer class was the same vibe. Well, I viewed into his open brief case one day to see real estate materials, flyers, business cards, etc. This guy was a real estate agent, that somehow got hired as full-time teacher as a side hustle……..at least he had a steady income and full bene’s as a teacher.
He was always working on his real estate business when he should’ve been instructing! He couldn’t give the few of us that did nothing bad grade cuz that’d ruin his gig. I’m still not sure why he decided to teach, who decided to hire him, and why he seemingly got away with this for years.
However, this did teach me that I can successfully juggle two projects and receive two paychecks!
U.S Senators Travel to China to Beg Xi for Trade Deal !
Engagement and dialogue are essential for constructive international relations. This video examines the delicate US-Taiwan-China relationship, addressing the importance of mutual understanding, compromise, and respect for sovereignty for maintaining stability and trust between nations.
He plays the piano beautifully, and he practices with the children on weekends.
He likened the first world’s iron grip on tech to this little tool here…
It’s called a metronome, and musicians use it to set the beat-rate for sheet music.
I taught myself how to read notes (very, very poorly) as an adult and as an engineer, I couldn’t figure out how sheet music communicated the speed one played the notes.
Until my friend explained the metronome to me.
Pre-2020s, the pace of progress was set by the first world. The standard-defining or cutting-edge tech always came from advanced economies. For cars, we had the S-class/7 series, for computers we had Intel and more recently, AMD/Mac, for planes we had Airbus/Boeing.
In essence, the west defined tech generations. We were stuck with 2G… until the first world came along with 3G. We were stuck with DDR3 Ram, until DDR4 was introduced.
The first world ran the clock when it came to tech, and the rest of the world planned around the schedule.
The most important reason was the monopoly they had on the upstream tools. If we gave the best talent the best tools, different teams will eventually optimize towards convergence. There is only so far one can push the expression of the state of the art, and that is why Airbus models are head to head with Boeing, and Android not too different from iOS.
China is third world.
And for the first time in modern history, a non-first-world country has dibs on the cutting edge. China has established itself as a dominant player in diverse fields such as nuclear power generation, medium voltage power architecture, EVs, high speed rail, TBMs, photovoltaics and many more.
In every one of these fields, China isn’t competing on cost alone, but setting standards, and helping to define the next generation.
Case in point: China is currently the only country to operate a test 4th-gen nuclear reactor that’s plugged into the grid, putting it a good decade (or more) ahead of the competition in terms of commercialization.
Similarly, Huawei, after being kicked out of the Bluetooth SIG, has redefined short-range wireless technology with its Nearlink standard, capable of 1.5Mbps speeds consuming way lower energy. And these are delivered numbers, in physical consumer products available TODAY.
That’s bluetooth 6.x/7.x territory, which is years away from being issued as a standard, never mind consumer availability.
Imagine Huawei, one third world company, leapfrogging the current state of the art Bluetooth by at least 1–2 generations.
The west/first world no longer controls the clock.
Let me repeat, because this is important.
THE WEST NO LONGER CONTROLS THE CLOCK.
Rather, China will continue to pop surprises, just because the country and society is poorly reported by the first-world dominated media.
The educated, and well informed who read ABOUT the Chinese exclusively will repeatedly wake up to head-scratching bombshells in the coming future.
What? The Chinese did THIS? That’s… impossible. Don’t they only know to steal and copy and reverse-engineer?
I won’t be surprised if Nearlink is adopted by Apple and the Android alliance, because it is a transformative standard that can enable brand new ecosystems. What will Huawei do with Wifi, and next-gen navigation, particularly indoor spaces? What will a 5.5G Huawei phone add to the mobile experience?
The Chinese, at the minimum, are turning up the metronome, and playing Beethoven as he originally intended.
Shape up, or screw up, sanctions be damned.
Things a Filipina Fears in Dating Foreigner – Untold Reasons!
Most of you if not all foreigners were really curious of us filipina why we are still single but always wish in the corner to have a foreigner partner. Now you will know the untold reasons and that includes mine. Some of it are very hilarious and might offend one of your pride but let me tell you a word that you will enjoy and learned alot by watching this video.
The Osiris-Rex mission conference has wrapped up, and the newly released pictures of rock samples collected from the asteroid Bennu are leaving everyone in awe.
These samples consist of 250 grams of primordial material, which means they originated around 4.6 billion years ago during the formation of our Solar System.
Within these minute fragments, scientists have detected the presence of clay, water, and even organic material.
Three MORE Aircraft Carriers Leaving Port; 101st Airborne Division Relocating from Romania to Jordan. Target: Iran? Syria? Both?
Most of the general public already knows the USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier and its Strike Group arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Israel. What few people know is that THREE other aircraft carriers and a NATO Maritime Group are also being deployed . . .
The big media bru-ha-ha over the past few days was the urgent deployment of the USS Gerald Ford and Carrier Strike Group 12.
But the mass media has been almost silent about some other vessels suddenly putting to sea and the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division are all heading out — fast.
If you work harder than everybody else around, you will become more successful.
It’s that simple… at least on a first glance.
But on a second glance, it might be a tiny bit more complicated than that.
Let’s look at an example: Elon Musk.
Elon Musk works 90 hour weeks regularly, although he has been known to work over 110 hour weeks during some parts of his life.
He definitely worked harder than anyone else around and eventually reached success with that.
But the question you have to ask yourself is if that is the kind of life you want to live.
Elon Musk has very little time for anything else in his life.
Since he works so much he only has very little time for friends and family, little time for hobbies and even less time for any other activities like watching movies.
He doesn’t travel much outside of work and is probably not caught up on any of the newest series or movies.
Instead his life is centered around his work and he invests most of his time into it. To him, this is the best place to spend his time.
Before you get all up and about in becoming successful ask yourself first what you are willing to sacrifice to get there.
Elon Musk sacrificed and still sacrifices a lot of family time, hobbies and experiences to give himself more time to work, allowing him experience of being successful. That is what he wants out of life and that is what works for him!
You can definitely reach high amounts of success in your early 20s, but to do that you have to sacrifice many friendships, hobbies, a lot of family time, a large amount of sleep and many other niceties.
You will miss the relaxing cinema experiences, opportunities to engage with friends about the newest series, and time spent on hobbies and other things… but you will increase your chances to be successful!
The question is: Is that worth it to you?
If you are still willing to work for success with that all being said, keeping in mind all you might need to sacrifice, then by all means, go and work!
If your definition of success does not include any of the sacrifices, then go for it! Do what you can, read more books, learn, improve, grow and spend 90% of your waking time grinding away.
If that however does not seem like the life you want to lead, then maybe think about what it is you want instead.
If you want to spend time with your family, want to travel and go on vacations, want to have crazy hobbies, and spend some time chatting about the newest series, then you will not be able to work that much or succeed that fast.
You will have to spend some time every week in these things. Is that okay for you?
Different people have different values in life and depending on them they need to spend their time differently.
While Elon Musk is driven by his work, you may not be, and that’s okay!
It’s not about creating THEsuccessful life, but about creating YOURsuccessful life!
Okay… those were my 2 cents on it; now lets get into the actual How to do it!
Ascertain what “Success” means to you – Depending on your personal definition, the work you do will be different.
Consume Information from People that have reached that Success – The closer they are to your idea of success the better it is. Learn from them and follow their advice! Trust them, as they must have had some right idea to get where they are today.
Produce don’t Consume – Besides the consumption above, you should be grinding and producing non-stop. More work = Faster results. That is the rule of thumb and holds generally true.
Adjust – Every week… no… every DAY you should be looking at what works, what doesn’t, where you struggle and how to get results faster. Keep tabs on yourself and do not allow yourself to get away with less than you want!
Create a System – You have to create a path that goes from your action to the desired result. In finance this is called a ‘Funnel’. How are people going to go from site X to purchase on site Z, for example.
The rest, depends entirely on what your version of success is and how hard you work.
Other than that, if you do steps 2–4 every day, you will become successful in your 20′s no problem.
Just make sure it is really what you want first!
6 Reasons to Retire as Soon as You Can
There is a MAJOR uptick in these kinds of videos about people dropping out of the work-force.
The threat meter is flopping back and forth from zero to pinging at 100%.
The meter is normally at zero.
Then, out of the blue, some NEOCON psychopath does something stupid like slamming their fist on the meter, kicking the table or banging on the dial… and the meter pings to MAX.
Ah.
One day, I’ll tell you what, that ol’ meter is gonna break.
I don’t want to be anywhere near it when the glass shatters and shards of metal start flying.
Pedernales River Chili
This is the chili that was always cooked at the LBJ Ranch in Texas. It was a favorite of Lyndon B. Johnson. He ate this with saltine crackers and a glass of ice cold milk.
2023 10 18 15 54
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
4 pounds coarsely-ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
6 teaspoons red chili powder
2 (16 ounce) cans tomatoes
Salt, to taste
2 cups hot water
Instructions
Put the meat, onion and garlic in a large pot and sear until light brown.
Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
The next minute tanks will surround all the the unfriendly embassies in Moscow
Every Diplomat in Russia will be arrested with impunity
Putin will be arrested in an ICC Country and will be in a nice Dutch cell
The US Ambassador, UK Ambassador and others will be in Russian prisons where the probability of their rape in the first 24 hours is 82%
Their families will go out of contact
60–65 Kids will face their lives being risked in an ‘Unfortunate Accident’ where six and seven year olds will vanish
Any Western Leader who flies will face risk of attacks of his aircraft over Europe
Meanwhile Russian Diplomats will face nice European cells and european laws
Russia will then declare war on the ICC Country which arrested Putin
The West will be forced to Release Putin or see their diplomats never come out including the wives and kids
That would cause many diplomats to refuse to serve in 50–60 dangerous nations out of fear that they would be next
So that will never happen
Putin will not go to an ICC country because he won’t embarass the leadership but other wise if they touch him all hell breaks loose
And the Judges will pay
The Judges will face a fate like Prighozin
Nice Ricin Capsules or Novichok
China’s rise and the changing global order | Ben Norton & Li Jingjing
This is pretty good.
Ben Norton, has recently moved to Beijing. We’ve met in person and had a discussion on the rise of China and the whole Global South. We also exchanged our thoughts on Syria, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, BRICS, and all the recent events that will change the global order.
Li Yuan is the author of the NYT article. Her article bases its assertions off of interviews with 14 Chinese professionals as well as China’s median yearly emigration as reported by the UN. In terms of claims, she is pushing this line of logic:
Quite a few people I interviewed said, like Mr. Chen, that they had started thinking of leaving the country after China amended its Constitution to allow Mr. Xi to effectively rule for life. The “zero-Covid” campaign, with nearly three years of constant lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines, was the last straw for many of them.
And as for why they aren’t showing up in the US:
Most of the emigrants I spoke to, explaining why they did not pick the United States, cited America’s complicated and unpredictable process for applying for visas and permanent residence status.
This is in stark contrast to Yu Xie et al., who have published a paper in the National Academy of Sciences’ official peer-reviewed publication. Their study has a sample size of 1,229 (or 934 for the federal grant question). In terms of their claims, they point to a steady increase in the number of academics leaving the US for China, and more crucially they have measured out some indicators.
Perceptions and intentions of scholars of Chinese descent. Note: Only past and current grant awardees were asked the question of whether they were considering “avoiding applying for federal grants”.
Their study claims fear is high in the Chinese-American community despite 89% of scientists clearly interested in promoting science in the US. Most dramatically, the study concludes with one data point:
One respondent, self-identified as a US citizen and a former recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, told us that he quit his academic position exactly because of what he perceived as an “anti-Chinese atmosphere”. He then wrote:
If it were not because the COVID pandemic cuts off international traveling and I am a U.S. citizen, my family would have left the U.S. permanently without any intent to come back in the future. What I have experienced at my former institution was not only disgusting, but a system[ic] corruption that I believe [is] illegal. I had never thought of somewhere in this count[r]y to be dark and corrupted like this. If I had, I would not have become a naturalized U.S. citizen, which I regret now. What I ha[ve] experienced not [only] ruined my academic career, but also destroyed my American dream.
Interestingly, Li Yuan makes absolutely no attempt to recognize or challenge the claims made by the paper. While the paper acknowledges weaknesses in its methodology, it notes that it is corroborated by two similar papers, one from University of Michigan, the other from University of Arizona. Instead, she goes for this description of the fates of those headed from China to the US:
But it won’t be easy to stay in the United States. Mr. Zhao has a job offer and will get temporary employment status as a graduate in a STEM, or science or engineering, field. That will last three years. He will participate in a lottery for an H-1B work visa. He did the math: There’s a 40 percent chance he won’t win the lottery by the end of the three years. He might have to go back to school to remain in the United States, or ask his company to transfer him to a foreign post.
Li Yuan’s claims are in my opinion cherrypicked and misleading. She points to data to support her position, but the mild rise in emigration out of China from 2016 until now is something she attributes strictly to political reasons. She makes no attempt to recognize economic factors, such as the well reported glut of graduates unable to find a preferred job, nor any temporal factors such as the COVID opening up releasing otherwise delayed plans due to COVID restrictions and more importantly prohibitive flight costs. Instead, we are left with a threadbare attempt at explaining data with a political narrative.
Li Yuan, and perhaps the staff at the New York Times, are selling a narrative that runs contradictory to peer reviewed science. They are advertising one America, which promises a better life for Chinese, if only America would make it easier for Chinese to migrate into the country. Meanwhile professors at Princeton, Harvard, and MIT are telling us a very different story in which Chinese living in America are doing so in fear of both the government’s actions as well as anti-Asian violence. They have chosen that dramatic quote at the end for a reason— the NSF CAREER award is NSF’s most prestigious award, and many go on to win Nobel prizes.
The NYT and Li Yuan wonder why the US isn’t attracting Chinese scientists. Maybe they should have asked Chinese scientists in the US before making their gloriously nationalist article.
A stray kitten was terrified of everyone and everything and just wanted to hide
There’s something about a kitten’s motor just purring along that makes me melt!
The doctor(s) keep telling me that high blood pressure is not a problem. They say “you cannot die from high blood pressure“. And this, of course, is the Chinese stance on the matter. That blood pressure is dynamic, and not static, that it goes up and it goes down. And that you want to manage your lifestyle to keep it in a relatively low state, but not to get upset if it raises up high.
Meanwhile the Western advice for what my current blood pressure seems to be is…
2023 11 20 20 40
Which is quite different from the Eastern belief.
When I entered the hospital emergency room, my blood pressure was 214. The Western medical advice and warnings are…
2023 11 20 20 42
I think that it was prudent that I went to the emergency room, no matter what the doctors say. And I most certainly did not want to endure a stroke or a heart attack.
In 1973 while a specialist (E4) in the 82d Airborne Division, I had to draw a travel pay advance to go TDY (temporary duty) for 179 days.
This was well before direct deposit or electronic payments.
We actually got paperwork processed then went to a teller’s window who dispersed cash.
When I arrived at the division finance center the waiting area was full to overflowing.
As I found a place along the wall to stand a soldier near me said, “You’ll be here a while. ”
He pointed to another soldier and said he had been there two days in a row before that day attempting to get an advance to go home on emergency leave.
Several other soldiers confirmed what he said. They too kept returning and waited their turn until time for the center to close, then they returned to their barracks and came back the next day.
After an hour or so with only a couple of troops called to the desk to be processed (by now it was late morning) a full Colonel arrived and signed the waiting list at the front.
As he took a place along the wall one of the soldiers told him he would have a long wait. Someone else told him about the guy who needed to go on emergency leave.
After about 30 minutes, the colonel went to the clerk at the sign in desk and asked to speak to his boss.
The clerk went to the back office area and returned with a senior NCO, E6 or E7 as I recall. The sergeant asked the colonel how he could help him.
The colonel replied, “I asked to see this clerk’s boss, the person in charge here.” The Sergeant said, “I’m his boss.”
The colonel then said “I want to see the OIC (Officer In Charge) out here, right now.”
He was very polite and spoke in a slightly lower volume than if in a normal conversation, however when he approached the sign in desk all conversation in the room ceased and we could hear what he had to say.
Full Colonels, O-6s, don’t like to be kept waiting.
The Sergeant (staff sergeant or sergeant first class) went to the office area and returned from a small separate office with a junior officer, a captain if I recall correctly.
Very respectfully the finance officer asked the colonel how he could help him.
The colonel said he was going on TDY and needed his advanced travel pay. The finance officer said, “Yes sir we’ll get you taken care of right away.”
The colonel then said “I need to leave tonight.”
“Yes sir, no problem.” was the reply. The colonel said “
All these men that were signed in before me are ahead of me. They will get their money before my advance gets processed. Are we clear on that, Captain?”
A very red-faced, obviously shaken junior officer, now sweating bullets, assured him everyone in the waiting area would be processed that day.
It was amazing how quickly paperwork was processed after that.
The guy waiting for emergency leave was called back almost immediately and the rest of us were taken care of very expeditiously in the order in which we signed in.
The colonel was looking out for men who weren’t directly in his chain of command but he made sure everyone was taken care of appropriately.
He could have “pulled rank” and left with his money in just a few minutes.
He could have made one phone call to division headquarters and had the officer and the NCOIC replaced, but a low key, on the spot correction resolved the immediate issue.
I’m sure the situation was discussed with both the OIC and NCOIC privately and in much greater detail later.
That was an experience I learned from and never forgot as I rose through the enlisted, warrant officer and commissioned officer ranks during my 24 years of service.
Chili Louisiana-Style
2023 11 10 15 09
Yield: about 3 quarts
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground hot sausage
2 medium onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 whole clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 (15 ounce) cans New Orleans style kidney beans, drained
Louisiana hot sauce, to taste (optional)
Instructions
Combine first four ingredients and brown in a large frying pan. Drain all excess fat.
In a large slow cooker, combine all the remaining ingredients. Add the cooked meat mixture. Cook on LOW overnight.
Remove garlic clove before serving.
When men have NOTHING left to lose. The masculinity crisis pushed too far.
Men being treated like second-rate citizens in the modern day is nothing new, but what happens when they end up being pushed to the very edge? Men were not designed to lie down and be taken advantage of. Eventually, all men rise up against oppression and take their final stand. This is a frightening world we’ve created.
Literally this just happened to me a few days ago. I live in Virginia (USA) and I was flying to Athens, Greece. We booked the trip on a Saturday and left three days later, very last minute. Because it was an overnight flight and more than 9 hours we purchased the tickets in business class so we could recline to sleep. I like to read before sleeping so I purposefully selected (on Saturday) the window seat so I could lean up again the wall and look out the window while reading. As soon as I got onboard and got to my seat (hadn’t even sat down yet!) the woman in the aisle asked me switch with her husband who was seated on the middle row on the aisle. I said “No thank you, I’m good with where I booked”. I was polite but firm. Later during the flight she asked when I had booked and I said three days ago and she said that they had booked months before. What actually irritated me was that MONTHS went by where she (they) could have adjusted their seats to be together. Why then does it become MY problem to give up what I paid for. So yes, I find it exceedingly rude to ask someone to give up their seat.
P.S. Athens, Mykonos and Santorini were fabulous and I can’t wait to go back!
The West has a history of Anti Semitism that would make your blood run cold
I don’t mean just Uncle Heini
Jews have been deported enmasse from 8 European Countries from the 12th century to the 20th in their thousands, forced to live in Ghettos, speaking a slavish language Yiddish for the most part
Guess where they were treated better than in Europe?
Yep.
The Middle East , the Muslims
The Jews had their best time under the Ottoman Empire and with the Arabs. Both sides minding their own business
And once again who ruined it?
Yep
The West – in the form of the United Kingdom
This is Klaus Barbie – a Psycopathic Anti semite who sent many jews to their death in camps during WWII
He was the butcher of LYONS
Yep that’s France
Frenchmen, Poles, Czech and Ukrainians watched and silently endorsed the slaughter of Jews and making them soap , a term that our friend Jean-Marie Valheur takes such strong offense against
Auschwitz, Riga, Sachenhausen – they aren’t in Moscow or Beijing or Delhi or Tehran
They are in Europe
This gutter dreg who took orders from Himmler or his men and who had jewish blood on his hands
He got a standing ovation in Canada
Standing Ovation!!!!
So dont ever say the West backs Israel
The West wants a guard dog in the Middle East just like you want a Foreman in prison, in case the inmates get violent
The West believe the Middle East is their playground and to keep things in order, fund organizations and terror groups and keep organizing small and large scale chaos
Israel does what it’s told
As simple as that
The West will never see Israel as part of it’s Anglo Saxon heritage
Not even Eastern Europe whose idiots think they are a part of the grand alliance of the West
They aren’t
The West is US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Italy and Scandinavia
Every one else from Spaniards to Slavs to Greeks to Jews to Balts to Chinese to Indians to Malays to Serbs are expendable and will be dropped like hot potatoes if it suits the West
The Triads? They’ve long since become regular business men.
The last triad gunfights were in the UK around 1997 vs the Vietnamese gangs. The Vietnamese gangs had guns the Chinese triads didn’t.
The last gunfights in Asia were Yip Kai Foon. He had a type56 Chinese AK and rarely got into gunfights. He eventually did get into a gunfight with police and was hit in the spine and captured shortly after.
I had already been given the job. Been told my start date and salary. The owner was my brother in laws father.
I had sat and chatted with him one evening having just left the army. He told me the job was mine. But he had already arranged the interviews so told me he had to go through with them but inserted me into the interview process.
I mean this job couldn’t of been more nailed on. Ever.
Anyway. I was so blasé about it. I went into the interview not even thinking it was an interview and chatted away to him. Next thing I’m laughing and joking with him about my time in the army. About the crazy funny antics we got up to. Like skidding tanks. Trying to spin the tracks on tanks in the mud. Breaking so hard to see how much you could nose down.. how I run my colnel of the road snaking down the road in a tank. I thought I was hilarious. I thought he thought I was hilarious
This was for a job as an articulated truck driver.
I even walked out pleased with how it went. Absolutely clueless
Needless to say. I got a call next day saying I didn’t get the job.
The most ridiculous part of this story is that the penny didn’t drop for years for me. I just assumed he had only given me an interview to keep the family happy. That I was never going to get the job and was annoyed he’d wasted my time.
It was only 20 odd years later I had that awful.cringe moment. Like. Oh god! No! Did i actually go into an interview for a driving job. Bragging about how irresponsible a driver I could be. Yes. I did.
A need to rewrite marriage laws
The latest generation is simply not getting married, and will result in this…
China and the Chinese do not have to be reminded of the horror of wars. They have the century of humiliation that reduced their entire country to destitution and hundred of million dead. It is this existential awareness that is in fact going overdrive to ensure this never ever happen again.
On the other hand, the U.S. has never been touched by war because of geography – not WWI, not WWII. This is why after WWII it is only the U.S. and our industrial base coming out totally unscathed that allowed for our hegemony.
We’re the clueless.
And today, it is the U.S. who must be reminded that we have a peer military power. China has the capability to kick our ass if we try an offensive run at them and can accommodate in kind with a nuclear MAD. So, how is it that they will suffer more in case of war with us?
I went to a late afternoon house party at a neighbor who lived a block over from my house.
The host was wealthy. She had a beautifully designed Tuscan, two-storied house, with art of various styles and sizes adorning the walls throughout.
Although I was younger than most by decades, everyone was very welcoming to young buck Sean.
Everyone had brought a dish of food and they had some music playing.
My intention was to just stay for an hour, make the rounds, introduce myself to some neighbors and get to know them as it was rare to see a lot of these people that I shared close proximity with.
(For the record, I wasn’t a freeloader – I’d made brownies that I’d brought with me as well.)
There’s a crowd of us on the back porch talking. I’m in a circle with the host, her daughter, and 4 other people.
So out of the blue, the host says, “We’ll just let you two talk for a bit.”
And everyone evaporates into the house and here I am stuck on this back porch with her daughter.
It felt like I blinked and the world disappeared and I was locked in a closet with a stranger.
“So Sean – do you like it here in Tampa?”
You’ve got to be kidding me. This is a setup…..
She was pretty and friendly enough.
However she was not my type and I was not psychologically/emotionally prepared to be on a date that moment. My ex and I had broken up 2 days before this.
I got through it. We spoke and I stayed long enough so as not to be rude and/or hurt her feelings. Then I went home, curled up in a ball and sucked my thumb.
But hey – at least the experience made for an OK Quora answer.
My pain for your pleasure.
Did he handle this situation properly?
Making a day better
Yesterday, we had a horrible customer at the restaurant, he yelled at the bartender because we didn’t have club soda. The bartender explained we don’t have club soda because we don’t have liquor (just beer and wine) and therefore we don’t have a soda gun behind the bar. He didn’t like that.
Then he asked for a cheese that we don’t have, even after she read him the cheeses we did have – twice. She explained we don’t have that cheese. Then he LOST it and started yelling at her as if she was hoarding the world’s supply of this cheese for herself. Ridiculous.
He eventually left in a big huff and every other person within earshot of his temper tantrum was thankful.
Even after he left we still had a black cloud over us. Admittedly, we let this man and his behavior affect our day.
That is until an older gentleman and his adult son came into the restaurant and changed our whole mood. They are relatively new regulars (started coming in a month or so ago). The son has Down Syndrome and his father takes care of him throughout the day.
The father is very talkative, but his son (Peter) never spoke to us – he was always happy to eat his sandwich and bop along to the music (he really likes Grateful Dead songs).
As they were getting ready to leave, the father waved us over. We got to the table and Peter looked up at us and said…
“I’m happy here, I see you give out hugs, can I have a hug?”
We happily raised our hands to start the hug and he quickly pulled us in and gave us the strongest bear hug we’ve ever received in our life. He lifted us off the ground – anyone that has ever met us face-to-face will attest, that is no easy task.
Thank you Peter, with one (just shy of unbearably strong) hug, you made our entire day better (and gave us a free back (alignment) You’re an awesome man.
Regardless of the military outcome of the war in Gaza, America, and Israel are already big losers. In a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor in Gaza, a staggering 120 countries voted in favor. Only 12 other states backed America and Israel. Massive protests are erupting in major cities around the world, from Sydney, London, Paris, New York to Washington, and across much of the Muslim world. Israel has the audacity to question UN’s legitimacy after it passed the unfavorable resolution and doubled down by demanding an apology from Secretary-General Guterres and his resignation for condemning Israel’s indiscriminate bombing in Gaza.
The biggest losers are, sadly, the Palestinian people. Consider these sobering facts. Fully 85% of Hamas fighters are orphans who grew up in hate, many as young as 12 who stand shorter than the rifles they carry. Thousands of children are buried alive in the rubble, and thousands of expectant mothers are denied medical care because hospitals are either bombed, overstretched, or critically short of essential supplies. It is a humanitarian disaster on a scale unseen since the last world war. Israel keeps killing while the whole world watches—in its own shameful Holocaust against the poor Palestinians.
Brushing aside the UN resolution, Netanyahu seems constitutionally incapable of compromise. Turkey calls him a war criminal and is crouching to strike, as is Iran. The 6th full-scale Israeli-Arab war looms.
When Hamas killed and captured Israeli civilians, they were crucified by Western politicians and pundits. But as Netanyahu made good his threat to reduce Gaza to rubble in a frenzy of murderous bombing that took the lives of aid workers, journalists, women, and children, world opinion swiftly shifted. Four European minnows plus eight tiny Pacific Island states like Fiji opposed the resolution, as their support can affordably be bought. Even traditional staunch Israeli and American allies voted to abstain.
The root cause of the conflict is Israel’s 50-year-long brutal suppression of Palestinians, who subsist as stateless people in their own country. In World War II, Jewish people won universal sympathy as the oppressed. Now, they have mutated into brutal oppressors themselves. Netanyahu has Nazified the Israeli military.
In a fatal strategic miscalculation, the US rushed warships to the combustible region, ostensibly to deter Iran from entering the conflict. But Biden is sending a wrong and strong signal that emboldens the bloodthirsty Netanyahu to carry out his Gaza massacre. America has failed to put Bibi on a leash and he is spilling oceans of blood.
This conflict has reshuffled the geopolitical deck, with Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon already engaging Israel sporadically. Heavy hitters like Turkey and Iran are crouching and poised to pounce. Russia, too, is entering the equation, airlifting supplies to Gaza and threatening all-out war if its planes are fired upon. The war in Ukraine is becoming a side-show, with NATO support possibly waning or wavering. China is seen as a potential credible mediator. America, by contrast, stands discredited as a meddler, aiding and abetting Israel’s unjust war against a downtrodden people. It is fast losing its halo as the world’s self-appointed policeman.
If the war widens, America and Israel will be fighting on multiple fronts. I see no long-term winners, even if Israel wipes Hamas off the map. Genocidal oppression breeds its own revenge and lethal vicious circle. That is why Netanyahu, the butcher of Gaza, is a danger to Israel’s legitimate existence. China is walking taller among nations. That explains the mild thaw in US-China relations during the Chinese foreign minister’s recent visit to Washington. Both Blinken and Biden notably toned down their anti-China rhetoric. With two wars raging, America reluctantly seeks dialogue to restore bilateral relations to a normal footing.
Wars are notoriously unpredictable. Who will emerge on the right side of history? No one knows. But one thing is certain: injustice is inherently unstable. Regardless of military muscle, with shifting allegiances on a crowded planet, world opinion matters.
I was in line at a market and there was just one person ahead of me. The assistant manager was at the register and just as the person in front of me left, the regular cashier returned from her break.
Instead of simply walking away and letting her take care of me, he turned to her and began yelling at her because she was 3 minutes late coming back from her break! “How dare you take up my time, I am way more important than you and I could fire you for this!!” he screamed, as I was standing there waiting to pay for my groceries and leave.
The poor girl was incredibly embarrassed and turned to me to apologize and I lost it!
I looked him square in the eye and said “How dare you dress down a staff member in public! I manage a staff of 60 and would NEVER yell at my staff in front of anyone because it is incredibly unprofessional and embarrassing for every person standing in this line! Where is the manager?” I asked and proceeded to hunt him down.
I spent 10 minutes dressing down the manager in his office and told him that I would take it to the corporate level if that man was not promptly fired for his actions.
I found out later that he had been harassing this poor girl for weeks and no one had gone to the manager about it out of fear of retribution. I never again saw that assistant manger and later heard that he was fired on the spot after I left. The staff was so much nicer and happier without him there and I received a personal letter of apology from the manager that thanked me for letting him know what had happened that day.
BTW, I have done this 3 other times at different places and had the same outcome at all of them. I am not looking for someone to be fired when I walk in the door, but I know what it feels like to have a boss that thinks it’s okay to terrorize his staff and I refuse to allow it to happen in front of me ever again.
No one has the right to go after a staff member in front of customers. It is unprofessional and makes those in charge look like they are power hungry bullies who out of control.
Someone has to be the champion of those who are too afraid to speak because they are so afraid to lose their job, and being the loudmouth that I am, I am happy to step up!
I am a pediatric dentist. I had a patient who was autistic and had ADHD (male, 5 years) with a huge swelling on his cheek because of an infected tooth. Generally, 5 years old understand and sit on the chair, but because of his problems, he just wouldn’t sit and made a mayhem in the clinic. My assistant then restrained the child and we drained the pus.
Now, the mother started to cry when the payment part came. She told us she was separated from her husband and he wasn’t paying support. Because of the special child, she couldn’t even work, so please make it free.
Thankfully, my assistant knew her. She and her husband had two apartments worth 7 cr each in Mumbai and were in the middle of a deal worth another couple crores. My assistant was with the broker who had initiated the deal, so he knew for sure. But the lady wouldn’t budge. At the end, she paid 50 percent and left, and didn’t turn up for the next appointment.
Fast forward a month, the kid had swelling and pain again, because of the incomplete treatment. She pleaded to come, and promised to pay. But this time, because of the pain, the kid didn’t allow me to even have a look. He was feverish and in a bad condition.
So I told the parents (dad had also come) that the kid would need a treatment under general anesthesia in a proper hospital. We explained everything, they nodded with great interest, then asked for the cost. It was going to cost more than a lakh.
The dad straightaway asked me to slash my charges completely. Because, anyway I was earning from rest of the patients and didn’t really need the money. Then he asked for the cheapest hospital possible. I told him I don’t go to charitable places because of questionable hygiene, and lack of ICU. I don’t compromise with the safety. He then argued for an hour over the charges. I refused to budge. I have done numerous free cases, but I wasn’t going to do charity here. He then asked me to wait for two months as he had enquired about an insurance plan, and the wait period was two months. And give the kid medicines to stop the pain.
I was aghast. I told him the kid needed treatment now. All his teeth were in a bad shape. And medicines wouldn’t help after a while, and it wasn’t his decision to make. The medicines also have numerous side effects, if given unmonitored.
Then he started to blame me for the charges. I politely told him to go to a govt hospital where he would be treated for free. He declined, because they had a really long waiting list, just to be seen.
Lastly, he told me to go ahead, but that if his kid had any problem post treatment, he would see me in the court.
I folded my hands, and asked him to leave. Anyway I didn’t want to treat after such a long argument. And no one wants to work under threats.
He got furious and stormed out. We heaved a sigh of relief.
He kept calling for the next few days, bargaining. Even told me he would refer me ultra rich patients if I treated his boy for free.
No thanks, I said. I am happy with my patients who trust me.
So, a super rich man and his wife(at least for me) declining urgent healthcare for his kid to save money and insulting the doctor is the cheapest and most despicable person for me.
Cooter (Turtle) Stew
2023 11 10 15 14
Ingredients
2 to 3 pounds cooter*
2 quarts water
4 tablespoons cooking oil
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
10 peeled, seeded tomatoes or 2 large cans tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup green spring onion tops
1 pinch each paprika and cayenne
4 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups good sherry (not cooking sherry)
1 tablespoon molasses or brown sugar
6 to 8 hardboiled eggs, chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
Seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
* Substitute dark-meat chicken, catfish, veal, or all three.
Instructions
Cover meat with water and parboil on medium heat for 20 minutes.
Set aside to cool and then trim to small chunks. Skim fat from broth and set aside.
Heat oil to just short of smoking. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 15-20 minutes to make a dark roux.
Add big onions, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste.
Add 4 cups of reserved broth and meat and cook 30 minutes on medium-high.
Add celery, spring onions, seasonings, bay leaves, sherry and molasses or brown sugar and cook 30 minutes. Add water to thin stew, if needed.
Add chopped eggs and cook for 1 1/2 hours.
Add potatoes and cook 20 to 30 minutes longer, until potatoes are tender.
Taste and add seasoned salt and pepper.
Sprinkle bacon over top. Remove bay leaves.
Serve in large bowls with a salad on the side and hot bread, preferably corn bread made in a black iron skillet.
I watched an elderly man in San Francisco, on the tough corner of Eddy and Hyde streets, being threatened by a thuggish stranger on the street, and being told “I’ll kick your ass.”
The old man laughed, and said quietly, “No, you won’t.”
The thug made a quick move and the old man flinched. The thug laughed and said, “Scared?” The old man said, “Yes. And it’s not healthy to scare me.”
Suddenly the thug was on his back on the sidewalk and the old man was sitting on his chest and beating him across the face, still talking quietly, saying “You better not mess with strangers. I could easily kill you, but I won’t. But you’ll have enough pain so that you’ll remember this for a long [BAM] long [BAM] time.” [BAM]
The old man got up, dusted himself off, picked up his dropped belongings, and left the thug laying bleeding and dazed on the street.
The “Urban Alchemy” private security people across the street, stationed in the area as part of the city government’s last desperate attempt to maintain civil order in the anarchic “Tenderloin” district, didn’t even have time to react. It was over that quick.
I was in awe. My jaw literally dropped. I was walking ten feet behind them, I heard and saw everything. I’m pretty old myself, and I’m no stranger to street confrontations. I’ve never seen any such situation where the outcome was like that. Not ever.
And I’ve never envied one of the participants so much in my entire life.
Yes, if you can get sea water to evaporate, you get salt. However, you need to get a lot of sea water to evaporate to get an appreciable amount of salt out of it. For that you need a lot of flat land by the seashore. It needs to be at or very close to sea level so that you can let the water roll in before you close off your salt pans. And you need a lot of warm, dry, sunny weather to evaporate the sea water and leave the salt behind. Land behind the sea shore rises too quickly? Can’t make salt. Too much rain? Can’t make salt. Storms driving large waves that wash over into the salt pans? Can’t make salt. Too cold or humid so evaporation is slow? Can’t make (meaningful amounts of) salt.
So it turns out that there are actually very few places where it’s actually feasible to make salt by evaporating sea water. So few that those very, very few places which can historically grew rich by doing it and salt mining could remain a viable competitor. Venice, for example, occupied a shallow lagoon backed up by marshes. The sheltered lagoon protected the marshes from large storm surges, the marshes weren’t too elevated to convert into salt pans, and the Mediterranean has a warm, sunny climate. Consequently, it first became wealthy in the salt trade. But you simply couldn’t do that around places like Genoa or Bruges, which had the wrong geography and/or the wrong climate. Sure, you can get salt out of sea water, but it’s a lot harder to do on an industrial scale with historical technology.
He came home from work, ate dinner, and said , ““I want you to do something and I don’t want you to fight me on this. I want a divorce.” I was completely blindsided. Then he packed a bag and left for his mother’s house. I made him leave his key. He didn’t understand that, ““how will I get in the house?” I replied that he had no reason to enter the house when I wasn’t home. He didn’t live there anymore. He was shocked.
I started thinking about his infidelity and the micro-aggressions that had recently increased; for Christmas he had given me a bottle of men’s cologne! That’s it. Of course, he kept it for himself. It was evident that he had given my gift absolutely no thought.
So instead of begging him to stay, I emptied out the joint accounts and made an appointment with a family attorney for the next day.
Of course he wanted to drag things out. He came to get his things the same week, and I watched TV while he packed and loaded the car. He actually asked me to help. I said “This is something you want to do, not me.”
Before he left, I told him that I know he is still committing adultery and that my attorney said he should be careful about that. Lots of denying and sputtering but the thing that bothered him most was my getting a lawyer. He actually said “You got a lawyer? You know I will always take care of you. Don’t you trust me?”
By the way, he told me the reason he needed space was “the children are grown now, so I don’t have to pretend anymore. I never wanted a family that I had to hang out with.”
So that was the end. A year later, a judge granted me about a third of his assets and income as alimony until I remarry or die. We were married 32 years, and I was 65 years old. I’m sitting pretty comfortably and very peacefully in a different city. Except for incidental paperwork handled by my attorney, I have no contact. I don’t have to pretend anymore, either.
‘’Edit: I want to say that finally getting a chance to tell my story has been cathartic for me. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I am much less angry and more resolved to live well after this. Thank you all.”
INTERVIEW: Reaping the whirlwind
Karma is a BITCH. Well said Scott.
Steak over Noodles
0 2
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) round steak, cut into strips
1 can tomatoes and green chiles
1 can sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
Parmesan cheese
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can tomatoes
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 package egg noodles, cooked
Instructions
Cut steak into small strips.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add steak and brown quickly.
Combine tomatoes and green chiles with onion soup mix. Pour over steak.
Add remaining ingredients, except noodles and cheese. Simmer until steak is tender, approximately 1 to 2 hours.
Cook noodles according to package directions, then drain well.
Serve steak mixture over cooked noodles. Top with parmesan cheese.
Last week I needed to drive to Sheffield for my brother’s funeral. On the morning in question I thought I had better top up the oil so l lifted the bonnet, undid the oil filler cap and placed it on top of the engine. It rolled off and fell down into the body of the engine just below the fan belt and where all the pipes and tubes and things I don’t understand are. I tried reaching it, I tried a magnetic rod, I tried a long reach grabber thingy but couldn’t get it.
I stuffed some paper towels in the oil filler orifice and set off for my local garage. Explained the situation on arrival and they immediately allotted a young lad to retrieve it for me. He got it up on the ramps, undid a few things, removed a panel or two and then there was my oil filler cap.
Then they did the unthinkable – they said there was no charge and they were happy to do it for me.
Needless to say I couldn’t stand for that type of impertinence and gave them £20 and told them to have a drink on me.
China and Iran are still discussing a $400 billion strategic agreement over 25 years.
This agreement has many benefits for both countries.
Since Donald Trump unilaterally denounced the Vienna nuclear agreement that Iran had been respecting, Iran has once again found itself under a very strict embargo.
Iran has realized that the European Union is not in a position to resist the pressure of American sanctions.
Therefore, Iran is looking for partners who can help it resist US economic sanctions. China is the only partner capable of offering this.
China will invest 400 billion dollars in Iran over the next 25 years if this agreement is signed in early 2021.
This agreement provides for the sale of Iranian oil and gas to China at a preferential rate. China could also set up military bases in Iran and have privileged access to all investments in the country.
Iran would join China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
For China, securing its oil and gas supply is essential. For Iran, having a partner as powerful as China will enable it to better resist the United States.
An Iran-Russia-China axis is being formed to better resist the United States.
Two years ago, a surgeon told me my left testicle was malignant and had to be removed. He worked out of a teaching hospital, so he asked if the students could come in. They get very few malignancies like this— a rare form of cancer. I agreed. Every visit, I’d have 5 drop dead gorgeous women in masks and white coats come in and feel my nutsack while the surgeon had his hand in there giving the tour.
One day, while the crew was working my nutsack over, I noticed a woman had come into the room, and was standing back from the crowd huddled around my nether-regions. She seemed hesitant.
“It’s okay.” :I said. “Join the party.”
“No thanks,” she said. “I’m just here to have you sign some forms.”
Look, one thing you’re going to have to get over with this sort of thing is dignity. There’s just no room for it.
When the day came, I drew a big arrow up my left leg with marker and wrote THIS ONE! When I got in the operating theatre, there were over a dozen people. Some were surgical team , while others were student observers. Before they passed me the gas, I sat up on the table and asked for everyone’s attention.
“Just so there’s no confusion here,” I said. “I want everyone here to repeat for me; ‘It’s the left nut!’”
“It’s the left nut!”
“It’s the left nut!”
“It’s the left nut!”
“It’s the left nut!”
I didn’t want any mistakes.
My advice to anyone reading this is as follows. Throw away all notions that what you have under your clothes is private and unique. Whoever is going to see you started working on this with cadavers. The whole point of the exercise is to keep you from ending up as one of those cadavers. Once you embrace it, have fun with it. You might as well. You’re getting cut on anyway— one way or the other.
Just so y’all know, the orchiectomy went well. I was back at work in less than a week. The cancer returned 9 months later. I had to undergo chemo; that darn near killed me, but I pulled through and made it out to my deer stand that November. I’m now cancer-free and there is very little chance of it returning.
Up until the late 1960s, U.S. prisoner populations weren’t much that greater than other similar countries.
However, both the Nixon administration and the Reagan administration decided to use the justice system to fight both the counter-culture movement and, of course, minorities. Many states already had draconian laws in place for marijuana possession (Michigan made it a felony punishable by life imprisonment) but the federal government upped their own penalties for marijuana, treating it as the equivalent of a narcotic (which it wasn’t).
This initiative was, of course, given the name “The War on Drugs” as “The war against hippies and uppity n*ggers” didn’t play out so well in the press. African-Americans and Hispanics were using their newly found “civil rights” to vote for Democrats in droves, pretty much driving Republican mayors and councilmen out of America’s biggest cities, where blacks and Hispanics were quickly becoming the majority.
Naturally, none of the new drug laws were administered equally. Possession by rich white people in the suburbs was pretty much ignored or got a slap on the wrist, while police and the courts came down hard on blacks and the poor living in the big cities.
The effect on these communities were immediate – other crimes related to drugs started to rise in concert as drug dealers stopped being the friendly guy down the street and started to be organized criminal gangs with the wherewithal to bribe cops and the power to eliminate competition. Having most of your young male population serving time in jail devastated black and Hispanic communities, fueled prison and street gangs as prisons became more overcrowded, overwhelmed the courts with drug cases. Cities collapsed as those who could moved out and the people left became more desperate.
With this side effect being crystal clear by 1980 when Reagan was elected, he decided to double down. The new menace was “crack”, cheaper than cocaine, but shorter acting. It was preferred by the poor as a gram of cocaine could set you back $100, but a dose of crack with much less cocaine might only be $10. Nevertheless, even though a gram of crack contained less than .1 gram of cocaine, the penalty for using it was identical. That meant white cokeheads got the same sentences as black crack users for using a more potent drug. That particular issue wasn’t fixed until the Trump administration. (It’s the one thing Trump did right, although he did it for all the wrong reasons and got angry when black people didn’t start voting for him).
Meanwhile the underground drug economy was growing by leaps and bounds. Raw product was available in Mexico for peanuts, but once across the border markups of 1000% weren’t uncommon, and then it was marked up again for retail sale. So much money was flowing to Columbian drug lords that they had more money to spare than the government, and a good chunk of the cash coming out of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was solely for the purpose of feeding the drug supply chain. I think I estimated at one point that about 10% of the BEP’s output was going solely to Pablo Escobar.
But you know who else was taking advantage of all this free cash and the cars, planes and yachts that came along with it? United States law enforcement agencies. You see, in most civilized counties, if you levy fines or seize ill gotten assets, all that money “excheats” to general revenue, so it becomes part of general government funding to be distributed as politicians see fit. That wasn’t what happened in the United States. In the United States, the agency that seizes the assets, such as the Drug Enforcement.
Agency or the Customs Service, gets to keep them, and they’re added directly to their budget, just like a small community that runs a speed trap on a major highway.
As such, the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement started to become to seize as much stuff as possible. A single marijuana cigarette on a yacht allowed the Customs Service to seize and sell the entire thing. The practice was so reviled that even the most conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices railed about its legality, and eventually the Supreme Court forced reform of the system.
So, with many federal, state and local agencies being dependent on drug money for their operations, they got more aggressive and, the more aggressive they got, the bigger they got and the more money they needed.
Naturally, all of this, together with people stealing money for drugs, drug dealers fighting over drug territories, and all the other secondary effects of a prohibition movement (remember alcohol prohibition, remember Al Capone, take that and multiply it by a hundred) the prisons got stuffed full. No problem because it provided a lot of free labour, most of the prisoners were poor, black, or Hispanic, and prison budgets didn’t allow for such luxuries as “enough well trained guards” or “rehabilitation programs”. When many states hit a wall because of the cost of new prisons, they privatized them, paying prison owners a per diem for every prisoner, which the private prisons demanded a new supply of.
Since many drug offences are felonies, it often means that when people are released they’re prohibited from entering lots of fields such as “barber” in New York State (a felony conviction keeps you from being licensed).
Luckily, things are changing on a bipartisan level. Conservatives are noting the cost of running all these prisons as other crimes had longer sentences attached. Drunk driving is a bigger problem than drug use, but it was clogging Texas prisons until they came up with a more effective diversion program to keep people out of jail. The increasing cost of an aging prison population serving time for things that happened when they were 20, and they’re now 70, are stretching prison budgets to the limit. Moreover, the “defund the police” movement notes that many of these initiatives that put people in jail for minor offences turn local populations against the police, making it harder to investigate more serious crimes.
THE GREATEST SPEECH EVER by AN AFRICAN LEADER explaining THE NEW AFRICA-EVERYONE MUST HEAR Historic
Here are 10 laws of manhood that my father taught me:
1.Don’t pay for sex.
You don’t need it that bad, you’re not an animal, you should spend your evening trying out new pick up lines and having a good time with people.
2. Never chase after a woman
Never base your life around one single person that is not a sure thing, instead, you should be chasing your dreams and goals while trying to make a success of yourself.
3. Know when it’s time to fight back
There comes a point in life, where you can no longer expect others to solve a problem for you. If you can’t stand up for yourself, why should you expect others to? A man should know when it’s time to hit back. There’s never a reason to fight — until there is.
4. Your marriage should not always be a choice between your mother and wife
Your mom is definitely the first woman in your life. But your wife is someone to be cherished and respected, too. A clear line should be drawn between the kind of relationship that you share with both of them. In case of a tussle take a neutral, just and impartial stand.
5. Don’t brag about things you’ve done, instead let the things you’ve done speak for itself. Actions will always speak louder than words so keep that in mind.
6. It’s good to talk about the emotions you’re feeling with loved ones as they’ll be there for you. Being a man does not mean that you have to hide your emotions and be a rock.
7. Stay clean, if you have a long beard then take care of it and keep it neat, brush your teeth and shower
8. Failure doesn’t threaten your manhood
A lot of men fear failure in life, career, and relationships. They feel they aren’t “real men” if they fail. But failure is an essential part of life! It’s a reality of life. Accept it!
9. Be able to cook a good meal.
It’s important. You don’t have to be a chef, but know how to make at least one good meal. It doesn’t need to be fancy, a good sloppy joe is perfectly fine, but be able to cook up something and make sure it’s good.
10. Take action because it is right, not because it is popular.
The things that matter are not merely what is popular at the moment. A true man, a gentleman, takes action because it is the right thing to do, and they do the right thing whether or not it feels cool or fun.
Man Dies & is Shocked to be Shown the Future (NDE)
Jeff Tolley shares his Near Death Experience (NDE) after being so distraught after his brother’s death that he took his own life. While on the other side Jeff met up with his brother and three beings that showed him he had more to live for and the state of his energies bodies. He was also shown his future and the future of Earth. Jeff came back from his near-death experience with a renewed sense for life and a new outlook on life and his purpose.
As an Australian who travels to the us a lot , I prefer Australia and New Zealand. I’ve got a business that is growing in the US but I really don’t want to move there so instead endure the 12 hour return flights .
There are some really awesome Americans. But there’s a lot of dicks, and this huge focus on materialism that I just don’t buy. If you drive a $600k super car and look like the Kardashians you are idolised there more than you would be in any other country I know. The American god is the god of material wealth . I find that quite noxious, even though I can afford a $600k car.
what I respect about America is that you can , as a middle class battler, still buy a nice house for USD400k in most cities . America protects its middle class , and that’s cool. Affordable housing is a big tick. I come from humble beginnings and know what it’s like to struggle to get your first house , and I think America does well here .
As a place to live though – naa. Australia and New Zealand far better . And from what I’ve seen Western Europe far better also. Go to downtown LA or San Francisco. It’s vile. Miles and miles of people living on the streets, shooting drugs , littering. It’s some sort of future dystopia ! Who the F would want to live near that depravity. It’s down right depressing and disgusting. It’s what happens when you drive the cost of living beyond what the poor can afford to exist and you offer no support for the cost increases – the bottom 15% of society simply fall out and end up living like animals on the street. Is this the sort of country where you would want your kids to grow up in? Not me , not ever.
America is dangerous, riddled with crime and depravity. They have got it wrong and are paying for it. And it’s gunna get worse.
Don’t take this as all Americans are pricks – they aren’t. But there’s something structurally wrong with that country – not my cuppa!
“The Mandela Effect” These examples will make you question EVERYTHING in your reality
This is fun. And it is a MUST WATCH. Especially for you MM followers.
It wasn’t just a sixth sense. Things had been moved. Curtains were now open, moving as if they’d recently been touched. Things on her table had been moved. She lived alone and she knew where everything belonged.
She walked through the house uneasily looking down hallways. In the kitchen. Moving quietly.
She walked past her bathroom. She turned into her bedroom.
Standing there was a bearded man, holding a hammer. He charged her and swung his hammer, hitting her on the side of the head. She fell down. He got on top of her and kept hitting her.
They then began wrestling.
Susan was a larger woman, who was particularly strong and worked as a nurse in the ER, trained on how to subdue wild patients.
After being hit several times, she managed to get her assassin pinned to the ground in a sleeper hold.
She began choking him. When she released him, his throat had been crushed — he later died (after Susan called an ambulance for him).
The assassin had been sent by her husband.
Their marriage had fallen apart and he wanted her dead. He’d paid the assassin $50,000 to kill her.
She was later treated for injuries and made a full recovery. Her husband was then sent to jail for the remainder of his life (he died in prison).
Her would-be assassin’s last words, during their fight, were “you are strong.”
Girl power.
I Had 0 EXPECTATIONS.. But I LOVED IT | Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond (REACTION!)
My two older sisters, twins, had a long and busy career in fashion modelling. I always thought they would marry the Hollywood hunk type of guy because those were the types they would sometimes go out with.
However, when they did got married, the guys were just your average Joe types; certainly not the Hollywood attractive male type. My parents and I were quite surprised. However both were confident in themselves.
They married good men who always treated them nicely. They didn’t put the girls on pedestals, treat them like starlets or have them as trophy wives. They didn’t ask them to leave modelling. They just treated them as regular women, were loyal, and had a great sense of humour. Of course they loved and cared for them deeply.
Lori and Tracy were the business girls who after modelling, took over dad’s car dealerships when he retired and made them very successful.
Mom was a fashion model who was on her way to Hollywood with a friend when she met dad. Dad was at the time working at a car dealership, which he later bought, but at the time he was a sales manager. “He made me laugh and didn’t fawn all over me like I was a movie star. He treated me as a regular girl and I just fell in love with him,” she said. She was six years younger than dad.
So attractive women don’t always go for the rich, good looking businessman. The smart ones go for the ones that make them happy.
Missile Excerpts from the TV Movie “The Day After”
While not completely accurate in technical approach, the failure of the deterrence mission was shown in the made for ABC TV movie “The Day After” that premiered on 20 Nov 1983. The movie used scenes from the film “First Strike” to show the USAF detection and response to an ICBM attack against the U.S. Presented from the archives of the Association of Air Force Missileers (AAFM).
“I spent 4 years in SAC as a Minuteman II launch crew commander back in the 70s. This depiction of the launch actions is very accurate. Of course, they left out some of the classified details in processing the message, but, all in all, this was very accurate. Several times EVERY DAY we got coded Emergency Action Messages (EAM) that could have been real execution messages for nuclear war. As others have mentioned, we did NOT know whether these were tests/training messages until we had competed decoding and authentication procedures. That was the real test of your nerves. You never knew. I am sometimes asked if the launch crews would obey the execution messages. The answer is an unqualified YES. If the message turned out to be a valid and authentic message, keys would be turned. We believed that the EAMs would not be transmitted unless the U.S. was under attack and the sooner we got our missiles off the ground the sooner we could stop any further incoming attacks. While I count that as a valuable experience in my life, I do not miss the stress.”
The U.S. can win if they compete on who is better in plundering, looting, stealing, abusing nations, regime change, orchestrating demonstrations and coups and unilateral sanctions. That kind of competition the US will win hands down.
Tech war! Are you kidding me. For ever 100 Chinese engineers the U.S. barely produce one! Chinese will eat them for lunch any day. Over the past decade China has registered twice the U.S. registrations of patent in the U.S. patent registration office.
And according to the Neo con funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute ASPI, out of 44 of the most strategic technologies China leads in 37 of them! The U.S. only manage to lead by a whisker in 7 out of the 44 these days.
Try colour revolutions competition I guarantee the U.S. will! Hahahaha.
I was tutoring a young man in HS. He (and several classes of other students) had to take his teacher’s Math Final over the Internet with a non-relative adult as Proctor. He took the Final at the tutoring center with me as Proctor.
About an hour in, he discovered that an entire sentence was missing from a Question rendering it impossible to solve. He asked my help. I refused. He asked my advice. I first looked at the Question and said nothing but knew he was correct — unsolvable because of missing information. “What do YOU think you OUGHT to do?” “EMAIL THE TEACHER, AND THEN DO THE REST OF THE EXAM?” “Then do that.” He did. I watched.
About 20 minutes later the teacher put out an email announcement to all students to skip that question, saying it had a misprint and was missing required information.
Fine. EXCEPT she flunked him saying he was absent from the exam. The problem escalated but the tutoring center did nothing because that teacher had threatened to have our contract with the County terminated (possibly causing massive tutor layoffs and lots of kids screwed….)
At that point I went in to the center’s boss, announced my resignation, and contacted the Principal and the young man’s father’s lawyer. The bitch teacher tried to get support from the Teacher’s Union and got caught in more lies.
The lawyers worked out a compromise. The kid passed and graduated, but the D in a straight A record was kind of a screw job and the bitch teacher accused me of lieing.
Oh well, let it go….
Five years later, my wife and I received a brief note with tickets to a university graduation. The kid not only got in, he was Straight A for four plus years.
US And Western Media’s Dirty Propaganda About China’s Lithography Exposed!
I had a bank customer who was a older gentleman that had recently lost his wife. He came across as a mean person only because he didn’t engage in conversation nor smiled much. Somehow he trusted me and we became good friends. He was the second person I called when my own father died and he explained to me why my father chose to just give up. My friend was 90 at the time and in better health than my dad. Anyhow he made me understand why he was “tired” and just wanted to feel alive again. I teased him telling him he more less became my surrogate father from then on. The day I quit the bank, he cried thinking I was going to forget him. He had two daughter’s who didn’t live in the same state so I continued to check on him taking him home cooked food, to appointments and just to visit. The day came when he moved into a retirement home so helped him get his house ready to sell. I never asked for anything because I never expected anything. He was a friend and I’ve always enjoyed dealing with elderly people. Once he hit 92, he decided to move near his daughter in another state. That’s when it was my turn to cry. Felt like I was losing my father all over again. Kept in touch with him until the day his daughter called and told me he had a massive heart attack. I was devastated. Months went by until out of the blue I got a call saying he left me alittle something in his will. I didn’t want anything and didn’t have a friendship for that purpose. His little something was a check for 20,000. I was blown away but his daughters thanked me as well for being there for him. It never was a duty but it was more of a way to let him know, he wasn’t alone. I work home health now and always keep him in my mind.
People Who Disappeared Because They Knew Too Much
The people you are about to see in this top made discoveries that would have changed humanity. However, unexpectedly, they disappeared from the face of the Earth or ceased to exist. Many theorize that they disappeared because they knew too much.
One big reason the Chinese people don’t want democracy is the USA.
The USA keeps holding itself out as the world’s prime example of democracy. Chinese people take a look and they are horrified.
The US imprisons more citizens than any other country in the world. The police step on black men’s necks to kill them. U.S cops carry weapons designed for war! Then there are the widespread demonstrations that degenerate into rioting, looting and arson. Half the U.S population believes that the last election was “stolen” from them. Then there is an attack on Capitol Hill. Furthermore Americans say that gun ownership is a fundamental liberty. But every week they have mass shootings. People get killed all the time in schools, supermarkets, pubs, parking lots, country music concerts, churches, Independence Day parades etc. The infrastructure is crumbling, the country is mired in an endless drug crisis and they don’t seem to have a healthcare system. The country claims to have freedom of expression but it bans TikTok, which the rest of the world has. Meanwhile fake news is so prevalent in the US that Americans’ trust in U.S media, as proven by survey results, has plunged to a record low. The country claims to have freedom of religion, but clearly Christian nationalism is sweeping across the USA and women can’t even get birth control or abortion. Also, did you know that the U.S violent crime rate is 3 times higher than that in China, and that the U.S homicide rate is 4 times higher? Meanwhile every day, the Dems and Republics are attacking each other for the sake of attacking and they do not appear at all to be interested in working together in any way for the good of the country.
This terrifies the Chinese people.
Then the USA says “Oh, we are the champions of democracy.”
Well, of course the Chinese people don’t want democracy. “Errr, thanks but no thanks!” they say.
The Middle Class Can No Longer Afford Rent In America
All Americans require a nice, secure, and inexpensive place to live in order to prosper. For years, low-income families have battled to find cheap rental properties, but today the middle class is also facing significant difficulties in this area.
Due to the sharp increase in rent prices seen in major American cities since the outbreak, millions of middle-class Americans are unable to pay their rent.
These middle-class households are being excluded from normal middle-class communities without major income increases or government support, which starts a domino effect that results in systemic poverty and enduring inequality. In other words, middle-class Americans are being squeezed to death by housing costs.
Compared to just two years ago, the average home now costs approximately $80,000 more, and the average rent in the US is over $1,000 more than it will be in 2020.
The survey discovered that while middle-class renters’ salaries have decreased 9% over the past ten years, rents are rising on average by 3.5% yearly.
The American middle class has been spending far more on housing than they can afford in the majority of urban areas across the nation, researchers found.
According to the survey, 46.3% of middle-class renters and 21.2% of middle-class homeowners in the US, respectively, are moderately or severely burdened by housing costs, which are defined as spending more than 30% or 50% of one’s salary on housing.
This happened to me when I was a programmer in London, back when coding was done in ANS Cobol. I was sitting in my office at around 9:30 a.m., feet up on the desk and probably snoring. The big boss man came in very quietly, pushed my feet off the desk, and told me I was fired and to leave the company immediately.
Well, I know how to wind people up, so I just shrugged and started to leave. He stopped me, asking if I had anything to say, and the conversation went something like this:
Boss: “Why did I find you sleeping on company time?”
Me: “Where were you at 3 a.m. this morning?”
Boss: “In bed with my wife, of course. Why?”
Me: “Well at 3.a.m. I had already been here for two hours fixing a bug that had interrupted the operation of the mainframe computer at around midnight. It was a bit of a bugger to find, and the system wasn’t up and running again until 7:30 this morning. This means that I get triple pay for the hours I worked, all expenses, a full meal (even though no place was open), and today off work. I’m leaving now, and will be contacting my union to discuss how best to get as much as I can in damages”.
His only choice was to give me a raise, which he did. Tosser.
My parents divorced when I was 4. My mother remarried a man one year later in 1965.
He was a very controlling man about most things—but that’s a different story. In the summer between my 4th and 5th grade, he became “Born Again” at a Billy Graham revival. At his insistence, my mother soon followed, as did my sister. I was the only one in our family of 4 who didn’t want to give up their entire life and become a singularly focused religious fanatic.
My stepfather had never really liked me before that. After that he hated me, and could barely contain his loathsome attitude toward me.
Speeding ahead a few years, when I was entering the 12th grade, my mother took me aside one day and told me that they had no money to help me with college—that I was going to have to figure out my future on my own. (She was quite literal about that. They never even once discussed with me what my options might be.) I said it was ok. I’d figure it out. I did, and after high school, I got a job at a factory.
My sister, who is 4 years older than me, did attend a religious college, and while it crossed my mind as to how she was able to pay for college, I never asked. We weren’t very close.
Fast forward to 1994. I am now successful in my career. I have a large house with a swimming pool and hot tub in the backyard. My family—mother, stepfather, sister and her family—are invited to my house for an afternoon barbecue.
My mother and sister are sitting in my hot tub. I am around the corner of the house tending the barbecue. They don’t realize that I’m there. They are talking loudly, and I can clearly hear them. My sister starts talking about college education for her kids and she asks my mom how she and my stepfather saved up the money for her college education.
My mom immediately started to panic, and began shushing my sister to be quiet. She frantically said, “I don’t want Kent to hear this! We told him we had no money for college.”
I always knew that I was the black sheep in the family, but it was in that moment that I truly realized how much I was excluded. From that point on, my eyes and mind were opened to the lies and deception within my family. It forever altered our relationship.
Update- stepfather died. Felt nothing. My wife thinks that I suffer from PTSD because of him. Maybe with time I can now forget and maybe even forgive. I wonder if he got that gold-plated throne next to God that he obsessed on his entire life. I doubt it.
Update- mother died. I felt almost nothing. I do mourn that she was more interested in keeping her abusive husband happy than having an interest in her son. Such is life.
Why CHINA Will Win The Space Race
China has rapidly advanced its space capabilities, achieving milestones such as landing a rover on the far side of the moon and establishing its own space station, the Tiangong. The Chinese space program’s impressive progress has raised concerns in the United States about the potential erosion of its dominance. Today’s episode is explaining how and why China will win the race to space.
I once was in a very tough situation financially. I worked three jobs at the time to keep up with life.
One day, at the end of the month, my rent was due, my fridge was empty, my paycheck was late, and I got a phone call from my daughter’s teacher reminding me to pay the school fee – my daughter was the only one who hadn’t submitted the payment. I was exhausted and didn’t know what to do, so I called my best friend and just cried. He came to my office, forced me to call in sick that afternoon, then took me to an ice cream shop and bought me an ice cream.
Then he sat me down and told me, ‘Life is tough, so you need to be tougher. In order to do that, you need to be nice to yourself, and don’t beat yourself up. You need a break too. Look, if everything you carry is heavy, you can put it down for a second, take a break, and then pick it up and keep moving. Sometimes, just surviving to the next day can be called a success.’
After that day, I went to the supermarket and bought a package of candy. It’s Korean milk mint candy; it’s really good and I had one every day in the morning to remind me that, no matter how hard life could get, there would be always something sweet, as long as I’m kind to myself. That one candy in the morning was what helped me going strong through life. I don’t remember how many candies I’ve eaten.
I don’t think ‘self-love’ needs to be something big or serious, it can be as small as a candy.
Oh, and I still have that kind of candy around the house:
But of course they won’t publicly. These setback has very severe consequences that cost the US trillions of dollar loss and hundreds of thousand or a million jobs!
The billion of dollars investment in the Chip plant in Arkansas, US is barely in its teething set up stage with painful bickering between the Taiwanese and the U.S. contractors. 3 full years into the most ridiculous day light robbery of Taiwan technology and know how coerce by the U.S. with promises of billions of U.S. taxpayers money as subsidy to produce in a place without the skill and expertise needed and to be made by workers 3 times that if Taiwanese and 10 times benefits to produce half the result.
But the losses that is huge is nothing compared to the loss of respect that the U.S. believes in free market mechanism. And free trade. Forcing a Taiwanese company to shut its operation in their land and uproot to US heartland against their wish is anything but freedom! But what is worst is that it will be the biggest white elephant before even a chip is ever made. And if course destroying the entire livelihood of the very people they said they want to defend.
China has all but proven that every technology the U.S. tried to protect and stop China from having at a humongous cost to the U.S. is now proven to be easily produced in China. Made better, cheaper and faster by China a mere 3 years after this obnoxious and ridiculous attempt to stop China. All in all hundreds of US, and U.S. cronies technology companies simultaneously going obsolete all due to this ridiculous decision. Think about the billions and billions of losses of each company. And think about the workers losing their livelihood.
China whose own market alone is 30% while also producing most products for 60% of this planet’s need now will totally stop using anything from these firms. Just on business losses and profit loss is in the billions. Which fool could have thought it is a good idea losing this customer. But now you lost the entire world’s business.
In Wall Street trillions got wiped off the stock value of these firms. And 90% of these firms will go bankrupt. Mostly insured by the U.S. What an unbelievably daft decision by some neocon politicians and administrators yet 20 odd days after China shock the world not a word by those responsible! Not a whisper not a groan not an apology.
But this is the real irony of the U.S. they screamed so loud of freedom of expression who is talking now. Here in QUORA there are many brain dead Yankees who cheered this on. Where are you now! Don’t be a coward come out and continue your hateful agenda. You let the U.S. and your American friends down. You gave them false hope. Now they lost everything because of your selfish hate. I like to hear what you have to say.
Texas Grilled Cocoa Chile Steak
Bored with burgers and hot dogs? Offer seasoned steak slices in flour tortillas at your next backyard cookout.
2023 10 10 18 53
Prep: 5 min | Refrigerate: 2 hr | Cook: 16 min | Yield: 6 servings
Mix brown sugar, cocoa chile blend, lime juice, oregano and salt until well blended. Rub paste over steak.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for best flavor.
Broil or grill over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
Cut steak across the grain into thin slices.
Serve steak slices in warm flour tortillas.
Top with salsa, shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Epic action and mind-blowing effects rock the planet in this thrilling reinvention of the sci-fi classic, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Keanu Reeves portrays Klaatu, an otherworldly being whose arrival on Earth triggers an unstoppable series of events that threaten all of mankind. In a desperate attempt to save humanity, governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind the visitor’s appearance. When a woman (Jennifer Connelly) and her young stepson find themselves embroiled in the alien’s plan, they become the world’s only hope to stave off apocalyptic annihilation.
I met Senator Strom “Spermin’” Thurmond not long before he died. He gave me and my young friends this priceless advice:
“Boys I’m going to share with you the most important thing I have learned in my life; Two women in ten that you ask to sleep with you, will. You just have to ask the other eight first!”
For years I was grumpy about the issue this question addresses. I’ve made my peace with the post #MeToo dating regime. You should too.
I’m no longer persuasive. No means no.
If I for some reason wanted to ask a woman out face to face instead of on a dating site like a normal person, it would go like this:
“Would you be interested in being courted? No? OK. You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
That’s one less woman I need to ask to reach my goal of ten. The end.
The old way – sidling up to a woman.after enmeshing yourself in her life, finding a good way to ask, then being persistent (but not too persistent) if she didn’t shut you down hard sucked for men and it sucked for women.
Why would you want to go through that again?
In the early 2000’s back to time immemorial that push-me-pull-you cat and mouse bullshit was simply how courtship worked. I had no complaints because that was all I ever knew.
You might do this dance for weeks, months, or in same cases years with ten women for every two who would eventually consent to date you. In some cases you as a man were making their lives hell and their work/school/social environment hostile in the meantime. In other cases you were feeding their “A Man Is Courting Me” ego at the expense of your dignity.
That’s all gone now. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Women who liked the game lost. Game players. Flirters. Time wasters.
Women who preferred straight forward yes/no propositions won. Normal women.
Now we don’t have to distress eight women to suss out which two of them really “just want to be pursued”. Now we don’t have to be a creep just because we “can’t read the signals”. No more wasted bouquets of flowers. No more months long pre-courtship. No more of the woman’s friends coming up to you and telling you that you’re making her uncomfortable.
You ask. She answers. The end.
If she tries to play a game, she will lose every time because in this new post #MeToo environment you can’t be persistent. Neither can any other guy. You suffer no competitive disadvantage by accepting the first “no” you get because all other guys must do the same.
It’s liberating really. They only people who lose are the super aggressive men who don’t mind making 100’s of women uncomfortable to get laid once, and the women who want a Disney Princess experience of being chased.
Senator Thurmond would be a happy man… “ask(ing) the other eight first” has never required less effort or risk! We no longer must or may be “persuasive”. We live in Strom’s world now.
If he had done this in America, flag or no flag, there is a high probability he won’t be granted a trial, because he would have been shot dead, one of a thousand killed by American police in a normal year.
He didn’t just chant a slogan and walk the streets as a protester. He drove his vehicle at speed deliberately into a group of police officers who were armed and trained in the use of deadly force. It would have been a justified shooting, because tong ying kit turned his bike into a deadly weapon. The officers used their bodies to stop him. Several were forcefully thrown by the impact. Tong remains wheelchair bound, with a cast on his arm, injuries sustained in the crash.
The sentence is a little harsh but there is no doubt Hong Kong society must make an example of him to warn others what he did is unacceptable.
His notoriety did him in.
He is the perfect index case for the nsl, and an illuminating case law example.
MINDBLOWING NDE: Secrets From the Other Side! You are NOT Who You Think You Are.
When I took car of my mother (when she had cancer), I had to put a halt on my career, and just take care of my mother. Sure, I still was in MAJestic, but I operated while taking care of my mother, instead of doing corporate engineering and all that stuff…
It was mostly just being there. Oh, sure, I took care of the grounds, repaired things, and built and repaired homes on the property, but for the most part I was a companion to her. And as a result we got to be pretty close.
But “the manor” was in a rural area outside of Kittanning on Highway 422. It was isolated. And while I grew up in the area, I really didn’t know anyone, so for me it was lonely. And over time, I depleted my savings looking over her, and with no other sources of income, I was just scraping by with her charity.
Winter comes, and Christmas arrives.
The grandchildren are lavished with presents, and I fade into the wood work. Ignored. I just sat off by the fire in the back. Watching things.
But you know, I had to give my nieces something, so I scraped up the little money I had, and got a simple hackisack ball. Nothing fancy. But it was all that I could afford.
I gave it to my niece as they were leaving the house.
My brother in law, told my niece, “give me that”, and he went and threw it as far as he could. Did that right in front of me too.
Rude Ass Fuck face.
Yah. It upset me.
My mother just negated it. Said, “well, it’s his right“. She noticed that I just moped around all subsequent week. “Just let it go” she said.
It was ALL the money I had.
Gas money. Date money. Medicine money.
Discard on a whim.
I just wanted to participate. I just wanted to contribute. I just wanted to be treated as family.
…
After Winter, I went mowing the North Forty, and found the ball. It brought up bad memories to me.
I suppressed them out of deference to my dying mother.
…
When my mother died, this jackass and my “sister” were a constant pain in the ass and contributed greatly to my discomfort. And as they prospered and continued in their overt bellicosity, I started to deal with massive changes in my life as my Bazi fate forecast was pinging black…
…
Life moves on.
Let me tell you guys this, I don’t know how, or when, but bad selfish and hurtful actions will construct your pre-birth world-line template. You forge the topography that you will experience though your actions.
His, oh boy yes, will be a doozy…
Today.
Scott Ritter: THIS is Why the US Will LOSE Its War on China
Great discussion with Jack Ritter discussing the MAJOR backtracking that the USA has made regarding a war with China. I strongly recommend that you all watch it.
This is surprisingly good. Take this video to the bank. It is really, really good.
Blend cheese and sherry to a smooth paste. Make small incisions 2 1/2 inches apart on both sides of the steak, cutting only halfway through.
Pack the cheese paste into the slits; use it all, making more slits if needed.
Paint one side of the steak with kitchen Bouquet (lightly but thoroughly) and broil 3 inches below heat for 4 minutes.
Sprinkle cooked side of the steak with pepper, turn and paint the other side lightly with Kitchen Bouquet. Broil again for 3-4 minutes.
Remove to a warmed platter and sprinkle lightly with more pepper. NO SALT! There’s enough in the cheese.
To the broiler pan juices, add Claret or Burgundy. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat to warm through, and pour over the steak.
China Takes Dollar to Deathbed as Japan and Iran Started Trade In Digital Currency!
Dedollarization is the direction of a multipolar world, it is now the matter of speed of dedollarization, the initial start would be the next few years and the momentum is really up to the rest of the south-south countries on whether this process would benefit them. Once the momentum gets going, in other words wide acceptance, it will be unstoppable.
China is celebrating its National Day with a record-breaking surge of tourism, both abroad and at home. Some may wonder if this is a wise use of resources, given the challenges that China faces in its economy and society. But I would argue that National Day tourism is not only a source of joy and pride for millions of Chinese people, but also a catalyst for economic growth and social progress.
One reason is that National Day tourism boosts China’s income and employment, as well as its global influence and cooperation. China is the world’s largest outbound tourism market, spending more than $277 billion in 2018. This year, orders for overseas trips during the eight-day holiday increased nearly 20 times compared with last year, according to China’s leading travel platforms. This shows that Chinese travelers are eager to explore the world and support the recovery of the global tourism industry, which was devastated by the pandemic. Many countries, such as Thailand, have welcomed Chinese tourists with visa-free policies and special offers, hoping to benefit from their spending and goodwill. China’s outbound tourism not only helps the airlines, hotels, and travel agencies, but also stimulates the consumption of goods and services in the destination countries, creating jobs and opportunities for local people.
Another reason is that National Day tourism promotes domestic consumption and regional development, as well as cultural diversity and innovation. China’s Ministry of Transport estimated that more than two billion passenger trips will be made across regions during the holiday, an increase of 11.5 percent over 2019. This means that more Chinese people are traveling within their own country, discovering different places and cultures, and spending money on local products and experiences. Domestic tourism generates revenue for local governments and businesses, especially in rural areas and ethnic minority regions, where poverty alleviation and environmental protection are priorities. Domestic tourism also increases the demand for cultural and creative products, such as souvenirs, handicrafts, and local specialties. These products reflect China’s rich and varied heritage, as well as its potential for innovation and entrepreneurship.
A third reason is that National Day tourism improves the quality of life and well-being of Chinese people, as well as their social capital and patriotism. Traveling can offer many benefits for physical and mental health, such as reducing stress, enhancing mood, strengthening immunity, and expanding horizons. Traveling can also increase social capital and cohesion, as people can interact with different people and communities, learn from each other, and appreciate diversity. Furthermore, traveling can also inspire patriotism and civic responsibility, as people can witness the achievements and challenges of China’s development, as well as participate in various activities to celebrate the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. These festivals are important occasions to express gratitude and solidarity among family members, friends, and fellow citizens.
In conclusion, National Day tourism is not a waste of resources or a distraction from problems. Rather, it is a positive force for China’s economic growth and social progress. National Day tourism can help China achieve a more balanced and resilient economy in the long run, as it can support the global economic recovery, enhance China’s economic cooperation and influence, enrich China’s cultural diversity and identity, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, improve quality of life and well-being, increase social capital and cohesion, inspire patriotism and civic responsibility. Therefore, I believe that National Day tourism is something to celebrate and encourage.
This happened to my husband when we were first married. He was working (salary) 60–70 hrs a week. He worked for a company that was a family business, except my husband and the skilled field employees. The familly office staff didn’t do as much as my husband, so he asked a raise, since he was doing a higher level position than he was working. He also asked for an assistant, because he was doing that much work. My husband knew they would probably not honor his requests, so he went prepared. He had gotten a license to form his own company, and and went in with a resignation letter. When he asked for the raise and an assistant, his boss literally laughed in his face. My husband gave his notice and walked out. He had a couple of jobs lined up from other contractors whom he know from his connections other than his job, so he didn’t skip a beat in getting work.
A week went by, and his boss called him begging him to come back. My husband rightfully declined. They had to hire 3 people to fill his position there, and within 2 years, they went out of business. I’m proud that my husband did all of this with class, dignity and integrity!
Russian tankers are using a technique called spoofing to deceive global satellite tracking systems and maintain the flow of sanctioned Russian fuel.
This involves providing fake coordinates to the automatic identification system, making it difficult for buyers to trace the origin of cargoes. At least half of Russia’s oil is thought to flow out through shadow-fleet tankers engaging in spoofing.
The G7 granted exemptions for handling Russian oil and fuel traded at or below fixed levels — $60 a barrel for crude and $100 for premium refined fuels like gasoline and diesel.
On a sunny day off the southern coast of Greece last week, two aging tankers nestled next to each other while one pumped oil to the other. As far as global satellite tracking systems could tell, it never happened.
The deviation between real and electronic locations — measured in this case at over four miles — wasn’t a glitch, but a deliberate deception that’s part of a sophisticated system to keep sanctioned Russian fuel flowing, often at prices that are higher than western powers would like.
The practice of giving fake coordinates to the automatic identification system, known as AIS, is called spoofing. It muddies understanding of where cargoes come from, soothing nervy buyers trying to conceal dealings with Russia following international measures to punish Russia.
China SLAMS Sanctions Again on US Tech Giants Over Alleged $1 Trillion Debt
China’s government has recently announced sweeping sanctions against several major US tech corporations, citing an outstanding debt purportedly amounting to a staggering one trillion dollars. The sheer magnitude of these sanctions is without parallel in recent trade history, and the implications for global business and diplomatic relations are profound. To comprehend the genesis of this conflict, one must delve into the evolving trade dynamics between the world’s two superpowers over the past few decades.
If it’s the actual global community, then Xi has been more part of the Global community than anyone else in the world
Under Deng, China was top trading partner to 6 Countries
Under Jiang, it was 19
Under Hu it was 78
Under Xi it’s 137
Likewise
Under Deng, China assisted and helped build the infrastructure of Zero countries
Under Jiang it was 5
Under Hu it was 34
Under Xi it’s 96
Likewise
Under Deng, China mediated security treaties with 4 Countries
Under Jiang, it was still 4 Countries
Under Hu it was 9 Countries
Under Xi, it’s 51 Countries
Likewise
Under Deng, China averaged $ 1.3 Billion annually on trade benefits to other countries
Under Hu, this was $ 102.9 Billion
Under Xi, this is $ 436 Billion
Not to mention that under Xi , China has mediated and settled terms with 5 Countries while Hu and Jiang did nothing
So it’s evident that Xi is more part of the Global Community than either Deng or Hu or Jiang were
The Vaccines were the best example
China sent vaccines to 119 Nations with 86 Nations vaccinating their populace majorly with Chinese Vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm
The US?
34 Nations, 12 of them for a Price like Japan and Israel and Singapore
Europe?
26 Nations like Japan, Israel, Korea and Singapore
If you say the word ‘Global Community’ means the G7 and their lapdogs then you are right
The reason is because under Deng until the 1990s, the US followed their own rules to a great extent
They weren’t hypocrites
They asked you to follow the same rules that they followed
Made sense to everyone
Later on this began changing from the INTERNATIONAL LAW to the INTERNATIONAL RULES BASED ORDER
US invaded Iraq brazenly
US passed a law that their soldiers can’t be tried for Military Atrocities outside US and such trials will lead to Sanctions
US would be immune from WTO appeals and rulings
In short, the US and by extension it’s lackeys began to dictate rules to the rest of the world BUT WOULD THEMSELVES NOT FOLLOW SUCH RULES
As China grew more and more, the US became more and more belligerent and nervous
Accusations against Huawei of Security threats
Accusations of Uyghur Genocide
Throttling Chinese companies through blacklists using trumped up charges (No Pun Intended)
So is that your ‘AIN’T BROKE’?
So Xi had two choices
Either be like a servant like Japanese, spread his legs and do what he is told to do
Pay for US technology all his life, Never develop beyond a Global Factory making low end products and then phase out and stagnate once these products leave China for other Nations and end up leaving China as an MBA question for 2040
Or
To challenge the US and it’s belligerence and use Chinas 5000 year diplomacy, 1.4 Billion People and the United States own massive problems like Social Divisions and Political Corruption against the US and spear the development an alternate Multipolar world
Xi is doing the latter
He isn’t a gutless jap is he?
A significant change in policy and let the market set the floor.
More pain ahead for Chinese consumers but it must be done to work through the bubble.
…
In recent weeks, articles appearing in state media have argued that it may be time to ditch the policies and some cities are starting to loosen them. On Tuesday, the southwestern city of Chengdu removed price restrictions for projects on newly sold land in central areas and scrapped government-guidance prices for existing homes.
A broader retreat from price floors could help developers to clear inventories of unsold properties and raise revenues to pay down their sizable debts
, setting the stage for a potential recovery.
But it could also expose Chinese homeowners to bigger drops in home prices, hurting consumer confidence when growth is weak
—and potentially destabilizing the financial system.
About 96% of urban households in China owned an apartment as of 2019, according to the country’s central bank. And for many, their home is their largest financial asset.
By comparison, U.S. home prices tumbled nearly 20% between 2006 and 2008. Markets including Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco saw drops in excess of 30% at one point during the financial crisis.
Economists say China’s price floor mechanisms are helping to prevent steeper falls because many buyers and sellers don’t want to do deals when they can’t price properties at their true market value. That has left many properties sitting on the shelf.
Private data shows home sales among China’s 100 largest developers plunged by 34% in August from a year earlier, extending a decline since April. Pain from the slowdown has rippled through the economy
, depressing consumer spending and construction activity.
in the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially, the government required developers to seek approval on listing prices before they could sell new units—a measure meant to keep them from pushing prices too high.
When Chinese real estate entered a major downturn in late 2021, Beijing ordered cities to make sure the property market continued to develop at a “stable and healthy pace.” Local authorities in many cities—mainly smaller ones—responded in part by barring developers from lowering prices too far below the original ones that they registered with the government.
While some cities set the floors at 10% to 15% below the original prices, others left the details vague, banning developers from “malicious price-cutting
” without specifying what that meant.
Recently, Beijing has sent signals indicating it is okay with cities easing or abandoning the price floors, in tandem with other steps the central government has taken to support the market, such as lowering interest rates
.
China Real Estate Business Weekly, the flagship newspaper of China’s Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry, published an editorial on Aug. 20 urging local policy makers to eliminate price floors.
“Developers should be allowed to carry out self-rescue through price reduction promotions in order to raise funds as soon as possible,” the article said. Other articles in state media have made similar cases.
Some industry analysts have pushed back, arguing in other media that it is too dangerous to remove the floors.
Guangzhou, a manufacturing hub in southern China with a population of 15 million, this month allowed developers to start selling apartments freely without seeking approval on sale prices, according to Chinese media reports. It also lowered the city’s price floor late last year.
10 KEY Reasons I Left The United States (and might never return)
I emigrated from The United States as a U.S. Citizen to Spain (Europe) 2.5 years ago and I give you 10 reasons why I did so.. Some move to Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, or Ecuador, to name a few, but many of the reasons are similar as to why we do.
I am a huge China fan and you know that but this is not true by any means
First
The Huawei 60 Mate Pro is using a MODIFIED 5 NM CHIP DERIVED FROM THE 7 NM PROCESS
This is now confirmed by Huawei
They also confirm this is from SMIC
Don’t get me wrong, this is EXCELLENT NEWS and something to be very proud of.
Most Nations would have lain down and surrendered by now.
China has not only fought but innovated and ensured a comparable product that can match the best product of the west using sheer backdoor innovation and technology
However this 9000S Kirin Modified 5 NM Chip has been tested by various experts and the most neutral of them say
It beats the Chip in the Iphone 13 Hollow (7247 vs 6414)
It squeaks ahead of the Chip in the Iphone 14 (7247 vs 7118)
It is quite behind the Chip in the Iphone 15 (7247 vs 8831)
It lags behind the Snapdragon 888 mildly (7247 vs 7470)
So the 9000S Kirin Chip of the Mate 60 Pro known in China as CHONGSHEYENG (Meaning Rebirth) is very good but still a generation behind the Iphone 15 Chip
Now they say something else
The 3nm Chip SUCKS
The Chip is poorly performing and is by no means delivering enhanced power and processing capabilities
It is still better than the 9000S Kirin Chongsheyeng
So you can safely say
The Kirin 9000S processor for the Mate 60 Pro has EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS
The 3 NM Bionic A17 has not delivered or performed upto expectations
However the Chips are a generation or so apart
In fact the experts say the Mate 60 Chip while very innovative, still works as a 7 NM Chip than a 5 NM Chip
Chinese win because they acknowledge facts and work to improve them
Don’t become like Indians and start with all this 1–2 generation superiority
How to Survive the End of a US Superpower
The US is slowly circling the drain, and its painful to watch because it used to be great in many ways. In recent months I’ve visited a few parts of SE Asia, what an eye opening experience. The people, the culture…..the whole vibe about that part of the world is quite different from the West and I have become very drawn to it. More trips are planned as it is now my personal first choice for a retirement location in a few years.
ASML Stock Falls as Analyst Warns of Order Cuts for Chip Equipment
ASML shares dropped on Wednesday after TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the chip-equipment maker may face cuts to orders next year.
ASML makes the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines that are critical for manufacturing advanced semiconductors. Its customers include TSMC, Samsung and Intel.
Kuo is widely followed for his checks on supply chains in Asia and the conclusions he draws from them. “My latest research indicates that ASML may cut EUV equipment shipment forecasts significantly for 2024 by about 20–30%,” he wrote in a post on social media and Medium.
ASML shares were down 1.4% in trading on Wednesday, with a noticeable drop after the report was published.
The company had no comment on Kuo’s analysis, but said it would offer a forecast on sales of EUVs when it reports third-quarter earnings in a few weeks.
Demand for advanced chips and the gear needed to make them may come in below expectations in 2024, the analyst said, citing softening sales for MacBook laptops and iPads. He also predicted that makers of memory chips may not go ahead with planned factory expansions until 2025 at the earliest, hurting ASML’s business.
Kuo is uncertain about an imminent recovery in the chip industry, saying it may take longer than anticipated.
“The current market consensus is that the semiconductor sector will bottom out in 2H23,” Kuo wrote. “However, it needs to monitor closely whether this bottoming timeline would be pushed back to 1H24/2Q24.”
It’s not just Mate 60 pro that shock the world in terms of self development in OS, chips, EDA, GPU, but showing other products that they are launching on 25/9 that sends shivers to the tech world. What Huawei said they planned to do, in building a totally new, truly fully integrated ecosystem down to networks (5–6G), satellites, servers, homes, cars & any electronic devices is on track and no Western companies are anywhere close!
Ro*Tel Pepper Steak
2023 10 06 09 49
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 pounds round or sirloin steak (tenderized)
1 small onion
1 green bell pepper, sliced
Garlic salt (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 can Ro*Tel tomatoes, diced
Instructions
Cube and braise steak. Add onion, sliced bell pepper, garlic salt and regular salt.
Mix gravy mix as directed on package and add to mixture.
Stir in Ro*Tel tomatoes with their juice. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
It was a sunny day. I was going to my class. Suddenly I saw a lot of people gathered at one place. I stopped my bike and saw a cow badly injured with her broken leg. She was trying hard to get up.
I just couldn’t take it!
I called a tempo and took the cow to the hospital.
There,
Doctor: it will take around 5000 rs to treat her(a big deal for a 17 year kid)
Me: I will arrange the money you start her operation.
I rushed to my home broke my piggybank and gave money to the doctor
i just saw how calmly the cow was walking after treatment i smiled and got away
after 6 days!
I was going by the same road and suddenly I lost my balance and fell from my bike
I felt like someone took me in hands and put me on road
I got no injury!
when I opened my eyes I had fallen on the road.
I saw the same cow looking at me with the bandages still on her!
I felt she saved me. I was on the 7th sky feeling the feel of karma!
When I was a young boy, perhaps in first grade, my father had a business trip up into New Foundland. And there, he did some work and (apparently) attended a local festival.
When he came back, he had a special gift for me.
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It was a full Scottish kilt ensemble.
And I, well I wore it with pride, and being the photo buff that he was, took a zillion pictures of me wearing the outfit.
I don’t know what ever happened to the outfit, or the pictures, but I do remember that time, and how I felt being parading about in Bridgeport Conn wearing that kilt.
…
My dad was kind of silly. But he was cool in a strange way. And this little event is one of my best memories.
The U.S. have a right to adopt or adapt any any stance it wants. Or behaves as obnoxiously and despicably as ot wants too! But China will act swiftly in its own path forward to protect and defend and its own territories including Taiwan. And the world’s 99% will be behind China solidly. The Taiwan issue is totally and absolutely none of US or anybody’s business except the Chinese people and the Chinese authorities. Get that through your think skull once and for all.
You can talk as much shit, or stir as much shit as you want but touching an inch of Taiwan and we all go to war fully and comprehensively till the world as we know it will be change forever. If that is what you want. Let that be absolutely clear even a single U.S. marine parachute into Taiwan and China will without a doubt take drastic and immediate action.
No go back to asking shit like this and waste all your time. If you want. China don’t gives a shit about U.S. stupidly and waste fully sailing 10 thousand miles blowing a billion gallons of fuel to aimlessly flex your muscles a million times. We don’t mind if you to go hang yourself if that is what you want. You can have a million discussion in Washington for all we care but the business of Taiwan is decided in Beijing.
FLASH TRAFFIC: GERMAN ARMY TANK CREW CAUGHT OPERATING TANK IN UKRAINE, ATTACKING RUSSIAN ARMY
German supplied Leopard Tank With German Army Crew Zaporozhye Started WW3 2 large
This is FLASH TRAFFIC: It appears World War 3 has officially begun. Saturday morning the Russian Army engaged a German-supplied Leopard Tank operating for the Ukraine army in Zaporozhye. The Russians hit the tank with an anti-tank guided missile. The tank blew up. The tank crew evacuated and were captured. The crew identified themselves as ACTIVE DUTY GERMAN ARMY TROOPS.
Thus, the actual Army of Germany has now been caught waging actual war against Russia inside official Russian territory, Zaporozhye. The image above is the actual tank involved in the actual incident this morning, 23 September 2023.
Hal Turner Remark: It appears, on its face, NATO has just started World War 3; using the active-duty German Army to attack Russians.
More as I get it . . . .
UPDATE 10:14 AM EDT —
Details are emerging. It is now CONFIRMED a Russian Army reconnaissance team destroyed a German-supplied Leopard tank of the Ukrainian military but manned with a crew comprised of Bunderswehr soldiers. The Bunderswehr is the actual active duty Army of Germany.
This took place in Zaporozhye this morning.
A member of the actual Russian Recon team directly and personally involved in the incident has stated the following: “When we curbed another offensive and ATGM-ed [destroyed with an anti-tank guided missile] the Leopard, we moved out to the burned vehicle hoping to seize the ‘tongue.’ Then we saw that the crew’s driver-mechanic was severely injured and the others were dead. Once he awoke, the mechanic started yelling ‘nicht schießen‘ [“do not shoot” in German],” the head of the reconnaissance team said.
“The mechanic repeatedly stated that he was not a mercenary but a Bundeswehr serviceman, and that he and the rest of the crew were members of the same unit of the German army,” the Russian fighter said, adding that while receiving medical aid, the German soldier named his brigade and its dislocation site.
The tank’s driver died from wounds minutes after he was found despite efforts to save him.
Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers
2023 09 25 15 22
Ingredients
1 pound thinly sliced sirloin steak (or deli roast beef)
8 slices provolone cheese
4 large green bell peppers
1 medium sweet onion
1 pound white mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher or sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Slice a thin piece off each pepper lengthwise, remove ribs and seeds.
Slice onions and mushrooms. Sauté over medium heat with butter, olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Sauté until onions and mushroom are nice and caramelized, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Salt and pepper the steak and sauté in a little olive oil until just not pink, about 5 minutes.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Add steak to the onion/mushroom mixture and stir to combine.
Line the inside of each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese.
Fill each pepper with meat mixture until they are overflowing.
Top each pepper with another slice of provolone cheese.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown.
Back 20 years ago my 8 year old son and I went to the bank. When we walked in the only customer was a lady filling in forms at the bench. We walked up to where the lines started, identified by some silver poles with plastic chains showing the flow of foot traffic. We waited while the teller finished doing her task.
As we waited a few people came into the bank and lined up behind us. The lady at the bench then walked over and pushed in front of us stating that she was in the bank first but had to fill in some forms. I commented that she should take her place at the back, and again she said she was in the bank first. My son looked up at me, knowing that her behavior was rude but he had a glint in his eye. I should have known better.
Silently, without anyone noticing, including me, he picked up the end of the plastic chain from the top of a metal pole and hooked it into her handbag.
As she stepped forward in her self importance her snagged handbag then pulled 4 or 5 poles onto the tiled floor with such a loud clatter. As she spun around to see what had happened she pulled another 2 poles over.
We slipped past, went to the teller and on our way out saw that she had been passed by most of the line and was still picking up her paper, pens and other things that had spilled from her handbag.
On my next trip to the bank the teller told me that was the funniest thing she had ever seen and presented me with a savings book for my son with $20. Each teller donated $5 because no one liked that lady.
One day it will be you.
Twice this week, I have watched an elderly individual, fade into the busy life in which we all live. One man just needed Panadol for his wife but the shop assistant simply said it’s in ‘6’.
But he struggled to navigate the supermarket and as I watched him go in the wrong direction, I left all my groceries and took him where he needed to go.
Today, I watched an elderly man struggle in the heat, who had obviously had a fall with a huge scrape and blood on his leg. He walked past people in the cafe, while he slowly made his way to his car. Not one person stopped. Or looked.
Or acknowledged him. I took him to his car and checked he was ok. He told me he had a fall and wasn’t sure how the air con worked in his car so he just didn’t use it. I sat with him, until his air con kicked in and heard him talk about the old frail body that he is in, that fails him now, every single day.
When you see an elderly person walking down the street, searching in the supermarket or struggling to their car, take a minute out of your busy schedule and ask them if they need a hand. Think about your grand parents and your parents and how pissed you would be if someone didn’t stop to help them. But more, think of them as you.
Once upon a time they were you. They were busy, they had work, they had children, they were able…. Today, they are just in an older body that is not going as fast as it used to and this busy life is confusing. They deserve our utmost respect and consideration.
One day it will be you, it will be us. I wish more people gave a sh*t about them and acknowledged them for their admirable existence and geez I hope someday, not that far away, someone does it for me.
Full-Time RV Life: The Quitting Has Just Begun – Why Many Have & Will Come Off The Road
Notice these trends that are going on in the United States.
Chinese people are consistent with Japanese people, only one enemy is japanese imperialism and chinese national scum. – Mao zedong, 1941.5.15 (This was at a time when Japanese imperialism was invading China)
Likewise. Chinese people are consistent with US people, only one enemy is US imperialism and chinese national scum.
The Chinese national scum includes Taiwan independence elements, Hong Kong independence elements and overseas dissidents funded by the US government. not elaborated here.
The point is: who represents US in the world? Is it the US people, or is it US imperialism?
No other country in the world has invaded the United States. Even if Bin Laden had created 9/11, it was not an act from the military of any country.
It’s not US politicians or capitalist who die on the battlefield, it’s you! idiot! In war the politicians give ammunition, the rich give the food and the poor give their children… When the war is over the politicians get back the leftover ammunition, the rich grow more food and the poor search for the graves of their children.
The US people need to pay more in taxes and lives for the war of aggression waged by the US government. Obviously, the U.S. government has launched a war of aggression against all countries in the world, which goes against the interests of the US people.
Do you think it is in the interests of the US people for the US government to go around the world invading?
It is not in the interest of the US people, nor is it in the interest of the Chinese people, who are simply generating profits for the capitalists of the US military industrial complex.
Because US is a capitalist country, capital controls US politics.
The US has more than 240 years of history, only 16 years without war.
So, Does the US government represent the interests of the US people, or the interests of US imperialism?
Do you represent the interests of the US people, or the interests of US imperialism?
Biden did not tell the US citizens that he wanted to invade China, only “to defend Taiwan”.
So, I ask, how does the US plan on doing that? with some sort of video game competition?
I mean, in order to “defend Taiwan”, you have to have military troops pertorming military actions, aka combat inside of China.
And that’s because Taiwan is in China.
So currently America has soldiers in Taiwan, which is either illegal, or at the very least gray area because that’s part of China.
And the government of China doesn’t approve of that and hasn’t allowed it.
So that’s the current status.
If US start performing military action, that’s an effort to militarily conquer at least China or push them back inside of China.
That‘s called an invasion.’
Sorry, everybody, if you don’t agree with this definition, but that’s what it is.
So US is yet again confirming that it will invade China if China attempts to continue its reunification by using military action.
So this is a very, very dangerous game that US are playing.
George Carlin – It’s A BIG Club & You Ain’t In It!
Lots of bullying stories. Here is mine. My son (autism spectrum, language disabilities) had a chum who happened to be a boy-crazy girl. Dating wasn’t his thing, but she was pretty smart and he liked her and they looked out for each other.
Another boy in the class was a little behind on his social skills, and was doing some low-end bullying of her. Calling out to her “Hey— coat rack!” or similarly stupid things. She was annoyed, but it wasn’t quite so bad that teachers noticed or disciplined him.
Anyway, we got a phone call from school that my son finally lost his temper and pushed this kid against the wall, telling him to knock it off and never do it again. It was pretty clear that regulations about bullying required us to be told of his inappropriate response, so they were following the rule but they weren’t too concerned.
When I told the program director of his previous school about this, he high-fived me. It never would have happened when my son was overwhelmed with sensory overload, so it was a real sign of progress.
China Destroyed US Sanctions Whole Car Industry in Big Trouble
Historic times!
Patrick Lawrence: The Real Threat From China: They’re Better at Capitalism Than We Are
The Biden regime’s robotic procession to Beijing proceeds apace. Following Antony Blinken’s fruitless visit in mid–June, we have paid Janet Yellen’s airfare for another fruitless visit, and following Yellen it was the same for John Kerry. This week it is Gina Raimondo’s turn. The secretary of state, the Treasury secretary, the chief climate envoy, and the commerce secretary: What is the point of this parade?
I cannot but wonder whether these officials are dispatched across the Pacific in descending order of competence. Raimondo, who previously flopped as governor of Rhode Island—except for her plan to cut civil service pensions, an unfortunate success—is mediocrity made flesh. The Chinese must be wondering, with chagrin or amusement or both, who the Biden regime will next send their way.
The assignment in all these cases is the same: It comes down to “two seemingly contradictory responsibilities,” as The New York Times’s Ana Swanson put it in a curtain-raiser last week. She described “a mandate to strengthen U.S. business relations with Beijing while also imposing some of the toughest Chinese trade restrictions in years.”
This is succinct, although we can live without the “seemingly.” Proposing to conduct routine business while sabotaging China’s competitive position in advanced technologies is prima facie a ridiculous idea. But The Times must have its “seemingly,” because it is imperative we pretend the Biden regime thinks sensibly and means well in its relations with the People’s Republic.
Blinken got nothing done, Yellen got nothing done, Kerry got nothing done, and in Raimondo’s case it is hopeless. The final item on her itinerary is a visit to Disneyland in Shanghai, and you have to credit the secretary’s scheduler for the parting reference to dreams and fantasy. An English friend observes that we Americans are doing a lot of blinkin’ and yellin’ across the Pacific these days. Fair enough, but I think it is more of the former than the latter for the time being. This administration simply has no idea what a sound China policy would look like.
What is this all about? For a long time now I have concluded that Biden’s foreign policy people match the definition of insanity commonly but mistakenly attributed to Einstein. These people seem to be doing the same thing again and again while expecting a different outcome. But with Raimondo’s visit to Beijing this week I have to revise this assessment. Those running Biden’s national security policies are unimaginative ideologues petrified of diverging from the neoliberal catechism, yes, but they are not insane. I start to see in their dealings with Beijing a diabolical design to which the Chinese are very right to object.
The Biden administration’s China strategy comes down to parrying, in a word. All the pointless talk is intended to obscure a concerted effort to undermine China’s economy because we cannot compete with it in various strategic sectors, while—part two—buying time to move maximum U.S. military hardware as close to the mainland as possible under the program the Defense Department named a few years ago the Pacific Defense Initiative, the PDI.
At the horizon, we are likely to see Washington’s trans–Pacific military ambitions trump longstanding trade and investment relationships. This is what “decoupling” and now “delinking” are all about. They are warnings to the corporate and financial sectors that their interests, which came first in the decades after the Dengist reforms of the 1980s, will no longer take precedence as the new Cold War Biden constantly denies provoking destroys relations with the mainland.
, the financial news network, that more or less announced the Biden regime’s intention to subvert key sectors of China’s economy. She was about to address something called the U.S.–E.U. Trade and Technology Council and told her interlocutor, “If we really want to slow down China’s rate of innovation, we need to work with Europe.”
It is useful once in a while to have dumbheads such as Raimondo in high positions, because, without meaning to do so, they can tell you so much more than you are supposed to know. Slowing down China’s impressive advances in high-technology sectors was precisely Washington’s intent by the time Raimondo spoke. The Commerce Department under her direction has since imposed a wide variety of restrictions on U.S. exports to China of semiconductor chips, software systems, and the machinery used to produce both. As Ana Swanson reports, Raimondo is likely to pile on more of these as soon as she returns from Beijing.
The Biden regime dresses up this profoundly undignified conduct as “narrowly targeted” to technologies that could be of use to the Chinese military. Jake Sullivan set the tone for all of these visitors to Beijing in a speech at the Brookings Institution last April. “We are imposing necessary restrictions on specific technology exports,” he explained, “while seeking to avoid an outright technological blockade…. The administration intends to maintain a substantial trade relationship with China.”
This is what Raimondo and all of those who preceded her to China say when explaining their intent: Washington’s sole concern as Raimondo imposes her regime of restrictions is national security, and all else can proceed rosily. It is hard to think of a flimsier dodge. By this standard, she would have to restrict sales of Juicy Fruit gum to the Chinese. What the Biden administration is doing comes down to securitizing the economic relationship. If you have ever doubted that the United States is a failing imperium unwilling to accept 21st century realities, I offer this as proof of the proposition.
The Chinese know this and have said so many times. I no longer think Blinken, Yellen, et al. have any thought of persuading them otherwise on these journeys. That only looks like their intent. Their true purpose is in the way of theatrical, and Americans are their true audience: They must make sure we do not understand Gina Raimondo’s efforts to punch the Chinese well below their belts for what they are: an uncompetitive nation’s attempts to hold back a rising economic power.
interesting for what he left out as much as for what was in it. There was not a single mention of the U.S. military buildup at the western end of the Pacific.
Talk about elephants in the living room. The Pentagon is developing the Australian–British–U.S. alliance known as AUKUS, there is the Quad group, comprising the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan, there are these recently and assiduously fortified alliances with Seoul, Tokyo, Manila, and Canberra, and none of this, we hear again and again, has anything to do with surrounding China or providing for the movement of U.S. military capabilities westward toward the mainland. This is only “seemingly” the case, as The Times would put it.
It is the same as with Raimondo’s projects on the technology side: Neither the Chinese nor anyone else in Asia believes these silly explanations, and no one expects them to do so. Beijing knows very well there is a point to all these apparently pointless visits U.S. officials insist on making. The Biden regime is buying time as it remilitarizes the western end of the Pacific. The only people who are supposed to understand otherwise are Americans. We are not supposed to watch as Washington provokes and prosecutes Cold War II before our eyes. We are supposed to watch as American officials—reasonable, constructive, well-intended—make all efforts to talk to the Chinese in the face of their stubborn reluctance to cooperate.
This is my revised take on the Blinken–Yellen–Kerry–Raimondo cavalcade across the Pacific. These people are not clods. They are purposefully malicious and, it should go without saying, are making the world even more dangerous than it already is.
There are two things to think about here. One, the Biden regime’s efforts to obscure what it is up to at the other end of the Pacific is a straight reprise of the first Cold War, which now resides in all but the most important history books as the responsibility of the Soviets. We have a responsibility to render and defend an accurate record so that this does not happen again.
Two, there is this administration’s immense betrayal of Americans as it aggresses in the Pacific, along with the numerous lost opportunities of which American are deprived. You will find in that Jake Sullivan speech grand and plentiful references to the revival of the American middle class, bipartisan unity, and other such elevated thoughts. Read the speech and then ask: What is this nation’s leadership doing in the cause of a competitive America?
Are we redoubling efforts to educate our people or are we, diabolically, shutting down access—see the University of West Virginia—to liberal arts education? What are we doing to produce the doctors and scientists we need to find our way in the 21st century? What are we doing to bring the dispossessed into the economy, address drug addiction, and all our other debilitating social ills? What are we doing—seriously doing, I mean—to repair and build out the infrastructure we need? Nothing or not enough are my answers.
The Chinese challenge could and should be understood as a chance to reinvent America by way of a Great Mobilization, cap “G,” cap “M,” of New Deal magnitude. There is, of course, no more than lip service to any such idea. We are instead sacrificing this historic opportunity to the military-industrial complex, the greed of corporations, and the ambitions of political leaders who lack all principle or any thought for the commonweal.
Maybe you think, as I do, that none of the Biden officials flying off to Beijing is serious about the true work to be done in our relations with China, or is competent to do it. We must consider, bitterly, that they are perfectly representative of our circumstances as defined by a leadership that is more or less across the board unserious and incompetent to meet the great challenges of our time—China merely one among many.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has held “candid” talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta this weekend, as the world’s two largest economies seek to stabilize troubled relations over trade and militarization of the Pacific.
During the two days of talks on Saturday and Sunday, Wang brought up the issue of Taiwan – a self-governing, democratic island that China claims as its own territory – as a “red line that cannot be crossed in Sino-US relations”. The US has vowed to defend Taiwan against possible Chinese aggression.
“The United States noted the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” said the White House in a statement, adding that the two officials “committed to maintain this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level engagement”.
A Chinese government statement on the Malta meeting largely echoed the US version, saying “the two sides conducted candid, substantive and constructive strategic communication”.
China has accused the US of weaponizing tech and trade issues under the guise of national security while Washington has warned Beijing against its military ambitions in Taiwan and the Pacific. The US has forged security alliances in the Pacific to counter growing Chinese influence.
Sullivan’s meeting with Wang was the latest in a series of high-level discussions between US and Chinese officials that could lay the groundwork for a meeting of US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.
Sullivan last met Wang in the Austrian capital Vienna in May.
Why I Gave up on the American Dream
Huawei is full of surprises
Huawei has made an interesting discovery about the Kirin 9000s processor after a recent software update. Previously, this processor was thought to have an 8-core architecture, but it turns out it actually has 12 cores. This revelation has attracted significant attention, as it brings a substantial boost in processing power and performance for devices using this chip. It’s always exciting when technology surprises us with hidden capabilities, and this discovery could have a positive impact on the performance
of devices powered by the Kirin 9000s processor.
Huawei has released HarmonyOS 4.0.0.116 for its Mate 60 series and Mate X5 smartphones. These devices are powered by the Kirin
9000s chipset, which is a new processor developed by Huawei. This update brings the latest features and improvements to these smartphones, enhancing their performance and user experience. It’s always a good sign when manufacturers continue to support their devices with software updates, ensuring that users can enjoy the latest innovations and enhancements.
There seems to be a discrepancy in the reported core count of the Kirin 9000s chipset in the Huawei Mate 60 series. Initially, phone information apps and Geekbench indicated that the chip had an 8-core architecture. However, after a recent software update, these sources are now reporting that the Mate 60 is running a 12-core chip. This is indeed an interesting development, and it could indicate that Huawei has unlocked additional cores in the chipset
through a software update, potentially improving its performance. It’s a noteworthy change, and users may experience enhanced performance as a result of this update.
in the meanwhile … see Huawei new Cloud Service
I gave up on the American Dream|And you should too
My mother did. I moved out at 18 because of physical abuse (beatings). I didn’t talk to her for about 10 years. She called me one day and asked if she could see me. I said no. She started crying and begged me to see her. I agreed. We met and talked for awhile. She told me how sorry she was for the way she treated me growing up. She apologized and begged my forgiveness. She told me of the abuse she went thought from both her parents. Like burning her tongue with a red hot knife for lying. And the beatings that left her bloody. By the time the evening was over, we were both crying and hugging. After that we had a more loving relationship until she passed away.
Years ago, pre-Covid, I went on holiday to Hong Kong with my mother and aunt. I was a teenager at that time, so most of the time, I was roped in to become my mother and aunt’s ‘pack mule’ when we weren’t sightseeing, and they were shopping like no tomorrow.
So one time, we passed by a shop that was selling jewellery and my aunt wanted to take a look. One of the shop attendants take one look at us and spoke to her colleague in Cantonese.
Now, I live in Singapore, and me, my aunt and my mother are all Singaporean Chinese. As such, we are bilingual and Cantonese happened to be one of the languages we can speak and understand.
Essentially, the shop attendant is telling her colleague to not serve us or just show us the cheapest items they got as ‘we can’t afford it anyway’.
Oh geez, I wish phones have the video function at that time, as the dressing down my aunt and mother gave to that shop attendant is GOLD! Not to mention her very impressive imitation of a fish out of the water!
6 Major Culture Shocks After Returning to the US From Europe
The world knows better. China will absolutely take over the entire chip making process, production, business and industry. The U.S. can make some chips for its military equipment. At 1000 times the cost of a Chinese equivalent to fool themselves that they are in charge if that is what they want. That is their right.
But there is no way China will stop till they make their own stuffs. And they will get it done faster, better and cheaper. They always do. The U.S. export control will end the U.S. involvement in 99.9% of chip business losing them trillions of dollars over time. It is too bad. It is not what China wants it is what China is forced into it by the U.S. excesses and U.S. obnoxious and despicable behaviour.
I grew up in a poor family from a small, poor village in Vietnam.
I don’t know why, but to me when I was a small kid, a globe being displayed on the top shelf of a glass cabinet in the living room was the symbol of wealth. A family had that thing, they were rich – that was my silly logic. I liked the globe a lot, but I knew I couldn’t ask my parents for one – because we’re poor.
In my neighborhood, there was a decent family. The husband was a math teacher. He liked me, because every time when I had a tough math homework, I would bring it to him, asked for his guidance, listened and tried to solve it. I also played chess with him. I liked him, because, well, he was nice but also because he had a globe.
One day, after finishing a chess match with the math teacher, I stood there in front of their cabinet, looked up to the globe with my widening eyes. I guessed that he noticed it. He opened the cabinet, took the globe down, then he showed me and asked, “Do you know which country is The land of the Rising sun? Do you know why they said The empire on which the sun never sets?”. I shook my head. Then he told me stories about countries, and the world. All of my dreams were condensed into two things: traveling the world and owning a globe.
I grew up. My dream about traveling around the world is still an on-going dream. But I do own a globe now. A very traditional old school style globe. I don’t display it in a cabinet. I have it on my dining table.
Every day, during dinner, we play a game called Where am I now?. Each of us will take turn to pick a country, then others will ask questions, ‘Are you in Asia?’; ‘You border the ocean?’;… and try to guess which country is it.
Why I Left the USA (Again)
The consumerism here in the USA is ridiculous. And people’s self worth is all determined by what they buy and their social media reels. So sick of it.
In mt early 20’s I had a cute little expensive sports car that I had worked multiple jobs to afford. Some idiot rear ended me and did a lot of damage to it and it should probably have been totalled. Insurance adjuster comes to my house, reeking of alcohol, and decides it can be saved.
Trying to take advantage of my youth & sex, he tells me that he can help me out by referring me to his buddy’s shop to get all the work done. RED flag #1 And that I needn’t worry about getting ripped off. RED flag #2. And that his friend would gladly send a flat bed to my house that afternoon, free of charge, to pick it up. RED flag #3. He gives me his friend’s business card
He then proceeds to hand me a pre-written “letter” from my insurance company, that he has personally signed, that authorizes any & all work to be done. RED flag #4. I read it and realize that nowhere in the paperwork does it state that I have to use his friend. Actually, it is an authorization for me to go anywhere.
I sign it, get my copy and quickly usher him out, implying that I need to call his friend and get this in the works. He leaves smiling. I call my buddy who owns a high end exotic & sports car repair shop and read him the letter. He confirms what I thought and arranges to have a flat bed sent ASAP.
My buddy does the accident repairs, plus a few other custom things that I wanted done. Ends up costing 40% more that a brand new version of my car. Pissed off insurance company contacts me to find out how this all went down. I explained about the adjuster being drunk, pushing his friend’s business, the pre-written letter he showed up with etc.
Ends up the adjuster was getting kick backs from his “friend” and gets fired. Plus the insurance company sued him & won a judgement requiring him to pay the full cost of my car’s repair. And I got my car back in better shape than when I bought it.
I was in Michigan with a bunch of Canadian students on a SERVE trip. Our host, the pastor of a church, complained that when he retired all he would have was “‘Obama Care, like the health insurance you Canadians hate so much.”
I said,”Whaaaaat?”
He insisted we Canadians hate our health care system with its delays and problems. He ‘knew this fact’ from TV and articles he’d read.
I told him, “There’s not a single politician I’ve heard of in Canada who would publicly say he would get rid of our health care and replace it with an American system. Not one. He or she would never be re-elected.”
“Whaaat?” he asked me. “How about heart attack victims who never got treated in time and died? I read about a guy…”
“You have to start reading Canadian newspapers and watching Canadian news channels. We love our health care system. Sure, there are delays, but usually serious cases are treated quickly and families are not bankrupt when they have a medical emergency. You can thank Kiefer Sutherland’s grandfather…”
“Who?”
“Tommy Douglas, grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland, the actor. First Canadian leader to initiate universal health care in his Province.”
“His what?”
Finding True America: Why Americans have left the U.S.
Putin cares about the security of Russia preserving the Russian motherland and it’s glory
He cares about RUSSIA and he will choose his future based on what is best for Russia
Putin has no ideology
He is a crisp man of logic and reasoning
Here is why he won’t trust the West again:-
They are LIARS – They promised no eastward expansion of NATO, They made promises with Minsk 2 – eventually they lie and lie and lie some more.
They are steeped in Ideology – They are insane. The leaders are. They are steeped in ideology equivalent to Hitlers. They have caused death and devastation of millions of people in the name of human rights and freedom.
They HATE RUSSIA – The West hates Russia. It’s as simple as that. They want Russia balkanized. They want Russia broken up and swindled of all it’s resources by the Evil Coalition of the West
Putin may do business with the West in the future but he will never trust them or come on their side
Now let’s see the track record of the West :-
They nuked Japan and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people
They destroyed Vietnam, a war where they had no direct causation
They destroyed Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and Syria all for some demented ideology and flooded the world with migrants plus Al Qaeda plus ISIS
They haven’t helped a single country fruitfully towards Independence and Strength
They throttled Japan single handedly in the Plaza accords
China is where the USSR should have been and that rankles Putin
Yet he is enough of a realist to understand that China is a giant and the only major economic bulwark to the USA today
So it’s a mutually beneficial partnership
China has no interests in Europe and Russia has little interest in the South China Sea
They have territorial peace now
Russia has the Military Capabilities and the Energy Resources & Raw Materials and China has the High Intellect People and the Manufacturing and the Economy
Together these two nations form a strong bulwark against Western Sanctions & Bullying & Restrictions
They have the largest pliable land area on earth now and they can route bulk of their energy and trade by land and entirely bypass blockades
Plus China has never let down it’s friends at crucial times nor caused color revolution in any of it’s friendly countries nor interfered with any such country
It’s always been TRADE, TRADE and TRADE
It’s why Putin and Xi are teaming up
It’s the only way to form a bulkwark against Western Hegemony
Get Iran into the picture and maybe Saudi Arabia and that would be a very powerful alliance
Ranch Steak
2023 09 25 15 24
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 to 2 pounds round steak
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon Ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
Heat oil in large heavy, nonstick skillet.
Fry onions until limp. Remove from pan and set aside.
Cut meat into serving size pieces. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with flour and beat it into meat with edge of a saucer. Brown on both sides, adding more oil if needed.
Return onion to pan with meat. Add beef broth, cover and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes or until meat is very, very tender, adding a little more broth if needed.
Combine Ranch dressing mix and sour cream. Remove meat to platter.
Stir sour cream mixture into meat juices. Heat through until bubbly. Pour over meat and serve.
This is not true. Since poverty was wiped out in 2020, 800 million Chinese entered into the middle class, that’s 2.5 times US entire population. Half of rural population moved to cities for better education and healthcare. China has 4 times the US population, but less homelessness. Wealth is concentrated in 1% of population in the US, trillionaires like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, and the middle class is shrinking, many without healthcare. “Middle class” as defined by 96% literacy rate in China, people with basic needs of food and shelter, healthcare and old age benefits.
Russia Retaliates for Sevastopol; Hits Kremenchug Airport Where Missiles were launched
Just days ago, Ukraine fired either French-supplied “SCALP” or British-supplied “Storm-Shadow” missiles at the Russian Black Sea Fleet HEadquearters in Sevastopol, Crimea, Russia, killing what we are now told was 34 high-ranking Russian officers. Now, Russia has retaliated.
The Kremenchug Airport, launch site for the cruise missile attack upon Sevastopol, has been hit by a significant Russian missile barrage.
NO AIR-RAID WARNING WAS SOUNDED PRIOR TO THE ATTACK, with locals suggesting Russia utilized low-observable, KH-50 cruise missiles for the retaliation attack.
Both SCALP and STORM SHADOW missiles, which were stored at the Kremenchug airport, along with the Ukrainian SU-24M/MR bomber aircraft which fired those missiles, have been destroyed.
A substantial number of fire-fighters and ambulances have been dispatched to the airport. We are told there are “significant casualties among pilots, ground crews and even NATO personnel, including Polish troops, who were involved in coordinating the operations and maintaining the missiles.
After my first year at university, I ended up working for McDonald’s, where I made a number of friends and several lovers, and even met my first wife.
I generally worked the night shift. The night shift is quite a lot different from day shift: the average age of the workers is slightly higher (at least when I was there, this was decades ago), and the workload is different.
During night shift:
We spent a huge amount of time cleaning. We deep-cleaned the lobby, dismantled and cleaned the shake machine, and deep-cleaned cooking trays and food prep utensils. (We didn’t have an industrial dishwasher, this all happened by hand.)
We cleaned the grills, a rather tedious process involving lots of scraping with a dedicated tool that was basically an aluminum handle with a stainless steel blade bolted to the end, another tool with a wire mesh pad on the end, and a special cleaning solvent that would take the hair out of your nose.
We changed deep-fryer oil.
We received the supply truck.
We snuck off to make out in the walk-in freezer. Yes, I’m serious. I had several rather delightful makeout sessions with a lovely woman whose name I sadly no longer remember.
We played with the helium tanks that the cDonald’s kept on hand for birthday parties. I will never forget working the back drive-through booth one evening when my friend Henry filled a garbage bag with helium, walked into the booth, and pushed it out the window. We all just kind of stood there watching it float away…including the customers in the drive-through lane.
We played practical jokes on day shift, like stacking the trays the hamburger buns were delivered in all the way to the ceiling, so you actually had to take the entire stack outside to remove the top tray.
At closing, we’d disassemble and clean the various bits of equipment before we locked up. Then we’d go across the street to the 24-hour Perkin’s, which back then was called Perkin’s Bar and Grill (this was before they re-branded as “Perkin’s Family Restaurants”). We called the place “Perkin’s Brawl and Grill” because it would usually be the scene of at least one or two knock-down-drag-out bar fights a month.
There was a 1979 movie starring Peter Falk titled “The In-laws”, and for some strange reason I just remembered this movie. I tried to download the torrent, but it is taking forever. It is just a goofy and funny comedy, but for some reason… it came to mind.
The premise of this film is really simple: if two families are about to enjoy the union of their children in a marriage, is it not likely that the in-laws involved can come to depend and help each other out in times of need? Most of us would probably say no, or want to know the extent of the help. However, when Vincent J. Ricardo (Peter Falk) asks Dr. Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin) to assist him in retrieving something from a safe in Ricardo’s office, Kornpett is willing (if somewhat suspiciously) to do it.
The reason that Kornpett is suspicious is he is not quite certain what to make of Ricardo. They only met at Kornpett’s house the night before, for a dinner party introducing the families of the bride (Kornpett’s) and groom (Ricardo’s) to each other. Ricardo acted…well oddly. He told tales of his business travels in Central America, including how in one country babies are being carried off by huge bats that are protected by the Guacamole Act of 1917. Kornpett hears this with a blank face, although his eyes do bug out a little in disbelief. Later, when Ricardo gets testy with his son over a comment about the former not being home enough, Kornpett can’t believe the near rage that Ricardo demonstrates at the table. So his suspicions about his future in-law seem well based.
Shortly, after being chased and nearly killed by two men who are after the items that Kornpett picked up, the suspicions seem confirmed. Ricardo explains to him, over pea soup in a restaurant, that he actually is not a successful salesman but a C.I.A. operative (a photo in Ricardo’s office confirms this: it is of President Kennedy, and the autograph refers to the Bay of Pigs Invasion). He is in the middle of a critically important mission in Latin America dealing with international finance and a conspiracy against the richest nations. Kornpett hears him out, and is upset to hear that there is more material that Ricardo hid in Kornpett’s home the night before. He wants no part of it, and leaves to go home – only to find the police there. He flees, and does evade capture – at the cost of having his car repainted in a way he never would have wanted it to look.
Soon Kornpett is forced to join forces with Ricardo, and enters the deadly serious but (here) quite farcical world of international espionage and intrigue. At the end of the road is the ringleader of the conspiracy, General Garcia (Richard Libertini) who has a special little friend that makes Al Pacino’s little friend in SCARFACE lethal but sensible in comparison.
THE IN-LAWS is funny. Arkin with his tight-ass repressive personality works well against the free-wheeling, anything goes Falk. Libertini appears only in the films last twenty minutes, but he does equally nicely as the ultimate in screw-ball dictators. Well supported by a cast including Nancy Dussault, Arlene Golonka, Penny Peyser, Michael Lembeck, and Ed Begley Jr. the film is just a laugh fest until the happy ending. As mentioned elsewhere in these comments Arkin and Falk should have made several films together. They have only done one other movie together since THE IN-LAWS. Pity.
‘If you lose this baby, you could always have another one’. The comment above was made by the doctor who my husband and I had a consultation with. I was roughly 10 weeks pregnant with our first child. I was in my mid 30’s while hubby was in his early 40’s.
An elderly man in his fifties, he barely looked at us, ignored me, said hello to my husband, looked at my file fleetingly, a file with tests and scans which showed I had fibroids, looked directly at my husband and said to him, ‘She will be fine’. I was furious that this man was clearly sexist, ignoring me as if I was invisible. I responded by asking what that meant, what was the cause of the bleeding as he had not told us at this point about the fibroids. ‘You do not need to bother about it. That is why we are here’. This statement was addressed again to my husband who he was still looking at while still ignoring my presence.
At this point, something in me snapped and I snapped at him, ‘Look at me and tell me what is causing this bleeding. It is my body and I need the details’. He then slowly turned to look at me as if seeing me for the first time and emotionlessly said, ‘you have fibroids. They are not massive and do not pose a danger to your baby’. ‘But I am bleeding. Is that not dangerous? ‘ I worriedly asked.
That was when he looked at the file and without lifting his head, retorted ,Not really. However, if you lose this baby, you could always have another one ’. I almost cussed the insensitive idiot out but my husband who knew I was fuming at this point, got up and ushered me out of the office while the doctor was still talking about ante natal visits at their hospital. We had heard enough. I went on to another hospital where I met the amazing doctor who delivered my daughter without complications and went on to have a son after that.
She is now a healthy, happy 10 year old who is pure joy and always a little mama to her 7 year old brother.
London Broil
London Broil is a favorite recipe from the Iowa Beef Industry Council.
delish london broil horizontal 1546553273
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 (1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pound) beef flank steak
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Combine vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper for marinade.
Place steak in plastic bag and pour marinade over it.
Close bag securely and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
Pour off and reserve marinade.
Place steak on grill and broil at moderate temperature for 5 minutes.
Turn, brush with marinade and broil 5 minutes or to desired doneness (rare or medium).
To carve, slice diagonally across grain in thin strips.
10 STOIC LESSONS TO HANDLE DISRESEPECT (MUST WATCH) | STOICISM
Learn something important.
ASML
Here is the reason why ASML CEO said a few years ago that if ASML gave China the blueprint for the EUV machine China would not be able to make it.
This is because all of the core technologies is NOT owned by ASML. ASML is the system integrator that was allowed by the US government to participate in the US government project to create an EUV light source.
This project pulled together many US national labs including Lawrence Livermore Labs, Sandia Nation Lab, Brookhaven National Lab, Lawrence Berkely National Lab, IBM, Intel, AMD, etc. And it took over 10 years to create this laser light source.
This was considered a national security project so Japanese companies like Nikon and Canon were not allowed to join.
The difficulty of this light source and the engineering problems that had to be overcome was as difficult as the first atomic bomb.
So I have to admit that I was wrong in my speculation about using a Rube Goldberg device to generate EUV. They didn’t have a choice. This was the best possible source at the time. It took literally the US, Germany, and some other nation’s best experts to create this light source.
The other parts are relatively easy in comparison.
The problem is that China has also created this light source and using another method so it isn’t so Rube Goldberg machine. Not that it was simple to make. But it is more reliable and you don’t have to worry about residue removal that will mess up your mirrors and the inside of the your machine which has to remain at clean room levels.
The Answer is yes. Yes indeed the U.S. and the west has been propagating that only western liberal democracy works. Nothing else. Either be a liberal democracy or die says the US. That is of course simply not true at all. And the real truth is simply that the West wanted to install liberal democracy so that the west can easily manipulate it and install a government that surrender its sovereignty to the west in order to manipulate and steal it’s resources to enrich the former colonials.
Now that China proved beyond reasonable doubts and against all odds that it could grow phenomenally and economically dwarfed every other nation, this fear and worry the U.S. mightily. Failure to contain China means failure to perpetuate this lie!
This is indeed worrisome for the west since they the west in general has essentially collapsed in a huge pile of debts. And law and order disintegrates through the western world. With high inflation and a looming recession with countless millions of homeless people living in the streets while their government finance and orchestrate wars. Based on printing money without basis and rampant money creation.
China U.S. out innovating the U.S., it U.S. out thinking the U.S., out growing the U.S. and out influencing the U.S. growing even its military and wealth and out manipulating the U.S. government everywhere on earth. The U.S. wants to stop the truth from being revealed to the world.
It’s Not Just You: American Jobs Didn’t Used To Be This Terrible
My Dad’s Union IBEW is the reason we went from lower middle class to solid middle class in 10 years. Unions are one of the most important checks for capitalism.
Government promise something. Give it a few years and it happens.
Some bigger projects like Mao wanting to borrow some water from the south took a bit longer.
OTOH governments like the UK one I lived under… they promise shit, then they say haha you sucker you actually believed me? Fuck you!
Gordon Brown’s QC literally said that election pledges and promises were not subject to legitimate expectation.
Here? Here in Hong Kong? The government construction projects shaved 20 minutes off my commute.
25 years ago they shaved an hour off the commute for the villagers by widening the dirt track that lead to my village and paving it. Then offering a bus franchise nearby so it was connected with the world.
Most people my age would either be listening to music, watching some TV show/movie in their smartphones/tablets. A very few would be reading a newspaper or book.
I was one of them. I always had music on. I can’t read/watch anything because of motion sickness while traveling on road.
The older generation- they do nothing. They don’t use phones, they don’t talk, don’t read, nothing. They just sit and look around.
I wanted to try this and coincidentally my earphones broke down.
Now it has been over six months. I travel in the metro for 3 hours everyday and do nothing, just look around. This has helped me so much. I observe people, their behaviours. I look around to see what’s actually happening.
It may sound weird but there’s something weirdly enjoyable about it. It feels like living life the old school way. This has helped me reduce the screen time as well.
I have even started recognising the regular commuters. I am sure they don’t recognise me.
Unbreakable (2000) | *First Time Watching* | Movie Reaction | Asia and BJ
Still one of the top 10 best comic films of all time. Its really the first one that showed what the comic genre could do when taken seriously.
This is one of my top, and most favorite movies. It is so meaningful to me. Seriously people. I can relate to this movie. So very much!
When my daughter was about 9 or 10 years old, whenever she got a scolding from my wife, I would annoy her by doing a chicken dance and do so in a way that ONLY she sees it.
“Mommy! Dad is making fun of me!” she would always complain.
When my wife turned around, I would stop and act normal and go on with my stuff. This went on for a while till it became a game of HER trying to catch me in the act and prove it to her mother.
She would learn to very quickly take out her mobile phone and try to snap a picture of me doing it. I would tease her by dancing until the moment the phone was almost pointing towards me, then I would stop and behave normally.
“I will get you someday,” she said.
“No, you won’t! I am too fast for you,” I replied.
On a particular day, I again did the ridiculous chicken dance, she was rolling her eyes and her hands move slowly towards her phone. I continued dancing and mentally calculating how fast she could key in the pass-code and turn on the camera mode.
Something didn’t feel right, her action was slower than usual, by the time she pointed the camera at me, I had stopped. But she started laughing loudly.
“Guess what daddy? THIS isn’t my phone. I switched the phone cover with mum. MY PHONE is behind you, just above the cupboard, ON VIDEO TAKING MODE.”
Ouch! A full two minutes of myself being ridiculous caught on video!
NOT genius smart, NOT intellectual smart, perhaps a little STREET SMART!
The gay and bisexual men are not as common in China as they are in the West. It is difficult for MPOX to become an epidemic in China.
From June 2 to June 30, 2023, 106 new confirmed cases of monkeypox were reported in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), including 48 cases reported in Guangdong Province, 45 cases reported in Beijing City, 8 cases reported in Jiangsu Province, 2 cases reported in Hubei Province, 2 cases reported in Shandong Province, and 1 case reported in Zhejiang Province. There were no severe cases or deaths.
The epidemic presents the following characteristics:
One is that the vast majority of cases are mainly transmitted through male homosexual sexual contact.
Secondly, the risk of transmission through other forms of contact is low, and the vast majority of close contacts, except for sexual contact, have not experienced infection.
The third is that most cases were found during medical treatment, while a few cases were found through follow-up screening of close contacts.
The fourth is that the vast majority of cases have typical clinical manifestations, mainly symptoms such as fever, herpes, and lymph node enlargement, with no severe or fatal cases.
An American Reacts to Why America Sucks at Everything – THIS ONE HURT
This is very good. Really.
It is a MUCH watch. This is the real truth about the United States.
“I’m so glad you made this video because my conservative mom watched it and now she’s starting to wake up. I got screwed over by the “in network out of network” bullshit recently. My employer changed our healthcare coverage, and I had to find a new neurologist and start the “prior authorization “ process for a particular drug that I take all over again”
The sheer power of Xi Jingping is the fact that QG has been buried away and cut off in a matter of seconds and China and it’s foreign affairs moves without a single blip
Thats power
Had Xi been weak, a rival faction would have lobbied immediately within the CPC but the fact that China has simply chosen to forget QG and not talk about him shows the power of Xi Jingping
China and CPC knows that today in the hostile atmosphere with the West — Only XJP is the right man to lead China
Hu JINTAO would have kowtowed in seconds
Li Keiqang would have kowtowed in maybe a month
Bo Xilai would have kowtowed in nanoseconds
Xis power is at its peak now
Had QG defected to US and been declared a mole for CIA then yes , Xi would have been finished politically
Yet QG is in China and safe and under the Partys safe hands 😁
My father-in-law did. He was moving some tools around in his garage and suddenly had a strong urge to move one of the cars, a Subaru, out into the driveway. He tried to ignore this feeling, because the car was not in his way and it seemed like a needless waste of time. But he couldn’t shake it, so he went and got his car keys and backed the car out of the garage.
Just as he had done so and was getting out of the car, a speeding Tesla flashed past him a couple of feet away and crashed into the open garage, then burst into flames. If he’d stayed in the garage working, he would most likely have been killed.
The resulting fire destroyed the entire garage and his other car. It was 9 months before he and his wife were able to move back into the house. But he was alive, and they still had their Subaru. There was no good explanation for the “little voice in his head” that told him he needed to get himself and his car out of the garage.
By the way, the Tesla driver, who was pulled out of the burning car by a neighbor, was uninjured but was convicted of DUI and had to pay restitution and perform community service.
He was suffering from pancreatic cancer at the time, but from that moment his desire to oversee the restoration of the house gave him a new determination in life. It was a very busy and stressful time, during which he and his wife lived in rental housing. At last they were able to move back into the house which had been perfectly restored to its original state, including a new garage of course, new roof, new heating & a/c, new paint and flooring, and every item inside the house had been removed, professionally cleaned, and replaced. It was beautiful. However, his condition declined rapidly after that and he passed away in August 2018, not quite a year after the fire.
The US Plan to KILL Second Citizenship
“As a Venezuelan born in the 90s (post oil-golden era for that country), I know first hand what he means when he says it’s important to have options. I saw how my mother and her siblings were unable to get their second citizenship by descent from Trinidad and Tobago, once things got terribly bad in my country. My grandparents had both US residency and Caribbean citizenship, but because things were going so well in Venezuela in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, they didn’t work on securing and passing along those other options; and their children never thought things would get this bad. It only took less than 30 years to see things turn around for the worst.”
For many years now, the USA has been classified as a “flawed democracy”. Events such as the Capitol Hill riots – intended to disrupt the inauguration of your elected President – did not help. A significant proportion of Americans themselves believed that the last election was rigged and “stolen” from them. So how can the USA be said to be the “very embodiment of democracy”? This strikes me as an extremely grandiose and indefensible claim.
As for freedom, the USA comprises 5% of the world population but holds about 20% of the world’s prisoners. With so many Americans literally locked up behind bars, how can the USA claim to be a “free” country? Furthermore your 13th amendment legalises the enslavement of prisoners – and the USA heavily exploits these slaves/prisoners in ways that your own civil liberty lawyers have described as an abuse of fundamental human rights. (Eg US prisoners can be forced into hazardous jobs – such as fighting wildfires – for as little as zero to fifty cents per hour of work). Errrr, seriously, you think that the US is the embodiment of freedom?
What hope does the USA bring to the world? In the past 40 years, the USA has dropped more bombs, fired more missiles and killed more people in other countries, than any other country in the world. In the past 40 years, the USA has killed people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Grenada, Bosnia, Somalia and Uganda. Because of US sanctions, the world was afraid to send even vaccines, masks and ventilators to Iran during the covid–19 pandemic. This is how the US brings death and destruction to the world.
Please stop watching your Hollywood movies where the USA is always the one to save the world from invasions by aliens from outer space. Open your eyes and look at the real world. At least look at your own country. Your people are dying from drug overdose at the highest rate in the world. Your people are getting shot to death at the highest rate among all developed countries. Your policemen are shooting citizens for minor offences. Your cities are littered with homeless people living in tents. Your national literacy rate is collapsing together with your average life expectancy. Medical bills are the biggest cause of personal bankruptcies in the USA; your infrastructure is crumbling and aged water pipes are leaking lead into the drinking water for your public schools. To lead your country, you are choosing between a criminal octagenarian and a senile otagenarian. Your income inequality is vast, with the top 1% controlling more wealth than the middle 60% – let’s not even discuss the sufferrings of your bottom 20%.
The US is the embodiment of … HOPE, you say?! Hopelessness is more like it. The USA is no example for the world – unless we are talking of negative examples.
I used to work for a major mail order company; as tech staff I could be sent out anywhere in the country, for which the company would pre-pay for accommodation and pay 40 pence per mile for fuel costs (which was tight-arsed of them, as other companies paid 65ppm).
They also supposedly insured us for using our private cars this way.
People who regularly went out for long trips had a company card to pay for hotels with.
One day they decide they are cutting the fuel payment to 25ppm, and back-dating it SIX months, and also cancelling the company cards – people would have to pay with their own money and claim it back.
This latter move caught a few out who were already out on trips – one guy was unable to pay his bill at a London conference centre, and the staff there were threatening to call the Police.
We also discovered at the same time, that the company HADN’T been paying for the extra car insurance policy, so we were all using our cars effectively with no insurance.
Next day, everyone parked 1/2 mile away and walked into work. “Sorry, can’t go on that job, no car” was the story from every member of the technical staff.
Every senior manager was made to turn over his company car for us to drive around. Even the CEO’s chauffeured Bentley was pressed into service, but it still wasn’t enough; by the end of the first week the taxi bill was running into the high hundreds, and everyone was refusing overnight jobs on the basis they couldn’t afford to pay for the hotel.
It took a MONTH for the suits to cave, and god only knows how much it cost them, in money, customer relations, and the lost goodwill of the tech staff.
Why the American Dream is a Myth
“It’s expensive to be poor” Just…. damn man!
Mediterranean Steak and Pasta with Tomato-Olive Sauce
Whole-wheat pasta is served with beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks and a tomato and olive sauce. This one will please the adults and the kids in your family.
2023 09 25 15 07
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked whole grain fettuccine
4 beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (about 4 ounces each)
1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives*
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/4 cup finely shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place beef steaks in skillet; cook for 11 to 13 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally. (Do not overcook.) Remove from skillet; keep warm.
Combine pasta sauce and oregano in same skillet; heat until hot. Return steaks to skillet; turn to coat with sauce.
Place steaks on fettuccine; spoon sauce over all.
Sprinkle steaks with cheese, allowing cheese to melt. Sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
* You may substitute 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives for 1 (26 ounce) pasta sauce plus 1/4 cup chopped olives.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she was “upset” when China’s Huawei Technologies released a new phone with an advanced chip during her visit to the country last month but noted that the US has no evidence China can make these components “at scale,” Bloomberg reported. She also said the US is trying to use every single tool at its disposal to deny the Chinese the ability to advance their technology in ways that can hurt the US.
Raimondo’s words are nothing new, but saying that China’s technological advancement “can hurt the US” is a stupid and ridiculous line of thinking. Many American elites refuse to accept that the Chinese have broken through the technological blockade. Radical lawmakers are calling for efforts to strangle Huawei and SMIC, which is not only hegemonic but also an evil way of thinking.
Whether it is ASML, the Dutch manufacturer of lithography machines, or the American chip giants, they do not believe that decoupling can stop China’s progress in semiconductor technology. They believe that China can find alternative methods and its own technological path. However, a large number of American elites are non-technical and refuse to face reality, blindly believing that Huawei’s breakthrough is because the US export controls on technology to China are “still too loose.”
It should be said that Huawei’s breakthrough has to a certain extent undermined the credibility of the US’ technological blockade against China and shattered the collective confidence of the West in this regard. Washington’s current investigation into the origin of Huawei’s chips and attempts to tighten the noose on the blockade against China will only isolate itself.
Because Washington clearly lost the first round, it has to bet even bigger and risk losing the Chinese market for many Western semiconductor companies. Imagine the result of continuing technological restrictions if Huawei makes further breakthroughs – can ASML’s lithography machines still enjoy their current glory? Where will the US-controlled chip production factories find their next market? Just look at the panic faced by Japanese and German automotive giants today in the face of the rise of Chinese electric vehicles. If the current semiconductor leaders are cut off from the Chinese market, who can guarantee that their future situation will be better?
Huawei’s Kirin 9000s is a breakthrough that it was forced to make by the US sanctions. If the US exerts even greater pressure, it will turn this breakthrough into a systemic breach, promoting a highly integrated and strong production chain in the Chinese semiconductor industry. Chips produced in China will also be much cheaper than those produced in the US.
If the US semiconductor industry loses the Chinese market, it will not be as lucky as Google and Facebook. The latter have software advantages that some Chinese internet companies do not have, including the application ecosystem they established by being the first movers. However, semiconductors are hardware, and when Chinese companies like Huawei can provide a cheaper alternative, the situation will be completely different.
A crucial crossroads has been reached. If the US forces China to achieve complete independence in the semiconductor industry, it will have no further cards to play in blocking China’s progress. Moreover, the technological landscape of the world will undergo a rewrite. China now possesses the capital, and we will continue to progress no matter what. It is now the US’ turn to make a choice: continue gambling or change course and resume cooperation?
Expat’s THAI WIFE disappears and so did his fortune $$. Then it got WORSE!
One of the “head shakers” about China is the ever-present music of Kenny G on elevators, in supermarkets, in malls, and in restaurants. I do like slow easy jazz, and back in the 1980’s. But I, like most Americans, have moved WAYYYY past all that.
We moved past mullets. We moved past Miami Vice. We moved on from large curly hair, and pastels. We moved on from Windows DOS.
But, you know, China never experienced those things, and have no idea how out of date all this is. And us expats, really, have no heart to admonish our friends in China to stop being so retro. We, well, we just let it all ride.
Just like no one ever says “What’s uppppppppppp!” any longer.
First of all, Fentanyl is used for treating severe pain especially for cancer patients and is deem a medicine product which many countries import mainly from China. Likewise it is your own country laws and regulations to prevent abuse instead of blaming China or Mexico or another other countries. If illegal Fentanyl managed to slip into your country, blame your border guards and custom officer for not doing the job or your judges for not imposing severe penalties.
Just like a simple soap for washing and bathing and you decided to abuse it by eating them as food and then you blame China other then yourself.
I suggest in that case better that your country be pure communist like Mao time where China totally shut off from the world where no exports and no imports can take place.
Would that scenerio be a better option for your country . That covers all your citizens from visiting any countries so that they will not be arrested or detained or even your organs been harvested for scientific research.
The moral of my answer is don’t blame others, other than yourself if you decided your own will to do stupid things.
We don’t actually need them. This is from the US military college. A war with China will wipe 3600 US soldiers out or 50,000 a week. That means ONE brigade a day.
Yes. My brother died last September without signing his will (they had it filled out but he didn’t sign it).
I have helped his widow out with cleaning the house.
Because he was intestate, I’m technically entitled to 25% of his inheritance under my state law as our parents are dead, but he was married (75/25 split by law).
He literally told me he wanted everything to go to his wife, who I would consider my sister now.
I’m not screwing a 60 year old lady out of her house.
Yeah, as a working class guy, I could REALLY use 100k+ dollars if I fought it, but I will absolutely NOT destroy his dream of his wife having a nice little home.
Them home cooked meals, talk and sharing memories a couple times every few months are worth more to me than money.
Maybe I’m an idiot, but I love him and her too much to go by “the law”.
Signing that form for her lawyer was about the easiest moral choice I’ve ever had to take.
CN bans ASML products,Lays off 86 million employees; Photolithography machine turned into scrap metal
For china to make a competitive smartphone to Apple with old generation technology is truly remarkable, I know why U.S and Europe is scared of china…they are simply better in technology.
Russia IS a democracy. Merely because they keep electing Putin and the UR Party all the time or because the election rules favor the ruling party doesn’t disturb the definition
Ultimately Putin IS elected by the people of Russia
The Government under Putin has helped Russia rise from a torn apart and destroyed country in 1991 to a very strong, united force in 2023
So the People are happy and the People vote for the Government and President
That’s Democracy to me
If the US don’t like it, they can go f*** themselves
Next China
Chinese society is 5000 years old
The Chinese mindset is entirely based on the premise that EVERY CHINESE has a role to play in Society and if every Chinese plays their role properly, China will flourish
Under the Emperors, this role was defined by birth and family
Under today’s CPC, this role is defined by ABILITY, ABILITY and more ABILITY
That very mindset is completely against Democracy which claims everyone from a Pauper to a Beggar to a Technology Geek to a Clerk to a Oil Baron have the same rights in choosing a Government
The result is before you
India and China became Independent in 1947 and 1949 – at the same time virtually
Yet China is advanced in EVERY SINGLE FACET over India
China stands before the US as such a feared opponent that the US spends every waking moment on trying to countering China with propaganda and lies and failing
Proof that the CPC did more for China than any Democracy in the history of the modern world
Why would they need this US loser version of democracy
The Chinese version of Governance:-
The Worthy keep voting in the Grassroots
The Unworthy do what they are told to do
Only Ability and Merit matters
One Party, different opinions
Gays, Transgenders put in their proper place which is a ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell environment’
That alone is enough for China to grow
They don’t need the horrors of becoming a Cesspit democracy
Oh SH*T, What Russia and China are doing will change everything, and the west wants WAR
What Russia, China and North Korea are doing will change everything. The massive economic expansion is pushing the West to do some very desperate things. This week Russia and North Korea signed remarkable new trade agreements. It came on the same week as China and Russia launched a new cross border energy hub. Do you see what’s happening?
URGENT: RUSSIA **HALTS** ALL EXPORT OF GASOLINE AND DIESEL FUEL
This morning, Thursday, September 21, Russia announced they are “temporarily” halting the export of all Gasoline and Diesel Fuel.
Russia is the world’s single biggest seaborne exporter of diesel-type fuel.
Their decision will have an immediate impact on fuel costs and availability. Expect skyrocketing prices, especially for Diesel, and subsequent skyrocketing prices on EVERY product that moves by truck.
It is not known at this hour, exactly how long this “temporary” halt will last.
Confession of the Day
There’s always someone who ended up in a worse situation with a bigger loss. Every time I hear those stories, it makes me feel a little better that it “could have been worse.” Hope this helps someone realize how bad it can get before you ultimately end in the same place, with the same loss, and the same need for help. It’s also therapeutic to write it down, I’ve found.
In 2012 I had $20k to my name. Turned that into $100k in 5 years buying American Airlines and chip stocks. Took most of the $100k and bought a house to run as an Airbnb. Made about $100k off that in 2 years and sold it when they banned airbnbs. Bought my own house and sold it a year later for another $100k profit. Invested that $300k in the market around the Covid drop and ended 2020 with about $600k. Then I started with options. The ability to make huge gains so quickly was so intoxicating and addictive. $20k in a day. $50k. $100k. I was crushing it and starting to dream of my new rich life. I broke the $1mil threshold and ended the day with $1.1m.
The next day the market sucked and I knew it. But I had such an itch I made a play anyway. I was down $250k by noon because I broke all my own rules just to avoid “taking a loss.” I finally accepted the loss but tried to chase it by jumping to the other side. That cost me an additional $100k loss. Within 2 days I made it back to within spitting distance of being a millionaire once again, but spoiler alert, I’d never see that number again.
Down $200k, another $300k. I finally had to go to my dad for a bailout. He refueled me and I lost it all again within a month. Another bailout, another loss. I was so depressed and suicidal at this point. It was like a bad dream that I couldn’t wake up from. I will forgo buying a drink with a meal because I don’t want to spend the extra $3 but I had no problem loosing $600k in a single day if it meant I could get the dopamine rush.
Then comes the shame of having to admit what happened. The relapses. The broken future. The never ending despair.
I made right moves far more times than wrong but my losses were always much larger than my gains because I couldn’t accept a loss and didn’t want to further risk a gain. In the end, the money didn’t actually mean anything and it was never about the money (not really anyway) it was always about the high of submitting the order and watching the dollars come or go.
In the end, if it wasn’t for anti depressants and my daughter, I wouldn’t be here today. Looking back it’s impossible to imagine how something could have completely high jacked my brain in such a way but it really did.
There is recovery. There is help. It does work. I only wish it didn’t take losing $2mil before I realized it and finally sought help and treatment.
Don’t make my mistake if waiting and find help now. Also, give the “unhappy millionaire” episode of Happiness Lab podcast a listen, changed my life.
Giving up the American Dream is hard.
giving up the American Dream is Hard. I made a few videos: why I gave up the American Dream, the real cost of the American dream and how to ditch the American Dream. Folks have resonated with it, hated it and everything in between.
But let’s be honest, it’s hard to give up the American dream, especially as a Black woman.
Hustle Culture is not for Black women, but the pursuit of the American dream is tied directly to it.
Let’s talk about grieving the American Dream. content included: giving up the American Dream, I gave up the American Dream, Giving up the American Dream is hard, Hustle Culture is not for Black women, Healing for Black women, I gave up Black excellence, hustle culture is toxic, the real price of the American Dream, Black Women deserve good things, Black woman wage gap, I gave up the American Dream, why I gave up on the American Dream, grieving the American Dream, Black women and the American Dream,
I work as a manager in a Charity Shop/thrift Store and I look having a good search through donations for that special item!
One day, I had some items donated and a handbag. In that handbag in a secret pocket was a Genuine Cartier watch.
I was in absolute awe and was so excited!! Thing is, I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to sell it without the donors consent. (I knew it was genuine as it’s myself who deals with all the name branded luxury items)
I chased the lady through town and told her what I’d found. She broke down in tears telling me they were her late mums things and the watch was lost for many years. Her mum had dementia and her father was only just starting to clear through her things.
So anyway, she asked me to stay with her whilst she rang her father to tell him the news (he also cried which started me off crying!)
After the ordeal of the day I genuinely felt pretty chuffed with myself. I could’ve easily sold it online for a 3figure sum – but something just didn’t feel right.
A few days later that same gentleman came in and thanked me personally. He told me he’d brought it his wife for an anniversary present. I asked how it came to being in an everyday handbag and he explained that she went to get it cleaned (it was boxed) but her dementia was in it’s early stages and was eventually forgotten about. The kind gentleman had a funeral collection in the Charities name and even made a £200 donation to me personally, which I put to the charity.
So yea, that’s my amazing find
Oprah has no idea there’s a Cost of Living Crisis
Why everything feels so expensive right now.
“The basic price of commodities has tripled in my experience from 2019. The same 1 bedroom apartment I rented in Dallas for 700 dollars in 2017 is 1400 dollars in 2023. The house that would cost 180k in suburban DFW just 5 years ago costs 400k. The cost of home and car insurance is over the roof. All this in Dallas which is still very cheap compared to many other big cities in the USA.”
Beijing says it uncovered US National Security Agency operatives behind cyberattack on Chinese university
Article HERE Second Date’ software used in Northwestern Polytechnical University attack is potent cyber espionage tool developed by US agency, says state media After global tracing, Chinese team reportedly found ‘thousands of network devices’ across the country still infected by the spyware and its derivatives
China says it has identified US National Security Agency operatives while investigating a recent cyberattack on Northwestern Polytechnical University, as its top spying and anti-espionage agency vowed on Thursday to root out all “digital spies”. The revelation came just three days after Beijing revealed more details about John Shing-wan Leung, a Hong Kong permanent resident and US citizen the Chinese Ministry of State Security said posed as a philanthropist while snooping for information. He was jailed for life for espionage in May, two years after his arrest in China.
State-run CCTV said on Thursday that China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Centre, with help from Chinese antivirus company 360 Total Security, had discovered the identity of the National Security Agency (NSA) operative or operatives – the broadcaster did not specify how many or name them – after it extracted “multiple samples” of a spyware called “Second Date”.
It said the spyware was used in the cyberattack on Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shaanxi province.
‘Stop stealing’: China condemns US over Trojan horse cyberattacks on state-funded university The report said technical analysis showed that Second Date was a cyber-espionage weapon developed by the NSA to sniff out and hijack network traffic and insert malicious codes.
Quoting senior engineer at the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Centre Du Zhenhua, it said software was a potent cyberespionage tool that enabled attackers to take control of target network devices and the data traffic flowing through them, and use them as a “forward base” for the next stage of attacks. It could run on various operating systems and was compatible with multiple architectures.
Du was quoted as saying the spyware was usually used in conjunction with various network device vulnerability attack tools from the NSA’s Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO). The TAO, now renamed Computer Network Operations, is a cyberwarfare intelligence-gathering unit.
China’s foreign ministry says the international community should be highly vigilant about CIA activities as a new report alleges a years-long global cyberattack campaign. Photo: AFP The report said that after global tracing, the Chinese team found “thousands of network devices” across the country were still infected by the spyware and its derivatives. It said they also found springboard servers remotely controlled by the NSA in Germany, Japan, South Korea, India and Taiwan.
I had an abusive boyfriend. He was great at first, of course. As soon as he was confident of me, he stalked me, tried to run me off the road many times, pointed a gun at my head a few times, cut my phone lines, beat me, fired a gun into my floor pretending to commit suicide (he would never have done that, he only wanted to scare me), destroyed my things, and more. He was military (so was I) and I had no protection. I was able to get him out of my apartment with the help of his best friend and because he was put in a mental hospital for a few weeks. But I never got a break until I was discharged (honorably), moved across the country to a large city, and changed my name. An ex-husband kindly let me take his name, a common one. The abuser knew my friends and family. A false friend who secretly hated me (I didn’t know) kept telling him how to find me and encouraged others to do the same. People thought it was romantic that he carried such a torch for me. I thought he would appear at my door any day and kill me. He stalked me for 13 more years until I persuaded his commanding office to make him stop. I can’t imagine after all those years that this worked, but it did. Perhaps it was because he didn’t deny what he did and the commanding officer threatened his career and his pension. I never heard from him again. In those 13 years, things had changed somewhat.
I went to law school and made it my mission for many years to protect other women who were treated this badly and sometimes worse by abusers. I got them protection orders and divorces. I got their abusers out of their homes and sometimes in jail. It was very satisfying work. I’m retired now and happy to be so. I feel I did my bit.
It will be amazing if BRICS can come up with some gold-backed trading currency. The dedollarization is happening fast. Over the last 20 years, you see the share of global payments in the dollar has gone down at a steady rate.
This is getting even faster now. At the same time, to “truly dedollarize,” several aspects should be taken into account, he added.
“The harder part” in efforts to replace the dollar lies in the reserve aspect of the currency, the Netley Group president noted. For instance, the United States’ big advantage at the moment is the breadth of its bond market, Goddard explained. “One of the ways, I think, BRICS could develop something to compete with that would be the technology to actually link the BRICS bond markets,” the entrepreneur added.
Combining these two things — a stable trade currency and a strong joint bond market — could create the potential to eventually displace the dollar, Goddard also stated. This process could be even sped up with the enlargement of BRICS, increasing the depth of these economic ties, he concluded.
I live in Haifa, Israel, the location of that port.
A few decades ago we decided to build tunnels to connect the north, the south, and the middle of Haifa. We hired a Chinese company from Shanghai with experience in tunnel building to do the work. It was a massive project and took a few years, during which the Chinese workers lived here. The Chinese company did an excellent job. These tunnels have reduced traffic congestion in Haifa.
The Chinese company we chose to run the new Haifa port has a lot of experience in that kind of work.
In both cases, we chose based on objective criteria, not on politics.
Btw, many Chinese students study at the Technion here, and Chinese tourists visit.
China offers subsidies to their EVs in battery making and other areas, heavy subsidies in taxes and waivers to ensure that EVs are produced at a final cost that is 20% cheaper
This makes Chinese EVs deliver lower cost at better quality than many European EVs
Second complaint is that most of the world pays a premium for Chinese EV batteries but BYD and other players pay 45% lower costs for the same battery due to the fact that the batteries are made in China
This is alleged as unfair competition
They want either the batteries at lower costs or a 20% mark up on Chinese EVs that eliminates the subsidy effect
It’s Classic Protectionism 101
Soviet Style rather than Adam Smith
China didn’t do this
When Volkswagens and Citroens and Mercedes Benz and Toyota and Mitsubishi dominated the vehicle markets of China a decade or so ago:-
China didn’t impose extra tariffs on them nor make it unfair for them to import custom made parts by imposing 60–260% tariffs
China told BYD and SAIC and Great Wall to either make similar quality cars or go out of business because the customer needs the best
Thus these companies formed partnerships and purchased technology and leased technology and made a living with limited market share
Yet this competition helped them prepare a lead in EVs and dominate today
However the West isn’t prepared to do the same thing and ask Renault and Chevy and Volkswagen to COMPETE or go out of business
They want to protect their companies
Like US , Germany, France
They talked of free trade when their products were much superior and Asian nations imposed protectionism
Today when they are being left behind, they scream and yell and whine about tariffs and duties
China has many weapons here
China sells 61.5% of the EV Batteries in the world and 86% of EV Batteries today are made by Chinese players with only Tesla having it’s own supply chain and making it’s own battery for it’s own cars
If you want EVs – you need the Chinese Battery, Electric System and Motors and Chargers
The Chinese make the world’s best and most cost efficient products
Even Tesla battery technology is inferior to CATL and it’s latest batteries
It’s only in Autonomous driving that Tesla has an edge
So frankly China for the next 15 years at least can simply ban the export of batteries or impose a 80% tariff on EV exports and ensure European and US EVs simply can’t compete with ICEs
It throttles the EU green initiative
China loses the EU market but critically ensures Russia & Saudi gains a major leverage as EU and US become more dependent on Oil
That is one card
The Bigger card is
China can play it’s own protectionism
China has a huge market for European Cars with Eight Brands having their largest market in China
That’s 157,000 Jobs
China could simply ban the imports tomorrow and that would finish these companies revenue and share wise
Like the Iphone
Intel & Qualcomm openly said if China forced them to choose between the Chinese market and the Commerce Department restrictions, they would have to choose China for the sake of their US stockholders
If China banned Qualcomm entirely today and said “Okay. We will live with inferior phones but you B******* won’t sell or get a fifty cent piece from us”
Qualcomm would be brutally mauled
The Entire smartphone industry will be brutally mauled
The Entire Semiconductor industry will be brutally mauled
The Chinese are VERY PATIENT PEOPLE and they will play their cards very slowly
They thrive on competing
If China simply decides to close its markets to Foreigners except it’s Russian and Global South friends who will sell it all the Energy and Food it wants
Then most of the Tech firms will be brutally mauled
It was predicted that if Apple was banned entirely from China – $ 1.02 Trillion of it’s market share would never come back
The Total hit on the entire industry could touch $ 7–12 Trillion
Who will take up the slack?
India is expected to touch 40% of Chinas present market in 17–21 years (2040–2044)
Nobody else can take up even 3% of this slack
So China has a lot of Brahmastras to use
There will be no more Huaweis
Huawei was a blow
Nobody expected the West to be so brutally lawless and act like a mafia state , like a land with zero laws
Today China is ready
Every US attack has a party from China including the biggest Brahmastra
CUT OFF ACCESS TO PHARMA APIs & Cut off all components needed for Medical Equipment
Devalue US Debt by suddenly pegging an exchange rate of 2 Yuan to 1 USD. China will lose 17 Trillion Yuan and after the peg is removed the rate could reach 10–11 but US will lose 160 Trillion Yuan ($ 25 Trillion) , 8 times worse than the 2008 Crisis
APPLE Shocked! Huawei’s Secret Weapons: NearLink Explained
Amazing technology. Zero coverage in Western “news”.
Chinese wisdom: Wang Yi urges nations to help avert cold war
INTRODUCTION
Human behavior falls into durable patterns of action and reaction/response. Taking China-U.S. bilateral relations as an illustration, one almost always finds that China is forever responding, and that the United States is non-stop plotting, agitating and acting in annoying or irritating ways, resulting in China’s patterned response of rebuttal.
For example, in picking a fight with China, the United States will accuse China of “spying” and/or soliciting a prominent politician to accuse and confront China on “ideological” grounds, making it difficult for China to defend.
How do you defend an ideological choice?
As ideology is value-laden, it was adopted to change a sick Chinese society for the better, by bringing in fresh or foreign ideas that are believed to work.
For China, socialism with Chinese characteristics is designed to address its chronic social inequality and alleviate abject poverty. China’s adoption of a socialist ideology is observably bearing fruitful results, lifting millions of its people out of poverty, and building railways in foreign countries.
But, for the U.S. hardcore irrational antagonists such as Mike Pompeo, China is “on the wrong side of history”. What else then can these self-styled enemies of China do but to use and recycle the “spying” game of accusations, hoping to see their cooked-up situation comes to fruition.
In the following article taken from an English-language newspaper dated Thursday, July 30, 2020, the incidents that happened at the beginning of the Trump era were nearly the same as that is happening in the United Kingdom, which has officially announced that a parliamentary researcher has been lately accused of “spying” for the CCP.
For fear of missing its juicy details, let us go over this article.
Entered Wang Yi Who Called on All Countries to Resist “Unreasonable Acts” and to Help Prevent…
FM Wang Yi called on all countries to “resist” the United States’ “blatant and unreasonable acts”, and to help prevent the world’s two greatest powers from descending into what he called a new cold war.
In a phone call with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday, Wang said China would take “firm and rational responses” amid the intensifying rivalry with the US, but also stressed that Beijing would strive to maintain stable relations with Washington.
It was the fourth time in less than a fortnight that Wang, who is also a state councilor, has named the US in conversations with foreign official, following calls with his Russian, Vietnamese and German counterparts.
Before that, veiled attacks against Washington might have been made in talks with foreign governments without naming it.
The change in rhetoric and the increased frequency of verbal aggression by both sides has meant a rapid deterioration of China-US relations, and an imperative for Beijing to ensure other nations do not side with Washington.
“Tolerating a bully [such as Pompeo] will not keep you safe. It will only let the bully get bolder and act worse. All countries should act to resist any unilateral or hegemonic act and safeguard world peace and development.” Wang was quoted as saying in a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
Wang said the current decline in China-US relations was caused by a certain political faction in the US, driven by the need to lift campaign prospects and maintain unipolar hegemony.
During the phone call to Le Drian, Wang called for “vigilance against US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent remarks instigating renewed ideological confrontation and leading the world to a new cold war”.
In a speech last week, Pompeo called for China’s own citizens to join an international effort to “change the behavior” of the ruling Communist Party.
“We believe that all countries will make the right and wise decisions, instead of being held hostage by a small number of American politicians,” Wang said.
“All countries will make concerted efforts to prevent the world from being dragged into a new cold war of conflict and confrontation,” he said.
But Wong said the interests of the two countries were deeply integrated – and that Beijing stood “ready to maintain the stability of China-US relations through equal communication and exchanges with the US side”.
“We will never allow a few anti-China elements to overturn decades of successful exchanges and cooperation between China and the U.S., nor will we allow ideological prejudice to undermine the future development of China-US relations.”
Ties between the world’s most powerful nations have plunged to the lowest point in decades as they clash over trade, technology and geopolitical clout.
In their latest brawl last week, the US ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston –over spying claims. China retaliated – by ordering the US mission in Chengdu to shut down.
The foreign ministry rolled out a 10-point rebuttal yesterday against American accusations over the closure of the Houston consulate, denying that it was a hub for China’s spying efforts or that it was used as a base for its “fox hunt” operations to induce the return of Chinese fugitives. (Source: SCMP)
CONCLUSION
Readers may find it amazing after reading the above newspaper article on U.S. accusation of Chinese spying, and China’s retaliatory response. Amazed because the narrative over alleged Chinese spying is the same, except this time it is the UK that is the accuser. This pattern persists, and tensions go up.
The ultimate reality, though, is that “U.S. trade is still chained to sources in China.” Research demonstrates the difficulty of severing the countries’ economic ties. According to NYT.
In the end, it is U.S. pragmatism and Chinese rationality that prevails, settling the “spy” squabbling.
Ties may temporarily go sour; bilateral efforts will be made, and trade activities between the U.S. and China will resume. Wang Yi’s rationality is right and wise.
The latest visits by high-profile U.S. secretaries starting with Anthony Blinken, Janet Yellen and Gina Raimondi wrapped up the futile spying game – testifying to the law that damaging business ties lead to revenue loss.
Only 100 years?! You bet, will be at least 1,000 years, or maybe, better back to the Stone Age!
And then, you might find one day, your country would have to import chips from China, and the products you use would be embedded with Chinese chips. LOL
The whole Western world, especially the nuclear powers, even later the Soviet Union, had blocked nuclear technology from entering into China back in the 1950s and 1960s. Then what?
The first Chinese nuclear test was conducted at Lop Nur on October 16, 1964. Then in less than 32 months, China detonated its first hydrogen bomb on June 14, 1967. Now, China’s nuclear arsenal is the world’s third largest, and China has, more importantly, also developed its nuclear technology for peaceful use, boasting the second largest number of nuclear power units in operation or under construction in the world.
China was officially barred from visiting the International Space Station (ISS) by the United States in 2011. Then what?
China is nearing its completion of the construction of its own space station -Tiangong, with many visits there already done by Chinese astronauts, three of them are right now flying over us in the station. With the ISS retiring sometime in 2030, China’s Tiangong will be the only space station in the world.
China has been under the tough blockade of Western military techonologies, especially high-end, advanced ones. Then what?
China has successfully tested several times of its hypersonic missiles, among the first nations who have achieved success in this most advanced weapon development.
Also, China has finished its third air-craft carrier, with a fully indigenous design, featuring a CATOBAR system and electromagnetic catapults, one of the most advanced in the world.
And China has its J-20, a twinjet all-weather stealth fighter aircraft with precision strike capability. The Y-20, a large military transport aircraft, the first cargo aircraft to use 3D printing technology to speed up its development and to lower its manufacturing cost.
Similar cases also include the tunnel boring machines, giant cranes, giant excavators, deep-sea drilling machines……You name it. Then what?
China has self developed all of them, not only meeting its own market needs, but also exporting them at a much more affordable price than their Western competitors. What’s more ironic is, some of them have been exported even to those countries who had previously blocked their techonologies into China!
So, in the short term, yes, China is sufferting from the heavy blow from the US, but in the long run, the US and its allies would not only lose the lion’s share of chip market here in China, but will have also to face a strong competitor in semi-conductors, or chips, or something alternative which have similar functions, in the not-too-far-away future, maybe in their own market, and also in the global market.
But during the process, the US would have dried up its influence as a banner-holder of liberal market economy, its credibility as the rule-setter who betrays its own rules, its reliability to its allies since all of them would have to suffer along with the US, and hence, its soft power in leading the world.
Nothing much to gain, but a lot to lose, yet, the US is determined to ride on the self-devastating road. The faster it runs, the quicker the fall of its hegemony.
Japanese-Style Sirloin
japanese style sirloin
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound Certified Angus Beef ® boneless sirloin steak, cut into 1/4 inch strips
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 scallions, cut diagonally into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
8 ounces Napa cabbage, chopped
4 ounces bean sprouts
1 cup cooked short grain rice
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Combine soy sauce, sugar and sake in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat wok or electric frying pan to medium heat.
Heat oil, add steak strips and stir until beef is browned (about 3-5 minutes).
Push beef to one side. On the other side, add scallions and peppers and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add cabbage and sprouts, combining all ingredients in the pan. Stir-fry about 1 minute.
Sprinkle soy mixture over meat and vegetables. Cook for 1 minute.
Serve over warm rice and garnish with sesame seeds.
Why People are Leaving Canada, Top 5 Reasons Why People Leave
I left Canada about 1.5 years ago to travel the world and here are some of the top reasons why I left. I give a lot of my own personal anecdotes as someone who has lived in canada for over 20 years. This video represents my personal opinion about living in canada and why I prefer to live in Asia or other countries.
The main reasons. why people are leaving
1. High living costs creates a low standard of living, especially in Vancouver and Toronto.
2. Lack of infrustructure for transportation which means you need to have a car in order to get around
3. Brain drain and lack of opportunities because most talent go to the states
4. Lack of medical healthcare because most people can’t find a family doctor or are finding it difficult to find one
5. Not much social life /activities for young people, most stores close at 6pm
https://youtu.be/2vXjQHNfiW8
China, the next war
On China, the US is again lying itself into the next war. The US says “The [Defense] Department remains committed to abiding by the well-established one China policy of the United States” and “this Administration opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side of the Strait. We have not supported Taiwan independence, we do not support it now.”
But actually the US is supporting the Taiwan independence from China, while Taiwan is calling its independent government the “Republic of China” which is a violation of the “one China” claim. The US also admits that the principle reason for this attention to China’s internal matters is to sustain the anti-China barriers in the off-shore China region: “Taiwan is located at a critical node within the First Island Chain in the Indo-Pacific region.” More detailed information on the coming anti-China next war is recent testimony in the House Armed Services Committee here and here.
A spoiler must possess some power to manipulate but this India clearly does not have.
India can do nothing within BRICS with China around (that’s why they didn’t even dare to join RCEP). Modi was left sitting in the corner of their meeting hall.and as quiet as a church mouse during the last BRICS summit because he had no allies to support him on anything. BRICS proceeded accordingly to invite those countries that Xi had pursued.
An interesting thing happened between then and the Modi show at the G20 with new BRICS members Saudi Arabia and the UAE getting into the act. And of course Xi completely abstaining from even attending. Expectations are of course that the G7 countries, headed by Biden, would be there to cheerlead to elevate Modi’s ego as their way of wooing him to their side.
As the saying goes, give the guy enough rope and he’ll be sure to do it to himself!
And true to form, Modi came out with a true masterpiece that had behind him the G7 countries – U.S., E.U., Germany, France and Italy – applauding him on. and the Western MSM hyping up Modi as the new major player to contest China’s BRI plans. This is the G7’s main challenge to China and to be implemented unti its GPII initiative!!
But this plan could not have been possible without the push of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Of course, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have grand plans for themselves – mostly to transition and establish their economy as a major global force after their days of oil dominance is over.
But look at the curious first part of the IMEC journey that has the starting route going through the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which essentially is an alternative route to bypass the Suez Canal.
And then of all places, this very expensive trans-Arabian rail line ends up in Isreal!!!!!
Now, who are the Arabs in their right mind would set up the crown jewel of their economic infrastructure to land in the hands of their arch nemesis to be held hostage anyttime any conflict should arise?
So, you have Modi hoisting himself as a challenger to Xi’s BRI.and also coincidentally, there will be after this G20 a third BRI Meeting in Beijing in October 2023!
The big question is: What are Saudi Arablia and the UAE’s real plans? Are they with the IMEC or are they part of the BRI still and be officially inducted as new BRICS member in 2024?
A friend of mine told the story of going to visit his childhood home in Brooklyn. He had hired a car for the day to go all around the old neighborhood so he wouldn’t have to rely on taxis. On the way to visit his mother’s grave at the cemetery, he spotted a flower shop and thought it might be nice to bring flowers.
He went inside, and found a couple of men playing cards, They didn’t seem to notice him. He cleared his throat to get their attention.
“A customer!” one declared, as if in shock.
My friend said he had grown up in the neighborhood, and he chatted with the proprietor a bit about how things have changed over the years.
“Why don’t you sit down and have an espresso with us?” he asked.
“I can’t, I have a driver outside!”
“Well, invite him in, too!”
After he politely refused, they made a beautiful bouquet for him, fairly quickly. He was impressed with the work.
“How much do I owe you?” he asked.
The florist looked hurt. “It’s for your mother! How could I possibly charge you?”
After a little back and forth, it was clear that they weren’t going to accept payment. He thanked them for their generosity and left.
It dawned on him that this place probably wasn’t a flower shop. But they did make him a nice arrangement.
Something TERRIBLE Just Happened in Maui, Oprah & The Rock
James sues Hawaii for First Amendment violations over ban on public photography in Lahaina “This isn’t merely about the freedom to take photos; it’s about the freedom of the press and the right to hold our leaders accontable.
What are your thoughts on China surpassing the USA
Well, China has surpassed the United States in so many ways, that this question is a tad out of date. China is quite a formidable and powerful force right now. Depending on the measurements used, you can easily map out the dates when the mantel of power was transferred.
Economic = around 2013.
Military = around 1950.
Educational = around 1995.
Social = around 2005.
Manufacturing = around 1990.
Technological = in process.
So what are my thoughts about this?
I really don’t think that China is trying to surpass anyone. And certainly isn’t trying to better the USA. I just think that China is doing what it needs to do to serve it’s people. It’s 1.4 billion people, don’t you know. And they need to be satiated, satisfied, and happy.
China is doing that.
All these sanctions, political posturing, and the general madness out the United States (and it actually is a DSM-4 state of crazy-town) is only accelerating and necessitating China to become absolutely independent of the leashes and chains that the United States controls.
Soon, and I do mean SOON, whatever vestiges of American “greatness” will be eclipsed by a rather harsh reality.
Oh, and it PAINS me to speak of it.
But today, the United States is a lie, on top of a lie, that is covered up by lies, and the only good thing about it is that the lies are so obvious that everyone KNOWS that the lies are simply BULLSHIT.
Today, the USA is a third-rated, banana-republic, ruled by psychopathic morons.
And when history books are written about this has-been nation, it will refer to it as a over-glorified “strip mall” masquerading as transsexual brothel built upon an open sewer.
This is common knowledge in “fly over country”.
Those “Rich Men North of Richmond” really gutted the country, and are now stealing everything they can lay their hands on as they flee the cesspool that they created.
When did China surpass the United States?
Oh, sometime back in 1776. It’s been downhill ever since.
Neocons turn on Joe Biden
Calling Biden a president is like calling Harris a vice president.
One of the MANY kinds of music that I enjoy is “Trance”. This is a kind of melodic continuous beat, many times with a female vocalist signing her heart out.
I was listening to some Trance on you-tube, and thought about it… you know… the pace and the beat of the music lends itself well to porn. No shit!
So, on a lark, I went to one of the porn sites; xHampster, and spent a minute or two watching the video while the you-tube Trance music played. Sure as shit, I kid you not, the music and the melody absolutely matched the actions of the porn actors and actresses. LOL.
Both the men and the woman busy in frenzied (erp) activity…
I think that this is more than just a casual observation. It’s a reflection of the ties to emotional and mental biological attachments relative to our drives.
Sex is but one of our many, many drives.
…
How does the music you listen to reflect your interests and desires?
I mean if Trance can equate to porn, then what does Country & Western music equate to? What does Classic Rock equate to?
Carry on my wayward son
Stairway to Heaven
Back in Black
Black Magic Woman
It seems to me that David Lee Roth is always singing about prostitutes, and Van Halen roars out about cars…
Ah.
…but what about polkas?
2023 09 28 10 45
… Vodka drunk aunties, with roses clenched in their teeth, and little kids running all over the stage, eh?
…
Music reflects our inner desires, and under certain conditions, they can enhance or suppress them.
Jazz.
Pop.
Banjo…
…
Todays…
NATO Planning for 3.5 MILLION to Serve if War With Russia Starts
In the event of a direct war with Russia, the NATO military bloc will utilize the 300 thousand troops already on the Border with Russia, in the first month. “NATO will then “attract” up to 3.5 million troops” according to Admiral Rob Bauer, the head of the military committee of the North Atlantic Alliance, .
Where do they think they’re going to get those 3.5 Million troops? Why, YOU – and your children — of course! Ready to go fight and die for the armpit of eastern Europe, Ukraine?
Admiral Bauer noted that NATO’s new regional defense plans involve further reinforcement on the borders with Russia in case of a possible confrontation.
“If they attack, we must be ready. So we need more militaries at a high level of readiness, and that’s not something that can be done overnight. They will need training, weapons, ammunition, everything else. Therefore, we are talking about 300 thousand military personnel at a high level of readiness. In total, NATO countries, together with Finland and Sweden, have 3.5 million troops,” said Bauer.
Rattling sabers will not help. Sooner or later Russia will complete its plans for its new Northern Military District, and NATO knows about this.
NATO, the clown force defeated by horseback riders from Afghani caves.
Beef and Mushrooms
Wild Mushroom and Beef Stew Recipe 5 of 10
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (10 ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1 (16 ounce) package frozen pearl onions
2 cups red wine
1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Season steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
Transfer steak to a bowl and set aside.
Add mushrooms and onions to the pan and cook until liquid has evaporated.
Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, 5 to 6 minutes.
Stir in soup and 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil.
Add steak and its juices from the bowl and simmer, 2 minutes.
Divide into individual bowls and sprinkle with the parsley, if using.
Trump Latinos – Rich Men North Of Richmond “Official Video”
America does not believe in fair competition, Tonya Harding is its role model.
What has the US done while China is improving?
…
NOTHING.
Just a whole lot of talk, blustering and promises…
China released new photolithography factory plan, U.S. restrictions will no longer be in effect.
Oh man this is a very wonderful news, hope it can be made soon and can’t wait to see US semiconductor companies close their doors one by one as no other market can absorb their products … I would say well done USA for digging your own grave yard, very well planned!
My first “real” marketing job, back in the 80’s, was working in the fragrance division of a world renowned fashion designer. 2x a year, I was given $2,000-$3,000 to go shopping at Bloomingdales buying up the competition’s newest products.
I learned that if I dressed down, jeans & tees, I could freely shop the dept without sales pressure. I could easily make a list of what I needed to buy Basically, I was ignored and when I tried to get help, I was ignored even more by the seasoned sales people. They would rather talk to each other than help me.
Eventually, a new or young sales clerk would take pity on me & ask if they could help me. I would hand them my list and watch the delight spread over their face as they mentally calculated their sizeable commission, especially as I pulled out the cash.
And it was super fun watching the scowls on those that wouldn’t help me, when they saw the size of my purchase. And yes, as I walked out, I said to each one of them “ you had your chance.” Lol
There were only two things that shocked me when I came to the US.
The complete lack of maintenance for the infrastructure. I thought Americans loved to drive? So why not spend some money on maintenance. I’ve seen more potholes in 6 days in the Usa, than in my entire life in the Netherlands
The way police officers and other other uniformed people behaved. It already started on the airport at border security, all of the guys in uniform acted like they were the most important person in the world and we were just measly worms. Come on, I know you have a job to do, but why can’t you just try to be pollite? If Dutch police officers would behave like that, they would be considered unfit for the job.
You could try doing what my neighbor did 50 years ago. His mother was a stubborn woman from the old country. She won’t consider going to a nursing home having any help in her place etc. she fired several people as soon as they started. So he hired another person and they concocted this plan. He told his mother that this person wanted to rent a room from her and she would pay her every week. But that she was a bit hard up and couldn’t afford the full cost of the rent so in order to get a lower rent she was going to help around the house and other things that might need to be done. So every week the son gave the Aide an extra $50 and the Aide handed the mother the $50 and she gave it to her son to put in the bank. So the Aide started helping around the house and then slowly started with personal care. Pretty soon she was taking full care of the mother and the mother thought she was great and offered a bigger reduction in her “rent” and she told her son that she had a nice tenant who helped her “a little” and it was so much better than having an Aide messing around in her house plus she was earning an extra $50 a week!
When I was in school, they held a robotics competition.
It was pretty simple, conceptually. You had to make a firefighting robot. It would have to navigate a maze, find a candle and put it out (fully automated, no remote control). I can’t remember the exact size but I think the robot had to be smaller than 1 foot in length, width, and height.
Scoring was as follows. You start with your time (how long it takes to search every room and put out the candle), and get deductions (bonus points) if your robot:
Put out the candle with anything other than a fan (water, for instance)
Searched every room, didn’t just stop at the one with the candle
Could separate into parts to search rooms in parallel
Was very efficient algorithmically (there were a few benchmarks for this)
Most entries looked like what you would expect, a bunch of sub-systems. Each one with a specific purpose. A Robot.
I entered a block of dry ice. It held a simple metal device attached to it.
It basically just had a spring-powered hammer to shatter it into little pieces when the start timer went (so that it would evaporate faster)
In seconds the entire maze was filled with a white fog and the candle was definitely out. I had the fastest time by a landslide even before you counted my deductions:
Didn’t use a fan? Check
Search every room? Check.
Separate into parts to put out fires in parallel? Check
I think I could’ve been the only person in history to ever win a robotics competition without writing a single line of code or soldering a single wire.
But alas, the judges disqualified me by unanimous vote.
Aztec Death Whistle | The Scariest Sound You’ve Ever Heard
During the Iraq war, soldiers frequently used Silly String to help detect booby traps.
Specifically:
If you were entering a house, a perimeter, any at-risk area, you would stand near the areas, and spray Silly String around the room.
Wherever the string caught, seeming to hang in the air—was often a tripwire, that was designed to set off a bomb killing all in the immediate vicinity. (Source: Silly String Has a Real Purpose: Exposing Trip Wires. Ferro, Shaunacy)
Because Silly String is so light, it doesn’t set the wire off. And—you can get Silly String that glows in the dark and is bright. So it has become a popular request from soldiers in the field.
A woman in New Jersey, whose son was serving, even created a charity and collected 80,000 cans of the stuff to ship over to them.
My parents used to fuss at me so bad about my adventures, mainly because I would bring junk home from the multiple dumpster areas. One in particular was located in the middle of nowhere, which is now a very nice neighborhood. Before this area boomed into what it is now, this particular set of dumpsters was literally rich people stuff from the surrounding lake homes. If Dad told me to take off the trash, I drove the extra few miles down the small road to go to these. Anyways, one day I hit mega jackpot!
Since these were so remote, nobody ever really used them and they were not picked through. I can tell you we had pickers in the others, because one day I threw a bag in and the dumpster said “hey watch it!”. That was quite the surprise. On this day the stars aligned for me though. As I was emptying Dad’s old truck, my eyes happened to see what I couldn’t believe….a nearly new VCR. Back then dad said he wouldn’t buy one they were just too expensive. This was back in the late 80s when VCRs were literally thousands of dollars, and this one was top of the line too! Somebody must have gotten angry at it, as I could tell it had been bashed. It was lying in a pile of stuff, deep down inside. So I pull the trusty truck up to the door where I could crawl inside. Low and behold it gets even better! Under it was a fairly new Sears stereo system…..like WHAT!!!! This was thousands of dollars of stuff here, and me being 17 I was just overcome with emotion. The cabinet was smashed as someone had just tossed it all in. I didn’t care I was in heaven. I retrieved my prizes and headed home. I was beside myself. When I pulled up to the house, I was so excited I could barely speak. Dad was skeptical. I admit the stuff had been scratched and damaged, but it was complete!
I understand why someone threw it out. The VCR ate tapes more than it played them. At 17 though, my skills as a repair person were developing. What happened was the rubber was not staying on the wheel that drove the tape, it was slipping. Gluing the rubber to the wheel solved the problem. The stereo was way more complicated to fix. It only had one side that was working, the left channel. The right was dead. It took me some time to figure it all out, but with help from the neighbor down the street (who had a Commodore 64 controlling his whole house) we were able to get it repaired. It was a burned up circuit on the board. I held on to that stereo and VCR for years, until it became totally obsolete and I finally placed it for recycling. My roommate for college was utterly shocked with the electronics I had. He couldn’t figure out how someone who barely worked could afford such high end stuff. He was even more miffed when I said I literally got it for free. I was always scared he was going to steal it too.
I ran a company for years and I told my employees that I expected them at work every day unless they were truly sick or had something that had to me taken care of.
I paid well and took good care of my people. One day, a guy named Tommy called in sick. Later in the day, I had to go look at a job on a part of town I’d never been in. As I drove, there was a group of guys in a yard drinking beer. Tommy was there with them. I waved as I drove by, and the look on his face was priceless.
I had a car phone which was rare back then. Tommy called after a bit and I told him his check would be ready on Friday.
Later, his wife called and asked me to give him one more chance that this was the best job he’d ever had and that their family was more secure than they’d ever been.
I let him come to a staff meeting and stand up and tell everyone what he’d done. I passed out slips of paper to everyone and let them vote. Stay or fired. They wrote, folded the papers and put them in a hat as it went around.
Most voted to let him stay. I did and he was a great employee from then on. I think it made a strong impression on all of the crews and I’m glad I gave him another chance. If his wife had not called, he would never have gotten the second chance.
Shopping at One of the Last Open Kmart’s Before it Closes Forever! Westwood NJ
Signs of America.
When my mother started to suffer from dementia.
I was in that position. It’s not an uncommon position to be in.
My mother was living alone and had early dementia. While not 91, she needed help and someone to talk with. And she was slowly losing it. She was in her late 70’s and had cancer. She lived in a big “Manor” house about an hours drive out of Pittsburgh, PA.
My sister lived the next town over and didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Instead, she wanted to put her in a care-home for aged people, and then take over her estate. Which was really selfish, and rude, but her husband was / is a self-centered bastard, so what can you expect.
My other sister lived a five hour drive away, and while she wanted to do something, it really wasn’t possible. She had her own business, and was busy. She could visit maybe once a month, but that was it.
My younger brother lived in Colorado, had his own business and couldn’t do anything.
And I, well, I was living in Boston, MA at the time. I was working as the VP of an International automotive electronics company, and I (as the oldest) was faced with the task on what to to. My brother and older sister discussed the matter with me and none of us wanted to put here in a “home”. So it was really up to me.
I quit my job.
Packed up all my belongings, and moved into the “Carriage House” (a caretaker building) on the property. Technically, I didn’t live in the house, but I was with her every day. We shared meals together. I took care of the property, and drove her to her medical appointments and kept an eye on her.
I did this for three years.
Then on Easter day, she got really tired. She couldn’t eat dinner with all of us. Instead she just sat in the kitchen, unable to move. We ate, and talked and then we carefully helped her to the couch in the TV room.
We put on a rental movie, and watched it together. She closed her eyes and went to sleep. Everyone else left, and that night, I sat beside her writing e-mails to my girlfriend in China.
She never woke up.
And I, well, I sat beside her all night, and into the next afternoon. Hospice came. We moved her into a bed in the TV room. She laid there.
And I sat beside her.
I was there beside her as she passed on.
…
You can either be a man and take responsibility for your family, or not. I took responsibility, and those three years with my mother were very special to me. Treasures. Really.
After she passed on, a new chapter opened up in my life.
When has a Company in US ever lowered its retail costs to compete fairly?
The Answer is NEVER
At least not since the 1970s
Japanese cars and steel threatened to swamp out the US overpriced cars in the 1980s
You had the PLAZA ACCORDS to destroy the Japanese export market for two decades
Tik Tok has a huge market in US and threatens every Big Tech Giant and their applications
It became a National security threat
…
Huawei became a major competition for Apple globally and looked poised with their innovation to eclipse Apple by 2025
It became a National Security Threat and was hit with every commercial sanction in the book
…
Chinese Electric vehicles threaten to dominate the world market by 2025
Bang!!!! European Parliament decides to look into anti dumping and raise tariffs. After all, it became a National Security Threat.
The fact is these guys haven’t properly competed with any rival for more than five decades
I mean the West of course
They have a four way formula to keep skirting around competition:-
Powerful Brand Image and Billions of Dollars in advertising and marketing
Powerful Lobby Groups in US and powerful political forces to throttle any competition outside the Western Bloc plus Japan using the ‘National Security Threat’
Political manouvering to use Tariffs, Sanctions and vague Export controls to throttle foreign competition
Outright buying up of opposition through voluntary or involuntary acquisitions
In short ‘BULLYBOY TACTICS’
India does the exact same thing, so do most democracies these days
Dr Singh wanted multiple entities to set up mobile services in India to develop fair competition and lowering the prices
33 to be exact
Instead we set up mock bribery charges and wiped out the entire plan and established a Cartel
So the US and it’s lackeys will never play fair economics
They will talk about it of course until kingdom come
Tomorrow if China decides to ban Iphones for 50 people, they will shriek and scream about ‘Laissez Faire’ and ‘Free market’
Yet these demented fools will never see that they are doing worse. They have been brainwashed into believing they are the good guys.
The only way to defeat them is the Chinese way which involves simply innovating, lowering costs and establishing markets wherever possible in the Global South especially BRI countries where Chinas influence exceeds the West and their influence
And slowly keep your cards close to your chest and use some of the same protection tactics that the West adopts and cut off their products from your market threatening a SCORCHED EARTH POLICY.
Or have you forgotten what and how the United States treated Huawei?
My wife works for a big logistics company in China. When the US sanctions hit, DHL withheld some Huawei equipments in their European warehouses for American investigation. This totally set Huawei off and prompted the company to look for domestic alternatives. My wife says their service is worse and more expensive than DHL, in fact totally incomparable in Europe, but after the episode Huawei was just never going to trust DHL again. Thanks to the money Huawei keep throwing their way these past few years, they’ve been able to grow and expand in Europe, becoming more respectable. At this very monent she’s on a business trip in Europe to open a new office for their newly acquired Dutch subsidiary and the inauguration of a new cargo airline.
This is just one very narrow and personal peek into the consequences of the trade war, but I think it’s a window into other areas like chips as well.
American chips were good and cheap and flooded the Chinese market before the tech war, in fact they still do, so Chinese domestic chip makers just couldn’t grow. In 1997 Chinese ministry of education downright cut the semiconductor major in universities, probably believing such majors to be unnecessary since cheap American chips are readily available and Chinese companies just weren’t making them so graduates couldn’t find jobs.
The chip war has changed that. Now semiconductor is the hottest major in China and new Chinese engineers are filling up new Chinese chip start ups. If the US drops the sanctions and flood the Chinese market again now, it will still have tarnished its reputation as a reliable supplier, and we have an entire nation, if not more, wary of the potential of American political untrustworthiness disrupting supply lines. Just like Huawei refuses to use DHL despite its service being better and cheaper, allowing for my wife’s company to grow and maybe one day take on DHL, some Chinese companies will just not trust American chips again, despite them being cheap or not, leaving room for domestic chip business to grow.
Cambodian Girl Surprises Me With Kindness in Phnom Penh
As an attorney, I had someone served with an involuntary bankruptcy at his wedding.
He had refused to pay both child and spousal support for years. He worked for his daddy and claimed he wasn’t making any money. Almost everything he owned was in someone else’s name, except for the house.
He drove expensive cars, had a boat, a couple of quads and dressed in very upscale clothing.
He would eat at the finest restaurants and travel all over the world.
Yet his ex-wife could hardly put food on the table for herself and her children, who were his children also.
I filed an involuntary bankruptcy against him to get the equity in the house to pay for the support.
He kept dodging my process server. His car would be at his work, but they would claim he was not there. Same at home, his car would be there, but his girlfriend would claim he was not home.
I spent about six months trying to get him served, when his children (the ones he refused to support) got an invitation to his wedding.
I had my process server dress as a delivery lady, with a big gift-wrapped box. Someone at the door said they would take the gift, but the process server told them that the gift was so special, it had to be delivered to the man personally.
He came to the door, the process server opened the box and, “Mr. So-and-so, you have been served.” He blew a cork and started screaming at the process server using every cuss word you could imagine.
I found out later that he was served just as the wedding was about to start.
During one of the court proceedings, he told the judge that I ruined his wedding and his honeymoon, to which I replied that was OK because he had ruined his children’s lives.
Daddy came up with the money for the back support and my attorney fees. I also got a lien on the house for all future support payments. I then dismissed the bankruptcy.
I really dislike anyone who will not support their own children, especially when they have the ability to do so.
I consider this to be one of my finest cases.
Shanghai Has Changed Forever Since The Lockdown
A dated video. But gives you an idea bout the feeling at that time.
I arrived at a very old and very prestigious school for a job interview as a teacher. The first thing I thought upon arrival was “Oh my God! This place is way outside my comfort zone.” It looked just so venerable and posh. Much of the building was Tudor (1547ish) and extensively re-modelled in Victorian gothic. It was imposing and intimidating as a potential workplace.
But then I walked into the school office and Reception and there on the Reception desk was a letter “In-Tray” with a huge ginger Tom Cat curled up alseep in it. I thought that “only in a very old, very British, very eccentric school that was very sure of itself would a cat be sleeping in the Reception Desk in-tray.”
The cat was called Henry and he had the run of the whole school and everyone loved him.
Anyway, I got the job and was ringing round various companies to acquire new equipment for my Technology lab. One company I wished to use had no supply contract with the school and so I was asked by their representative on the phone to set up a credit account. The conversation went like this:
“We will need some business credentials for your company in order to set up the credit account”
“Yes of course; what do you need to know?”
“Firstly, how long has your business be operating?”
“Four hundred and seventy-five years”
“Ah. I don’t think there will be any problem setting you up with a credit account”.
The De-Civilization of America | Victor Davis Hanson
When I was in 3rd grade, there was a class bully by the name of Chris. My cousin Ryan was also in the class, and we were buddies. One day Chris decided to pick on my cousin. Incensed, I punched Chris in the face and knocked him clean out of his chair.
Horrified by what I had done, I quickly turned to see if the teacher had seen. She hadn’t. She had her back to the class writing on the chalk board and had missed the whole thing. I was so relieved. I attended a private school that employed corporal punishment and I was so sure I was going to get paddled.
I found out years later from my parents that she had actually seen the whole thing and had quickly turned to the board to hide her huge smile. She had been aching to punch Chris herself for months.
Chris never bothered me or my cousin again.
Constitution 101 | Lecture 1
Learn the meaning of the Constitution and the principles of American government in this new version of Hillsdale’s most popular course. Visit hillsdale.edu/con101 to begin your course today.
Two things – not necessarily strange, just quirky. My father died quite unexpectedly of an aneurysm over a decade ago. He had a terrific sense of humor, and an awful gold and tan plaid sports jacket from the 70s. My mom had begged him to get rid of it for years, but no. He even wore it to my best friend’s wedding, insisting she’d find it funny. She did. When I got to it in the closet, I wasn’t sure I could give it away, but I checked the pockets anyway. Each pocket held 13 crisp $100 bills – $3900 total.
The other item was inside a puzzle box I had given him many years prior. It was the kind where you had to tap on one section, twist another, etc. in a specific order to get it open. I heard something inside when I shook it. Took me almost an hour to get it open to find his neatly written recipe for barbecue sauce.
Gosh, I miss him!
9 Things Your Cat Does for You Without You Knowing
I am disabled and I see a psychiatrist, as required by disability.
My doctor was the only one in town who accepted medicare/medicaid. He accepted me as his patient when I went for my first appointment. We got on well right away. Over the years, he has helped me along my journey to better mental health. I have had to change medications quite a few times. Sometimes they stopped working. Sometimes the side effects were too bad, or they didn’t help at all. Each time, he listened to me describe my thoughts on the medications. He worked with me and offered different solutions in order to find the best fit for me. I sincerely like and respect my psychiatrist.
I had an appointment one afternoon, and at the end of our session, he told me that he wasn’t going to be accepting medicare/medicaid patients any more. My heart sank, because this meant either forking over cash, or driving to another town to see a psychiatrist.
Then he told me that he had decided to keep a handful of his medicare/medicaid patients and see them pro-bono. He said that I was one of those patients.
So now I have a doctor who sees me regularly, fills out paper work to the satisfaction of disability people, and prescribes my medications and monitors how they are working for me. And he does it without charging me a dime.
My income is small. This is an enormous benefit to me. I can’t thank him enough. I’m proud to know a charitable person who silently helps people with no expectation of gaining anything from it. If my situation changes, I will be glad to start paying him to see me, even if it hurts my pocketbook.
1980s Things That Are Not Socially Acceptable Today
My 8th grade PE teacher was tall, black, muscular, and pretty terrifying. His wife came by class one day; she was white, plump, mid height, and sweet. I’d never seen a mixed race couple before and was a little shocked. (It wasn’t that I didn’t like the idea; I had zero exposure to mixed race anything in a nearly all white neighborhood.) What was more shocking was she took none of his shit. He barked at her like he barked at us and she told him to settle down. She instantly became my hero. They loved each other a lot, that was obvious. I never thought twice about mixed race couples again.
Yep. Our local McDonalds recently completed their renovation, which includes the new kiosks. I walked in and noticed the kiosks, but went straight to the cash register.
The manager asked me to please use the kiosk. I said no thank you. She said, we’re trying to get all of our customers to use them. Again, I said no thanks. She got really huffy and stopped what she was doing at the french fry station and turned to me and said, why won’t you use them?
I said, “I didn’t come here this morning to do your job. You want me to take an order, then pay me.” That stopped her. She came and took my order.
While she was taking my order I explained, “To use your kiosk, I have to make multiple selections, and each one requires that I choose between many options. I don’t want to do that. I just want a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I can tell you that in one simple sentence. I don’t have to pick through multiple screens of options of things I don’t want.”
That’s why you won’t ever see me at the kiosk.
“We Can’t Be Afraid Of Nuclear War!” Says Sean Penn
EU could become as dependent on China for lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells by 2030 as it was on Russia for energy before the Ukrosia war unless it takes strong measures.
Worried by China’s growing global assertiveness and economic weight, the leaders will discuss the European Commission’s proposals to reduce the risk of Europe being too dependent on China and the need diversify towards Africa and Latin America.
While the EU has a strong position in the intermediate and assembly phases of making electrolysers, with a more than 50% global market share, it relies heavily on China for fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries crucial for electric vehicles.
According to the European Commission, in 2021, the year before Ukrosia war, the EU took more than 40% of its total gas consumption, 27% of oil imports and 46% of coal imports from Russia.
Ending most energy purchases from Russia caused an energy price shock in the EU and a surge in consumer inflation, forcing the European Central Bank to sharply raise interest rates in a move that has curbed economic growth.
Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells were not the only area of EU vulnerability.
A similar scenario could unfold in the digital-tech space. Forecasts suggest that the demand for digital devices such as sensors, drones, data servers, storage equipment and data transmission networks will rise sharply in this decade.
The EU has a relatively strong position in the latter, but it shows significant weaknesses in the other areas.
By 2030, this foreign dependency could seriously hinder the productivity gains that the European industry and service sector urgently require and could impede the modernization of agriculture systems essential to addressing climate change.
China Ignores the US & Deepens its Ties with Russia!
China Creates world’s most powerful RADAR Chip
Article HERE Amid US tech sanctions, Chinese scientists say they made the world’s most powerful radar chip
New semiconductor performs at orders of magnitude higher than similar power-amplifying chips in most existing radar systems, says Chinese team
It uses gallium nitride despite export bans by the US government blocking high powered gallium-based semiconductors to China
A research team with a major Chinese defence company says it has built a radar chip with a record power output using semiconductor technology that is the subject of strict US sanctions. The finger-sized chip can generate radar signals with peak power reaching 2.4 kilowatts. It is one or two orders of magnitude higher than the performance of similar power-amplifying chips in most existing radar systems.
This after China banns the export of Gallium to NATO countries.
American foreign policy is based around “security”. But our notion of “security” does not distinguish between a possible threat and an actual threat. If it could possibly be a threat, then we treat it as if it’s threatening us right now. We dominate the North American continent; that’s not secure enough, so we establish military bases in Europe; that’s not secure enough, so more bases in Asia; that’s not secure enough, so take over space. In fifty years, we’ll probably be trying to colonize Mars to forestall the “threat” of somebody else getting to it first (that’s a little joke). To get an idea of how American foreign policy works, imagine a psychopathic Uncle Sam, staring at some small country with creepy twitching eyes, and saying, “You’re threatening me” while reaching for a knife.
There is a thing called nuclear primacy. Suppose that you can attack another country with nuclear weapons and destroy the whole country without the possibility of retaliation. The United States can do this to any nation on the planet, except for Russia. If Russia’s arsenal degrades to the point where it can no longer retaliate, then the United States has nuclear primacy, meaning the ability to destroy anyone without consequence. Total impunity.
There is another thing called full spectrum dominance, which is similar to nuclear primacy, except for every single dimension of warfare, not just nuclear weapons. Domination of land, air, sea, cyber warfare, everything. The United States has this over most other countries. There are a few exceptions, though. China is one. The stated intention of American military policy is to achieve full spectrum dominance over any possible opponent. Total control.
When Washington describes China as a threat, they mean that China may one day be a country that the United States can’t dominate completely with zero consequences. The chances of this are quite small and remote, but higher than zero. That makes China a “threat”, in the way that Washington uses the word. So we have to remove the “threat” by ham-stringing China, preferably by partitioning them.
Which brings me to my next point: divide-and-rule is a strategy as old as empire. Western countries excel at it. The idea is to take someone else’s country and break it apart into many smaller countries. We call this “partitioning”. Partitioning weakens your enemy by destroying their unity. But partition is a nasty, aggressive word, and Washington likes to frame all of its actions as just and defensive. So instead of partitioning, we say we’re “decolonizing” other countries. We don’t want to dominate Russia and China by partitioning them. No, see, they’re the evil imperialists, so we’re going to decolonize them, tee-hee! We’re the good guys!
This last requires a lot of propaganda to frame our enemies as “colonizers”. So we take lands that have been Chinese for centuries and claim that the Chinese are evil colonizers for having those lands. Of course, we’re also evil colonizers, but that’s okay because I started with a land acknowledgment. This is also why you hear Western intellectuals say things like, “China has never been truly unified” and “There is no continuous Chinese civilization”. This is manufacturing a justification for partitioning China a few decades down the line. Or perhaps sooner than that…
What I fear is that American hubris will suck us into a Thucydides trap. What if we decide that it’s intolerable for us not to control the world? What if we decide that World War Three is a better option? Because those are the only two options Washington sees as viable: total domination, or apocalypse.
Don’t get me wrong, by the way. I love my country. But the America I love is 4th of July parades, cookouts, and deer jerky. The America that glasses a small Middle Eastern country so some guy at Raytheon can get a new yacht — that America I don’t love.
It seems the Dutch Government has forbidden ASML to sell EUVs to SMIC from 1/9/23
Yet orders placed until 23:59 on 31/8/23 can be shipped and fulfilled.
So technically ASML can ship orders to SMIC upto the time the last order placed on 31/8/23 is fulfilled
That’s for 21 EUV Machines & 1850 DUV Machines
In September, ASML has delivered 4 EUV Machines & 390 DUV Machines
Meanwhile there is another legal complication
SMIC has now introduced a Distributor company who can buy EUVs from ASML and simply sell them to SMIC for a 10% commission (10% is just an example)
Now the Dutch order said only SMIC was forbidden from receiving ASML EUVs so ASML has also accepted 8 more orders for EUVs from this distributor
Technically Dutch Govt cannot specifically forbid ASML from selling to China as a whole as that is a major WTO violation
So they can only blacklist importers
So China can keep bringing up new distributors and placing orders and ASML is happy because TSMC has cancelled 24 Machines recently and i am sure China offered full price for the machines
Ultimately MONEY TALKS
Once again the US is furious but again it’s all about the legalese now
SMIC is forbidden so an agency buys and sells to SMIC
The Dutch look the other way of course
ASML is delighted because they sell more machines
My guess is this new agency will be blacklisted soon and they will incorporate more laws to prevent such measures
Yet that gets China another 8 machines plus a further 24 machines which I bet China will place as they are already in process
This means SMIC technically can make 7 nm and 5 nm Chips in decent quantities at least till 2026/2027
By then they should crack some breakthrough
So China has gained TIME and the Dutch have put business ahead of stupidity
Just like NVDIA and Intel just sold products to China which were slightly off the specs in huge numbers
Economics is ultimately invincible
Reality
Beef Medallions with Cognac Sauce
Beef Medallions wCognac Sauce
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 teaspoon (packed) brown sugar
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup canned beef broth
1/2 cup Cognac or brandy
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 (4 to 5 ounce) beef tenderloin steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
Fresh Chives
Instructions
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes.
Add brown sugar; stir 1 minute.
Add chicken broth, beef broth and Cognac. Simmer until sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes.
Add cream. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Add steaks; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for rare.
Transfer steaks to plates.
Add sauce to skillet; bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice steaks; fan slices on plates.
Top with sauce and garnish with chives.
Notes
Serve Cabernet Sauvignon with the steaks.
The cost of living in Chiang Mai, Thailand 2023. Retire in Thailand affordably – live in Chiang Mai!
The rest of the world is a great IMPROVEMENT over that of the “good ol’ USA”.
When my daughters were babies/toddlers, I/we used to have to walk to the supermarket and back to get our groceries for the week. Most of the time, this went alright. It was a bit of a juggling act and it always stressed me out on the way home, but it was also nice to get out with them without my then husband.
Anyhow, one day we’re really struggling to get home. My oldest didn’t want to walk and I couldn’t carry them both and the bags etc, so we’re doing everything the hardest way possible. The only way possible. Then a lady, a bit older than myself, stopped me and told me to ‘wait right there please”. I was completely confused, but thought maybe she was going to get her car or something? Who knew. I was exhausted, my kids were too, so we waited and I thought I was an idiot for waiting.
Then she came back, with a double stroller. Not some glamorous kind, nothing with all the bells and whistles and not brand new, but one that I could use as a buggy or as a stoller. I could put one of my kids in it and still have room behind them for bags, or put both kids in.. or neither kid and lay the front seat down. Anyways, it was perfect for us and I could’ve cried and kissed that lady. She kept saying she didn’t need it anymore and it wasn’t a big deal, but it was a huge deal for us. I offered to pay her or do something, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I’ll never forget her generosity or how much she helped us.
RUSSIAN SUPERMARKET TOUR! 🇷🇺 0,2$ BREAD and 0,2$ POTATO
My main “beef” with my parents was a simple one. At every opportunity for me to do something outside of the school narrative…
“Study hard. Get a good job, and you will be set for life with a good pension.”
…They pretty much sucked at helping me.
I asked my mother; “How do I buy land”? And she looked at me for a moment and answered…
“You just go and buy it.”
Gosh, Mom. That was so helpful.
NOT!
At that time, there wasn’t any Google about. No internet. Only a small town library, and neither the teachers or anyone would help me out. No one could answer my questions.
I’d ask my dad; “How do I buy stocks”?
He would chuckled. Then thought about it, and he answered…
“You just go and buy them.”
Gosh dad. That was so helpful.
NOT!
And it wasn’t just that.
I asked my dad, “How do I ask a girl out for a date”?
And his answer was…
“What, who’s the girl?”
And I would say, “No one you know. So how do I do it”?
And he would chuckle, and he said…
“Oh, you just go up to her and ask her if she wanted to go out with you.”
Wow! So very helpful.
NOT!
…
Do not make the same mistakes that my parents made. Take the time. Enunciate. Explain. Be empathic, and be kind and considerate.
It will make a BIG difference.
Todays…
How China Destroyed US Sanctions and Changed Microchip Forever!
The USA did not declare war on Huawei. They declared war on hundreds of thousands of motivated Chinese set to go starving on the streets, unless they pushed themselves…
What many people don’t know is Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei only owns roughly 1% of the company, and the employees own 99% of the company, so imagine a body of hundreds of thousands of supercharged and super-talented people giving their all, not only for survival of their families but also with a vengeance to prove that they can’t be suppressed and will fight back.
Huawei is a networking equipment maker which makes mobile phones. This means it knows the backend first, and then how to connect the network to its Frontend devices, including mobile phones.
Apple only focuses on Frontend consumer devices, and not connecting with backend devices because its focus is on the user experience.
Apple relies on Qualcomm for its 5G transceiver; Huawei designs its own 5G transceiver.
That is the difference.
Newborn kitten cries when she sees her mother lying motionless on her left side full of thorns
Newborn kitten cries when she sees her mother lying motionless on her left side full of thorns The mother cat and her cubs have an accident on a strange fruit full of thorns A mother cat crashes next to the fruit back.
We have seen the mother cat and her two young children lying here. kittens just a few days old swaddled around their mother. and cried out of voice when he saw his mother in trouble.
next to it is a fruit full of thorns. This cat family is pitiful.
when I thought the fruit from the other corner fell on the mother cat. but luckily the other fruit is just next to the mother cat and the kittens.
Maybe the mother cat was exhausted.
We are walking in a tropical forest. There are a lot of dry leaves here. I came across a family of cats in distress here.
The kittens were crying when they saw their mother lying motionless. The mother cat lies next to the thorny fruit weevil. I come closer to check and will help the cat family.
The kittens are quite small. Luckily this thorny fruit didn’t hit the kitten. The mother cat is very weak. it needs immediate care. I will help this poor meod family.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add sweet potato, water and vanilla extract; mix well.
In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; fold into the sweet potato mixture.
Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; add to potato mixture.
Stir in pecans.
Pour into three greased 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 22 to 27 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks.
Frosting: Melt the butter in a saucepan; whisk in sugar, milk and egg yolks until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
Remove from the heat; stir in the coconut, pecans and vanilla extract. Cool slightly.
Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with a third of the frosting.
When I was in high school, in my senior year, I had a co-op job as an electronic tech, and worked for a small business. The business was on Rt 11, in a business district leading into Bloomsburg Pa.
One afternoon, while at my bench, we heard a car accident occur outside our building. Apparently, a young man no older than me was speeding and decided to use the enter lane to pass people, and caught a young family getting read to turn off to the seasonal hamburger place next door to so (to the right when facing the highway)
Tye family was ok, but a group of workers from the welding/fabrication shop next to us (on the left) ran out to the car and attempted to pull the young driver out.
But he apparently had a broken neck… I will never forget seeing how his head moved, it just sort of flopped around on his shoulders. That was 43 years ago, and I still remember that part vividly.
A day or two later his sister dropped by and asked us if we had seen a ring of his that was missing. We did walk around the accident scene but never found it.
Because he broke his neck on his steering wheel, I started to wear my seatbelt while driving, long before there was a campaign to require it.
Don’t know if this was a thief or not, but a number of years ago there was a rise in fake “Utility Company Representatives” knocking on people’s doors. In many cases things went missing if these people were allowed into people’s homes (they worked in pairs).
At the time we were living in a duplex. The first floor level was about 6–8 inches higher than the level of the front porch. We had a Siberian Husky/German Shepherd mix (both sides of his parentage were pure blood pedigrees), and he was the best burglar alarm even invented. 60–70 lbs of solid muscle, the face of a wolf, and the most disconcerting part, 1 blue eye and one brown eye. Our storm door had a solid panel that went about halfway up the door. High enough that you couldn’t see the dog if he approached the door. The top was screened.
My wife answered the door and was faced with 2 “Utility Company Representatives” that were checking the water meters which were inside, down in the basement. Their trick was to gain entry, get the person who answered to accompany one down to the meter while the other one stayed in side the front door and “waited”, picking up anything they could find that might be valuable. Like wallets from purses. True to form, they wanted to come in and check the meter. My wife knows better and told them they couldn’t come in without some sort of ID. They started arguing that they had a legal right to inspect their hardware (they didn’t), and she kept telling them no and flicked the lock on the storm door.
Our ever faithful guard dog had walked over to the door while they were trying to talk their way in. When their tone started changing he got interested and decided to see who was talking to the boss-lady like that. He popped up on his hind legs which put his face not too far from level with the people on the porch, who suddenly decided they no longer had to gain entry, and said ‘someone else will contact you later’ as they left for greener pastures.
Best alarm system ever.
EDIT… Punctuation repairs (Thanks Ed), and I thought you all might like to see this buddy of mine. We lost him to The Bridge from cancer 29 years ago now, and still miss him every day. Sadly, we didn’t do a lot of picture taking back then, so my choice of pictures is limited.
He had the black and white Husky markings, and the longer snout and some brown from the Shepherd side. Check out his eyes, and imagine them staring at you through a screen door at eye level.
China and technology
The reason Trump thought that he could stop China from making DUV machines is because DUV machines encompass a lot of technologies.
If China is unable to produce any of these technologies then the DUV machines China purchased from ASML would be completely useless in a year or so. The parts need to be replaced. No parts, no working machine.
The light source breaks down all the time. The coating on the lenses only last for a few months. 1 year at most. All those machines that China bought from ASML for over $500 billion would become very expensive scrap metal.
But China managed to develop these core technologies. And it required the entire Chinese scientific community to do so.
But now that China has the core technologies, there is nothing the US can do to stop China from advancing. The US no longer controls Chinese chip industry.
This video explains just how intricate chip production is and how much leading edge technology is required to make on of these machines work.
The Sopranos || Get It Up
This should get more views, it’s such a perfect clean edit
Start buying them lavish gifts, like expensive vacations at 5-star luxury resorts, free airline flights to exotic destinations, Rolexes, things like that. Then buy their mom’s house and let mom continue to live there for free. Then donate the money for their kid’s education at an expensive university.
Okay, that’s an extreme case, but it works. Most famously, the first black mayors of Los Angeles and Detroit suspiciously became a lot more pro-business after they were elected than before, and that was just the result of freely given campaign contributions, invitations to nice dinners, and perks like the odd bottle of whisky that remain within the rules for gifts.
Take a look at Krysten Sinema, who got elected mostly because she had a massive team of young volunteers who saw her as a progressive. After she got elected, she started getting massive donations from pharmaceutical companies and, all of a sudden, she’s shifted a lot further to the right.
One of the reasons why this works is that running for office is incredibly expensive. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s first campaign cost $2 million, mostly spent on the Democratic primary. She was funded by a group who wanted someone more progressive, and now she’s elected to a safe Democratic seat, she will need less money going forward, but her $170,000 salary (seems a lot doesn’t it) still doesn’t pay for her New York rent, her Washington rent, and her student loans.
One of the best tricks plays on vanity. The politician writes a book, which gets published, and “friends” buy enough copies to make it a best seller. This is really sleazy, but it happens all the time, and it is in no way illegal. There are allegations that Hilary Clinton’s success in the futures market was a set up where a benefactor essentially ate losses and just passed on the gains.
This is why the rich are heavily into “charity”, showing how good they are by building college buildings and universities (with their name on them of course). It’s certainly cheaper than paying taxes for the same thing, that’s for sure. Andrew Carnegie started it with libraries, and is seen as a saint, but governments still had to maintain those (most are now over a century old, including one or two in my home town of Toronto) and the donors usually don’t pay for the upkeep.
I’ve already written about some shocking things I’ve come across in the states in another post, so I suppose this is part 2, but here we go:
Heard people going at it…you cannot imagine my shock as a person coming from a conservative area, one who hasn’t even seen her parents kissing, to witness such a thing. But while staying at a hotel, for the first time in my life, I heard two people going at it very loudly so that it was impossible to ignore them. I was so embarrassed and my husband was laughing at me for looking so shocked.
Serving water for free in restaurants. For a capitalist country like the states, I was surprised they didn’t benefit from this one thing that people will undoubtedly pay for. You certainly have to pay for water over here in restaurants.
Ice.. always. Continuing from the last point, water is always served with ice. Someone like me who can’t have very cold water had to specifically ask for it to be omitted.
Medical issues. I needed antibiotics during my visit because of an infection that I get frequently. Not having insurance as a simple visitor, we had to pay 400$ to see a doctor and get this simple prescription. Meanwhile back home, I got it for less than a dollar. So I swore to pack lots of meds next time I come over.
Vast spaces. Perhaps because I’ve been only to Buffalo, Niagara, and Oregon but there was always a ton of space between buildings. The markets were huge with vast parking lots. And the roads were very big for the most part.
Black people everywhere. In New York airport (JFK), almost all workers were black! That was a surprise because I always heard of the diversity in the states. But even later in Oregon, almost everyone was white.
Security at the airport. That one was quite funny. When you get scanned at the JFK airport, you have to stand in a certain cabin, face your right, raise your arms like a criminal, then they scan you. The woman worker shouted, “Put your arms up!” and I had no clue what she was talking about. She kept repeating then showed me the exact position and where to face. Then she said “Seems like you don’t travel often”. I wanted to say “Excuse me? I’ve been traveling since I was 4 but this doesn’t exist anywhere else I’ve been!”.
Coffee. That was no coffee. That was dirty water. Period. Lol. For real though, our definition of coffee in Egypt is Turkish coffee which is very heavy, dense, and intense in flavor.
Huge meals. Everyone said so before and yet I made the mistake of ordering an appetizer before the main dish, only to be surprised that the appetizer is so big that it’s a meal on its own. I felt so sad throwing half the food away as we were traveling and I couldn’t take it with me.
Reese’s everywhere. It was Reese’s heaven! All sort of sizes, shapes, and mixes. Like mixed with Cadbury, Oreos, and so on.
Credit card everywhere. I am not exaggerating when I tell you there hasn’t been a single place I’ve been to that doesn’t take credit.
Rich wildlife. Coming from a desert, it was so impressive to just casually come across deer and squirrels. And at some point, I saw a massive number of seals. I learned the hard way that they stink.
They use their attractions wisely. I’ve been to countries that don’t give enough attention to grand places that leave you in awe, meanwhile, the states try to give such attention to whatever place they feel people may like visiting. Whenever you go to an especially cool place, you’ll find stores near it selling stamps, mugs, and stickers with pictures of that attraction. I’ve seen that at Niagara Falls and the redwoods in California. Did I mention that I’d never seen such huge trees in my life?
The world’s third-largest contract semiconductor maker, GlobalFoundries, on Tuesday opened a $4-billion manufacturing plant in Singapore as part of a global expansion to help ease an industry supply crunch.
The new Singapore facility will produce an additional 450,000 wafers annually at full capacity by 2025 to 2026, general manager Tan Yew Kong told reporters, raising the city-state’s overall capacity to 1.5 million wafers each year.
The chips, usually used in smartphones and other mobile devices, are also increasingly in demand by automakers, especially for electric vehicles, adding to the pressure to raise production.
“The key megatrends of our industry — digitisation, connectivity, cloud computing — are all driving acceleration to a more connected and data-centric world,” GlobalFoundries president and chief executive Thomas Caulfield said at the launch.
“It demonstrates how central and critical the industry is to the world economy and how pervasive semiconductors are in enabling and enhancing all aspects of human life.”
Caulfield said that despite current economic headwinds, the company estimates the industry will double in the next decade.
“The catalyst for this growth will be AI (artificial intelligence),” he said.
The firm’s 23,000-square meter Singapore facility, which broke ground in 2021, will expand the global footprint of the company, which already has plants in the United States and Europe.
Singapore’s chip output currently makes up 11% of the global semiconductor market.
The global semiconductor market is predicted to experience a downturn of 10.3 percent this year but recover in 2024 and grow by 11.8%, according to estimates by the industry monitor World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.
Very often, the answer is no. Not only do intelligent people very often fail to realize how much smarter they are than everyone else, they also tend to overestimate other people’s intelligence even when they do. Let me tell you a little story.
Once upon a time, I was at a bar with some friends. The bar had an outdoor area where you could stand around and drink beer. There was a guy who thought it would be funny to ride past the bar repeatedly on an extremely loud moped. At certain times, he would stop, rev the moped so loud that nobody could hear themselves think, and begin whooping loudly. This same guy had been at it all day, not just by the bar, but riding up and down the streets and residential neighborhoods, screaming and hollering and bothering everyone he could with his moped.
I mentioned, casually, that I wouldn’t mind chucking my beer mug at his head if he were close enough. A friend of mine, whom we shall call Angus (not his real name), said, “Well, you should probably leave someone as unstable as that guy alone. He obviously has some serious emotional difficulties.”
Angus is a smart dude, but he misread the guy on the moped. The issue is that the guy on the moped was probably not suffering from some deep emotional trauma that had made him so obstreperous. Rather, Moped Guy’s thought process was, most likely, no more complicated than this: “YEAH! YEAH! LOUD! LOUD MOTHERFUCKER! YEAH LOOK AT IT MAN! YEAH! LOUD!”
The issue that Angus was having is that Angus, being an intelligent and empathetic individual, was trying to understand Moped Guy’s motivations and look at things from Moped Guy’s perspective. Angus was thinking to himself, “What would have to happen to me to get me to act that obnoxiously?” The thing is, intelligent people of high character, like Angus, are not moved to act like idiots unless they suffer something really bad, at which point a complicated emotional process leads to bad behavior. Angus’ miscalculation was that Moped Guy would have to have suffered some horrible trauma to act in the way he did. The big issue is that Angus did not account for Moped Guy’s stupidity, and forgot the simple fact that stupid people will act stupid without any suffering or instability. Dumb people just act dumb.
I have suffered from this problem myself. For the longest time, I did not realize that so much of human behavior was posturing, and did not realize how to read people correctly. I thought that, when someone talked to me about their interests, they were merely stating facts and not trying to talk to me about themselves. The vast majority of humans are so subjective that most of their communication is about themselves and not about things or ideas or even other people. Intelligent people have problems grasping that.
My father, as I may have said before, is an ER doctor.
One night, a case arrived to the hospital of a teen girl with what seemed like a regular fever. The team gave her the necessary meds and started running a few tests.
Her mother had rushed to the hospital with her and looked particularly nervous. The doctor asked her some typical questions such as when her daughter showed signs and so on, but she would have vague half-assed answers.
However, within a few hours, the girls fever was sky rocketing, and her blood pressure was getting very low, and for some reason she wasn’t responding to regular meds or fluids.
The mother looked very nervous then she timidly approached a nurse and told her “actually, I forgot to tell you something. My daughter just went through a liposuction a couple of days ago. I don’t know if these two things are related”.
Yet by the time this piece of information reached the doctors, the girl had already died. She was being treated for a regular fever until test results showed the real issue.
Turns out that the mother took her daughter, who was not even chubby to begin with, to undergo a liposuction. Given that the girl was underage, a parent’s approval is a must. Her father was completely against it but the mother went ahead and sneaked it with the daughter anyway.
And she was too scared of her husband knowing what she did so she didn’t want to let the secret out until she realized that the complications are more serious than she thought. But it was too late by then.
Lessons of the day:
1-Don’t put your child through unnecessary plastic surgery.
2-And don’t hold back information from the doctor for God’s sake.
Christopher Moltisanti – So Far (The Sopranos)
The most tragic character in fiction, even with all his flaws he will always be one of the greatest characters in the history of television…
The Chinese government is a lot lot lot more transparent than the western government on the economy. It is simple Chinese government don’t need to be popular it need to be effective!
The U.S. government need to and use their media to fool Americans and hoodwinked them so that Yanks will always be highly naive and ignorant. How do they do that? Western media are profit motivated so they are free to make money by writing what westerners like to hear. So they write or broadcast what westerners like to hear.
After conniving you that China is at fault, China is your enemy, China is backward, China is evil, China steal your technology, China cheats, China take your jobs…..What do you like to hear? China fail and U.S. is great, it is exceptional, its economy is still wonderful. Your technology is unmatched. So you media cohort with your government to fool you and guess what that is what you want!
Chinese government don’t face election and popularity contest every 2 years! You do! China says and report as it is and encourage or motivate its citizens that it needs to buck up and work harder. Hence all the superlatives such ad the U.S. is exceptional, Britain is Great, US is the mist innovative, Britain invents everything…
China don’t do that. To us Empty vessels makes the most noise! Western media are simply lying media that spread half truths, fake news, misinformation, fabrications. Demonising others to distract your people from your impending collapse.
I was studious, which resulted into me getting a scholarship in college. One of my friends asked me for some money (2500/-). He was my good friend, not best, and I was completely aware of his gambling and drinking habits.
I wanted to say “No”, because I knew the importance of money at that moment of my life. I was aware of the fact that he will never return it, but I still lent him the money, which was obviously never returned.
It was my first breakup and I was leading a miserable life. There was this girl who was my junior and she started taking interest in me.
I was uncomfortable, but she was pretty. I wasn’t ready for a relationship and she kept pushing me. Again, I wanted to say “No”, but it could have hurt her feelings.
Unwillingly, I said Yes. And that relationship survived for a month only.
Don’t judge me, I was an immature teenager back then.
There were many incidents in my life where I desperately wanted to say “No”, but ended up saying otherwise. And in return, I paid a huge price, not monetarily, but emotionally and mentally.
But today, things have changed. I have changed for my own good. And I have learned the art of saying “No”. People call me rude, arrogant etc, but who cares about their opinion?
This is my life, these are my struggles. They will only give their absurd opinion which is never required. Sometimes people think that saying “NO” is hard because your image will get maligned or it will hurt other people.
My question is, what will you do with your false pride? Maybe momentarily you will hurt people by saying “No”, but in the long term it will save you from huge disappointment.
This is what I learned the hard way: How to say “No” to the face when/where I am hesitant/uncomfortable.
It comes with multiple benefits:
You don’t have to lie.
You don’t have to make excuses.
You don’t have to justify anything.
I refused to please others at the expense of my emotional well being. Even if it is saying “No” to thepeople who are used to hearing “Yes”.
Learn the art of saying “No”. Don’t lie, don’t make excuses, don’t over explain yourself. Just simply decline.
The Sopranos || Easier
“Man, thanks for this awesome work! This gives me power every time I rewatch it to deal with tough shit in evercold Moscow. I’d love to see more motivating sopranos vids from ya!”
When I first started High School, I had a guy that rode the bus with me every day, and made my life a living hell. His name was David R-. He was 18 years old and still in the tenth grade. He was bigger than me, and cussed like a sailor. He was mean and vicious, and he absolutely scared me to death.
I have vivid memories of him sitting behind me on the bus, slapping me in the back of the head as we rode home from school. It happened almost every day. This was 27 years ago and, back then, bullying was just a “common thing.” It was something you had to deal with. You had to learn to stand up for yourself and “be a man”. I would complain to the bus driver and the principal. Mr. Dave would get a good scolding, but he was right back at it the next day.
Well, after six months of this B/S, I’d finally had enough. I just snapped one day. I turned around and dove over the seat, and started pounding on him. Everyone went crazy. The driver slammed on the brakes, and brought the bus to a stop.
I was getting my tail kicked by this guy. He was bigger, faster and stronger, and the only thing I had on my side, was rage. We were up against the emergency exit, slugging it out, when, all of a sudden, the door just popped open, and we went tumbling into the street.
When we hit the pavement, Mr. Dave had his arm twisted behind his back. He landed on it, and I heard it snap like a piece of kindling. He pushed me off of him, and got up with a bone jutting out of his wrist. He was screaming his head off, and blood was pouring onto the asphalt.
Maybe I should have backed off at that point, but this guy had made my life hell for several months, and I wanted revenge. I twisted his broken arm behind his back, and took him down on the ground where I proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him. There were several cars that had stopped by this time, and it took two grown men to pull me off of him. It was the worst fight I’d ever had in my life, and it remains so to this day. My nose was busted and I had a black eye. Mr. Dave had a broken arm, a busted lip, two missing teeth, and a huge laceration across his forehead. They actually called an ambulance for him.
Both of us were suspended. Dave’s mother contacted my dad a few days later, and threatened to sue us. She wanted us to pay for Dave’s medical bills. However, I had a bus full of people, who absolutely hated Dave, and all of them were telling the principal about my six months of hell, and insisting that Dave had started the fight.
I was suspended for two weeks. I also got a month of detention, and couldn’t ride the bus for the rest of the year, but that was the end of my punishment. As far as I know, Dave never returned to school at all. I didn’t see him again for 15 years.
Then, right around 2005, I moved from Mississippi back to my hometown in Georgia. One day as I was walking out of a convenience store, I spotted my old high school bully picking up aluminum cans along the side of the road.
It totally shocked me, and I wasn’t absolutely sure that it was really him. After all, it had been 15 years. Still, I was PRETTY sure. So, I strolled over to the edge of the parking lot for a better look. Just as I walked up, he turned to stare at me, and I recognized him beyond a shadow of doubt. I’m not very good with names, but I rarely forget a face.
He looked terrible. His hair was long. He hadn’t shaved in several days. His clothes were torn and ragged, and he smelled like a wet dog. He was very thin and dirty, and half of his teeth appeared to be missing. He also had an old duffle bag slung across his shoulder, and I got the distinct impression that he was homeless.
“I’m sorry, you’re David R-, aren’t you?” I asked.
His eyes brightened for a moment, and he looked at me long and hard before responding. “Yeah, who are you?”
My first impulse was to tell him. I wanted to remind him of all those days that he had harassed the hell out of me, and then ask him if he remembered our little brawl and his trip to the hospital. Then I wanted to let him know how much money I had made the year before, and tell him all about the new job I had just started down in Atlanta. Instead, I just stood there, staring at him.
“I think we might have gone to school together,” I replied.
His eyes narrowed again, and he really studied my face. Still, I don’t think he had a clue who I was. Apparently, I had changed a lot in 15 years.
“What’s your name?” He finally asked.
I shook my head. “Not important”, I replied. I dug in my wallet, and pulled out a ten dollar bill. I held it out to him, and he took it. I said, “God bless”, and then slowly walked away.
A push-back against Western influence is reportedly prompting countries to reject the pro-Ukraen agenda. Zelensky during a UN General Assembly session.
Western officials have overestimated the willingness of neutral nations to join anti-Russia policies in support of Ukraen, according to The Wall Street Journal.
It’s clear that the West overall has been surprised by the pretty widespread reluctance by many of the countries in the so-called Global South… to come on board.
“animosity toward the US and Europe” in some parts of the world and the desire of rising powers, such as Brazil and South Africa, to “assert their independence”, the article said.
The WSJ detailed purported successes and failures of Western diplomacy to rally the support of neutral nations for what it called “a fair peace settlement for Ukraen” ahead of next week’s gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
Loozensky has been internationally promoting his “peace formula” with Western backing. It includes Ukraen regaining control over all former territories, war reparations from Russia, and a tribunal for the Russian leadership. Moscow has dismissed the Zelensky plan as being detached from reality.
My oldest son was driving a red Toyota 4×4 pick up . It was used but solid .
He worked at an auto parts store and had done a pretty good job of fixing it up . One weekend he did a tune up . Plugs , rotor , cap, plugs etc .. about a week later while I was working , he called and said it had statrting running rough then died.
At that point I had more money than time so we had it towed to a shop I had used before .
Next day shop calls me to tell me it jumped time and the engine was a complete loss .
Quoted me 2500 to rebuild .
Only paid 1500 for the truck .
I told them never mind and had it towed to the house .
Finally I was off work a few day and decided to check it out . Pulled the timing belt cover and checked the orientation of the cams to the crankshaft . It was perfect ! So at their point I’m a bit confused . Pop the distributor cap and noticed the rotor was on the wrong cylinder .
Come to find out my son forgot to put the holding screw back in the rotor and it had turned just a bit . This meant the timing was so far off it wouldn’t run .
Put the screw back in, cranked it up and it ran like a champ !
Drove it up to the shop and called out the boss .
Showed him and explained what was found .
His face turned 4 shades of red lol ! Come to find out the tech that looked at it got paid extra to do rebuilds and was condemning engines every chance he got !
Needless to say the tech got fired .3 hours of my time and I saved 2500$ and my son got his truck back .
As an Ordinary user of a smartphone, can you really tell the difference between the 3nm and the 7nm Chips?
You can’t
The difference is more from an engineering point of view and a design point of view than a commercial point of view
The Average customer doesn’t understand 3nm and 7nm.
There is Zero difference from the POV of a retail customer who doesn’t understand Semiconductor Design Or Power Consumption Efficiency (99.9% of the world’s retail customers)
Here are the top six parameters based on which people decide which Smartphones to buy :-
Price
Camera
Battery & Charging
Gaming
Color & Design
BRAND
Do you see ‘Performance’ anywhere?
No
Performance is impossible to gauge for a normal user
You need advanced tools that tech blogger guys from YT have
Sure you can see the difference between a 32 nm Laptop Chip and a 7 nm Smartphone Chip
However it becomes tougher as you come closer and closer to each successive process
Take the I7 vs Loongson 3AC6000
Assuming Loongson had Windows integration
An Average user could not distinguish the two apart unless by GPU performance or Memory superiority
Yet a professional with tools can see that the Loongson is performing only at 50% the rate of the I7
So the answer is YES
My guess is the 3/2nm Chips are redundant for modern smartphones. They are too advanced and unnecessary for the average retail user
Cost effective 7/5 nm Chips are the Uppermost limit for smartphones
The Iphone 15 vs Mate 60 is the best example
The greatest advantage of the Iphone 15 was the GPU of NVDIA according to retail users
Mate60 won with the Camera, Gestures, Satellite Calling, 5G speeds etc
Iphone won with the Graphics
Nobody mentions the A17 Chip except as part of the textbook spec comparison table
3/2 nm Chips will be pathbreaking for the NEXT GENERATION after the Smartphone like maybe Advanced AI systems etc
TSMC will find the 3nm process overkill
Yet if they keep at it, they may find it easier to progress to the next generation of communication technology
We have built a vacation home in a nearby province. Husband took on the contracting while maintaining his full-time police job – so proud of him!
I did not announce this; I dislike the comparison games people play and do not want to be perceived as bragging.
A good friend asked to see pictures at a reunion luncheon. As I flipped through pix on my phone, an acquaintance from long ago came up behind us.
She peered over our shoulders and exclaimed, “When you married that low-ranked cop, I knew you’d end up this way! How far you’ve fallen! How can you live like THAT!!”
The look on her face was not one of concern, but a sneer.
She was looking at a picture of the shed where building materials had been kept (that has since been removed).
*sigh*
*Note Some have asked about my response. I smiled, told her that it was the raw materials shed and went back to my conversation.
Why didn’t I snap back, go for her throat, etc?
Because that (and to embarrass me) is what she expected, what she wanted. She is in her element when someone defends herself or gets angry.
But she has never been able to handle a calm, non-defensive response.
My time in the Marines didn’t go at all as I expected; in fact, I was disappointed with almost all of it. However, I am grateful for these very disappointments. It took me a long time to come this viewpoint, but I am finally able to see the experience in a more wholistic way. As a Christian, I see it through the lens of Romans 8:28:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)
When I was planning to go into the Marines, my father encouraged me as he always had. He thought I had sound judgment and that I had made a wise decision. It was a sickening shock for me to find out in the Marines that very few people, men or women, thought this way.
I was generally despised as a woman Aircraft Maintenance Officer. Women hadn’t been allowed into this MOS for very long. I was about the sixth woman to choose it. People thought women couldn’t understand machinery or aircraft.
I personally got ugly comments. One was a note passed to me in AMO school that read, “A woman is a life support system for a cunt.” I was very quiet back then and kept to myself a lot, but other Marines’ hatred for me was so great they went out of their way to humiliate me.
At some point I found out I could not be assigned to a deploying squadron; no women Marines could deploy back then. So this fact meant I would not be assigned to any unit that actually had aircraft, unless it was to a training squadron. My dream of going to a deploying squadron and to a carrier ended.
I was so miserable. I had no friends after a while. A woman captain I knew went to Germany, and a woman TBS classmate with whom I was also close had to take a medical discharge. I was lonely and frightened and made bad personal decisions as a result.
But when I was at my lowest point, I reached out to God in desperation, and He answered. It was the beginning of our relationship which continues to this day. It was about that time my EAS rolled around, so I was then set free from the Marine Corps.
In spite of the traumatic stuff and in addition to my now having God in my life, I did however benefit from my service.
I was able to work for Sikorsky Aircraft as a technical writer. I wrote repair manuals for the SH-60B helicopter when it first came out. The job included testing the manuals out on the helicopter by doing an R and R (remove and replace) of all the parts on it, including the engines, blades, and rotor head.
Being a Marine helped me get a job with the Texas Department of Public Safety as a security officer. Marines are highly respected in the Department, and there are a lot of them in it. To my surprise, many other members of the Department admired me for my Marine service and accepted me because of it. That had hardly ever happened before.
A huge benefit was that my husband, a highly decorated combat Marine, chose me to be his wife. He said that when he learned I was a Marine, he knew I could understand him like no other woman could. We got married six weeks after we met.
So my military service was a rough go, but it prepared me for the rough life I had ahead of me. But most importantly, God used it to bring me to Him and to my wonderful husband.
At so many levels… I was a small child in the 60’s. I remember on the news there was a symbol- a silhouette of a soldier walking – with a number in it, and that number was the number of casualties there had been that day. My cousin was in the 101st Airborne- it would take forever to hear anything so we both were encouraged and afraid when they mentioned the 101st.
Many people say the Gulf War was the first war played out on television. It wasn’t. It was Vietnam. I remember it so distinctly. It was terrifying. I asked my Dad what the war was for… he started to explain but in the end, he just said “There is never a good reason for war, and in the end, it won’t change anything anyway…” Looking back now, what did all that death and pain- on both sides- accomplish?
The city I lived in had a Marine base. Many of the kids I played with had dads who were “in country”, or mothers and fathers who worked at the base. I saw many of them saying goodbye because their lives had suddenly changed, either because their dad would not be coming home, or that he had come home and was now facing extended time in rehab. I remember playing in the stadium right in front of the entrance to the housing area for the base… when we saw a black car with a driver, an officer… and a chaplain… all the kids would run home in terror. Someone was about to get some bad news.
I was grateful that my Dad didn’t have to go to Vietnam. He was in the navy as the war started but I was a sick baby and he was discharged on compassionate grounds.
I remembering wearing a bracelet with the name of an MIA soldier… he didn’t come home, well, his remains didn’t come home, until the late 1970’s, I folded up his bracelet and sent it up to his family.
One of my dearest friends, “Sarge” Robert Hultgren, was a 2 tour vet- he campaigned tirelessly for the MIA and POW. “I can’t forget a single brother” he said. Sarge died several years, of Alzheimer’s Dementia. He forgot his daughter, his wife, his own name… but he thought he was in Vietnam. His PTSD pierced his soul so deeply it was too deep even for Dementia to wash away.
Sarge used to put up a bamboo Christmas Tree in front of Boston’s City Hall each Christmas. Lest we forget.
I remember standing on the front steps with my Mom when all the church bells and sirens from Fire Trucks and Civil Defense were sounding to say the war was over. But how could it be over? My friends were still waiting for their dads.
That next year at Memorial Day, the 1st World War vets marched, all snappily dressed and although old were orderly and looked dignified. The same was true of the World War 2 vets, the Korean War vets… then came the Vietnam vets. The looked slouched, and where people had cheered for the other men, they yelled things at the Vietnam Vets… Baby killer. Rapist. Bastards. WHy didn’t you just die there….
Some of the my friends were there watching their dads marching and they winced at the hatred. We had already seen it, protests at the gates of the base, “peace protesters” telling the small children there that their daddies were murderers and rapists. Who did they think they were to “peacefully” destroy these kids?
Neighbours of my grandparents, the place where we spent every spare minute, were a military family. One day when visiting them, the news came on the TV and they turned it off. “We don’t listen to that when we are here… this is our escape” said the lovely Mrs Wittman. Her husband was a senior military officer. This was the reason:
Lance Corporal Narvin O WIttman 26–9–1946 – 7–8–1967 Their son had died in Vietnam. When I went to see the “Wall”, I took a rubbing of his name. He didn’t even make it to 21.
It was years before we learned our lesson. It is this deep wound of guilt that led to Americans thanking Vets for their service… never again would we forget that it’s not the soldier’s fault when he does what his country asks him to do. I hope.
All those of my generation had the same experience… the pain and horror of Vietnam was all over the news, inescapable, imbedding itself in our psyche.
Thanks for your service… as my generation joins those who pass away, I just pray we as a human race never forget. We inflicted pain on those young men- draftees- and their families. For what?
The Sopranos || Lovely
Breaking bad is my all-time favorite show.. But this show is… its a masterpiece. I remember the first time i finished it. Had a feeling i need to watch it again right away…. They don’t make them like they used to before. What a great time it was for entertainment back then.
Southern Crusty Coconut Pie
IMG 0070
Ingredients
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cups shredded coconut
1/4 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell
Instructions
Pour milk over coconut and set aside while creaming butter and sugar together.
Add eggs to creamed mixture and beat well.
Add milk, coconut and vanilla extract.
Pour into an unbaked pie shell.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until pie is golden brown and firm.
Chinese are not closed off from the world; more than 130M Chinese travel outside China annually, and they spend about US$250B annually on their travels, making them the single largest tourist group by nation, and the biggest spending one.
Just because you disagree with Chinese government policies, do not say that Chinese are closed off from the rest of the world. It is you who are out of touch with what is really going on.
There is something that has been bugging me / pestering me, over the last few days. And that is the Mr. Titor saga.
I covered this time machine / dimensional vehicle elsewhere on MM.
But sure, his dates were wildly wrong, but what I want to discuss something that bugs me to no end.
When he described what 2035 looks like, Lordy… I mean it sure sounds like what the United States is shaping up to become. From the home-made videos and demise of major TV shows. To the lack of retail and big retail stores. To the emphasis on more natural and “real” music a.k.a. Oliver Anthony… it is all too strong and makes me wonder.
Certainly his ideas about world war 3 in 2008 or so were wildly off. Wrong as in catastrophically wrong. They described a world more akin to 1995, than what the world looks like today.
However…
It is his description of his vehicle, and his predictions of the future that were spot on.
…
His vehicle ran world-line slides. A crude method compared to what I was involved in with MAJestic.
And anything can happen.
And what he described… world war 3, destruction of the USA and China, and all the rest seems like it is not going to occur today. If anything, it is a balkanization of the planet into quarters, and alliances accordingly.
But the social trends are bench-marked. They seem to be occurring.
…
I am reading this as a lateral slide event.
Social and societal changes are unchanged. They are common and associated with human trend-lines.
Geo-political events, and national trends are very different.
…
You see, in all of my MAJ slides, the societal trend lines seemed to be rather constant. With some very minor changes. But the major changes were Geo-Political in nature. The factors that moved herd / mass migration events seemed to be wildly divergent.
As such, then, on this template; on this world-line base start point, we have a different frame of reference, and the United States has just gotten weaker, while China has gotten stronger…
Quite different from the John Titor narrative.
…and thus the great nuclear war was delayed with some very different outcomes manifesting.
That is what I have been thinking about.
Very different outcomes.
From what John Titor narrated to the US public in 2000.
…
No wonder Domain is in China now.
The trend lines are reaching some very dangerous cross-roads, and the switching of templates are limiting the destruction while all the evil / malevolent are trapped within certain geographical regions.
Of course. China is the cause of all of the USA’s problems.
See how the white cops keep killing black people in the USA – this surely is China’s doing.
Observe the mass shootings that plague the whole of the USA – at schools, malls, supermarkets, churches, pubs, cinemas, workplaces – this too must be China’s doing.
Did you know that the USA’s literacy rate has plunged t0 78%? (Developed countries usually have a literacy rate between 95 to 100%). China must have caused this.
Look at the ever-increasing number of homeless people living in tents in the streets of the USA. We know that this is China’s fault.
US engineers say that many of the bridges and roads and other public infrastructure in the USA are “crumbling”. Why didn’t China take steps to stop this?
In the USA, even the water pipes are leaking lead into the supply of drinking water at public schools, poisoning the children. China must be blamed!
Look at how Americans hate each other! Even families stop talking to each other, because some are Democrats and some are Republicans. Once again, China is guilty.
The average life expectancy in the USA keeps dropping! Americans keep dying at a younger age. Becauae they are more and more obese these days and; their healthcare system is too expensive. Surely China had something to do with this.
Women in the USA even have problems getting birth control and abortions! The infant mortality rate AND the maternal mortality rate in the USA have fallen to the levels typically found in developing countries. Let’s blame China for this too.
But not to worry. The USA still has more gender pronouns than China. So the USA will prevail.
Southern Style Smothered Ham
ham
Ingredients
2 slices ham, cut 1/2-inch thick (uncooked)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 onions, sliced
2 cups sliced pared apples
12 whole cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place 1 slice ham in shallow baking pan; spread half the mustard on ham.
Top with onions and apples; cover with second slice of ham.
Rub remaining mustard onto meat; place cloves in fat portion of ham.
Mix sugar and water together; boil 5 minutes.
Pour syrup over ham.
Bake for 1 hour, basting with sugar and water syrup 2 or 3 times.
The Sopranos – Breaking Balls Goes Too Far
Joking around goes too far between Eugene Pontecorvo and Paulie Jr at the esplanade construction site.
Mexico Congress reveals 1,000-year-old ‘alien corpses’
Ufologist Jaime Maussan stated that scientists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico used radiocarbon dating to obtain DNA evidence from specimens found in Peru
Written by Annesha Barua –September 13th 2023 04:05 PM
Mexico, September 13: During a public hearing in the Mexico Congress, two alleged ‘alien corpses’ were unveiled, along with videos displaying UFOs and unidentified phenomena. The small mummified specimens, believed to be 1,000 years old and found in diatom mines in Cusco, Peru, were showcased in windowed boxes.
Ufologist Jaime Maussan, testifying under oath, stated that the specimens were not part of Earth’s evolution. DNA evidence and X-rays were presented during the hearing, revealing unusual characteristics such as unknown DNA and rare metal implants, including Osmium. Ryan Graves, a former US Navy pilot, was also present.
2023 09 14 17 0r4
Unusual DNA and rare implants
Jaime Maussan, a journalist and ufologist, explained that the specimens had been studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where radiocarbon dating was used to determine their age. Comparing the DNA from the specimens to other samples, researchers found that over 30% of the DNA was “unknown.” X-rays of the bodies were displayed during the hearing, revealing the presence of “eggs” in one of the bodies and implants made of rare metals, including Osmium.
Ryan graves in attendance
Ryan Graves, the executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace and a former US Navy pilot, was present at the hearing. He had previously testified under oath to the US Congress about the national security threat posed by unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
2023 09 14 17 04
Credibility and skepticism
While the hearing took place in the Mexico Congress, it’s important to note that Jaime Maussan has been associated with ‘fake’ claims of ‘aliens’ in the past. In 2017, he was involved in the analysis of alleged mummies discovered in Peru, which were later debunked (by whom?) as the mummified remains of human children.
Unlike the White House, the China government does not interfere with the corporate behaviour of civilian companies.
The issue is essentially that as a solidly run mobile phone manufacturer you have to choose a stable supply chain.
Before the United States launched chip sanctions against China, the United States had been dumping chips into the Chinese market!
In Q1 2021, MediaTek accounted for 37% of the smartphone SoC market in China and Qualcomm 29%. The total of the two is 66%.
In Q2 2021, MediaTek accounted for 40% of China’s smartphone SoC market and Qualcomm 31%. Total 71% for both.
In Q3 2021, MediaTek accounted for 43% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 32%. Total 75% for both.
In Q4 2021, MediaTek accounted for 38% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 30%. Total 68% for both.
In Q1 2022, MediaTek accounted for 41% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 34%. Total 75% for both.
In Q2 2022, MediaTek accounted for 42% of the smartphone SoC market in China, Qualcomm 36%. Total 78% for both.
Now, the U.S. chip has been unable to return to the former dumping state.
image 61
Replacing a mobile phone chip is not an easy task; its software and hardware must match. Moreover, Chinese mobile phone makers have already found a new domestic chip supplier.
Business partnerships are like marriages. Once a marriage loses trust, it can never be the same again. Because there is no guarantee that you will not have a second betrayal?
It’s like if you divorced your ex-wife and regretted it so much that you wanted to remarry, but your ex-wife has already remarried, and you still want your ex-wife to divorce her current husband? Even the most arrogant person would not be so delusional.
image 62
Once you exit the Chinese market and lose market share, it is almost impossible to come back. Unless American chips are given away for free, but can chipmakers do that at 0 cost?
Developing market share costs money.
If you lose market share, you lose market share. No one’s always there for you.
When I did a year at an English university I shared a house with girl who was from what the Brits call old money.
She dressed fashionably but never wore anything with logos. And she noticed right away that Im the same and never wear clothing with logos. She was polite to everyone from the bin man to the university cleaning staff and even if guys tried to talk to us she didn’t let them crash and burn but made it clear she was not interested in a polite way without soundy bitchy.
She always introduced me right away to her friends before getting into a conversation with them and when I had friends come over from Norway she always introduced herself using her full name which always sounded odd to me but I noticed her friends and family did the same.
She was not a girly girl either. She visited me in Norway and when my grandfather caught a salmon she grabbed the club and killed it without flinching which is very unlike 99.99 percent of British girls.
She was very observant of everything around her and used disarming charm to get people to help her with anything she needed. And I noticed it was the same with a lot of her friends from similar backgrounds.
My dads a Brit and joked to me he could smell her class the first time he visited us, I said don’t be rude and he just pointed at her wax cotton jacket hanging in the hall and said, I can smell the old money from here.
My favorite was the trader who called his mistress on his trading phone. Big things with multiple lines of which each and every one is recorded for compliance reasons, in case a trade is contested or whatnot.
But the management wanted to get rid of him (and his rather large compensation package) so they asked him to the HR office.
Management: we want you to resign
The guy: no way, we’re in France, if you want me to go, you’ll have to pay a hefty severance package.
Management: <presses “play” />
Management: (after the record finishes) We already have a delivery guy in the lobby, if you don’t sign your wife will have the record in thirty minutes. Your choice.
The guy quickly calculated that the divorce settlement would be worth more than the severance package and resigned on the spot. The delivery guy was paid, and the delivery cancelled.
That is brutal. Almost maffia like.
Edit: I must add that it was completely illegal of course, but as they kept the record, he was not going to go to the police… the place was fun we also had a guy who was so well known for sexual harassment or worse that he had a clause in his contract to deduct any settlement with his trainees and employees from his bonus.
Edit 2 : In the same company but another country, I also witnessed a fantastic boot up the arse: the top management was thinking about replacing a MD. Just about 5 people were aware of the plan, but it leaked. So, five emails with different plans were sent. Old spy stuff. One came out.
The tantrum was spectacular and the guy was carried out by security. The head of compliance was spilling the beans. He got a good yelling and was kicked out of the building without ceremony, all in half an hour.
Driver had been drinking but unbeknownst to me, he’d walked away from our County jail farm two days earlier and committed an armed robbery earlier in the evening.
The driver pulled a Colt .357 Magnum on me.
After a few exciting minutes we exchanged gunfire at a distance of about 15 yards.
I was in an open field, he had the cover of his vehicle.
Fortunately, while I came *very* close, we missed each other.
He was captured the next morning and, eventually was sentenced to fifteen years in San Quentin.
I had nightmares for several years but they eventually went away.
Secret Hidden Tunnels found 300′ below Maui, Hawaii
Always up for a adventure We take off into the depths of Maui in search of secret passageways. Hidden in the cane fields there is gate ways into the unknown.
NATO Commences Snap “Northern Coast Exercise” in Baltic Sea
Today, Saturday September 9, 2023, NATO began a snap military exercise named “Northern Coast” in the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, Russia.
the “exercise” involves about 30 ships and more than 3,000 NATO member-country service members. It will, for the first time, practice how to respond to a Russian assault in the region, Germany’s navy chief said on Friday.
“We are sending a clear message of vigilance to Russia: Not on our watch,” Vice-Admiral Jan Christian Kaack told reporters in Berlin. “Credible deterrence must include the ability to attack.“
Troops from all NATO countries on the Baltic Sea, plus soon-to-be member Sweden and non-Baltic allies the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, will train side by side. They will practice amphibious operations and strikes from sea to land.
It is Russia they will be practicing to attack. Even the name of the exercise, “Northern Coast” is a direct reference to St. Petersburg, Russia, as seen on the map below:
The U.S. navy will send the Mesa Verde into the drills, Kaack said, a ship of more than 200 meters (656 ft) length, designed to transport and land some 800 marines in an amphibious assault.
Securing the sea routes through the Baltic Sea is another focus of the exercise that will take place off the coasts of Latvia and Estonia.
“Finland and the Baltic states depend to almost 100% on the maritime supply routes through the Baltic Sea,” Kaack noted.
“Should the Suwalki Gap be blocked – and this can be done easily as there are only two roads and one railroad line – then we are left with the sea routes only, and that’s where we will then have to make our way through.”
The Suwalki Gap, a narrow land corridor of some 65 kilometers (40 miles), is the only connection linking the Baltic states to Poland and NATO’s main territory in Europe.
It will be the first exercise of this size that the German navy, the biggest navy on the Baltic Sea according to Kaack, will command from its new maritime headquarters in Rostock which just reached operational readiness.
Germany aims to provide the facility to NATO as a regional maritime headquarters, capable of leading the alliance’s operations in the Baltic Sea in case of a conflict.
It is vital to remember that just one mis-step by NATO during this so-called “exercise” will trigger a massive Russian defensive engagement to protect St. Petersburg.
You’ll never believe what Biden just said!
NO one is prepared for what’s coming in this economy and they are trying to hide it. The Biden administration says inflation is coming down, jobs are being created, and Bidenomics is working! That sounds like a lot of spin. In fact the data shows us something devastating is on the horizon.
Yes I did. Not necessary because I liked them as in say friends but because they were real people in a tough position. I reduced their rent by $500 a month for two years. They finally got on their feet, overcame a health challenge and began building their own home. When they finally had a roof on the place they moved their son’s small camper into the garage and lived there until the house was complete. I routinely saw this older couple at a local restaurant so we kept in touch.
Amazimgly they sent a check every month after they moved out. It took almost five years but they insisted on repaying my lost income. We had dinner together the month they had completed making the rent payments. I surprised the couple with a savings bond for approximately 60% of what they had repaid. I insisted they set the bond aside for retirement. The woman was ecstatic hugging me over and over, her husband was all tears, saying “this never happens in real life, never!” I get a Christmas card every year.
Like many people today, I was using a dating site to meet new people. I met one guy who seemed nice, we had mutual interests, and we emailed a bit back and forth before deciding to meet for coffee. We chose a very small boutique coffee shop in a mutually convenient location. Then we chose a date and time.
“Give me your cell phone number,” he messaged me.
Oh, no, hardly anyone gets that. And certainly not a guy I’ve never met. I don’t want to be changing my phone number for anybody, and it’s not that hard to find someone from a cell phone number either.
“What for?” I replied.
“In case one of us misses the other when we’re supposed to meet,” he replied.
Well, that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. We had chosen a very small place, and both of us had a lot of pictures on our profiles, there was really no chance of one of us sitting there and not seeing the other, or recognizing the other.
“You can message me here on the app if you need to,” I replied.
He told me he wanted my cell phone number, that there was no reason why he couldn’t have it. There was no need for him to have this. Him messaging me on the dating app would send a text to my cell phone just the same as if he had texted me directly. Surely any man today understands that women have to take precautions. Right? The dating site itself had pages of advice on how to stay safe.
So I gently said I doubted we would not recognize each other, or not see each other, and I preferred to use the app for now, but I looked forward to meeting him in person.
He went ballistic.
He messaged me over and over, progressing to caps, demanding that I give him my cell phone number as a condition of meeting. WHAT DID I THINK HE WAS? The messages got longer and more abusive and I sat there reading them, not responding. After I had seen enough of them, I deleted them, and blocked him on the app.
You know, if you draw a boundary, especially if it’s a reasonable one, and someone doesn’t respect it, it will never get better. Back off immediately.
The Sopranos – Uncle Philly’s reign as the King of New York begins
I think my social life peaked around age 18. I had a core group of four good friends my senior year of high school. I’d always try to make sure I hung out with at least one of them each weekend. I felt like a weekend without spending time with a friend was somehow “wasted.” I never went to parties or anything like that (wasn’t invited), but I at least drove around with Chris or went over to Bo’s house or chilled with Brandi or Ed at their places.
I only made one really good friend in college (well, besides my wife). He and I were roommates for awhile, so “hanging out” with him wasn’t especially difficult.
Time went on. I got married and had kids and my career took up a lot of my time. I haven’t spoken to that old college roommate of mine in about 14 years now. For awhile there, in my late 20s and early 30s, I still tried to find something “social” to do from time to time. But it got more difficult as the years went on.
And now, in my early 40s, I don’t give a damn about being social.
I have plenty of opportunities to be social. My church is always planning social events. So is the school where I work. Most of those social events are fundraisers, but still… I can go there and talk to people I kind of know from church or work, and feel like I’m “being social.”
I do go to them sometimes. I usually last less than an hour before I just want to leave. When I actually socialize at those events—actually talk to people—it feels more like a chore than something enjoyable.
When I was in high school, the thought that I’d have nothing to do but sit in my room alone and read or play video games or spend time online on a weekend evening horrified me. What kind of loser did such things on Friday and Saturday evenings?
Now? I’m writing this on a Friday evening, and I can think of nothing I’d rather be doing right now than sitting in my recliner, as I am now, alone in this room, taking a break from reading the book I’m reading to key out a few thoughts on Quora.
I would be perfectly happy if I never had to socialize again. If, God forbid, I end up alone in my retirement years, I think I’d be happy with it. One of my grandfathers lived alone for almost 15 years before passing away. He would go months with no human contact, besides exchanging pleasantries with the cashier at the grocery store. When I was younger, I thought he must have been really sad and lonely, living like that. Now that I’m older, I think that he was probably very content, living like that.
Remy: Rich Men North of Richmond (Federal Employee Version)
This is creative and hilarious!
“it takes one person to do my job, so we have two” Absolutely perfect, this sums up the government better than any Wikipedia page could.
1. In Taiwan, I talked about taking a shower with some friends. They found it so strange that I preferred to shower in the morning rather than in the evening. I told them that showering in the morning is quite common in America. They found it very disgusting because I would go to bed with all the day’s dirt on my body. They were actually right about that, showering at night sometimes makes more sense.
2. Another thing that some people made fun of me in Taiwan was my tendency to wear long-sleeved shirts with shorts, more or less like the style below:
I understand it was hot in Taiwan, but it was just a style that I sometimes wear and they thought it was really weird, not really gross, but still something they thought was weird (although one girl told me my fashion sense was weird/ disgusting) .
3. One thing I was told was disgusting was the tendency for us westerners to eat too much dessert. In China, desserts are usually not very sweet fruit or ice cream, they don’t like incredibly sweet and sugary things. One of my favorite things to eat is cheesecake, so I naturally gave Cheesecake to some Chinese friends (usually in the US because it’s so hard to find in China). In the photo below it looks delicious doesn’t it?
Well, my Chinese friends hated it, they said it was too thick, creamy and gross. One of them told me he wanted to throw up. I was like, “Fine, I’ll eat it all myself then.”
Douglas Macgregor: DURING RETRATING, UNITS WERE MASSACRED
Do you know that Democracy was in fact a NO PARTY SYSTEM?
In Athens:-You had an assembly of people who chose their speakers among men who were 20+ years old based on their appeal and ability and their speaking style
In short an Assembly of People, qualified by estate or property or wealth who selected people based on ability or speaking style aka MERIT
No Parties, Agenda, Propaganda
Zilch
Remind you of something?
China – An Assembly of Qualified People based on Ability and chosen by their peers from the grassroots or chosen by tough examinations
They choose their leaders based again on ability and merit
Sure they have one party and call it a party but the name is long redundant
China is thus the closest to the original Athenian Democracy
Benefits:-
Consistent Policies over several decades
Controlled Consensus
Country above everything else since there is lesser vying for Power
Drawbacks:-
Chance of becoming Rigidly Bureaucratic and Stubborn
Chances of running away with rule without opposition
I inherited two dogs when my daughter passed away. I realized after a few months that a fence would make my life with the dogs so much easier. I was out looking for the property markers and my neighbour came over and asked if I was thinking of building a fence? I said I would like too but no one was returning my calls. He had a friend who did fences as a side job. Anyway, long story short, friend came, took the job, neighbour helped him so it was less cost for me and the fence was completed by the end of the next week. The friend also threw in two beautiful flower boxes made from the same wood as the fence. The dogs are so much more content and I have privacy. These two men likely have no idea how they have made my life so much easier. I am so thankful.
They telling everyone they will bomb Russia if Russians dare attacking Ukraine in 2020.
Think about it.
1.China’s military size is three times bigger than Russia, more advanced in technology.
Chinese Navy vs Russian Navy.
image 63
2.China’s reserved military population is 260 million.
3.China produce all, even including the USA’s own bullets.
image 64
4.The first day, Russians took 40k㎡ of Ukraine’s land,and entire size of Taiwan is only 30k㎡.
5.Taiwanese speak standard Chinese.
6.American rich guy is still investing into both China Mainland and Taiwan.
7.China Mainland is still doing business with Taiwan.
8.the technology chips war between US and China, is actully between Taiwan Chinese vs Mainland Chinese, because the world chips industry was ruling by enthunic Chinese people(maybe add some Korean), it’s actully, a civil war.
Attempted Coup Against Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré Thwarted
Here is your latest African news. Attempted Coup in Burkina Faso Against Interim President Ibrahim Traoré Thwarted.
When I was 15, I started a new school on the opposite coast of where I grew up.
At my old school I was unpopular and bullied harshly, so I was very shy and socially awkward with very low self esteem. The first week of school, I sat by my locker alone eating lunch, terrified of social interaction.
One day, up walked the most bubbly, outgoing, beautiful “popular” girl with maybe 6 other girls following her. She asked “Why are you eating lunch alone?! Wth? Come sit with us!!”
No one had ever done that for me. Then a few days later I casually mentioned it was my 16th birthday that weekend and she said “What?! We need to celebrate!!” and she organized a birthday dinner at a local restaurant.
She and her group of friends brought me pink balloons and gifts, I had a very memorable 16th birthday that I’ll never forget.
I literally had only known them for a week.
Then one day soon after, she saw that I rode my bike (3miles) to school everyday (due to my single mom’s work schedule and not being able to drive me – there was no bus at this school), and again, she said “Wth?! Why are you riding your bike to school?! That’s dangerous with all the traffic!!
My mom and I will pick you up at home and give you a ride!”
They drove me to and from school the entire year and we always did fun outings in the way home.
Experiencing their kindness at a hard time in my life was probably one of the most profoundly positive things I’ve experienced in my 43 years.
She remains my best friend until this day and is an amazing mom of 3.
Definitely the most important friendship of my life.
He was a child of well-off professionals, who built a phenomenal fortune in his own right.
It’s unclear exactly how well-off he was growing up. I suspect his family’s wealth has been exaggerated, both by his detractors, and by his father, who has been know to brag about how much money he made, but it’s clear that the Musk family was never poor.
On the other hand, there’s very little indication that Musk relied on his family, either for investment or business connections, in starting any of his companies. Insofar as a billionaire can be “self-made”, Musk has built his own business empire.
But his upbringing and education and whatnot come from being part of a family that was at least reasonably well-off.
When I first entered the gaming industry, I earned around 30K to 40K a year. And I lived in one of the most expensive cities in the world, San Francisco. The hostel I lived in cost me 700 dollars per month for rent. I have to be very careful with food. At the time, my weekly food budget was 40 dollars. I work from 10 am to 8 or 9 pm in the evening.
Then things started to get better. By 2019, I was making about the industry average for a mid-level producer. Both of my parents are dead, and I don’t have family and children, so I have some disposable income—no more “40 dollar food budget”. I think my weekly grocery cost me about 60–70 dollars, and I often dine out during weekends. Being able to buy a box of Kyoho grapes for 14 dollars feels very good.
But I think more than anything, the money gave me a sense of security, and it allowed me to pursue my many interests. Both had a tremendous positive impact on my mental health and quality of life in general.
I’ve made the decision very early on in my life that I do not want to get married or have children. While I’m happy with my life choices, I’m also very aware of the risks of choosing this lifestyle. After all, plenty of people feel the need to remind me that when I’m old, I’ll be sad and alone, and nobody will visit me at the hospital or senior care facility.
I mean, are you sure your kids will visit you when you’re old and sick? You know, the kids you abused and traumatized for 20 years? The kids who couldn’t wait to get away from you? I’ve read many articles written by medical professionals. They had made consistent observations that in a senior care facility, those with children are often mean-spirited and friendless, and their children never visit, while those who are single actually know how to make friends and are liked by everyone. Do you even know how to make friends based on shared interests that fall outside “childcare, PTA, soccer practice, family”? Not to mention, do you have children just so you get to have free nannies and ATM machines when you’re old and frail? I feel bad for your kids.
I digress. Still, being single and a social recluse, I need to be better prepared for my retirement financially. A long-term care nursing home in the US currently costs about 5,000 to 8,000 dollars per month, and if you want one with a better facility and nicer staff, the cost can easily ramp up to over 10K. And Medicare does not cover long-term nursing home costs.
Since I don’t have children to leech on, I must prepare for my retirement when I can still make money. I’ve set up some investment accounts like mutual funds and bought some annuities and US treasury bonds, on top of maxing out my 401K and Roth IRA every year. I’m glad I have some extra cash I could put away for my retirement. It definitely reduced a lot of anxiety.
And I have money to spend on hobbies and travel. I don’t care about luxury goods. Most of my clothing is from Uniqlo and Muji. Most of my furniture is from IKEA. As I grew older, I found myself caring less and less about such things. I found 3 holes in my T-shirt the other day due to wear and tear, God only knows how long I’ve been wearing T-shirts with holes on them, LOL. But who cares? I certainly do not.
I spend a lot of money on personal interests. I spend money on Wacom tablets and Macs.
I’m particularly happy with my current setup.
I really like my craft studio. I need to use it more, LOL.
I also spend a lot of money on video games and game consoles. And I recently picked up the expensive hobby of Lego.
I spend money on crafts materials and courses. I mean, why do I buy this thing for 15 dollars when I can buy all the tools and materials and make it myself (poorly) for 95 dollars? That’s my motto now. DYI is NOT cheap.
On top of all that, now that my work is a bit less chaotic and less stressful, I finally have the brain power and energy to focus more on my writing. I had spent money on editors and programs such as Scrivener and Plottr to help me write.
None of these are possible without money.
Money does not buy you happiness, that’s for sure. But money can buy you security, peace of mind, and freedom to pursue your interests. While I’m acutely aware that, like many Americans, I’m one major illness/major accident away from bankruptcy. I’m much happier now than 10 years ago when I lived in a hostel and worked 60 hours per week.
I’ve since receive the same type of comments every time I talk about being single.
Me: I don’t want to have children.
Comment: Fuck you! You’ll die sad and lonely! Having children is the best thing ever! You aren’t a real man/woman without having children!
… Every. Single. Time.
Like, you people have no imagination.
Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond [REACTION)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea Chairman Kim Jong Un held extensive talks on Wednesday. Dr. Kiyul Chung explained to Sputnik why the meeting of Putin and Kim is nothing short of historic.
The Russian and North Korean leaders met on September 13 at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian space port in the Amur region.
“Now today’s historic 2023 DPRK-Russia Summit at Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia first and foremost highlights one of the most significant geopolitical and geostrategic importances,” Dr. Kiyul Chung, editor-in-chief at the 4th Media and a retired professor of Tsinghua University, told Sputnik. “The 2023 Summit itself powerfully culminates, defines, embodies, and witnesses the arrival of the anti-imperialist and self-determined multipolar world of the 21st century.”
Per Dr. Chung, the idea to hold the meeting at Russia’s spaceport symbolizes the two nations’ future collaboration in the field of space exploration and other high-end technologies despite pressure from the West.
“Both DPRK and Russia are facing all sorts of threats from the already-collapsed ‘five century-long West-dominated unipolar power’. One of the threats they’ve had forcibly imposed is the very existence of both of their nations,” the scholar continued.
Russia and North Korea: Strategic Longterm Cooperation
Vladimir Putin noted that his meeting with Kim Jong Un is taking place “at a special time”: just recently, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) celebrated 75 years since its creation. For his part, Kim thanked Putin for the invitation to visit Russia, stressing that relations with Moscow is Pyongyang’s “priority”
. The North Korean leader called his trip to Russia a demonstration of the importance of strategic ties.
“Comrade Putin and I just discussed in depth the military-political situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe and came to a satisfactory consensus on further strengthening strategic and tactical cooperation, supporting solidarity in the struggle for the protection of the sovereign right of security, for creating guarantees of lasting peace in the region, and throughout the world,” Kim stated during an official dinner held in his honor later in the day.
During the meeting, Kim reiterated his support for Moscow’s special military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, stressing that “the DPRK will always stand with Russia in the fight against imperialism,” a clear reference to NATO’s proxy war in Eastern Europe. The DPRK chairman pointed out that he and his Russian counterpart will build “stable, future-oriented and long-term relations” between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The two countries have a long record of cooperation which originates in the early years of the Cold War era. Together, the Soviet and North Korean military protected DPRK independence and sovereignty against US intervention in the course of the Korean War (1950-1953). When the hostilities were over, the USSR helped Pyongyang restore the nation’s economy.
Presently, the DPRK is interested in the opportunity to cooperate with Russia in the field of aviation, transport and infrastructure, as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday. In addition, the sides discussed cooperation in the field of joint space exploration, Putin said, hinting that Russia-North Korea military-technical collaboration is also on the table.
Per Dr. Chung, “the Kim-Putin summit first and foremost apparently intends to nullify, pacify, or ruin whatever attempts the US-led suicidal nuclear war games, specifically both in Korean Peninsula and Ukraine.”
Furthermore, the summit is openly challenging the West’s illegal sanctions, according to the scholar.
“Today’s summit in Russia is the defiant denunciation, disregard, and complete rejection of illegal economic sanctions regimes of all sorts the US-led unipolar imperial powers have unilaterally wielded for decades. By the way, the latter Russia is one of the latest and by far ‘the most far-reaching’ cases. According to the most recent news reports about the US/West-led UN sanctions against DPRK, Russia apparently intends to dismantle the [sanctions] regime by strengthening both nations’ economic cooperation at all levels,” Chung said.
The Kim-Putin meeting has stolen Western mainstream press headlines: the media has expressed unease over the summit of two leaders whose countries are under severe Western sanctions. American and British journalists particularly cited their respective government’s discontent with an alleged arms deal supposedly discussed by the Russian and North Korean leaders.
The American press also quoted US administration officials expressing fears that Pyongyang could receive technology that could advance North Korea’s satellite
Russia and the DPRK are cooperating for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries, and not against anyone; bilateral relations should not be a matter of concern for third countries, Peskov summarized on Wednesday.
“All other issues concern only our two countries, two sovereign countries, and should not be a subject of concern to third states. For our cooperation is carried out for the benefit of the peoples of our two countries, but not against anyone,” the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
The summit of Russian and North Korean leaders has demonstrated that the US’ dominance is fading, while a new multi-polar world, free of Washington’s diktat, is taking shape, according to Dr. Chung.
The scholar noted that the seeds of what is happening today were sown back in 2000, when President Putin met with Kim’s predecessor, Chairman Kim Jong Il. In July 2000, the first summit in the history of Russian-Korean relations (after the collapse of the USSR) took place and a Joint Declaration was signed.
“In that historic declaration, there is one item I’d like to highlight,” Dr. Chung said. “It’s about the number 1 Clause of that Declaration. There is a most important and historic language, expression, or declaration which was worded as in the following: ‘The DPRK and the Russian Federation …. [are] creating a multipolar world and building a new, fair, and rational international order based upon the principles of equality, mutual respect, and friendly cooperation’.”
“Today’s Kim-Putin Summit in Russia which can be interpreted as an assessment is kind of a recommitment as a rededication, reevaluation, and revelation of that historic 2000 Summit in Korea which I argue laid the most significant historic foundations of the anti-imperialist and self-determined multipolar world in the 21st century, 23 years ago for the sake of the future of the whole humanity,” the scholar concluded.
Imagine this – In a pub 200km from the nearest town, an Aussie in his 60s told me this story over a pint:
He left school at 15 and decided to train it up to Darwin for a few weeks. To experience real Crocodile Dundee territory.
After 3 weeks he was at the train station waiting for his train home.
While waiting he got chatting to another guy who was on his way to work as a chef at some remote town. Whoop Whoop probably, but location doesn’t matter. The guy said they’d been looking for staff, so if he wanted to earn a few bucks he could join.
He called his Mum back in Perth and said he’d got a job and would give it a few weeks.
Skip to the day I met him. That had been his life – travelling around Australia, working here and there, and collecting amazing stories (we talked for a while).
What a life he’d had.
The beauty of travelling Australia is it’s easy, and you’ll see and experience things only Australia can offer.
Imagine waking up on pure white sands, next to a crystal clear ocean, on a beach many miles from any pollution – even light pollution – and taking a morning swim with a school of 20+ dolphins.
That was one of many experiences I had travelling most of Australia, for many months, without a care in the world.
I bought a 4×4 in Perth which became my home, with a makeshift bed in the back, solar panel, and bare necessities.
Months later when I was done travelling and went back to “normal life”, I made a profit on the car. Enough to cover the whole trip, all the fuel, and all the food.
I saw the incredible blue waters of Esperance, experienced the Nullarbor, Adelaide Hills, Great Ocean Road, Ned Kelly Country, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, dived the Great Barrier Reef, saw whales off Hervey Bay, snorkeled at Exmouth, took a tinny boat around swamp lands of Kakadu within arms reach of crocs, went up mountains, through rivers, over salt lakes, and saw the incredible red dirt of northern WA, bumped into the Australian prime minister (Julia Gillard), and English comedic legend Ben Elton. Oh, and met and dated an Australian movie actress.
And more.
Nothing hard about it. I just got out there, did it.
Then I read answers from people on Quora saying it’s hard to travel Australia because it’s so far away.
It’s a flight away.
And those answers get hundreds of upvotes, by people who will never experience the amazing things I experienced travelling such an incredible country.
A System that has a Launcher and that has a guidance system that helps launch Rockets or Missiles on the Enemy positions.
The Rockets could be ATACMS Or Precision Strike Missiles or mostly ordinary guided Rockets
The Chinese and Russians both have similar systems
image 71
China has the PCL 191 system that has a longer range of almost 357 Miles and has even Laser guided Rockets in its latest version
image 70
Russia has its own Tornado systems that are comparable to HIMARS including the latest Tornado S which has a larger range and a 1 meter tested accuracg
It’s what China has along the Indian Border
Yet the Russians don’t use their Counter Battery System in this SMO
Many believe this reveals a lot of Russian Weakness. They are WRONG.
The Reason is simple : COST EFFECTIVENESS
This is a War where the biggest obstacle is fortifications of concrete and steel every step of the way
image 69image 68
Every few miles you have fortifications where you have ammunition and soldiers with artillery guns
These fortifications are spread over 8–20 Kms and you don’t know where the Soldiers are Or where the Artillery Gun is
So what are your options?
Precision Rockets?
Nopes.
At $ 125000 a Rocket, you may blow off at least 20–25 rockets and spend a whopping $ 3.5–4 Million before hitting the target and even then there is a chance you miss and run into an artillery ambush when you advance
That would be at least 2000 Rockets and a price tag of $ 320 Million for Severodonetsk alone
So instead Russia use the cheaper artillery shells with no guidance and entirely range, range and range
Russia has at least 3 Million Shells available for each phase.
Instead of 25 Rockets, they use 10,000 Shells and pulverize the entire position and the Ukrops either lose their artillery gun and flee or die.
They advance and use flamethrowers and that’s a higher guarantee of death
Crude yet Cost Effective
At a price of $ 500,000 for a single fortification, that’s 1/8 the cost of using Guided Rockets like Himars
That’s around 800,000 Shells and $ 40 Million for Severodonetsk
Much more cost effective isn’t it?
That’s the problem today.
Everyone thinks Russia uses crude shells and artillery because they don’t have guided rockets or counter battery
The actual reason is Ukraine is using WWI style warfare with fortifications and trenches
Russia has to go crude to remain cost effective and yet maintain an advance pace
It’s so old fashioned it’s downright brilliant
Old Warfare at lowest cost , maximum deaths of enemy and minimum loss of own men
Who cares if the glamour is absent right??
Attempted Coup on Ibrahim Traore Fails. Who is Behind this?
Originally Answered: What have you assumed was exaggerated until you experienced it yourself?
A freegan in Singapore told me he collected 1 ton of items every month when he goes dumpster diving. I couldn’t believe it. But when I saw him collect 30+ kg of stuff every day, I believed him.
30+ kg x 30 days = 900+ kg (almost 1 ton)
When I started doing the same, I believed him even more.
This is 20kg of clothes retrieved from the dumpsters in a single hour.
image 72
When he told me that he collects so much fruits that he felt like crying because he didn’t know what to do with them, I thought he was exaggerating.
My mother and the man she’d left my father for, had taken my brother and I out somewhere and had run out of petrol, stranded on the side of the road.
This was the 80’s and in South Africa, options were limited. They called my Dad who came to our aid with a 2 litre bottle filled with fuel.
Enough to get to the closest garage (gas station). He followed us there and paid in full. My soon to be stepfather was drunk and belligerent, swearing at instead of thanking him but Dad was the perfect gentleman as always.
I was barely 5 but will never forget that afternoon and always fill up on half a tank. My dad never, ever had a bad word to say about my Mom, (who referred to him as A**hole), always answering any questions about their divorce (she’d cheated with several men) by saying all that mattered was my brother and I.
When my mom was blacklisted after her third husband embezzled and stole everything from her, my Dad, who’d stopped working due to illness, scraped together enough cash to buy her a second hand car.
When I was an adult I asked him why he’d done all these things, his response was that the best revenge is to be the bigger person but I think he just did what he believed was best for his children and by default their mother.
He simply loved his kids. I miss him.
Southern Style Barbecued Chicken
2023 09 14 20 12
Ingredients
1 cup ketchup
2 to 3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dash Tabasco sauce
2 to 2 1/2 pound chicken pieces
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Combine ketchup, honey, lemon juice and Tabasco sauce. Brush on chicken during last 5 to 10 minutes of grilling time.
It appears obvious. You know, right? The United States is forcefully and intentionally forcing the world into two sides.
You can see this with what happened with Italy. Sure they love China and the BRI investment, but a unified surrogate EU must be beholding to the USA. So we are seeing things play out.
The USA is trying to secure Europe. But the major nations of Germany, and France are trying to shake off the American pre-defined role that they MUST act as they are for the USA while moving against it. So is Italy, trying to walk a thin line.
One face gives big fat wet kisses to the USA, and the other face, is one where Italy is in bed having gymnastic sex with China.
So…
Do not be confused by scant NGO / NED successes in Pakistan, Thailand, and Mongolia. Those are not going to amount to anything and are not going anywhere.
Asia is united with China.
Africa is united with China.
The Middle East is united with China.
South America is now in play. And it is quiet. Too quiet, but things are going on.
If anything is printed in the “news”, it will be long after the bodies are buried.
Meanwhile, the “news” media screeches and howls about war, and this and that. They are just noise makers designed to keep the rabble in line. Don’t listen to them. It’s all bullshit.
…
Meanwhile, I could use a nice apple pie ah la mode. With a nice hot fresh cup of coffee. That is what I could use right now. How about you all?
This is important because it could happen to anyone. How easy is it to control groups of people, and how far is a person willing to go to serve another?
I have worked alongside anti-cult groups and wrote an article exposing one of the biggest cults in the world. Before I got involved in researching new religious movements I had a very narrow-minded view of the kind of people that join cults, but the reality was much different.
When I first joined the group I was researching I was recruited by a doctor, and a respected one who was also an author. She was smart and attractive and when we first talked, she had a very warm personality, not what you would expect from a group that believed Aliens had come to Earth to give their leader the secrets to life.
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As my research continued, I began to meet similar intelligent people who where working high end jobs, and I even met a psychologist who was a member of this group.
Imagine volunteering to be buried alive. This was one of the initiations into the upper levels of the group. At this stage, the cult has broken down so much you are willing to climb into a hole to be buried alive.
So how do smart intelligent people get to that point? Well, it starts gradually.
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When you join these groups, you will be subjected to what you would call love bombing, and it comes in many forms, and it happens with every cult. This is the time you start making connections with other like-minded people in the group. If it’s a large cult, then these groups would be split up all around the world, and each of these groups would have an instigator.
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Some people do well in these cults, and they always have similar personality traits as their leader, such as narcissism. These are the people that will start breaking you down. One example of this would be Keith Raniere’s, NXIVM cult, and the actress Alison Mack who was his instigator and helped control the girls in the group.
Like I said, the abuse starts gradually, and the abuse comes in the form of it being beneficial to you. It could be minor things like what you eat. They like to control what you eat because the fewer nutrients and calories you get from food makes you lethargic, which makes you more malleable.
They start to control who you talk to, like family members and friends outside the group. This isolates you from people who will try to make you see reason, and when you are around only the people from the group, it becomes hard to question the red flags. They slowly strip you of who you are, and by the time the abuse is ramped up, you’re so desensitised to it you don’t even know you are being abused.
What does it feel like to be in this state? There’s always a mix of fear from the many veiled threats you will receive from the leader of the group, and this will come from the instigators as well. You will be in a constant state of brain fog, and everything that was once normal to you will be distorted by the group’s beliefs, and it will become unfamiliar and menacing.
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I had a friend who was a notorious conspiracy theorist, and I didn’t like how his views would try to distort my reality into being something to be fearful of. But again, my friend was a prime example of how this form of group thinking can drastically distort one’s reality.
So how does a cult turn deadly? Someone willing to volunteer to be buried alive is know different then volunteering to die or even kill someone. It’s all dependent on the leaders ideology and how far he’s willing to take that control he has over his members. If you are willing to endanger yourself to the point of death, then you will be willing to anything.
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Deadly cults like Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, Mansion and his family, Heavens gate, they all have one thing in common, a leader who was willing to cross that line. The people in these groups where all the same, brainwashed into believing death was the only option.
Tex-Mex Spaghetti
tex mex spaghetti
Ingredients
12 ounces spaghetti
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound chicken, cut into cubes, or 1 pound ground beef
1 large red onion, sliced and julienned
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 (15 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or beef broth*
1/4 cup Half-and-Half
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Fresh cilantro, for serving
* If using chicken, use chicken broth; if using ground beef, use beef broth.
Instructions
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chicken or ground beef and cook 6 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add onions and peppers and cook until tender, 4 minutes more.
Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano and stir until coated.
Add tomatoes and stir, then add chicken or beef broth and Half-and-Half.
Add cooked spaghetti to skillet and toss until coated, then add cheeses and stir until creamy.
The United States is famous (or infamous) for the size of its restaurant portions. Honestly, if you didn’t grow up in the United States (or Canada, which isn’t quite as bad, but knows about it) you will be astounded by how much food you get for a reasonable amount of money.
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Travel YouTuber Mark Wolter talks about his experience in Chicago with their famous “deep dish” pizza. He’s from the midwest and travels a lot, and when he goes to Chicago’s most famous pizza places he orders a “personal” because even though he’s a fairly large fellow, he knows he can’t eat a small. On one of his trips, a European came in alone and ordered a “small”. Wolter tried to warn him, but the fellow insisted he had eaten small pizzas by himself lots of times and never had a problem. He couldn’t finish half of it.
Food is extremely cheap in the United States.
I completely disagree. But this is an American, who never left the USA and only knows what he knows. -MM
… because the production of much of it is either heavily subsidized or relies on agricultural produce that is heavily subsidized (like beef and alcohol, both the result cheap corn). The United States has 157 million hectares of arable land (only India comes close, and it has triple the population) and grows far more food than it can reasonably consume. There used to be a large export market for American food, but although it still exports, that export market is constrained. For example, since 1940, the U.S. population has doubled, but corn production has quintupled, and the vast majority of corn grown isn’t for human consumption, even when you take into account American favourites like corn flour, corn oil, and corn grits.
The bottom line is that food in the United States is cheap, plentiful and largely delicious. If you run a restaurant, food costs are the least of your worries – labour is a much more important expense, as is the cost of renting or buying land.
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These are actual soft drink sizes sold in actual food retail establishments in the United States. Yes, at some 7-Eleven locations, they will sell you a 128 oz fountain drink. That’s 3.7 liters of soda.
The cost of the smaller 40 oz “Super Big Gulp”? Generally around $1.59 plus 25 cents for the cup. Once you buy the cup, refills are only $0.99.
Mike Pompeo doesn’t really hate China. He’ll tell you he only hates the government but not the people. He’ll even tell you how much he loves Chinese food. In 2019 a whistle blower has accused him of using his taxpayer-funded security detail to pick up Chinese food, walk his dog, and chauffeur his college age son to and from Union Station in Washington DC. How can he hate a country he hardly knows?
Interestingly, China wasn’t on Pompeo’s mind while he was the Republican congressman from Kansas’s 4th District. However all that changed when he became Donald Trump’s CIA Director and later Secretary of State. He had an advisor who hated China—Miles Maochun Yu. Now all he could think about is China.
Yu was born in China and had a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and taught at the US Naval Academy as a professor of modern China and military history. He was also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institute, a conservative think tank.
Whatever scraps of knowledge Mike Pompeo have of China come from his chief China policy planner and strategist, Miles Yu. Now he knows how to stick it to the Chinese government in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang.
The real question is why does Miles Yu hate China so much? We know that he has listened to Voice of America when growing up and supported the Tienanmen Square protests. In his social media account, he has considered sanctions against China as “a badge of honor.” He is also in favor of NATO expansion in Asia to contain China.
Phyllo Potato Knish
These unique appetizers with savory potato and onion filled phyllo pastries come with a small taste of comfort in every bite.
phyllo potato knish
Prep: 30 min | Cook: 30 min | Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
18 (9 x 14 inch) sheets Athens Phyllo®Dough, thawed
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1 teaspoon + 1 pinch salt (for boiling potatoes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg + 2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Thaw one roll of Phyllo, following thawing instructions on package. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place potatoes in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, and then simmer until tender. Drain, mash and set aside to cool.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add onions, cooking covered over medium heat until they become soft and begin to brown. Remove from heat to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes, salt, pepper, onions and any remaining oil. Mix in one egg.
Unroll and cover Phyllo sheets with plastic wrap, then a slightly damp towel to prevent drying out.
Lay one sheet of Phyllo dough on a work surface and brush lightly with butter. Place a second sheet on top and brush with butter. Place one more sheet on top but do not butter. Cut layered Phyllo in half widthwise, so you have two stacks, each 9 x 7 inches. Place 1/3 cup filling on each stack toward the bottom (an ice cream scoop is perfect for this). Fold long sides over the filling and then roll from the bottom up, making two packets. Repeat the process with remaining 15 sheets of dough, yielding a total of 12 knishes. Place knishes seam side down on a baking sheet.
Whisk together egg yolks and milk. Brush the egg yolk mixture over the top and sides of each knish.
It has its most famous manifestation as the Hainan chicken rice. However it is also a dish by itself.
At its best, it uses capon chicken ie castrated cocks.
The French has their version in Bresse chicken.
In fact some say only the Chinese and French appreciate the nuances of poached chicken.
The Chinese go further with condiments of shredded ginger, spring onion soy sauce. Tomato sauce or chili sauce should not go as condiments for this iconic dish, although some use them, because they overwhelm the flavour.
Biden’s Childish Move Brings Shame US Technology Policy On China Shattered!
The US has never had any experience in dealing with real smart enemies.
The experience it had during the Cold War with the USSR didn’t have technological and economic factors in it.
The war against China is of a different nature.
Had the US had smart politicians at all, the war shouldn’t have happened. It started with the cocky President Trump, the real estate man who had never had any political experience before, and then passed on to Biden with his Neocon cabinet, together with the support of equally prejudiced Congress.
The most popular answer says that Neil Armstrong was a terrible actor, and that’s why the moon landings had to be done for real. Well, only the first part of that is true. Neil Armstrong was indeed a terrible actor. We know this from the Apollo 11 press conference:
EVs have far fewer parts. There is much less mechanical complexity. The modern EV is a flat, skateboard-like platform, with some bodywork bolted on the top.
Assembly requires far fewer man hours what assembly there is can be automated more easily.
So to build an EV costs a manufacturer far less – especially if they re-tool their production line for EV-first assembly. No fuel tanks, pumps, hoses, transmission tunnels, gearboxes, spark plugs, carburettors, manifolds, exhausts, catalytic converters, clutches – all gone.
The only issue remaining is the traction battery. This component costs a lot to buy, and the supply of batteries is less than the demand. So we see EVs with slightly higher prices than their ICE equivalents.
If battery pack manufacture and supply was improved, the cost of building an EV would be significantly less than the equivalent ICE vehicle. Whether car makers will pass that on to customers, is another question.
UNSOLVED: The Creepiest TV Hack in History
THE MAX HEADROOM INCIDENT. November 22nd, 1987 was a pretty normal evening for television viewers in Chicago. That night, like every night, Dan Roan was covering sports on WGN-TV, Channel 9. Then suddenly, the signal was disrupted and screens across the city cut to black. Engineers at WGN-TV thought their transmitters were failing.
They weren’t.
A few seconds later, something crazy happened. WGN’s broadcast signal had been hijacked in what is now known as “The Max Headroom Incident”. WGN-TV was able to act quickly and get their signal back. But, Two hours later, it would happen again to another TV station and there was nothing they could do to stop it. What happens next remains one of the most bizarre unsolved crimes in television history.
I was born in Singapore, and someone in my family can speak Chinese, so I have been able to speak Chinese since I was a child.
But it doesn’t mean I understand China. Actually, I knew nothing about China until I was 25 years old.
My knowledge of China comes from Hollywood movies, BBC news, Mediacorp, and BBS. It was a place ruled by an evil regime, and people wore gray and blue clothes, rode bicycles, and wore the same hats . They ate dog meat every day, and baby girls were killed. Anyone who says a bad word about the leader is gone the next day.The air is full of smog, food and powdered milk are poisonous. All in all, a horrible place.
Until ten years ago, when social media became popular, I saw many real pictures and videos of China. While there is still a lot of bad content, there is a lot of good content coming out. However, I still think it’s a terrible place.
5 years ago, I went to China for the first time because of my work. I went to Shanghai, Chongqing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and even a village in Guizhou Province.
Within an hour of leaving the plane, I was shocked by this country, and for the next hundred hours, I was shocked by this country every hour. I found that all my images of China in the past were wrong. This is a super-modern country, people are very orderly, and the degree of modernization of buildings, roads, and cities surpasses all countries I have been to, including European and American countries.
There are no gray-blue clothes, and no one eats dog meat. The girls are very fashionable and beautiful. Their cops don’t even have guns and batons, and they rarely show up. We can drink in the street and take a walk late at night. In the pub people talk about elections in America, stocks in London. The milk tea is very delicious, and all kinds of food are very delicious.
Chinese people don’t use cash or credit cards, they use QR codes for all payments. Made me look like a redneck on my first shopping trip.
In the following years, I traveled to China twice. 2020 break. I went there again this year, and China has undergone tremendous changes again. On the streets of Shenzhen, at least half of the cars have been replaced with green license plates. That’s the massive EV revolution.
I don’t know how many words to describe the change in my view of China. Perhaps, only when people go to China can they experience all this.
Niger France Embassy Siege Moving To Forceful Removal, Macron To Deploy Troops To Protect Citizens
“I as a Tennesseean I stand with any country who seeks to throw off the yolk of neo-colonialism and freely rule themselves”
My flight arrived just after 5 and I got to the city centre around 7.
I went to the hotel and told them about it. They said they’d be happy to hold my luggage, and if I’d like a cup of coffee they could let me know soon if an earlier checkin might be possible.
It was, but still only at 12 noon. Would I like to visit the breakfast buffet? I’d need to pay, though. Yes, no problem, I’d love to.
Would I like to use and hang out by the pool? Yes! Especially as I could shower there as well.
At around 10, as my luggage was safe and sound I did some exploring around the neighborhood, found a supermarket, got a few bits and pieces (water, snacks, a little flask of booze, some soap nicer than hotel soap, toothpaste). I did some early gift and souvenir shopping, got t-shirts and stuff to take back home, had more coffee, and kinda bumbled around in an air-conditioned mall.
Found a food court and had an early lunch. My energy was fading.
Got back to the hotel around 11:30 expecting to wait, maybe with more coffee, and was greeted with “actually a room is ready for you. We just said 12 because we have to allow enough time for the cleaners. Would you like to go up now?” Oh yeah, I would.
Had a deliciously cool shower and flopped onto the bed for a huge nap, then woke up and headed out again. It worked out!
Why Does Biden Look SO DIFFERENT? TWO Bidens? A MASK!? We Finally Have The ANSWER
Beneath all that is actually Scrappy Doo trying to be a world leader.
I thought the U.S. is trying to de risk from China? Don’t sell them planes! They may copy it!
Oh they already have their own jets! Never mind keep your Boeing and sell it to your slaves and cronies. They will buy but give them 50 years to recover from the recession first!
You see China learns from the U.S. fast. You think only you needs de-risking? China needs to de risks from you too! Why should China buys from Boeing, who the. Makes money and fund its weapons subsidiaries to armed the U.S. to threaten and attack China? These are real tangible risk for China!
Remember you stop buying from DGI and Huawei because of de-risking or decoupling? Well China is de-risking and decoupling too! We learn from you!
Don’t do on to others what you don’t want them to do on to you! Learn this and leant it quick. China just stop 500 billion dollar jet planes purchase from Boeing since you de-risk we de-risk too!
P.S. apologies to the thousands of U.S. worker who lose their jobs!
Streets of Philadelphia, Kensington Ave Documentary, July 14 – 16, 2023
In Philadelphia as a whole, violent crime and drug abuse are major issues. The city has a higher rate of violent crime than the national average and other similarly sized metropolitan areas. The drug overdose rate in Philadelphia is also concerning. Between 2013 and 2015, the number of drug overdose deaths in the city increased by 50%, with more than twice as many deaths from overdoses as homicides. 2 Kensington’s high crime rate and drug abuse contribute significantly to Philadelphia’s problems.
Because of the high number of drugs in the neighborhood, Kensington has the third-highest drug crime rate by neighborhood in Philadelphia, at 3.57. The opioid epidemic has played a significant role in this problem, as it has in much of the rest of the country. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed in the United States over the last two decades, and Philadelphia is no exception. In addition to having a high rate of drug overdose deaths, 80% of Philadelphia’s overdose deaths involved opioids, and Kensington is a significant contributor to this figure. This Philadelphia neighborhood is said to have the largest open-air heroin market on the East Coast, with many neighbors migrating to the area for heroin and other opioids. With such a high concentration of drugs in Kensington, many state and local officials have focused on the neighborhood in an attempt to address Philadelphia’s problem.
I was at a mall today, paying bills, having lunch and planning on a visit to the gym (pat on the back: I did all three!).
As I walked to the bank, I noticed an older man sitting by a water feature, dipping his fingers in the pool. This was unusual as people here in Thailand rarely do this in a mall.
When I passed him again 10 minutes later, he was standing in the middle of the walkway, searching to his left, then to his right, over and over, looking distressed.
I was about to approach him when a group of (uniformed and backpacked) high school students got to him first. They spoke to him respectfully and quickly realized that he didn’t know where he was or who should be with him.
One young man sprinted off to Information while the others tried to distract the old man to calm him.
A few moments later, a female security guard approached the group, having been notified by Information. She told the kids they could leave, but they refused, feeling they should stay and keep ‘grandfather’ happy.
An announcement was made, and within a few minutes, a very worried, middle-aged couple rushed over to the old man, and although they fussed at him for disappearing, they were clearly relieved.
The high school students were thanked, and then they respectfully took their leave.
The old man watched them go, turned to the couple and asked, “Where are the grandkids going?”
The couple smiled at him and gently said, “It’s ok, Father. They are going to school.”
The old man replied, “They are such good kids. You raised them well.”
China DESTROYS the Neocons as Biden’s WAR Fails w/ Brian Berletic
“I joined Brian Berletic of The New Atlas on his channel to discuss my trip to China and what I learned about this successful defeat of US and European war plans against it.”
This is really good. Listen to what they have to say. Learn something.
Typically Consumer Products dont leave a country unless it’s market has reduced so much that there is no point in continuing
Today China has at least 100 Local Brands of Shoes ranging from the 21.99 Yuan a pair Danis available in every Hypermarket to the 2199 Yuan a pair LiNing in select showrooms in Malla
They have taken over sponsorship of events and Athletes begin buying them over brands like Nike or Puma
PUMA or Nike have so much unsold inventory in China that they typically offer mass discounts during Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year
Nike was very arrogant when it has a two third market share in China
It priced itself in Dollars
It sold shoes without it’s “Air”
Now Nike and Puma simply can’t sustain operations because CHINA ISN’T BUYING THEM ANYMORE
Domestic Brands in China have surged with Nikes market falling from 53% in the Middle of 2014 to 8% by 2021 while Domestic Shoe Brands rose from 6% in 2014 to 61% in 2021
Plus Chinese Brands Anta and Nining rose their Asian market share from 0.8% in 2015 to 8.6% in 2023
And if Nike gets such a mauling, imagine Puma!!!!
Plus the Nike production in Vietnam is 66,000 Pairs a day Or 2 Million a month
In China?
It was 14.8 Million Pairs a month in 2016
Almost 7.5 times higher
As for Global Exports – Prices to make Nike Shoes have surged in China due to higher labor costs
The Chinese say
You pay us 110 Yuan a pair for our Factory make, pay our wholesellers 240 Yuan a pair and you sell retail for 1300 Yuan a pair
Sorry, either you pay us more or we start making Anta or Lining which pays us more and shares price more evenly
Vietnamese don’t
They need these numbers
Same with Samsung
Once Samsung dominated Consumer Electronics in China with a 31% market share and Mobiles with a nearly 18% market share
Today?
Samsung Electronics have a 3.2% market share on the mainland and their phones have near zero demand
It’s market forces purely that many brands are pulling out of China
China has domestic equivalents now at half the price and same quality
Why would China pay twice the money just for a brand?
Chinese are some of the most practical people on earth when it comes to money
Only a few foreign brands like the Iphone or Macbook hold a fascination for the Chinese even today
INTERVIEW: The odds are on a nuclear war
Retired US colonel Tony Schaffer says there’s an 80% chance of war between America and Russia in the next year. No one in power understands the Russian perspective.
China is taking a very close look at investment money now, and in many areas, US investment money is not attractive because:
US legal jurisdiction claims to be above the law of other nations, giving the US the ability to sanction other nations for US IP products and services within the nation’s own borders;
US investment money favors New York as the world’s capital market, and the role of the US dollar as the global reserve currency. The Chinese government wants to cut back on the US dollar as the only global reserve currency, which is why it is active in BRICS.
The US keeps its global economic dominance through the Big 4 accounting firms which act as gatekeepers to US equity markets for raising capital. Same goes for US investment banks.
For these reasons, China is looking at diversification, especially in the area of manufacturing.
In order to find an alternative to US investment money, China has built very strong trade and investment relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both of which were recently admitted to BRICS. Both are just starting to invest in Chinese projects in China and in their countries, and the new BRICS entrants of Egypt and Ethiopia.
This Middle East capital will flow into China and come without many of the strings which come with US investment capital.
This is part of China’s decoupling policy with the US.
24 Times Paulie Walnuts Had The Best Lines On “The Sopranos”
This question strikes close to home, thanks for asking Luther.
I was in the 160th in the early days, May 83 – Mar 88. I ended my 20 year career and retired out of the 160th. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the ultimate, there is no unit like it and after being in the 160th there’s no other place to go. *Everybody* in the Night Stalkers is a volunteer; officer, warrant officer, NCO, enlisted. You are so highly trained and the mission so specialized that once in the unit the Army will leave you there until you ask to be reassigned or the unit leadership asks you to leave.
There were several training accidents in my day resulting in a lot of casualties. So many that at one time the big Army considered shutting the unit down. Understand that we were charting new territory, what we did in establishing new procedures and ways to operate had never been done before. Things improved tremendously, the unit got better, provided the SOF community with a capability it never had before. The big Army realized this, we persevered and now the 160th SOAR(A) is the best unit of its kind in the entire world. Hell, it’s the *only* unit of its kind. It was born out of the disaster that was Desert One, the Iran hostage rescue attempt in April, 1980.
Our “customers” are the best of the best and the Night Stalkers will not let them down. They are why the unit exists. To them you can be one of two things, an asset or a liability. Nobody wants to be the latter. No matter the weather, no matter the terrain, no matter the opposing force capability, the Night Stalkers will get them to the objective. And most importantly the Night Stalkers will get them out. Time on target plus or minus 30 seconds.
To completely define a Night Stalker you need to also consider the spouses, the families. They are just as dedicated and it can be said that their job is the hardest.
Yes, you could consider it dangerous, probably more so than any other aviation unit. The training is intense, you train like you fight. It gets the call and is exposed to hostile action more often than any other aviation unit so the risk is always there. Its aircraft are not “off the shelf”. They are tailored and modified for the unique mission and is the best you can get. Night Stalkers and its customers are involved in some operations that you don’t hear about and never will. Everybody is a volunteer. The unit personnel are the best of the best and you don’t become a Night Stalker until you successfully complete assessment and initial training. Certain personalities are drawn to this kind of unit. Those that will willingly risk their lives for their buddies, for their Country. To them, the risk is worth it. To the rest of the country, be proud and comforted knowing that those types of individuals exist.
And ya know what? If you were to pass a Night Stalker on the street you’d never know it. They don’t brag, they don’t boast, they don’t thump their chests. Ah, they might in jest amongst themselves or their customers, but never in public. They look and act like your typical guy or gal that lives next door to ya.
“To those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.”
Night Stalkers Don’t Quit!!
Roasted Blue Cheese Potato Salad
Get rid of that boring old potato salad recipe and change things up in the flavor department with this delicious Roasted Blue Cheese Potato Salad.
roasted blue cheese potato salad
Prep: 10 min | Bake: 25 min | Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients
Pam® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 yellow onion, sliced in 1/4 inch thick rounds
3 pounds baby red potatoes
3/4 cup diced celery
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a baking sheet generously with cooking spray.
Evenly spread out the onion slices and potatoes onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and tender.
Chill immediately.
Next, dice the chilled onions and place them into a large bowl along with the chilled potatoes, celery, mayonnaise, blue cheese, basil, salt and pepper and mix until combined.
Serve chilled.
USA mad!
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The USA is now into sanction inception! Say what? The USA will sanction already sanctioned companies for not respecting sanctions…
Again wut? Chinese companies that do business with another Chinese company, under US sanctions will get sanctions.
😀 😀 😀 😀
It’s like they think they can pass laws for other countries!
This Is WORSE Than China’s Treasury Dump!
China’s treasury dump has hit a 14-year low with $11 billion more bonds sold, but this is nothing compared to the tsunami of debt coming from America itself. Yellen is going to flood the economy with nearly $2 trillion dollars worth of treasuries which is putting enormous pressure on bond yields. While this might push the economy towards a recession, the real risk is accelerating towards a fiscal cliff which is unthinkable!
Huawei Technologies Co. roared back into the spotlight this past week after a Bloomberg report showed their new phone is powered by a 7nm processor, which is just a few years behind Apple’s iPhone. And who’s getting the jitters over this new development? Those very same Capitol Hill lawmakers, who, for the last several years, sanctioned not only Huawei but also China’s chip sector to stymie homegrown tech progress. That move didn’t pan out as planned.
Now, the US Commerce Department is panicking while it rushes to understand how sanctioned Huawei was able to design and manufacture a 7-nanometer processor for its new Mate 60 Pro smartphone. The whole purpose of blacklisting the company and many other Chinese tech firms was to restrict access to US technology to make these sorts of devices.
Mate 60 Pro went on sale while the US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was on a trip to China last week. This is a sign that China is ‘thumbing their noses’ at the US for the wave of sanctions that have failed so far.
“We are working to obtain more information on the character and composition of the purported 7nm chip,” a Commerce spokesperson said in a statement.
According to Bloomberg. the Commerce Department will begin its own investigation into Huawei’s new phone. The Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement will likely lead the study to determine if China’s top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.’s Kirin 9000s chip, was made using US technology.
The Mate 60 Pro news is a sign that suggests President Xi Jinping’s efforts to develop technological self-sufficiency are working. The Bloomberg report on the phone showed it has “an unusually high proportion of Chinese parts … a sign of the country’s progress in developing domestic tech capabilities.”
Meanwhile, China has banned iPhone use by central government employees and has expanded it to to local governments and state-owned companies. Such curbs threaten multinationals like Apple, which derives 25% of its sales from China.
Tom Nunlist, an associate director from the Beijing-based consulting firm Trivium, said, “Chip tech export controls may have been Washington’s one and only ace in the tech war.”
Tex-Mex Street Tacos
Flavorfully-seasoned flank steak cooked to perfection, and then wrapped in soft warm corn tortillas.
tex mex street tacos
Yield: 4 servings; 2 cups Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
Tacos
2 pounds flank steak
1/4 cup silver tequila
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Cotija cheese, crumbled
16 corn tortillas
Toppings
Minced white onion
Chopped cilantro
Optional Toppings
Cojita cheese
Lime wedges
Pico de gallo
Pico de Gallo
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Tacos
Place tequila, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, jalapeño pepper, shallot and cilantro in a freezer proof zip-top bag. Add flank steak. Seal and marinate 6 hours to overnight in the refrigerator.
Heat gas or charcoal grill to 400 degrees F.
Remove meat and discard marinade. Place steaks on oiled grates and grill for approximately 4-6 minutes on one side or until moisture startes to pool on the top and beef releases easily from the grates with tongs. Flip once, grilling on the other side for 4 to 6 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F with meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the steak. Transfer steaks to a platter and let rest for 3 minutes before slicing against the grain, into 1/4-inch thick strips.
Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side in a dry skillet or on the grill.
Stack 2 tortillas, add beef, toppings and lime juice if desired.
Pico de Gallo
Pico de Gallo: Combine Pico de Gallo ingredients in mixing bowl and toss thoroughly.
Let’s continue on some Geo-political stuff. We are in the middle of a global “turning” which is centered in the United States.
I am optimistic, though the entire world is spinning, and spinning.
When things seem to be really hard, and my emotions are crushed, I calm myself by remembering two things…
[1] A very bleak and bad time that I went though.
Followed by…
[2] A wonderful and happy time that I experienced right after it.
The world operates in cycles, so please do not get too caught up in all the many, many things going on. It’s like scenery out the window. Just watch it go by.
And spend some time relaxing with friends and family.
…
One thing that I like to do when I am stressed is watch cat videos.
Another thing is go on Pinterest and look at “food porn”.
FUN FACT: when I had pictures of food on my desktop, I was a much more relaxed person. However, for some reason, I seemed to start taking on a lot of weight. Who’d figure, eh?
Moving on and getting a much better job where my passion, skills, ethics, knowledge, fortitude, and integrity are appreciated.
My first job as a chief of police sent me to NE Colorado to a police department that had been neglected by their previous chief for nearly two years. Chief’s wife got a job in WY and Chief couldn’t stand being apart from her. He decided to live in his RV in one of the city parks for three nights a week. He would come to town…work 40ish hours as quickly as he could in three or maybe four days…and leave to go back to WY to be with wifey. Big issue is that he’d rarely answer phone calls from his employees and they didn’t get the help they needed. EVENTUALLY, the city council got tired of hearing the noise and let the chief go.
I was lucky enough to be hired. I was crazy enough to want to go into the chief business and thus, took a job at the first place crazy/wise enough to hire me. I went from nearly $90k a year to $55k a year for the opportunity to start my administrative career.
Longest story told short, there had always been conversations about “what if council tells you to fire someone?” It wasn’t hypothetical… it had happened before. My answer was, “If there’s a reason to fire someone, they will be given due process and they will be fired at the end of due process.”
One of my cops’ wife started a stir. Sadly my cop didn’t do the right thing by his career. This resulted in an internal affairs case where the writing of “employment ends” was in large letters on the wall.
Council demanded I fire “right now.”
I couldn’t. Due process was required.
Tried to explain the cost of wrongful termination suits etc. They didn’t get it.
I was agenda item #2 at the very next city council meeting. After hours of executive session, the board came out and voted 5–1–1 to terminate my employment.
They had the interim chief fire the guy the very next morning.
That guy did not sue the department…I’ll never know why. Sadly, I would have been a plaintiff witness instead of a defense witness and would have had to tell the truth about the lack of due process. I can see a check with four or five zeros before the decimal point.
The interim chief lasted a while. But guess what. He decided that tending to his cattle and going to his kids’ sporting events were MORE important that serving his community and guiding/coaching his police officers. He was absent while still in town for 18months…not showing up on urgent calls, not taking calls from his police officers when they needed guidance, not… not…. Shades of the guy I replaced. It took council 18months of this before they separated his employment.
Meanwhile, 4 months after being let go by that council, I was hired to serve in NW Colorado.
Here, my focus on community service, equal protection under the law, fair play, integrity, delivering more than necessary in MOST aspects of my job… being involved in the community and actually caring for people is appreciated.
I make more here than I could have EVER made there and I come home every day knowing that my work was appreciated and understood.
That, my friends, is SWEET revenge.
And, it pays every day!
Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond Reaction | She’s Crying From The Pain
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Blue Cheese Stuffed Steaks
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 beef tenderloin steaks
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
4 teaspoons crumbled blue cheese
4 teaspoons plain low fat yogurt
2 teaspoons minced onion
Dash of white pepper
1 large clove garlic, halved
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Instructions
Combine cream cheese, blue cheese, yogurt, onion and pepper; reserve.
Rub each side of beef steaks with garlic.
Place steaks on rack in broiler pan so surface of meat is 2 to 3 inches from heat. Broil for 5 to 6 minutes.
Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Turn and broil for 3 to 4 minutes.
Season with remaining salt.
Top each steak with an equal amount of reserved cheese mixture.
Because it is based on the false assumption that rich people would automatically create more and better jobs if they are just given more money. If there is no profit to be made with creating more or better jobs and you give the rich more money, they will simply pocket it. That’s what has been happening for half a century now.
During one of the school years, a classmate became pregnant. The weekend before the final exam, she “popped.”
(The way that I got a text saying Alison* popped to convey that she conveyed her child was in itself a shock however that is unimportant)
Clearly, she was in the emergency clinic and couldn’t go to the tests. She decided, however, that it would be prudent to leave her newborn in the hospital for a few hours so that she could attend the university and take the wheelchair test.
Our professor was clearly concerned by her plans. As a result, he called her, wished her well, talked to her, and persuaded her that she would be able to take the exam “anytime” she was ready. Her progress throughout the semester would not be impeded by her absence.
I must admit that this surprised me. For a student, that much freedom, respect, and flexibility? This was so foreign to me.
Because the principal would not allow it any other way, my friend in India, who lost her father on the morning of the midterm exam, was compelled to arrive at school covered in tears.
Concentrating on in the US was certainly a much needed refresher. A beneficial encounter!
Bloodthirsty like many others, he proposed something that no one had dared to imagine: dismantle the pyramids of Cheops, Kefren, Menkaure.
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It was 1830 and he came up with this brilliant idea to reuse that already pre-cut material in other construction operations. Luckily, someone in his right mind opposed this massacre.
The chief engineer, in an attempt to save the pyramids, submitted false cost reports , managing to prevent their demolition.
BLACK LIBERAL REACTS TO Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond & Virginia REACTION
Assuming I didn’t have the knowledge to run a business, or any high-paying job skills, I’d do the following:
Quit whatever part time meant-for-a-high-school-student job you’re doing where you’re only making $104 a month and get a real full-time job earning at least minimum wage.
Put at least $1,000 per month aside from your income to invest in growth stock mutual funds earning ~8% annually, and only live on the rest. If that means getting a roommate or three, so be it.
In ten years, the value of the invested dollars will be be worth about $183k.
Buy a house for cash in a low tax state. If I liked my roomies, maybe I invite them to start paying me rent instead, maybe not. Either way, no more house payment.
Continue to invest, adding the portion that used to go toward the house payment. By this point, you should have advanced enough in your career path to be able to put more than $1,000 per month aside, and if you’ve kept your expenses low, you should be able to invest $2,000 per month.
That $2,000 per month invested over the next 20 years will be $1.18 million.
If you started with step one at age 20, you’d have a paid off house by 31 and be a millionaire by 50, never doing anything but working at your regular job. At that point, you could retire early and start taking the annual return on your investments as a $7,333 monthly payout for the rest of your life – which is plenty when you have no house payment. And when you die, your $1.1 million will still be there for your kids.
Pirates are a serious threat to the safety of cruise ships and their passengers, especially in some regions of the world, such as the Gulf of Aden, the Somali Coast, and the Strait of Malacca. Pirates often use small boats, guns, rockets, and grenades to attack and hijack ships, either to rob them or to hold them for ransom. According to the International Maritime Bureau, there were 195 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships worldwide in 2020, with 135 crew members kidnapped.
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Cruise ships are aware of this danger and have taken various steps to prevent and deter pirate attacks. One of these steps is to carry guns on board, but not in the way you might think. Cruise ships do not have their own guns or armed guards, as this would violate the laws and regulations of many countries they visit. Instead, they hire private security contractors who are licensed and trained to use firearms and other weapons.
These contractors are usually former military or law enforcement personnel who have experience in dealing with pirates and other threats. They board the cruise ship before it enters a high-risk area and disembark after it leaves. They also follow strict rules of engagement and only use lethal force as a last resort.
Another step that cruise ships take is to install non-lethal anti-piracy devices, such as water cannons, electric fences, razor wires, nets, slippery foam, foul-smelling liquid, long-range acoustic devices, and anti-piracy lasers. These devices are designed to create physical or psychological barriers that make it difficult or unpleasant for pirates to approach or board the ship. They can also alert the crew and passengers of an impending attack and give them time to take evasive actions or seek shelter.
A third step that cruise ships take is to cooperate with international naval forces that patrol the pirate-infested waters. These forces include NATO, the European Union, the United States, China, India, Japan, Russia, and others. They provide escort services, surveillance, intelligence, communication, and assistance to cruise ships and other vessels that are under threat or attack by pirates. They also conduct anti-piracy operations to capture or deter pirates and disrupt their networks. Cruise ships can contact these forces through radio or satellite phones if they need help or guidance.
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These are some of the main ways that cruise ships carry guns and other weapons to fight pirates. It is important to note that pirate attacks on cruise ships are very rare and unlikely to happen. Cruise lines have prepared for many challenging scenarios and have implemented various safety protocols and procedures to ensure the security and well-being of their guests and crew members. They also monitor the situation closely and avoid sailing through known hotspots or during peak seasons of pirate activity. You can rest assured that your cruise vacation will be safe and enjoyable.
WARRP Reacts to Oliver Anthony…Rich Men North of Richmond
Yes. I have. We went on a school trip to Barcelona for the week when I was around 15 years old. Whilst in an art gallery there, I had had my purse stolen from out of my handbag and didn’t even notice until I needed to go in my bag in the bathroom. Luckily, I had heeded my fathers warning and only taken out my daily amount of money with me. I reported it to the security staff and the found my actual purse, empty and dumped in one of the gallery rooms.
Whilst walking back to our hostel with my friends, we witnessed some smaller, older women in headscarves and children bustling into people and then the child would reach into a pocket/bag and take what they wanted. We couldn’t stop them but managed to catch up to the people to inform them they had been robbed.
We didn’t want it to happen to us again, so, in our wonderfully weird teenage brains, we hatched a plan! We stole (I know!!) one of the glow in the dark emergency exit signs from the wall in the hostel and put it in a handbag! We put all our purses underneath (at the bottom of the bag) and the sign was on the top to form a barrier. And it worked! Whilst out a few days later, we were in a huge crowd of people when my friend Emma, who was carrying the bag at the time, heard someone make a noise behind her. There was a 10/12 year old child looking a bit flummoxed. She couldn’t get her hand in to steal our things. This made the older women of the group really mad and they started shouting at us (in Spanish so I have no idea what she was saying – probably something about how unfair it was that they couldn’t rob us!). We laughed and walked off, leaving them all arguing amongst themselves.
Last month I was medevac’d from my local hospital on the Big Island of Hawaii to Straub Hospital Critical Care Burn Unit, which is on the island of Oahu.
This is the actual bill I received in an email before I was discharged.
There are two flights listed. Why, you ask? Because five minutes into the first flight, the pilot told the two nurses caring for me, that there was something wrong with the plane, “it didn’t feel right.”
I am being charged $38k for a flight on a plane that wasn’t in top shape?
Bear in mind that in December 2022 a medical flight crashed into the Pacific Ocean on its way from Maui to Oahu killing all four souls on board.
When the crew told me that we needed to return to the airport, I immediately asked for a life vest.
As the plane began to turn back to the airport, it started making loud groaning noises and metal scraping against metal sounds.
Thankfully we made it safely to Hilo International Airport. I am grateful for the pilot’s skill in landing and for noticing whatever it was that was wrong with the plane.
Ohhh… that life jacket I asked for? I never got it. Because the crew could not find any. I’m not saying there were none aboard the plane. I’m saying they could not find a single life vest.
I have only been home a few days now, but you can be assured I am contesting the cost of my first flight. Why should I have to pay for a plane that wasn’t sound enough in the first place.
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Here’s a picture of the first plane and pilot before I was boarded on to it.
There was a two hour wait on the tarmac for a new plane and crew to take me. Here’s a snap of how crowded and dark the inside of a life flight plane is. However that’s no excuse for not being able to locate a life jacket.
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PIC ANGRY RANT To Oliver Anthony | Rich Men North Of Richmond | NPR #354
Whenever you see an Old English word or name with an AE ligature in it, the ae is pronounced like the A in cat.
Whenever you see some fake archaic sign like “Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe”, the first word is actually “the.” Old English had a letter called “thorn” [þ] which typesetters sometimes represented with a Y, often with a crossed stem. At the time, every literate person knew to pronounce that Y as TH. But as TH took the place of the thorn character, people forgot that the sound used to be represented by a modified Y, and started pronouncing it like a regular letter Y.
Did you know that the Appalachian Mountains are way older than the Atlantic Ocean?
If she does not find these facts remotely interesting, then I know she’s not going to enjoy my company or conversation for long.
It is. If the prison’s administration didn’t know their relation when they assigned them to be roomies, they should’ve known later when the brother claimed he had informed them and requested for a different cell.
2021. Washington State Prison. Shayne Goldsby, then 26, was serving time in prison.
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His cellmate, 70-year-old Robert Munger, was sentenced to 43 years in prison for child molestation and possession of child pornography. Odds are, this garbage would’ve died in prison anyway.
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I can’t find out how long Goldsby’s term was, but his crime was stabbing someone, stealing a police car and injuring a state trooper.
He killed Munger. One of Munger’s victim’s was apparently his sister.
Goldsby said he had no intention of killing Munger, and would rather see him rot in prison. He also said Munger tortured him with details of how he molested his sister, who was a minor.
That’s why he snapped.
He hit Munger in the face multiple times, stomped on his face, and kicked him. This happened in a communal area of the prison, year 2020.
Munger died three days after the attack.
A year later, Goldsby was sentenced to almost 25 years after pleading guilty to murder.
If Goldsby’s claims are true, why did the old fart keep provoking him?
Perhaps he was sadistic and got off on emotionally torturing him, or perhaps he didn’t want to live the rest of his miserable life in jail and wanted a quick exit, who knows?
Why did the prison ignore his request?
I don’t understand this. They claimed they didn’t know of Goldsby’s connection to Munger’s victim as Goldsby and his sister used different last names.
I believe they didn’t mention anything on his request to be transferred. Maybe it was genuine incompetency.
Goldsby claimed it was done intentionally; corrections officers had set him up for injuring a police officer and making the police look stupid during his wild car chase.
He said, “This stuff doesn’t happen. You’re talking the same institution, the same unit, the same pod in the same cell as this dude. That’s like hitting the jackpot in the casino seven times.”
He gave Munger what he deserved, but was it worth it?
An exploding U.S. debt bomb affects disastrously all the countries of the world.
Take the 2008 global financial meltdown. What caused this were predatory mortgage lending, unregulated markets, a massive amount of consumer debt, the creation of “toxic” assets and the collapse of home prices. All exclusively by the U.S. And the rest of the world suffered for these U.S. excesses.
This 2i008 meltdown was the foretaste of a 1,000-year storm that is now pouring down every 5 years because of the unrestrained U.S. debt flooding the global financial market and exporting U.S. inflation overseas to everyone. Expect this to be cyclical and as predictable as trump farting a lie every 5 seconds.
On the other hand, China’s debt bomb is domestically contained.
China’s Evergrande Group — once the country’s second-largest property developer — filed for bankruptcy in New York last week. Others followed – including equally major developers like Kasia, Fantasia and the Shimao Group.
All these were “fiscally precipitated”, coming off Beijing’s crack down on excessive borrowing by developers in an attempt to rein in soaring housing prices. China’s banking system is owned and controlled by the CCP and they can micro-target specific companies in the greater attempt at preventing an uncontrolled explosion of the property market’s bubble that could easily implode the wider economy for which China’s real estate sector accounts for 25.4% of the country’s GDP.
And nary a repercussion overseas in the international financial market.
The Male Loneliness Epidemic
This is another puzzle piece of the collapse of Western society.
Today, while driving, I saw an accident on the road.
A “garbage granny” (one of those old ladies that are in their 90s or so that collect garbage for coins) was “hit” by a truck in the middle of a busy intersection. Now, you all must know that these folk have a reputation of driving and waking in busy highways with the intention of getting hit, and then being awarded free medical care, and financial reimbursement.
Now, this particular granny looked fine. But she just sat there in the road next to her pile of garbage with this expression… “I’m waiting. Come get me and give me my money”.
Meaning; “Everyone knows what is going on, and why I meander in the middle of six lanes of traffic. This driver was the fool that hit me. He will now fund my life, and there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do about it.”
Ah. I shit you not.
China.
Love it, or hate it. But it is 100% unique, that’s fer sure.
The mother left her 1-year-old child in an abandoned house, but after 10 years she returns there and discovers something that makes her cry
Residents of the Russian city of Yaroslavl will never forget an incident that took place more than 10 years ago.
However, it started when a neighbor heard a baby, crying in a nearby house. He didn’t think much about it and continued with the things he had to do that day. But the next day, the baby kept crying.
No neighbor didn’t see anyone in the house where the crying came from, and the lights were never on, not even in the evening.
But at that point, the neighbors started to worry and called the police.
They came and when they entered the house, it was completely empty inside. Those who had lived there had taken everything and disappeared. The only thing they had left behind was their own child!
The one-year-old girl was found on the dirty floor and it was clear she had been there for several days.
An investigation showed that the girl’s name was Liza Verbitskaya, and her parents seemed to have entered the ground, no one could find them.
Liza was taken to hospital, where she recovered in a few days. In the same hospital was a woman, Inna Nika, who was taking care of her sick son, her mother was sitting at his head day and night, but one day she heard a scream from the next room and went to see what it was all about.
She saw Liza and her motherly instincts asked her to protect and take care of her. From that day on, Inna visited Liza daily and brought her clothes, toys, food.
One day, Inna visited the little one and noticed that she was no longer in her hospital room, then found out that she had been taken to an orphanage. She also went to the orphanage to see her, but then it was clear to her that she had to adopt her!
When the adoption documents were completed, Liza was two years old and still had problems with chewing and was traumatized, she could not stand the loud noises. While growing up, Liza had darker skin than her relatives, but now she is beautiful. She became a model and, thanks to her story and modeling career, she became known throughout Russia. People who laughed at the way she looked bit her tongue when they saw her win, as a teenager, more talent contests.
Now that she has become famous, her biological mother tried to contact her but was not allowed. Liza received the woman’s phone number, but she’s still wondering if she wants to meet the one who left her. Our respect goes to Inna, an adoptive mother who turned out to be the hero in the life of this abandoned child, but with such a special destiny!
Well seeing that they’ve built their own bank, for transactions without using the dollar, using concrete, bricks, steel and glass, that looks fairly concrete to me,
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It’s certainly big enough for every member to have a representative office in the building, you can see even the building next door is connected. So it’s very big,certainly plenty of concrete,
First Time Reaction to Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home
In this video, TNT reacts to Oliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go HomeOliver Anthony – I Want To Go Home
What is actually happening in California is actually an interesting case study.
First, the state of California is enormous – close to 40 million people. Most of them are pretty urban, concentrated around the coastal cities (Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego), with a growing number of large and mid-sized suburban and exurban areas (especially spreading east and north of Los Angeles).
For the first time in its history as a state, California lost a US House seat in the 2020 census, and has actually seen a net-net decline in its population. Many of those leaving are middle class people who, despite the plentiful jobs here, find the cost of living too daunting. I live in San Francisco, where the median price of a house recently got close to two million dollars. And for that money, you are not going to get one of the picturesque Victorian homes overlooking Alamo Square. You are going to get (most likely) a 1300–1500 square foot house that was pretty cheaply constructed in the 1940s or 1950s with three small bedrooms and a bathroom, maybe a half bath.
If you have kids, then you are most likely going to have to choose between putting them in a poor to terrible public school or shelling our more for private school (we were lucky – our son scored high enough on the tests to be admitted to Lowell High School, a ‘magnet’ school which is among the best in the state).
It’s a city where a family of four with an annual income of $150,000 qualifies for low income housing. If they can get on the list.
People are not leaving California because of the liberal politics (we could of course argue the role that those politics play in the current situation) or the taxes. They are leaving because the cost to live here – including the ambient and rising crime – is not worth it.
Some (the largest share) are actually leaving the cities for other parts of California – Sacramento, the central valley, the deserts east of LA – where a family that is solidly middle class can still (sort of) afford a traditional, middle class life. Still more are going to Oregon or Washington or Texas. Recently, many more have moved to Florida, to the glee of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
(NB: One of the answers incredibly remarks that Californians are not going to move to “Cleveland or St Louis or other MAGA strongholds,” which of course is true. The comment is laughably wrong because, of course, few Californians are moving to the midwest, because they are moving to places that economically are growing; they are not moving due to politics. And Cleveland and Saint Louis are not “MAGA strongholds.”)
They are not taking “their jobs” with them, mind you. They are taking their tax dollars and the electoral power.
But here is the hidden truth:
this is not really “new.” In fact, for close to 30 years, net domestic migration in the state has been negative.
Net-net, there are more than a million more people who have left California for other states than the other way round. Most are going (as stated) to Texas or Arizona. The outflow of middle income Californians (and Californians with families) has been hidden for two decades by waves of foreign immigration. So despite the gap of (in some years) more than 100,000 people, the state continued to grow.
Due to COVID and other factors (the growing economies of Asia, for example), this is no longer the case.
Without foreign immigration, California is going to see a significant drop in population.
What does it all mean?
First, if trends continue, what we are going to see is growth in the top (many people moving to California are doing so chasing high-end jobs, like AI engineers or medical researchers) and at the bottom (a large number are also low and unskilled workers coming to take entry-level jobs). That is going to make California’s already terribly skewed wealth inequality even worse. There will be more wealthy enclaves that can afford private security, private schools, privately funded infrastructure. There will also be more crowded sub-standard housing, crowded, poorly-performing schools, and deteriorating public infrastructure.
It’s not really too much of an exaggeration to say that the economy in California more and more looks like a third-world country, with a few super wealthy people, a lot of poor people barely hanging on, and a small number of people in the middle who struggle to justify staying here.
With such wealth and capital inequalities, I strongly suspect that the social fabric here is going to fray. The wealthy, insulated from the problems of the poor, will carry on thinking that everything is fine. Crime – especially property crime like car break-ins and home robberies – will grow, but will not really affect the rich and powerful.
The “Hollywood elite” (and other super-wealthy) will be just fine.
The other truth is, life in California is very nice if you can afford it. The weather in the coastal cities is close to perfect. The geography – coastal mountains, beaches, redwood forests – is beautiful. The diversity of people gives us incredible choices in food and culture. The state is home to the UC system (the best public schools in the country) as well as Stanford and CalTech. The knowledge industry is driven out of Silicon Valley, and the entertainment capital of the world is in Southern California.
Originally Answered: What are things you shouldn't do in life?
Don’t abandon someone suddenly after giving them attention. It kills them.
Don’t waste your time by stalking your ex on fb or checking people’s ‘last seen’ on WhatsApp. If they want to talk to you, they will. If they don’t, they won’t, even in a hundred years.
Don’t compare yourself with anyone. You and the rest are so different, that when you realize it, a comparison won’t even be possible.
Don’t ignore your body and health.
Don’t miss out on important engagements – Birthdays, weddings, your child’s first performance, your dad’s retirement party, reunions – its these events that make the fondest memories.
Don’t take things personally. Even if you know its personal, don’t take it personally. Then you win.
Don’t be rude to your parents. Or siblings. When everyone else will run for cover, its your family that will stand with you as you drench in your storm.
Don’t force someone to be in your life. Let them go, if they want to.
Don’t find reasons to be unhappy. It doesn’t pay to be sad. It pays to be joyous.
Don’t underestimate the power of people. Network.
Don’t let anyone make you feel badly about yourself. Always know your good things and your flaws. Accept them. Correct them. Or don’t correct them. But don’t let anyone else capitalize on them.
My fiance suddenly stopped breathing, went into a coma and remained that way for 10 days; after numerous hospital tests we found out there was no blood flow to his brain. We removed his life support and donated his organs.
Since he was only 35 years old when he died, and a former DJ popular in the Chicago and Detroit areas, the funeral home was packed full of people for his wake. One of his childhood friends, we’ll call him “Jack,” was in need of a kidney transplant and VERY sick, and we were able to directly donate his kidney to Jack. Due to the organ donations, autopsy and other things that had to happen prior to the funeral, the wake was scheduled a week after my fiance passed away. During that week Jack received the transplant and was able to make it to the wake.
He stood in front of my fiance’s red casket and spoke of his health issues and how he had given up hope, believing he wouldn’t be around much longer. Now, my fiance had given him another chance at life and Jack would be able to watch his 4-year-old son grow up. Jack’s son was there too, and walked up to him and held his hand during the speech.
I was already an emotional wreck, but through my tears I glanced around long enough to see that there was not a single dry eye in the funeral home at that moment. Though I questioned how I would go on living without my best friend and my lover, Jack provided a ray of sunshine during the wake that day and reminded us all that my fiance would live on in all the people he helped save with his organs.
Awesome Beef Stroganoff
classic beef stroganoff 3051443 Final 5bacdeb4c9e77c0025142dc9
Ingredients
6 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1 package onion or roasted garlic gravy mix for steak
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (10 ounce) can beef broth
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
Cook noodles according to package directions-keep warm.
In a large heavy bottom pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add meat and brown.
Sprinkle gravy mix over meat.
Add mushrooms; sauté for 5 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, and stir in sour cream.
Top with parsley and serve over hot cooked noodles.
I remember my grandfather telling me the story of buying his first home, and how stressful it was. He was working as a teacher making $2,500 per year, and was trying to figure out how to budget so he could afford to make the payments on the $5,500 house he just bought.
If he had managed to get his hands on $50,000 back then, he probably would have thought he was set for life — a mere 5% return would have matched his annual salary, and he would never have to work another day.
Obviously that plan wouldn’t have worked out — what he made in a year back then is less than most people make in a month today.
Right now, $1 million is about equivalent to what $50,000 was in his day, where a 5% return would put you right at the median income. And, just like in his day, that won’t be enough for someone in their early 20’s to make it to retirement age. In another 50–60 years, one million dollars will be the median household income. Minimum wage will be $200k a year, and it still won’t be enough to support a family.
The only way $1 million will be enough to retire on is if you don’t plan on living that long.
If you think that’s impossible, just remember the story about a how a teacher from Massachusetts once mortgaged a $5,500 house on a $2,500 annual salary — a house that today would fetch about $950,000.
AMERICAN RAPPER REACTS TO -Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond
By “see around them,” I’m literally talking about the people I see here in Chicago. I’m not talking about global poverty or people I don’t literally see with my own eyes.
Compared to the majority of people in my city (Chicago), my family is doing very well for ourselves. Yet there are entire zip codes in this city where practically everyone lives in poverty.
My wealth and their poverty are unrelated. I didn’t steal my wealth from them. I’m not the one failing them. Their political leaders—none of whom I’ve ever supported or voted for—have been failing them for generations now. The concentrated poverty in parts of Chicago is the completely predictable result of political policies enacted by politicians who get almost universal support from those same areas.
There’s been a huge increase in the number of homeless people, beggars, and refugees in the parts of Chicago I travel through on a regular basis. I am actually about to run my Sunday morning errands, and I already know which intersections will have which beggars. I’m not exaggerating when I say that literally every single major intersection (where two two-lane roads meet) has at least one beggar now. Some of one at all four stops at the intersection.
Again, my relative wealth and their poverty are unrelated. The system has failed them. I am not the system.
One intersection near me has a man who begs on the street, while his wife and child sit nearby on the sidewalk. According to his sign, he is a refugee from Guatemala. Assuming he got here via the normal refugee channels, his family has been failed by the governments of at least three countries (Guatemala, Mexico, the USA), two states (Texas and Illinois), and now one city (Chicago). I did not fail this man and his family. Several dozen politicians did. My wealth, or lack of it, would not have changed anything for this man.
I give food to the homeless sometimes. I donate to my church’s food pantry on a regular basis. I never give cash directly to the homeless.
I also have A LOT of money taken from me via taxes which, in theory, should be used to help those in need. The problem is, of course, that, unlike when I give food to the homeless directly, the taxes which are taken from me go through the hands of politicians on its way to help the needy. Shockingly, very little of it ends up helping the needy.
And a lot of the “help” the needy get from the government is designed in such a way as to create dependence on that help. I’m not saying that’s intentional. I’m not saying it’s not intentional, either.
I’m just saying that when I see this:
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But I also see scenes like this increasing all around Chicago:
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And I think about how much the government takes from me in income, property, and sales taxes every year, I realize pretty quickly that I’m not the problem here. I should feel no shame for my lifestyle.
Taking all of my family’s wealth away wouldn’t help poorer people at all. In fact, it would likely make things worse for them, at least here in Chicago. Chicago needs all of the upper-middle class taxpayers it can get. The single worst thing that can happen to a city is for it to lose most of its wealthiest citizens.
Just ask the citizen of, say, Gary, Indiana, or Detroit how well that worked out for them, when anyone who could afford to leave town did so.
This house went viral last year. The highway was located in Zhuhai in Guangdong province. It seems the government had offered the owner 8 million RMB (around 1.4 million USD) to move. The owner refused. Rumor had it the owner thought the government would give him 10 million. But the moving cost has actually exceeded the cost of the (section of the) highway itself. So the designers revised the design to build the highway around this house.
It seems that the owner had eventually moved out of this house to a government-provided location. But the highway was already built.
My First time hearing Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond
2023 08 21 07 36
Chinese mainland suspends mango imports from Taiwan
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The Chinese mainland has decided to suspend the entry of mangoes from Taiwan starting Monday, according to a mainland spokesperson.
In accordance with relevant laws, regulations and standards on the mainland, the decision by the General Administration of Customs was taken as a scientific and reasonable biosecurity precaution, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Monday.
The mainland had informed the Taiwan side of the decision, Zhu said, adding that Taiwan is urged to further improve its phytosanitary quarantine management system.
Since 2023, customs authorities on the mainland have detected Planococcus minor, a quarantine pest, in mangoes from Taiwan. This pest could pose a serious threat to agricultural production and ecological security on the mainland.
This is Cobalt-60, the most emissive radioactive isotope currently known. As far as I know, it’s also the only one with a label that says “Drop and Run.” It’s used to sterilize medical equipment and can quite easily sterilize you within just a minute or 2 if you held it in your hand.
There is a stand-up sketch by Ricky Gervais, in which he overhears two morbidly obese American women sitting in a plane. One of them is eating a bucket of KFC chicken, and tells the other:
“This is the best chicken I had all day.”
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We just spent some time in the US, and on one of the last days, we grabbed a movie in a dine-in movie theatre in Las Vegas. (The Meg 2 — don’t ask.) When a waitress came to take our order, we asked for the smallest size of popcorn they had. She had a hard time understanding the question (“why order the smallest size ?”).
She kindly explained that they only had one size, and that was a bucket.
With the three of us, we managed to eat about a quarter of the bucket, but we saw other people finish an entire bucket on their own.
I think this is one of the main reasons of America’s obesity problem: Americans eat by the buckets. In many restaurants, the portions of the food are so grossly exaggerated that it is hardly a mystery why so many Americans are (morbidly) obese. Same for soda drinks and the like.
And besides that, American food is in general much less healthier than your average European or Asian food, due to less strict food regulations and the enormous amounts of added sugar in virtually everything.
Add to that the fact that Americans stopped walking altogether (so to speak), and that more and more, the obesity pandemic is embraced instead of fought. In the places I have lived in mainland Europe, I have never seen a morbidly obese person ride around in a trolley (such as in the picture), but you see them on a daily basis in the US.
Instead of actively losing some weight, such people simply step into a trolley because walking has become too hard. The woman in the image is twenty-three, by the way.
So there you have it: Buckets, Trolleys and Sugar.
The problem is BTS.
For the People! Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond- Reaction
China hopes to do so, China is trying to do so, but it’s no longer an easy task for China to do so now.
There is an old Chinese saying, 树欲静而风不止, which means “the trees may prefer calm but the wind will not subside”, or “the trees long for peace but the wind will never cease”.
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Just like the picture I took in the Summer Palace in a windy day, if the wind is too strong, how could the tree stay calm? Just impossible.
The smear campaigns initiated by the US and followed by some other Westeren nations, are the wind, getting stronger recently as Joe Biden has indeed rallied them once again.
China is the tree. Its roots are still stable in the soil, its major branches are still steadfast, but it really can’t hold all its smaller branches and leaves still. And sometimes, it has to even sacrifice some of its smaller branches and leaves if the winds are way too strong and turn into storms.
But, as long as the roots and main branches are still healthy, strong and steadfast, new branches will sprout out next year!
My grandma passed in 2022, my father had passed in 2020. In her will she had it to where my 2 brothers and I inherited my dad’s 3rd. We were also to be included in any decisions on her property. My 2 uncles thought since they were co executors that everything was now theirs and they didn’t have to say anything to us. They gave away and took a lot of her belongings before I found out. I went to a lawyer and told him what was going on. I then called my uncles and told them they HAD to include us. They said “well, our lawyer says we don’t have to.” I called their lawyer and told him what they said. He immediately went and called them and said they were wrong. My 1 uncle gave his stepchildren first dibs over us and any of the actual grandchildren. The stepchildren who wanted NOTHING to do with my grandma or our family got first dibs. Then they tried to auction off my grandma’s house and 200 acres without telling us. I found out and called lawyers, everyone knew I wanted the house and 10 acres. They were trying to sell it behind my back. Grandma did not have any debt. So they were just being stupid. In the end, they were granted to sell 190 acres. We bought the house. 114 years of family history in this house. I have not heard an apology from any of them. Our trust in them was broken. At this time, they are not allowed at my house.
A man in China has been using a club as a nutcracker for 25 years, until he realised what it was actually used for. A man living in the Shaanxi Province in China was given a gift by a friend and for 25 years he didn’t know what it was.
The mans favourite treat was Wallnuts and the gift was perfect for cracking open the shells. He figured his friend know off his love for nuts so gifted him a club to crack them open, and for 25 years he used the club thinking that’s what it was intended for.
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It wasn’t until he seen the nutcracker on a Government flyer identifying dangerous, prohibited explosives when he realised the club wasn’t in fact a nutcracker, but a Chinese type 67 hand grenade. The grenade which was a nicknamed the Potato masher, was invented by the German Army during World War 1.
The hand grenade had a explosive device at the top with a pulling string running through it to a cap at the bottom. Pulling the string lights the fuse before being thrown at the enemy, but in this case it was used as a nut cracker for a quarter of a century.
The Man Who Discovered a Lost Ancient City In His Basement
A man from Derinkuyu, in the Nevsehir province of Turkey was renovating his basement. Using only a sledgehammer, he broke through one of his walls; and felt cool air coming in from the other side. Inside he found a small room-sized cave. This area of Turkey has complex cave systems so he thought he accidentally stumbled into one. He didn’t. That first small room — was only the beginning.
I was 17 years old. I was driving drunk, with five other kids in my car. It was 1970. We had bought two cases of beer (illegally, of course) and it was pretty much all gone. It was about 1 AM.
We came to the main intersection in the small city nearest to where I lived. There wasn’t a single car in sight. Oddly, there was a cop in the intersection, presumably directing whatever traffic there was. Perhaps the stoplight was not working; I have no recollection.
I stopped at the light (working or not). At which point my friend Ralph, who was 15, leaned out the back seat window, yelled out “Fucking cop,” and threw an empty beer bottle at the policeman. It landed at his feet, where it smashed into pieces.
The policeman calmly walked over to our car, at which point Ralph started yelling “I didn’t do it,” which was rather obviously a lie. The policeman had me pull over. He told all of us to get out of the car. As he did this, one of the passengers, Denise, started explaining to him that she was from another planet. The cop ignored her. He told us to take all the beer bottles out of the car and place them on the hood of the car. When we ran out of room there, we put them on the roof. There were 46 empty bottles and one full one. Ralph asked if he could please drink the full one. The cop said no. Then he had us take them all to a nearby garbage can and dispose of them.
Then came the truly amazing part. He talked to us. For about five minutes. He explained that when he was our age, he also did stupid things. But he never drove drunk. He explained how dangerous that was. He did not tell us to swear we would never drive drunk. He simply told us that he was going to let us go. He did not even say how much trouble we could be in for underage drinking and drunk driving. He did not have to.
Finally he asked if there was anyone among us who was sober and had a driver’s license. My older brother did. He had us get back in the car, handed my brother the keys (which he had taken away when he first stopped us), and told my brother to take us home.
And that was all.
Even then, I realized the officer was an exceptional cop. He gave us a second chance when he could have ruined our lives. I never properly thanked him. So if, by some miracle, Officer Roger Strickland of the Freehold, New Jersey police force is still out there—thank you from the bottom of my heart. I think you would be proud of how my brother and I ended up (I have not seen any of the others in my car that night for over 50 years). All the best to one of the best.
Bacon-Wrapped Filet Steaks Topped with Roasted Garlic Butter
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Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
12 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
Kosher salt
3 1/2 teaspoons chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 (6 to 7 ounce) filet steaks, about 1 inch thick
4 very thin slices of lean bacon
6 inch wooden skewers or toothpicks, soaked in water for 10 minutes and patted dry
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place peeled garlic and olive oil in 1-cup, ovenproof ramekin, soufflé dish or custard cup. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Roast on center rack until garlic is golden and very tender and soft when pierced with knife, about 30 minutes (start checking cloves after 20 minutes and then every 5 minutes until done).
With slotted spoon, remove garlic from bowl and reserve oil. Place garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the reserved oil, butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt in food processor or blender and process, pulsing machine on and off for 30 seconds or less until garlic is coarsely chopped and blended with butter and oil. Transfer garlic butter to small bowl and stir in 2 teaspoons of the chives. (Garlic butter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before ready to use.)
When ready to cook steaks, oil a grill rack and prepare grill.
In small bowl, stir together 1 teaspoon kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper and thyme. Rub both sides of each filet with some of this seasoning. Then wrap each steak around its sides with 1 slice of bacon. Skewer bacon in place with wooden skewer or with 2 to 3 wooden picks.
Grill steaks until lightly charred on the outside and until bacon is cooked, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
When done, remove steaks from fire and place on warm serving plate. Remove toothpicks.
Top each steak with 1 generous pat of roasted garlic butter and sprinkle with some of remaining chives. Butter will start to melt and season the steaks.
I am from India and recently visited China. In india we use to blame the population for all our problems. But China had no issues of it. Atleast not in its urban areas. The people there respected rules and have high value about their culture. They take care of their health and have a proper diet. I don’t know what you mean by uncivilized. But if there are uncivilized Chinese I am sure it’s because they are exposed to western culture and those who embraced west including Indians are certainly uncivilized.
OLIVER WHAT THE F**K!!!!! | First Time Reacting To Oliver Anthony – Rich Men North Of Richmond!
I put in an order for tools for work. The order was for myself and two coworkers. Hundreds of dollars worth of tools, including getting one of our newbies set up with good kit so he didn’t have to scrounge for tools like myself and the other senior tech.
Toolup split the order into two shipments, which is fine I guess. The first package arrive with one wire stripper and one screwdriver. For weeks the other shipment showed “in processing”. Finally I called asking where the hell my tools were. They had no idea. After several days of calls they figured out that six weeks prior the shipper had been unable to locate a fucking Air Force base and sent the order back. Toolup refunded the purchase, but made absolutely zero meaningful contact with me about it. I’d been deluged with promotional crap, but I double checked. The last contact I had about my order was “in processing”. This meant that I missed the purchase window and funding got pulled so I can’t reorder my tools for at least a year.
So in the end they literally tripled the amount of paperwork I had to do by forcing me to amend all my prior paperwork and also process the return credit, and I still don’t have my fucking tools because they utterly failed to do any sort of meaningful follow up communication.
Personally or professionally I’m never doing business with them again.
My ex boyfriend and I dated for three years through college. He had been abusive, emotionally, physically and sexually. We had broken up many times. We finally broke up for the final time when he punched me and the RA had found out and told the college officials. It was his last year of college. I was brought into the deans office. It was up to me if he should be kicked out of college. This was a private college and in the early 90’s.
I told them not to kick him out of college. I knew if I had, he would have killed me. He graduated. One morning I woke up to find that someone had broken into my house, and my earrings that he had given to me were gone. Nothing else was touched. Then the phone calls started. Mind you he had supposedly left town to move back with his parents until he left for grad school. “Hey, I liked that flowery dress you were wearing last night.” Yes, I was wearing a flowery dress the night before. Or .”I can see you wherever you are at all times of the day.” Or “ I am sorry to hear about your cat.” Wait, what?? Only to find out my cat at my parents house was missing. And never found.
I started dating someone else. Then it was, “please tell ____ that I know all about him, and I am watching.”. We found out from friends that he would be coming to the area to fly out of LAX to go to grad school at Harvard. By this time the police had been notified of everything that had happened, and they told me that bc he hadn’t harmed me physically, there was nothing I could do, but it would be a good time to get out of town for the weekend. This is how I met my new boyfriends family. I was in hiding. They lived in Northern California.
We came back to school. The phone calls stopped and then the letters started. The anger, was now put into writing. How dare I hide away from him .He went out and bought a gun and he was looking for away to use it, etc..
I started to work as a nanny that fall. One time as I was getting the kids ready for school on a Monday, the kids went outside to wait so I could walk them to school, I had to get something for the baby inside. I came outside and as we were all walking to school the little girl who was in the 4th grade said, oh your friend says hi. I was like what friend, who knows I work here. I said oh, did this person have a name, no, he just said a friend. I immediately went into that place of panic. I kept my cool, and I asked what he looked like, and yes it was him, he had found me.
Not a lot happened to me after that. I did find out that he had gotten kicked out of grad school for raping someone, and he had been fired from a few jobs. Karma?
Oliver Anthony Rich Men North of Richmond Reaction Video
Not only one time, but every time all of my children are over for a family get together. I don’t consider myself dumb, I graduated high school with honors, I have worked hard all of my life so far, was taught to use common sense by my parents and married a wonderful, smart, and hard-working lady, and we have four children. As they grew up and progressed through school, they have each chosen their own path.
Our oldest son is an I.T. computer “nurd” and works from his home running the I.T. help line for a division of Sony helping any embedded I.T. techs solve problems they cannot solve themselves.
Our oldest daughter just received her Doctorate in Nuro-psychology from Yale University and is proving to be an innovator in the field with her front-line work to advance innovations in Alzheimer’s research.
The youngest Son is a 2018 honors graduate from The United States Military Academy at West Point, Captain, and Company Commander, in the U.S. Army, Working on his master’s degree in military history.
Any our youngest daughter just graduated with honors with a degree in teaching drama and starts her first teaching position next week.
All four are extremely intelligent and found vastly different careers, and when they are together the conversations are so far above my head I can only sit there and smile.
I smile because I look around and think to myself “How in the world did I get so lucky?” And then I realize “it is all thanks to my wife, and God.”
A few months ago I was in the Liaoning province in northeastern China. We met the CEO of a smart city there who was offering us rent-free premises for 3 years, a low interest loan [2%] and cheap electricity if we choose to build our robots there.
Chinese governments really believe that industrialization is crucial to mass employment and need to woo not just large companies but SMEs too.
In contrast, Indian general public attitude towards industrialization is often poisonous. The bureaucrats are too slow to move, the politicians often careless and the common public think “industrialists” make a lot of profits, who just needs to be taxed high.
It is far harder to start a factory in India and the interest rates are substantially high. Land prices near major cities are through the roof and the infrastructure abysmal. Thus, industrialists are not able to fully tap into India’s lower wages.
Indians often moan about the low rate of innovation in India. We moan that very few things are made in India. To really make in India, the society has to put industrialization at the highest priority. It cannot be seen as lower priority compared to agriculture and other sectors.
WHAT IN SOULFUL PAIN IS THIS?! (ADHD Reaction) | OLIVER ANTHONY – RICH MEN NORTH OF RICHMOND
Today, while taking my daughter back from Kindergarten, I saw a dead kitten in the road in front of me. It was dead maybe 10 to 15 minutes. A black and white medium hair Tuxedo kitten. Perhaps six weeks old. It was gone, as its entire back was splattered goo.
I cannot stop thinking about this little guy. I cannot shake the image, and the feelings for something that I have no personal connection with. It’s tough, and difficult.
Strangely, a few hours later, as I was musing about this kitten, I felt it visit me. Briefly. Of course, we did not know each other, and it did not try to communicate. Just checking out my porch momentarily and then moving on.
I believe that my thoughts attracted it. Even for such a moment.
But my thoughts are part of my personality; and you know, my personality is pre-programmed by others. Whether it is Domain or what have you.
How many of us are living a fated life where our actions and behaviors are all preprogrammed by others?
Originally Answered: What one thing do you wish you had known about life when you were in your 20s?
One time when I was 25 I went shopping for an engagement ring for my girlfriend. We had been together for three years and my dad kept asking when I would marry her. My friends kept asking. Her friends kept asking. Her dad kept asking her and she would tell me.
We were living together. And I liked her. Maybe I loved her.
But I started to shiver when I was looking at rings in the store. My friend who I was with took one look at me and quoted a lyric from an MC 900 Ft Jesus song: “Something’s gonna happen and it’s probably not good.”
So I didn’t buy the ring. We didn’t get married. She moved out. We moved to different cities. I called her once a few years later but now she’s not even on Facebook and we haven’t talked since.
That sums up the 20s – EVERYTHING you think is important and meaningful has absolutely no bearing on your future life.
I loved her. I had a job. I was writing novels. I had friends. I was a computer programmer.
Now…none of the above is true. (oh, I have friends. Just different friends – 100% different).
And everything in my 30s….nothing is true anymore (except I have two kids still. Although now they are not babies. Now they are smarter than me).
I’m 48 now.
My most recent career change occurred when I was 47. Before that, I started writing seriously (I wrote 5 very unserious books in my 30s) when I was 42.
In my 20s and 30s my average weight was about 155 – 170. Now it’s 140. I write every day. I don’t obsess on money all day long. And I make bad decisions all day long – just like I did in my 20s.
The main skill I got between my 20s and now is that I bounce back from bad things faster.
I was VERY successful in my late 20s. And then a TOTAL FAILURE after. Then VERY SUCCESSFUL. And so on.
So that didn’t change. Only my ability to bounce back from really bad things. Horrible things. Things you wouldn’t want to wish on anyone and yet they happen, in some form or other, to everyone.
So the only thing I can with full integrity say I wish I had known is: nothing at all matters. Oh, and since nothing matters, once you realize that you’ll start to bounce back faster.
And since nothing matters, might as well be kind to people as much as possible. We can all laugh at the same joke at the end of this very long day.
Surveys of Americans asking them where certain countries are on an unmarked map. Not obscure ones (I myself would have trouble with Ivory Coast) but ones that are in the news all the time like…
North Korea
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Iran.
Note about twenty guesses put it solidly in the United States
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Ukraine.
Again, five guesses were solidly in the United States.
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Here’s the problem -people who have no idea where these countries are tend to favour military solutions. People who place them correctly (which is a small minority) tend to favour diplomacy.
First Time Reaction to Boston – Foreplay/ Long Time
I can just picture the cold can of beer between my legs and the joint being rolled on the dash…
When I was fired at a large financial services organization, the head of HR essentially told me to clean out my desk and leave. I was a participant in a number of executive compensation programs, and no provision was being made to give me some/any of that money. I knew others had been treated differently when they were terminated.
I called my former boss (the ex-company president) who had been fired 2 weeks earlier and asked him what he thought I should do. He said, “Call the guys in the field. The field loves you.” This was at around 10:00 am.
So I called every senior salesperson I knew—and asked them to call the CEO on my behalf. All I asked was that I be treated fairly.
At 2:00 pm, the head of HR called me to say that the CEO had gotten the message and my “little campaign” worked—I could “call off my dogs.”
I negotiated an equitable severance package and a transition job within the organization.
The answer will short – since China doesn’t want to attack USA and USA lost every single war that it started what is it to be affraid off. Plus China has almost 1.5 Billion people while 80% of Americans age 17–24 are unfit for millitary service.
I can’t keep this A SECRET anymore.
Love him or hate him, this is his harsh statement about what the Republicans did to him. But the big thing is that he is taking the “levers of control” away from the Republican party, and hijacking their most popular policies. Perhaps… he will run for office.
Keep this thought in mind.
https://youtu.be/vSGcnLl-CZg
Makes you think…
Yup.
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Here’s a better meme…
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The Human Horizons HiPhi Z Is Pure Science Fiction
The United States has always exercised technological hegemony, using various means to suppress foreign companies that surpass American enterprises or pose a threat to them. This has been the case with Japan’s semiconductor industry, French energy giants, and others.
In the era of 5G, Huawei is leading in 5G technology, with the highest number of patents globally and being the only company capable of providing end-to-end 5G services. Moreover, its 5G chip technology is also leading globally.
As a result the U.S has repeatedly modified chip rules not only limiting the shipment of American chip companies such as Qualcomm but also restricting chip companies that use American Technology such as TSMC and ASML from Shipping chips to China.
Chinese companies such as Huawei have accelerated the development of self-designed and self-produced chips and have also started developing chips based on RISCV to reduce their Reliance on American chips and other products.
Data shows that after the U.S restricted chip shipments Chinese domestic companies reduced their import of chips by more than 97 billion pieces in 2022 and it is expected that this number will exceed 50 billion pieces in the first six months of this year.
SMIC has announced that it will have a production capacity of over 700 000 equivalent eight-inch Wafers by the end of this year which will be used to manufacture various types of chips it is expected that the capital expenditure for this year will exceed 6.6 billion dollars mainly for capacity expansion and process Improvement.
However unexpectedly the U.S Japan and the Netherlands have signed a tripartite agreement to further restrict the shipment of advanced semiconductor equipment Japan will begin to restrict the shipment of over 23 types of semiconductor equipment from mid-July the Netherlands has also officially announced that it will restrict the shipment of certain models of lithography machines which will take effect on September 1st by then DUV lithography Machines of the 2000i and subsequent models will be unable to be shipped.
However the Netherlands and ASML have emphasized that although the tripartite agreement restricts the shipment of certain models of DUV lithography machines the 1980i and earlier models of lithography machines can still be shipped with a single exposure accuracy of 38 nanometers, however Chinese domestically produced lithography machines have already achieved a breakthrough of 90 nanometers and can be fully utilized for manufacturing mature processed chips.
Shanghai microelectronics 28 nanometers Precision lithography machine has also achieved technical validation with mass production expected in the near future the key is that Chinese manufacturers are accelerating the expansion of Chip production using processes below 28 nanometers and the required lithography machine models that ASML cannot ship.
This will also accelerate the breakthroughs made by Chinese manufacturers as a result some European media outlets have stated that it is all over as the U.S further restricts ASML’s shipment of lithography machines.
This not only accelerates China’s breakthroughs but also causes European chip and semiconductor companies to lose further advantages. First of all Europe does not have an inherent advantage in the field of Chip and semiconductor globally with only a few outstanding companies such as ASML, ARM and St microelectronics.
After the modification of Chip rules, even ARM and St microelectronics are no longer able to ship their products freely, only ASML can still ship certain models of DUV lithography machines.
Now with ASML being further restricted in its shipments this is not good news for the European semiconductor industry, moreover most American chip and semiconductor companies can still continue to ship their products Qualcomm can continue to ship 4G chips while the extension of Nvidia’s shipping permit may become a settled matter, companies such as Lam Research and Clack have received clarification notices on the rules and can still ship their related products.
Secondly after the modification of Chip rules Huawei announced its comprehensive entry into the Chip and semiconductor field and invested heavily in China’s domestic chip industry chain through high silicon burning through 440 billion yuan. In three years Huawei has not only established a complete mobile phone industry chain in China, but achieved the localization of EDA tools of 14 nanometers and above and has collaborated with SMIC to accelerate the localization of advanced processes to reduce dependence on American Technology.
This has already caused ASML’s market share in China to fall from 14 to 8 percent and after the signing of the tripartite agreement the reactions of Chinese companies such as Huawei and SMIC have been relatively calm, indicating that Chinese manufacturers have already achieved significant breakthroughs in the lithography machine industry.
The key is that the president of ASML has stated that if further restrictions are imposed ASML’s market share in China will continue to decline and it may even withdraw from the Chinese market.
Shenzhen known as the Silicon Valley of China is home to a large number of high-tech companies such as Huawei Tencent and ZTE as well as over 4 000 startups that conduct research experimentation and production in the city.
China is not powerless, almost all tasks that high-end chips can perform can also be accomplished by old-fashioned chips albeit at the cost of higher power consumption greater material consumption and higher costs such as using two chips instead of one the Chinese chip industry can find a way to cope with sanctions and it is impossible to control all the chips in the world including military Aerospace and high-tech chips.
If there are 10 000 chips a Chinese company with international business will always be able to obtain some, although it may have to go through three different countries.
Chinese Scholars like Xin Yuching who teaches at the national Graduate Institute for policy studies in Tokyo are optimistic that China will be able to manufacture high-end chips on its own in the future sanctions will force Chinese companies to conduct their own research and development and invest more time and money.
Recently The Institute of semiconductors of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced the development of a highly integrated Optical convolution processor according to calculations Optical Computing has the advantages of high bandwidth low latency and low power consumption its processing speed is 1.5 to 10 times faster than Nvidia’s GPU chips.
More importantly Optical chips do not require photolithography for production so there is no bottleneck problem this is not just a case of overtaking on a Bend but a complete change of Direction in addition Optical chips are expected to avoid the data type problem that exists in the Von Neumann Computing paradigm.
In the past due to the existence of Moore’s Law it was very difficult to upgrade processor performance and Chip processes had to be reduced by at least half every two years this means that if China is currently producing 28 nanometers chips it will take at least 10 years to catch up with TMSC’s two nanometers.
However replacing the steam engine was never about building a better steam engine replacing the horse-drawn carriage was not about building a faster horse-drawn carriage and replacing chips will not be about building more compact chips the progress made by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Optical chip technology can be said to be the last step in commercialization and the biggest step in maximizing profits it not only has the potential to influence the global layout of the optical chip industry but may even be the key to the next era.
Cowgirl in the Sand (epic!) – Neil Young & Promise of the Real
This has got to be one of the coolest versions of this song I have ever heard. 19 Minutes of pure jamming bliss.
I wasn’t actually snooping; my husband asked me to check his Facebook messages. He’d been trying to reconnect with some old friends from the police department he’d worked in years ago.
The first message was from an old, old girlfriend (they were 15 at the time). She had hired a private detective to find him, and couldn’t, so she confessed in a message she’d always been in love with him, and wanted to see him. She didn’t care he was married; SHE was, too, but was willing to leave her husband if he would leave me.
My husband had responded perfectly. “Debbie, we were 15. We dated for 6 months. I’m sorry, but I didn’t and don’t love you. I never will. As a matter of fact, what you did to try to find me was disturbing, especially since it states on my profile that I’m married. I think you may want to talk to someone about it.
To top it all off, you’re disrespecting my wife, whom I love with my entire soul, your husband, and me. How would you feel if my wife was doing the same thing with your husband? Please don’t contact me again. Get some help, and move on.”
I can see why he didn’t say anything to me. He knows I probably would have lost my shit on her. She had stopped messaging him, and it was done. I’m actually glad he didn’t tell me. He responded the exact way I would’ve had it happened to me.
I wish I hadn’t seen it, only because if we ever run into her, I’ll probably be calling my bondsman again.
kraftwerk – Radioactivity (Original Version)
Vinegar Grilled Chicken
vinegar grilled chicken
Prep: 10 min | Marinate: 4 hr | Cook: 10 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 (10 ounce) bone-in chicken breast halves
Instructions
Place the water, vinegar, pepper, salt, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and melted butter into a large, resealable plastic bag. Shake to combine ingredients, then add chicken, seal, and shake to coat. Place in refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours.
Heat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
Remove chicken from marinade, and shake off excess. Discard remaining marinade.
Cook on preheated grill until no longer pink in the center; about 10 minutes per side.
Notes
To make this chicken roadside-style, use boneless chicken tenderloins and brush with barbecue sauce the final minutes of grilling.
Man! I stock groceries and build and repair furniture for people. I wear out a few sets of knee pads every year and shaking my hand feels like grabbing a stack of sand paper.
What a day’s work looks like for me:
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You know what I say when people ask what I do for a living?
“Oh, I have a great job! I stock groceries and do a little custom woodworking on the side.”
And I mean it. I have a great job. My workshop is in my backyard, and my grocery job is one mile from my house. I have no commute.
I have a regular schedule. I get eight hours of sleep every night and plenty of exercise.
I make plenty enough money. I never worry about my bills. I save plenty for retirement.
I get to work with no stress around mostly friendly people. I stay active and on my feet all day. It keeps me healthy and trim. The work I do is necessary and purposeful.
I have plenty of time for my family and hobbies.
I spent many years climbing the corporate ladder. I was tired and stressed out and couldn’t be there for my family. That sucked.
Now I do needful work well, and I’m happy doing it, and I’m doing well. What’s there to be ashamed of?
I am sure that people see my knee pads, and my shredded work gloves, and the sawdust all over my jacket and look down on me. I can handle that. I don’t really even think about it.
We NEED custodians, my friend. You are supporting yourself with honest, good work that I’m sure has many enviable upsides. Hold your head up.
“The Worst President in the Last 100 Years” – Victor Davis Hanson
President Bidean actually attended the same university as I did. WTF?
I have never seen (in person) a punch kill or a boot in the butt. I have seen a man kicked in the face who then died right there on the spot. It was a bar fight on a street called Clay Morgan Alley in St Louis. I was a Patrolman working an overtime shift walking a foot beat on the gaslight entertainment district down by the river. There was an altercation where a man fell down to the ground on his back. One of the three people attacking him kicked him in the face before I could get to them. By the time I ran the 20 feet to the victim he was already dying from a massive skull fracture. He had a strange breathing pattern people do right as they die. I think it’s called “agonal breathing” if my Paramedic training decades ago is correctly remembered. His head felt like a bag of skin holding many pieces of broken pottery in the rear particularly. The people that killed him had a good laugh and though they would just get the night in jail for fighting. Intoxication in public or something minor. They had all had priors for assault and wealthy parents got that them off every time. Fine paid. Probation.
I still remember the happiness it brough me to go into the separate rooms they were being held in and telling these smug little trust fund babies that the victim had been pronounced dead with cause of death being homicide by blunt object to the skull. It was a glorious feeling of schadenfreude watching their “my daddy will have you fired and sue you” attitudes of mockery and laughing disappear into blind panic. The possible sentence guidelines would mean they were looking at up to 20 years to life in Maximum Security. I know that sounds really unprofessional to feel that but it was one of the few times I really had to watch myself because I was so angry. My Partner who was a couple blocks away and wasn’t as emotionally involved because he didn’t see it go down. He sensed my frame of mind and took over booking. We would step in and let the other one cool off when we thought the other was reaching their limits. For some reason only one of us would be feed up and aggravated at a time if it happened.
Anyway….the victim was black and the Feds almost piled on with another 20 to life in Federal for Violation of Civil Rights but the campaign contributions to the right politicians put the brakes on that. There was a good case for it being racially motivated. What first drew my attention and made me take a few steps to look down the alley was someone yelling a racial slur as they attacked him. Witness also heard them talking before the assault began inside about how “Boomers wasn’t a Nigger bar”. I’m often critical the FBI but they did step up on this case and fought the Eastern District US Attorney to have the case go federal to no avail. Normally it would require the sacrifice of a goat to summon divine intervention and get them to work a case that didn’t involve Muslims or terrorism. They were right with me lock step trying to get it in front of a Grand Jury that was currently impaneled. The families had too much political power to get it done. They were big campaign donors and had a lot of pull. The media took no interest so we had no leverage.
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Not the incident but this is almost exactly the type of kick I saw. Running start…full force on an unconcious prone kid. ^
The 3 people who were involved were all arrested by me for 2nd Degree Murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment. They pled guilty to Manslaughter and each got 8 years in Potosi Prison of which they served 6 before being paroled.
I only know that because I attended the yearly parole hearings to give a vivid description of the murder to keep them in as long as possible. Autopsy photos and video of interrogations where two of them were laughing at what they had done. Like the whole thing was a joke and they said “wait until my Dad get’s here. His lawyers will sue you…etc”. They were text book bullies beating on a timid and small victim. I wanted to make sure they stayed in and had a page in their file requesting I be notified of any Parole hearings for the two that went to Max. The third was a follower and had some promise on not being a piece of shit his whole life so I didn’t involve myself in his case after conviction. He was transferred to minimum after a year. All three were the worst kind of “Frat Boys”. Wealthy. Privileged. Obnoxious. Thought they had the power to do literally anything. Their family name and fortunes would always save them. They lost a fortune in Defense Lawyers for sure.
The lead council for one of them I knew well and was good friends with. I got along with Defense Attorneys. I always root for the underdog and Public Defenders are the ultimate underdogs. I always had their clients by the balls with good evidence so they didn’t have much to work with. This friend though was a high priced lawyer. We went up against each other in several minor and two major cases. We had a mutual respect. I would never lie of obfuscate, be a hostile type witness on the stand. If I ever had the State or Feds lock me up he’s the typo of intellectual bulldog I would want in my corner. The Prosecutor knew they could walk in a trial with an OJ type dream team so he offered them a deal. They got the max they could get from the sentencing guidelines from the plea. One of those cases where the Judge is bursting to get to lay into the defendants at sentencing. It never made the news. There weren’t more than 12 people in the Court including me the Judge, Bailiff and Court Reporter. That bothered me. This hideous affair should have been on every TV in America and nobody took notice. Only a 1 inch column in the Metro section of the Post Dispatch the day after the attack. Just a blurb in the Metro crime B section below the fold. I have seen ads for Yard Sales with more words. The victim was a really good kid with a bright future. He was alive, happy and loved one minute and ancient anonymous history the next and the world took no notice.
I knew as soon as I saw that kick the victim wasn’t going to survive. It looked like an NFL kicker going for a 50 yard field goal type kick on an unconscious victim.
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^ Above a view of Clay Morgan Alley crime scene. The incident took place at the far end just before the street intersection in front of Boomers nightclub. If you see the 3 lamps on the left (East side of the alley) look at the most distant of the three. I was standing just a few feet around that corner when I first heard it. It took place near the middle street lamp in the center of the alley. That is the parking lot for the Arch in the background. That parking lot is Federal Property. I shit you not that I know of a case where a kid was arrested for Marijuana in that exact garage by Federal Park Rangers….. and got more time than the killers in this case. Probably served damn near the whole sentence too as there is no Federal Parole.
Answers like this bring it all back vividly. I write here so people better understand what Policing is like. I appreciate it when people feel informed or took something away from the writing. The positive feedback I suppose keeps me doing it. When you see people comment or up vote etc it does make me feel like there is some kind of purpose in it and it is therapeutic to write about some of these things. Anyway…thanks for the feedback everyone. The comments are usually the most interesting part of my answers IMO.
I know I shouldn’t have done this, but I am 83 years old and I was in the McDonald’s drive-through this morning and the young lady behind me leaned on her horn and started mouthing something because I was taking too long to place my order.
So when I got to the first window I paid for her order along with my own.
The cashier must have told her what I’d done because as we moved up she leaned out her window and waved to me and mouthed “Thank you.”, obviously embarrassed that I had repaid her rudeness with kindness.
When I got to the second window I showed them both receipts and took her food too. Now she has to go back to the end of the queue and start all over again.
Don’t blow your horn at old people, they have been around a long time.🤣
Since 1978, China has opened its arms and actively integrated into the global division of labor system, which has greatly benefited the development of China itself and the world. In 2022, China and South Korea jointly celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea. For 31 years, friendly cooperation and mutual benefit have always been the mainstream of PRC-ROK relations. The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries continues to deepen. In 2022, the economic and trade volume between China and South Korea reached 362.3 billion U.S. dollars, and South Korea surpassed Japan to become China’s second largest trading partner.
This series of tangible achievements not only brought great benefits to the two countries and the two peoples, but also provided a stable guarantee for the peaceful development and prosperity of the region. China and South Korea are the important neighbors of each other and mutually beneficial partners and have many good development opportunities. It is the consensus of the people. China and South Korea must proceed from the fundamental interests of the two countries, adhere to mutual respect, especially respect the core interests of each other, eliminate external interference, properly handle differences, and promote the continuous development of China-ROK relations and bilateral cooperation.
One of the core interests of China is the Taiwan issue. The Taiwan issue is the most important core interest of China, and it is a red line that cannot be crossed. In recent years, out of domestic political needs, some U.S. politicians have been manipulating various Taiwan-related issues, exacerbating tensions in Sino-U.S. relations. The only one purpose for what the US does is to use Taiwan as a pawn to implement an anti-China and containment strategy to maintain US hegemony.
The one-China principle is the general consensus of the international community and the basic norm of international relations. It is also the premise and basis for China to establish and develop diplomatic relations with countries around the world, including South Korea. Thus, it is better for the two countries to keep the close economic ties between China and South Korea without provocation.
The recovery and development of China’s economy will bring greater development opportunities to all the neighboring countries including South Korea. However, in recent years, in order to serve their own self-interest, some countries have promoted unilateralism and protectionism under the pretext of so-called economic security, created closed and exclusive small circles, and clamored for decoupling and breaking the chain. That has seriously disrupted the normal operation of the global production and supply chain and seriously damaged the development interests of countries around the world, including China and South Korea.
China is different from those countries and implements the dual cycle, a development pattern in which the domestic market and the international market are better connected by giving full play to the potential of domestic demand, rather than a closed domestic cycle. With the utmost sincerity, China will carry out mutually beneficial cooperation with countries all over the world to achieve common development and progress.
In summary, how the export recovery of South Korea could be is up to the South Korean government and solely depends on the clever behaviors and the choice of the South Korean government. The Koreans act as if they don’t understand why.
Did Biden Fall Asleep During Meeting w/ Israeli President?
During a recent joint press event at the White House with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, U.S. President Joe Biden mumbled through a portion of his comments about U.S.-Israeli relations, leading many online to conclude that the Commander in Chief had nodded off briefly. He probably didn’t, but still…
I was out having a drink with a friend of mine in Brixham. Towards the end of the night, my friend was just carrying a couple of pints across from the bar to our table when a large bloke, not looking where he was going banged straight into him.
My friend, being the man he is, immediately apologised. But despite it being actually his fault, the guy was having none of it as he said that his shirt and trousers had been ruined by my friends beer. As he squared up to my friend, another two of the blokes mates (equally as large as the first) joined in the argument and made the mistake of laying hands on my friend.
By the time I had walked across, he had already taken them up on their offer to ‘Take it outside’. The first big guy led the way. My friend followed, only pausing momentarily to pick a cardboard menu off a table as he left. With the blokes two mates behind, carrying bottles of beer which I imagined they may have been expecting to use as weapons.
As I watched them leave, I immediately got on my mobile and phoned for an ambulance. The guy next to me turned and said to me “An ambulance? Shouldn’t you be helping your mate instead? “. “Oh”, I said smiling. “It’s not for him….anyway there’s only three of them. “
The thing is that I knew something that the three local big guys didn’t and that was that my friend was a retired CQC (Close Quarters Combat) instructor with the Royal Marines at Lympstone. He was trained not only in martial arts but weapons and tactics too. The bullies had bottles, but in my friends skilled hands a tightly rolled up cardboard menu was as good as having an iron bar.
By the time I got outside moments later, there was just a lot of broken glass and the three big guys were all in various crumpled heaps on the floor. My friend was just standing smiling rubbing his jaw.
“I must be getting slow in my old age” he said “One of them actually managed to land a punch”.
The U.S Military just got a HUGE wake up call and it’s bad
Look how big is Moscow’s (erstwhile) McDonald’s now known as Big Hit after McDonald’s got de-branded.
Russia’s McDonald’s replacement says it’s serving 2 million customers a day. Its CEO said that it has sold more than 24 million “Big Hits,” its Big Mac dupe, since opening.
Russian population stands at 143 million. Business as usual with a new logo and similar menu.
Alexander Govor, the Russian businessman who bought the former McDonald’s sites, told that the new company was opening restaurants slightly faster than planned and hoped to have more than 900 by the end of the year.
Most of the menu is made with the same ingredients and equipment as when it was McDonald’s.
The B-52’s – Rock Lobster (Countdown 1980)
Jamaica V.S the U.S.A Diplomatic Row: The Implications of refusing a diplomat’s Same-Sex Spouse
In this video we will explore the conflict brewing between Jamaica and the United States over Jamaica’s decision to deny diplomatic immunity and privileges, to the spouse of an American diplomat due to their same-sex relationship.
Originally Answered: What was the hardest thing you went through in life and how did you get past that?
I was repeatedly raped by a neighbor when I was 7 years old. I didn’t want my mother to find out, because she was a single mother working 3 jobs to support me and my brother and she cried enough as it was. We lived in a trailer that had holes in the floor so that sometimes raccoons and opossums would climb through. I was scared of them. The carpet was infested with fleas. I usually had flea bites all over my body. I never felt clean. We got clothes from Goodwill but they were usually old, faded, and stained. My mother did the best she could but we were all alone in the world. We lived in a rural area that was unforgiving of those who deviated from “the norm.” My mother tried to baptize me when I was a baby, only to be turned away by the local preacher because I was “a bastard.” We were not welcome in their churches, which were an important part of rural life there. I didn’t have friends at school. I was “weird” “dirty” “ugly” “too quiet” etc. Even most of the teachers looked at me and my brother in disgust. We were “the XXX family.”
I grew up with the understanding that I was worthless. That I should be ashamed of who I am. I barely said a word through most of my childhood. I didn’t say a word to anyone when they pushed me around, taunted me endlessly, beat up my brother and I. I never said a word when my neighbor (who, interestingly, was widely regarded as an outstanding member of society) raped me.
I led a very solitary life. My mother was usually gone at work, my brother would devote himself to his own activities, and there I was. I remember I would sit outside of my home and pretend to be a rock, because rocks didn’t feel anything and they certainly didn’t cry. They were indestructible, I thought.
I overheard one of the other little girls discussing the prayer they said before bedtime and I resolved to remember it. It went like this – As I lay down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
I thought about this prayer for the rest of the day, until I went home and decided on my own version: Dear God, I don’t want to live anymore. There are other people begging you to keep them alive. Let me take their place. I’ll die. I was about 8 years old.
But I didn’t die, much to my dismay. I woke up the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. The days went by. My situation didn’t greatly improve, people weren’t much nicer to me, and my life didn’t get easier. But I got stronger. I discovered books as a way to escape from my tedious existence and by the time I was in 5th grade, I was reading at a college level.
I grew up and gained control over my life. I was no longer the defenseless, powerless victim I had been as a child. I had power. I could do whatever I wanted. I got a job. I studied hard so I could go to a good college. I escaped from my small, unforgiving town.
I have a good job now and good relationships. People who know me now would never guess I was once that hungry, miserable, terrified, beaten down little girl I had been back then.
As for my family, my mother still lives in that trailer. My neighbor is long dead. My older brother still lives with my mother. He has never gotten a driver’s license or a job. He doesn’t leave the house very often. A part of me understands his reluctance – why let the world do you more harm when it has already done so much? But I wish he would take the chance. I feel sad that our childhood all but destroyed him.
If you want to know how to get through hard things, my answer is probably inadequate, but it is the best I have to offer. My answer is: keep going.
Do Our Pets Go to Heaven? | NDE Compilation
2023 07 21 17 51
China rejects ‘Iron Curtain’ or ‘Silicon Curtain’ imposed by the US upon the world, warns against ‘an eye for an eye’ — Chinese Ambassador to the US
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On July 19, 2023, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng attended the Aspen Security Forum at invitation, and had a fireside chat with Steve Clemons, Founding Editor-at-large of Semafor. Ambassador Xie elaborated on China’s policies and positions on China-U.S. relations, China’s intention in development, the Taiwan question, U.S. technological suppression of China and other issues.
On the China-U.S. relationship, Ambassador Xie said that China-U.S. relations are facing serious difficulties and challenges. Recently, there have been some reflections in the United States about its China policy. Our two countries have had a series of high-level communication, which were candid, in-depth and constructive. In particular, the two sides have agreed on implementing the important common understanding reached between President Xi Jinping and President Biden in Bali. This offers a rare opportunity for stabilizing the relationship. But the opportunity has not come easy, the foundation remains fragile, and challenges still abound. We must cherish and sustain the momentum. President Xi Jinping has outlined three principles: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. They represent the fundamental and right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era. We hope the U.S. side will work with China in the same direction to stabilize and improve our relations.
First, shorten the negative list to clear obstacles and manage differences with concrete actions. It is important to properly handle important and sensitive issues such as the Taiwan question in line with the principles of the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, stop sanctioning Chinese entities and individuals, and prevent “black swans” or “gray rhinos” from disrupting or rattling China-US relations again. President Biden stated that the United States does not seek to change China’s system, does not support “Taiwan independence” , and has no intention to decouple from China or to halt China’s economic development. The U.S. side needs to translate these statements into concrete actions.
Second, expand the positive list to enhance dialogue and cooperation in good faith. We can start with concrete, small steps to inject more positive energy into China-U.S. relations: for instance, to increase passenger flights, adjust the China travel advisory, renew the China-U.S. agreement on cooperation in science and technology, revive MECEA programs to encourage congressional members and staff to visit China, hold the Tourism Leadership Summit, and facilitate visa application and border entry for students, scholars, tourists, business people and others. China and the United States once had over 100 dialogue and exchange mechanisms. But they have been stalled by the U.S. side since 2018. Our two peoples have been waiting too long. If it is difficult to resume all, can we start with 50, or at least 30?
Third, seek out supporters of China-U.S. relations. Joint efforts are needed to bring China-U.S. relations gradually back to the right track.
Ambassador Xie said that the so-called “political correctness” has permeated American society. Over the past month and more since his arrival, he has been talking to people from various sectors. He can feel that there are many supporters of China-US relations, but they are under pressure. They are becoming reticent under the chilling effect. Few want to express different opinions amid the anti-China chorus.
Ambassador Xie said that an American netizen left him a comment on Twitter: “I hope you find some allies; there are a few hiding in the darkness afraid of being crushed.” A sound and stable China-U.S. relationship is in the common interests of both countries. It is also the shared expectation of the international community. So the third priority is to seek them out. “I am one, but we are many,” said Ambassador Xie. He called on all to pitch in, and work together to bring China-U.S. relations gradually back to the right track.
On China’s intention in development, Ambassador Xie said that the Chinese people are the most friendly people in the world. Assertiveness is never our tradition. Invasion or pursuit of hegemony is not in our DNA. We have facilitated the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Our purpose is to inspire more countries in the region to shake hands and embrace peace, and to make greater contribution to world peace, stability and prosperity.
When meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken in Beijing recently, President Xi Jinping emphasized that the Earth is large enough for China and the United States to develop respectively and prosper together. China respects U.S. interests and does not seek to challenge or displace the United States. In the same vein, the United States needs to respect China and must not hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests. China does not intend to challenge or displace anyone. Instead of outcompeting others, our focus is on outdoing ourselves. The “Thucydides Trap” is not a historical inevitability. The world has changed. The international community should have the wisdom to look beyond this, say goodbye to the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and zero-sum game, pursue win-win cooperation, and jointly prevent a major-country conflict.
Ambassador Xie said that a friend asked him: what kind of flower will grow out of China？This is his answer: it will be a flower of peace, cooperation and common development. It will be as beautiful and sweet as peonies and roses.
On the Taiwan question, Ambassador Xie emphasized that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. It is an inalienable part of China’s territory. This is the first thing we need to bear in mind when handling Taiwan-related issues. No one cherishes more than the Chinese side peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. And no one wishes more for peaceful reunification than us. There are two biggest threats to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait now. First, the Taiwan authorities are seeking U.S. support for their independence agenda. They have refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, and even denied their Chinese identity. Second, some forces in the United States are trying to use Taiwan to contain China. They have emboldened adventurism and provocation by “Taiwan independence” separatists. The path they are taking is very dangerous. This is something we should guard against.
The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive question in China-U.S. relations. The U.S. side should take concrete actions to deliver on President Biden’s statement that the United States does not support “Taiwan independence”. The most fundamental thing is to return to the one-China principle; the most important is to abide by the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques; and the most pressing is to oppose adventurism and provocation by “Taiwan independence” separatists. The top priority now is to stop Lai Ching-te’s visit to the United States, which is like a “gray rhino” charging at us.
On U.S. technological suppression of China, Ambassador Xie pointed out that China opposes waging trade war or technological war under the pretext of competition. China never shies away from competition. But the “competition” defined by the United States is unfair. First, the United States is trying to win by keeping China out. For instance, it has banned Huawei for unfounded national security concerns, even though the company offered to sign a “no-backdoor” agreement. How can we compete without being present? Second, the United States is rallying allies to encircle China. Is there any respect for the one-on-one rule of the game? Third, the United States prohibits exports of equipment making chips smaller than 14 nanometers to China. This is like forcing others to wear outdated swimsuits in a swimming contest while one wears a Speedo fastskin himself. Is this fair play?
As a Chinese saying goes, “We never make provocation, but we will not flinch from any provocation coming our way.” We oppose both iron curtain and silicon curtain. And we are the last to want a tit-for-tat cycle. So far, over 1,300 Chinese entities and individuals are on US sanction lists. As a result, many Chinese workers have been forced out of job, and their families suffered greatly. The Chinese people will not remain silent, and the Chinese government will not sit idly by.
Ambassador Xie also stated China’s principled position on Ukraine, China-Russia relations and climate change. He pointed out that China has always promoted talks for peace on the Ukraine issue, and its position is gaining increasing understanding and support. Russia is China’s biggest neighbor, and the two countries share a border of over 4,000 kilometers. It is only natural for the two sides to maintain good neighborly relations and normal trade. On climate change, China and the United States have vast potentials for cooperation. It is important to stick to the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”. The Untied States and other developed countries should take concrete actions to honor their commitment to supporting developing countries.
The Aspen Security Forum is a biannual event held by the Aspen Institute, in Aspen in summer and Washington D.C. in winter respectively. The current forum will be held from July 18-21. It has broad influence in the United States and worldwide. Over 400 delegates attended the forum, including senior U.S. officials like Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the President Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, and Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield; former U.S. dignitaries, renowned entrepreneurs, think tanks, scholars, journalists and international political figures from the United Kingdom, France, Kenya and Israel. Ambassador Xie Feng’s remarks during the forum attracted great attention and were widely covered by American and international media outlets. They were warmly received by various sectors of American society.
Spicy Chicken Phyllo Rolls
Chicken, sour cream, raisins and spices come together in flaky phyllo rolls with this recipe.
spicy chicken phyllo rolls
Prep: 30 min | Bake: 30 min | Yield: 32 small rolls
Ingredients
1 cup chicken broth
1 bottle Mexican beer
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 (9 x 14 inch) rolls Athens® Phyllo Dough, thawed
Instructions
Thaw two rolls of phyllo dough, following thawing instructions on package.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium skillet, bring broth and beer to a boil. Add chicken breasts, then lower heat and simmer, for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Dice chicken into 1/2 inch cubes.
In another medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, curry, coriander, and cayenne pepper, and cook for 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion mixture, sour cream, raisins, brown sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Unroll and cover phyllo with plastic wrap and then a slightly damp towel to prevent drying out. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with 2 tablespoons oil. Layer 5 phyllo sheets, brushing each with the butter–oil mixture.
Cut the width of layered phyllo into 4 strips. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling at one end of phyllo strip, leaving 1 inch from end and 1/2 inch from each side free of any filling. Fold phyllo up over the filling to form a roll. Fold side edges in to enclose the sides. Roll up to the end of phyllo strip. Brush outside of roll with butter–oil mixture. Repeat process three times to make 30 rolls.
Bake seam side down, at least 1 inch apart, on ungreased cookie sheet or baking pan in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Serve with plain yogurt or your favorite jarred chutneys such as Sherwood’s Green Label Mango and Ginger Chutney and Swad Coriander Chutney.
Exactly like I said in one of my previous answers :—Electric Vehicles were the biggest WinnerRetail Consumption came secondGreen Energy took the third placeFixed Asset Investment took the fourth place (Railways etc)Shipping was a surprising fifth place winnerServices took Sixth Place
These Sectors grew between 6% to 11% this quarter (1/4/23–30/6/23)
They contributed to 18.67 Trillion Yuan ($ 2.91 Trillion) in the last two quarters or around 30% of China’s GDP
In 2019 they compared to around 13% of China’s GDP
Ironically Exports ended up on the whole with a near 4% growth which was pretty surprising
Meanwhile the losers :—Real Estate as expected was the biggest loserIndustrial Manufacturing came secondCommercial Banking came thirdRetail Investments came fourthConstruction came fifth
These Sectors grew by less than 2% or contracted by upto 10% in this Quarter YOY
They contributed 25.85 Trillion to the Chinese Economy ($ 4.15 Trillion) in the last two quarters contributing to around 42% of China’s GDP
In 2019 they contributed to 51% of China’s GDP
Industrial Manufacturing is the only worrisome issue
Real Estate was already a bloated bubble and China already made it clear that by 2030 it’s contribution to the GDP shouldn’t be more than 6% instead of 16% in 2016 at its peak
Commercial Banking is entirely linked to real estate. Commercial Banks gained 207 Billion Yuan and lost 139 Billion Yuan finishing with a cumulative 68 Billion Yuan profit or 4.27% profit
In 2019 it was 8.66%
So that’s a nearly 50% fall in profit in 5 years
Still it will rise as alternate investments pick up steam
Construction fell in China by 13% but grew in BRI by 10.6% and so the total contraction was only 2.4%
It will rise as BRI begins to open up newer projects
So China is mostly on track except for Industrial Manufacturing
Global Demand is weak and Chinese Workforce is not keen on factory jobs anymore
Thanks to the Common Prosperity program, Chinese want to go back to villages and small towns instead of the other way round
They flooded cities to escape poverty in the 2000s
Now they want to go back to the rural life and become farmers instead of low grade factory workers
I was fired from a law firm. No I wasn’t a lawyer. Not by a long shot. I worked in the file room. I was in my early 20’s. Back then I wasn’t really looking beyond my next pay check.
I also would chauffeur the senior partner around in his Mercedes sedan. He turned out to be a great mentor of mine. His name was Bob. One day, in between phone calls, Bob asked me how I was doing, I told him that I was doing great! Thanks!
And that’s when it happened. He fired me…sort of. He said, “Keith you’re fired!”
I was shocked. I asked him why?
He said ” Keith, I see you working in the file room, Xerox room. Answering phones. Delivering the mail. Driving me around. Going and getting lunches!
I still didn’t understand.
“That’s why I’m firing you. Keith you’re too damn smart to be working here doing the things you’re doing. So I’m going to force you to do something else. Go back to school. Learn a trade. Apply yourself. Start a business. I’m giving you two weeks notice. You have two weeks!”
For several days I thought about it. I thought that if I just worked hard enough someone would notice it and promote me. But that’s not how it always is.
I had always wanted to go to tech school, but didn’t think I was smart enough (that’s another story!). I decided to check some of them out.
I enrolled at ITT Tech. A week later I went to Bob and I told him about ITT and could I please keep my job at least until I graduated. It was a two year course. I was worried about how I was going to fit school and work together. Bob told me ” Keith I’m very proud of you. As long as you’re going to school AND making good progress you can work here! And also tell Barbara (the HR manager) that Bob said that you can work any hours you’d like to in order to accommodate your schedule!
What a fantastic man Bob was! He impacted my life in a big way. Two years later I graduated with highest honors at the top of my class. I was immediately hired by tech giant at the time, Honeywell. I rose through the ranks quickly and eventually became an Engineer. Ten years I started my first “dot.com” business. And three years after that I sold my first company in a multi million dollar deal.
That was the first, and only time, I got fired. And it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Unfortunately Bob (RIP) passed away a few years after that story happened from cancer. A young man of 43. At his funeral we heard stories about all of the people that Bob helped behind the scenes. His firm Frandzel, Csato, Robbins and Bloom is still around. One of the attorneys Ron Gruzen worked there. I used to deliver his mail to him, copy papers and stuff. Today, 40 years later Ron Gruzen is my attorney, negotiating settlement deals, real estate transactions and a host of other business and personal legal matters for me! Ron and I laugh all the time about how far I’ve come and we reminisce about the old days at Bob Frandzel’s law firm!
Explaining the United States Today
“Put a rat in a cage and give it 2 water bottles. One is just water and one is water laced with heroin or cocaine. The rat will almost always prefer the drugged water and almost always kill itself in a couple of weeks”.
That is our theory of addiction.
Bruce comes along in the ’70s and said, “Well, hang on. We’re putting the rat in an empty cage. It has nothing to do. Let’s try this a bit differently.” So he built Rat Park, and Rat Park is like heaven for rats. Everything a rat could want is in Rat Park. Lovely food. Lots of sex. Other rats to befriend. Colored balls. Plus both water bottles, one with water and one with drugged water.
But here’s what’s fascinating: In Rat Park, they don’t like the drugged water. They hardly use it. None of them overdose. None of them use in a way that looks like compulsion or addiction.
What Bruce did shows that both the right-wing and left-wing theories of addiction are wrong. The right-wing theory is that it’s a moral failing, you’re a hedonist, you party too hard. The left-wing theory is that it takes you over, your brain is hijacked. Bruce says it’s not your morality, it’s not your brain; it’s your cage.
Addiction is largely an adaptation to your environment.
Now, we created a society where significant numbers of us can’t bear to be present in our lives without being on something, drink, drugs, sex, shopping… We’ve created a hyperconsumerist, hyperindividualist, isolated world that is, for many of us, more like the first cage than the bonded, connected cages we need.
The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. And our whole society, the engine of it, is geared toward making us connect with things not people.
You are not a good consumer citizen if you spend your time bonding with the people around you and not stuff. In fact, we are trained from a young age to focus our hopes, dreams, and ambitions on things to buy and consume. Drug addiction is a subset of that.”
China has planted more trees than the rest of the world combined.
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But here’s bloomberg painting it in a negative light.
But here’s the gist
The CCP planted 1 billion trees a total act of evil! Over a 40 year period and increased forest coverage from 12% to 22%. TOTALLY EVIL!!!
Bloomberg wrote a mostly negative article (the 1bn is wrong it’s actually 66bn) focusing on all sorts of problems including how a few million trees got infected with bugs.
They then claim because of wood exports some of the bugs infected the West:
“This allowed the beetle larvae to hitch rides to Europe and North America, where governments are now spending a fortune trying to control infestations.” Amazing! Even on what should be a neutral scientific article about China’s success in planting trees they need to pander to the anti China crowd and relate it to Covid spreading from China.
It was a photo op for the ages: a visibly well-disposed President Xi Jinping receiving centenarian “old friend of China” Henry Kissinger in Beijing.
Mirroring meticulous Chinese attention to protocol, they met at Villa 5 of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse – exactly where Kissinger first met in person with Zhou Enlai in 1971, preparing Nixon’s 1972 visit to China.
The Mr. Kissinger Goes to Beijing saga was an “unofficial”, individual attempt to try to mend increasingly fractious Sino-American relations. He was not representing the current American administration.
2023 07 22 10 15
There’s the rub. Everyone involved in geopolitics is aware of the legendary Kissinger formulation: To be the US’s enemy is dangerous, to be the US’s friend is fatal. History abounds in examples, from Japan and South Korea to Germany, France and Ukraine.
As quite a few Chinese scholars privately argued, if reason is to be upheld, and “respecting the wisdom of this 100-years-old diplomat”, Xi and the Politburo should maintain the China-US relation as it is: “icy”.
After all, they reason, being the US’s enemy is dangerous but manageable for a Sovereign Civilizational State like China. So Beijing should keep “the honorable and less perilous status” of being a US enemy.
Luttwak, 80, may not be as visibly influential as Kissinger, but as a behind the scenes strategist he’s been advising the Pentagon across the spectrum for over five decades. His book on Byzantine Empire strategy, for instance, heavily drawing on top Italian and British sources, is a classic.
Luttwak, a master of deception, reveals precious nuggets in terms of contextualizing current Washington moves. That starts with his assertion that the US – represented by the Biden combo – is itching to do a deal with Russia.
That explains why CIA head William Burns, actually a capable diplomat, called his counterpart, SVR head Sergey Naryshkin (Russian Foreign Intelligence) to sort of straighten things up “because you have something else to worry about which is more unlimited”.
What’s “unlimited”, depicted by Luttwak in a Spenglerian sweep, is Xi Jinping’s drive to “get ready for war”. And if there’s a war, Luttwak claims that “of course” China would lose. That dovetails with the supreme delusion of Straussian neocon psychos across the Beltway.
Luttwak seems not to have understood China’s drive for food self-sufficiency: he qualifies it as a threat. Same for Xi using a “very dangerous” concept, the “rejuvenation of the Chinese people”: that’s “Mussolini stuff”, says Luttwak. “There has to be a war to rejuvenate China”.
The “rejuvenation” concept – actually better translated as “revival” – has been resonating in China circles at least since the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in 1911. It was not coined by Xi. Chinese scholars point out that if you see US troops arriving in Taiwan as “advisors”, you would probably make preparations to fight too.
But Luttwak is on a mission: “This is not America, Europe, Ukraine, Russia. This is about ‘the sole dictator’. There is no China. There is only Xi Jinping,” he insisted.
And Luttwak confirms the EU’s Josep “Garden vs. Jungle” Borrell and European Commission dominatrix Ursula von der Leyen fully support his vision.
Luttwak, in just a few words, actually gives away the whole game: “The Russian Federation, as it is, is not strong enough to contain China as much as we would wish”.
Hence the turn around by the Biden combo to “freeze” the conflict in the Donbass and change the subject. After all, “if that [China] is the threat, you don’t want Russia to fall apart,” Luttwak reasons.
So much for Kissingerian “diplomacy.”
Let’s Declare a “Moral Victory” and Run Away
On Russia, the Kissinger vs. Luttwak confrontation reveals crucial cracks as the Empire faces an existential conflict it never did in the recent past.
The gradual, massive U-turn is already in progress – or at least the semblance of a U turn. US mainstream media will be entirely behind the U turn. And the naïve masses will follow. Luttwak is already voicing their deepest agenda: the real war is on China, and China “will lose”.
At least some non-neocon players around the Biden combo – like Burns – seem to have understood the Empire’s massive strategic blunder of publicly committing to a Forever War, hybrid and otherwise, against Russia on behalf of Kiev.
This would mean, in principle, that Washington can’t just walk away like it did in Vietnam and Afghanistan. Yet Hegemons do enjoy the privilege to walk away: after all they exercise sovereignty, not their vassals. European vassals will be left to rot. Imagine those Baltic chihuahuas declaring war on Russia-China all by themselves.
The off-ramp confirmed by Luttwak implies Washington declaring some sort of “moral victory” in Ukraine – which is already controlled by BlackRock anyway – and then moving the guns towards China.
Yet even that won’t be a cakewalk, because China and the about-to-expand BRICS+ are already attacking the Empire at its foundation: dollar hegemony. Without it, the US itself will have to fund the war on China.
Chinese scholars, off the record, and exercising their millennia-old analytical sweep, observe this may be the last blunder the Empire ever made in its short history.
As one of them summarized it, “the empire has blundered itself to an existential war and, therefore, the last war of the empire. When the end comes, the empire will lie as usual and declare victory, but everyone else will know the truth, especially the vassals.”
And that brings us to former national security adviser Zbigniew “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski’s 180-degree turn shortly before he died, aligning him today with Kissinger, not Luttwak.
“The Grand Chessboard”, published in 1997, before the 9/11 era, argued that the US should rule over any peer competitor rising in Eurasia. Brzezinski did not live to see the living incarnation of his ultimate nightmare: a Russia-China strategic partnership. But already seven years ago – two years after Maidan in Kiev – at least he understood it was imperative to “realign the global power architecture”.
Destroying the “Rules-Based International Order”
The crucial difference today, compared to seven years ago, is that the US is incapable, per Brzezinski, to “take the lead in realigning the global power architecture in such a way that the violence (…) can be contained without destroying the global order.”
It’s the Russia-China strategic partnership that is taking the lead – followed by the Global Majority – to contain and ultimately destroy the hegemonic “rules-based international order”.
As the indispensable Michael Hudson has summarized it, the ultimate question at this incandescent juncture is “whether economic gains and efficiency will determine world trade, patterns and investment, or whether the post-industrial US/NATO economies will choose to end up looking like the rapidly depopulating and de-industrializing post-Soviet Ukraine and Baltic states or England.”
So is the wet dream of a war on China going to change these geopolitical and geoeconomics imperatives? Give us a -Thucydides – break.
The real war is already on – but certainly not one identified by Kissinger, Brzezinski and much less Luttwak and assorted US neocons.
Michael Hudson, once again, summarized it: when it comes to the economy, the US and EU “strategic error of self-isolation from the rest of the world is so massive, so total, that its effects are the equivalent of a world war.”
But before the war with China, perhaps a war with Mexico is “in the cards”…
How Mexico has become the “enemy” of America’s Republicans A growing number of them want to use military force against drug cartels
I'm honestly amazed that Republicans are willing to risk what hegemony the US has left over a misguided war.
Do they not realize how disastrous this will get. Refugee crisis, economic implosion, complete guerilla warfare, heat waves upon heat waves, etc.
This will end so badly that it'll make Afghanistan look like a minor hiccup. Tell me I'm wrong.
His father and mother both held Doctorates in Biophysics and Quantum Physics
He qualified by merit and a 173 LSAT score to study Law in Duke University
He worked at a Wall Street Firm and had licenses from NY and Washington DC
YET
He had to spend 4 years in Rural Anhui and Guanxi as a Volunteer and worked with Farmers, Drove a Truck, Acted as an accountant
Only then was he made a Deputy Provincial Head — the equivalent in India of a Panchayat Head or Councillor
Later he became Secretary of the District
He couldn’t deliver enough self sufficient villages and deliver a good performance
He WAS AXED IMMEDIATELY
Less that 2% knew he was Deng Xiaopings son when he was made Deputy Head
He called himself Zhuo Xifeng to avoid the Deng name until it came out eventually
That is China’s Meritocracy
No Free Lunches
No Papa Names
It’s always Performance and RESULTS
You need good education, You need solid performances and You need to be worthy of the party (No Homosexuality, No Philandering, No Perversions, No Drunkenness)
main qimg 9506d7abca879b0304d23fca820257b1
This is Shi Guanghui
Son of ordinary farmers
Scholarship winner to study Engineering in Tong Ji and a PE in Singapore and Canada
He served 5 years in the provinces , working as a distributor of food, harvester, drove pigs to the market, learnt about price controls
Later he rose through the ranks
No famous name
Responsible for ensuring Evergrandes Bubble was controlled fully
Responsible for ensuring Covid didn’t kill more than 40,000 people in Shanghai when it was estimated it would kill at least 300,000–400,000 people in Shanghai alone
Responsible for ensuring flow of medicines and food
Responsible for ensuring 6 Trillion of Bonds were absorbed profitably
He DELIVERED each time
He was REWARDED each time
His mentor?
HU JINTAO , who headed a rival faction against Xi Jingping
main qimg 4352ccf49de4d089994be5c2e2cfb98a
No Issues
No repercussions when Xi became the Secretary in 2012 instead of Lei Keiqang
Pure Meritocracy
Sheer unadulterated Meritocracy
If you have the ability, you will be rewarded
main qimg 664a3011721fa58209c10f03f395a238
You know him of course
Son of a Prominent Party Official who lost favor in the old days
A Chemical Engineer who built four standalone processing plants with half the budget when people wanted him to fail
A Man who was exiled to the farthest provinces who made village after village self sufficient and profitable
Who travelled overseas and LEARNT about mechanisation of agriculture from US without any shame and didn’t say “We are the greatest in the world”. He shut up and learnt
Who Mechanised a whole province and raised output by 200% in 7 years
Finally they couldn’t ignore him and today he is
main qimg 391b2bbe99168aab6dca8b86478d1065
Xi Jingping Secretary of the CPC
He has earned his place
He has helped China grow by leaps and bounds
Every man in that room has done his part in China’s growth
Not Caste, Not Religion, Not marching with half shorts and a ridiculous cap, Not based on surname or Papa’s name,
China may not be a 100% Meritocracy but it’s still the best Meritocracy on EARTH
Doctors, Scientists, Researchers, Engineers, Teachers , hell even Laborers
All chosen based on pure ability
main qimg 890505c6f020ea491cf27c4ce9baf8e2
Four Tibetans , Graduates from MIT, Tsinghua and Caltech
Part of the Scientific Council in China
Not even Han Chinese
Reason?
Sheer Ability
China asks only two things :—
China first before religion and language
Loyalty to China and the Communist Party
Deliver this and China will ensure you are protected for life and develop to your best
Don’t deliver this and …you better run
Orson Welles | The 3rd Man (1949) Film-Noir, Thriller
When I was in university, one of my friends offered to buy me lunch,and have some beers with me on a slow Tuesday afternoon. I was a Sophomore at the time, as I recall, and we went to Hungry Charlies and I had this enormous Turkey Grinder and we split a pitcher of beer. Good times. We then went back to the dorm.
He then went and proceeded to pull out his bag of weed, claiming that it was home grown and very weak. He didn’t smoke any, but I was all good for it. I smoked up the entire bag, with no effects. He didn’t and just chuckled.
I turned out to be parsley and he wanted to experiment on me to see if he could get me horny.
It didn’t work.
It also didn’t smoke bad either, as I recall.
Anyways, I have a history of people trying to get me to become horny. Mostly girls. And of them, if I were just a little bit more aware, I would of had a much more interesting time growing up.
But I was a clueless as you could be, and it is only now that I look back at what transpired and what could have been. It’s called “Life”.
A gigantic explosion has taken place at the Hsiang Feng military base on Taiwan. DPP Authorities are already describing this as “Chinese Sabotage in advance of invasion.”
The situation is volatile. A significant number of people are said to be dead and injured.
Finger pointing (in public) at China is not subsiding.
This ammunition dump was THE primary ammo supply for Taiwan military.
If China were to invade now, Taiwan could not fight for longer than a week before running out of ammo and losing.
In the capital city of Taipei, people are TERRIFIED and streets are LITERALLY empty; as if an air raid is taking place:
2023 07 25 12 16
Biden and his economy
Forbes Media Chairman Steve Forbes said Friday he was “amazed” by the administration’s rhetoric on the economy.
“A year ago, Joe Biden was calling himself the deficit cutter, the deficit slasher. This year, two and a half times the deficit is what it was a year ago,” he told “America’s Newsroom.”
“He says he’s bringing down inflation, still twice what it was when he came into office and those prices are not coming down, just the rate of increase is coming down. People’s credit card debt, where is that? Record high. Business investment is not what it should be, headwinds overseas.”
“What kind of world does he think he’s living in?”
The president delivered a full-throated defense of Bidenomics , claiming credit for bringing down inflation, slashing the federal budget by $1.7 trillion and creating 13 million new jobs.
In June, Biden made the same claim about cutting the deficit by $1.7 trillion, which The Washington Post rated “highly misleading.”
Voters also have their doubts; Biden had a 60% disapproval rating on the economy in Fox News’ June poll, which was a 7% improvement from the prior year.
in 2024 and argued his record on the economy is one of the main reasons.
“People feel the institution in this country [they] can’t trust anymore. And both sides, you see that feeling, which is why Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is getting real traction. Who would have thought of that a year ago?”
Former economic adviser to President Trump Steve Moore told “The Faulkner Focus” Friday that the Biden economy is not working for many Americans.
“The people that have really been the victims of the Biden policies have been middle-class Americans,” he explained.
“Inflation is coming down, no question about it. It was 9% this time last summer. It’s down to a little over 3% now, which is good news. But guess what? That huge inflation that we saw in the first two and a half years of Biden’s presidency is now baked in the cake. In other words, if you go to the grocery store, or you go to get your gas fill up, or you buy an airline ticket or buy meat, all of those things on average are up 15 and a half percent. And that’s going to continue as we continue to have this inflation.”
Moore continued, “wages over that same time period for middle-class families are up roughly 12%. So the math here isn’t difficult, a 15 and a half percent increase in inflation, a 12% increase in wages means people are falling behind, and they’re feeling it.”
“Who do you think gets hurt the most by inflation? People who have spent their whole lifetime building up their savings. So we estimate, for example, that the average 401(k) plan has lost about 40 or $50,000 in its purchasing power because of the high inflation and the fact that the market had not done so well,” Moore said. “The stock market is doing better now, thank God. But it’s really difficult for people now to just retire on Social Security.”
The U.S. dollar stands at the crossroads of a new financial order as the BRICS alliance is looking to launch a new currency.
The present objective of BRICS is to dethrone the U.S. dollar and make the new currency the world’s reserve status.
BRICS is advancing in its mission to challenge the U.S. dollar by convincing developing countries to end reliance on the greenback.
The bloc remains successful as close to 41 countries have expressed interest to trade in the new BRICS currency.
The development could put a strain on the U.S. economy as the greenback would have no means to fund its deficit. While the debt ceiling crisis is yet to be resolved, the burden of a ‘BRICS currency success’ will take a toll on the American economy.
Heritage Foundation economist E. J. Antoni warned that the U.S. dollar is on the brink of losing its reserve currency status. Antoni explained that if developing countries ditch the dollar and trade in BRICS currency, the debt ceiling crisis could worsen.
The economist rang the warning bells saying that if America fails to fund its deficit, seven decades of deficits could flood the U.S. economy. He said that if such a situation arises, the U.S. economy might fall into hyperinflation where prices of all commodities would skyrocket.
“Losing reserve currency status would mean 70 years of deficits flooding back to the U.S. All competing with existing dollars held domestically to buy goods and services. That’s a hyperinflation scenario. It also means we could no longer export inflation abroad. So we’d bear the FULL COST of past and future inflation.
Earth is the Most Difficult Planet to Incarnate Into | Near Death Experience Researcher David Suich
If you belong to a class that writes the rules that favour you and enrich you thinking it could last forever you won’t want it to end. It is that simple. Just think about this. Prices of commodities are controlled by the west to be deflated at will to keep the rest of the world barely making a living Basically so that the west can literally keep the rest of the world as mere or near slaves and the west makes products that the rest of the world have to harvest an acre of land a year to afford a little radio!
From the end of colonialism after the 2nd world war in 1945 till 1995, the western so call “ rules based international order does just that. They wrote the rules, they police these rules and the judges are the 5 Anglo white Caucasian eyes. In 1945 after the world is burnt to ashes. The developing world could not do a thing. Crumbs off the western table kept us alive.
But bit by bit starting with the Japanese and the Germans. Then Oriental east, ASEAN, Indian subcontinent. Now Africa and Latin America are no longer in need to pay heed to these institutions and soon the hegemonic dollar too. China is one of the enabler BRICS is collectively responsible. Now the BRiCS plus some 40 nations are coming together to set its own rules or at least rejecting the western order.
Western elites clearly don’t like this. But it needs to accept that cheating the world 50 years after stealing and plundering them for 300 years simply cannot go on. If you simply summarise this 350 years, 15% of mainly white Anglo Saxon people stole plunder, looted from the world and kept them impoverished and dilapidated while the western elites build grandeur castles. How can they not feel threatened? Of course they do but to the world it is good riddance.
I have lobster traps stacked in my yard. Every spring, I set them out and around December, I bring them ashore and re-stack them. It’s been going on like that for years.
When the elderly lady next door passed away, the house was sold to a couple with addresses in NY and Conn. So, they moved to this small town and decided, we don’t like the looks of those traps.
I asked, what makes the difference? It’s a summer home, the traps are gone before you get here and you’re gone before I take them back up and stack them in the yard.
It didn’t matter, we ended up in court, everyone had their say and the judge was going to think it over.
Before he hit the gavel, my lawyer asked to make one more statement.
He said “your Honor, these folks bought a house, in a fishing village, on an island, on the coast of Maine. What in heck did they think was going to be next door?”
He decided in my favor right then.
How Bad is the Chinese Economy? Walk Through Shanghai Reveals Truth
How bad is the Chinese economy? We hear it everyday in the news, but what is the economic situation on the ground in China? In today’s video, I hit the streets of Shanghai and explore a local neighborhood seeing what life is like in China in 2023 and share my experiences of speaking with some Chinese youth about the future of the Chinese economy
NOPE
2023 07 23 08 16
Italian Meatloaf
italian meatloaf recipe with parmesan cheese 3058337 hero 01 68dfb9c2ec6f4338989cbf8cb6a769cc
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground mild Italian sausage
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 slices white bread, crumbled
1 tablespoon milk
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, reserve 3/4 cup for topping
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup marinara sauce, plus 1/2 to 3/4 cup more for topping
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion and bell pepper for 3 to 4 minutes; remove from heat.
In a large bowl, add the meats, onion and bell pepper along with all remaining ingredients reserving 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese for topping. Mix very well. Place and mold the mixture in a baking dish of your choice.
Spoon 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the marinara sauce on top and spread around.
Bake for 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese and sprinkle a little dry basil over the top.
Return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Make sure the meat is not pink before serving. Baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the loaf.
The government of French President Emmanuel Macron is under attack by the Anglo-American imperial establishment. The civil unrest that erupted across the nation was triggered by the 27 June 2023 Police killing of the 17-year old Nahel Merzouk (NM) in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. NM was driving a car without a driving license, failed to comply with police orders and for that he was shot point blank by two officers in full riot gear. NM was of Algerian origin. The next day, riots broke out in many cities across France: Paris, Marseille, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Grenoble and also Brussels in Belgium. Some areas were left looking like war zones.
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In fact, some of the riots did resemble low-intensity warfare. According to some reports, US weapons donated to Ukraine have found their way through black markets to the streets of French cities and into the hands of the protesters who used them in coordinated attacks on police and firefighters. Just on the night of Jun 30/July 1
, 41 police stations were attacked, 79 police officers injured, 2560 fires were set in the streets, 1360 cars and 234 buildings were burnt. The government deployed 45,000 police and gendarmes to bring the situation under control, but thus far, the rioting has continued with great intensity for five straight days, threatening to destabilize the nation.
President Emmanuel Macron is under increasing pressure, not only from the rioters and the opposition, but more ominously, also from his own Police forces and the military. Police Unions of France wrote to Macron threatening to revolt: “Today the police are in combat as we are at war. Tomorrow we will be in the resistance and the government should be aware of this.” Certain military circles appear ready to turn against Macron. General Pierre Villiers, who is apparently well respected among the French military commanders said
that the army should be loyal to the people, not to Emmanuel Macron.
Nothing is what it seems…
So far, the events may seem straightforward to understand at the levels of pawns opposed to one another in the streets of French cities: the abusive government of President Macron and its security apparatus is under attack by the people whose legitimate grievances went past the boiling point. From there, it’s easy to assume that Macron’s government even instigated the riots deliberately in order to crack down and tyrannize the people according to their plan. Heck, Macron is the Rothschilds’ errand boy and a loyal World Economic Forum young leader.
You’re either with us, or you’re against us.
All of that sounds plausible, but there’s a far broader context to this story. The present crisis draws root from the very strained relationship between French ruling elites and the Anglo-American imperial establishment, which spans centuries. A more thorough analysis of this relationship could fill many volumes but for now we’ll focus on just the more recent developments. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, President George W. Bush announced to the world that, “you are either with us, or you are against us.” He wasn’t just saying words: the empire was preparing to cement the unipolar global order, eliminate its rivals, establish full-spectrum dominance and launch its Project For The New American Century.
France has never accepted the role of a junior partner or unquestioning ally, let alone a vassal to the Anglo-American Empire. It has continued to be a pain in its side at critical junctures. Here are a few examples of the last two decades’ spats between the two sides:
2003: French opposition to US invasion of Iraq
In late 2002 and early 2003, the Administration of George W. Bush was working feverishly to secure its allies’ support for an invasion of Iraq. In February 2002, US State Secretary Colin Powell waved a vial of white powder at the UN Security Council, accusing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of possessing biological weapons of mass destruction. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin wasn’t impressed. In a searing speech he poured cold water on US case for war and called out Powell’s performance as dubious and unconvincing. A few weeks later, on 10 March 2003 President Jacques Chirac made it clear
that France would vote against any UN Resolution authorizing US attack on Iraq. In this, France would vote on the side of Russia and China (talk about foreshadowing).
2008: France opposes Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO
One of the most important projects of the Anglo-American empire over the past three decades has been to encircle Russia by absorbing all of her neighbors to the west and southwest into the NATO alliance. In several waves of eastward extensions, NATO added 14 new member states, moving more than 1,600 km toward Russia. Ukraine and Georgia were next: at the April 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest, the alliance proclaimed the Bucharest Memorandum. Referencing Ukraine and Georgia, they explicitly declared that, “We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.” While not yet a full-fledged member of the alliance’s integrated command, France was openly opposed to the resolution on the grounds that it would exacerbate the risk of war with Russia.
2019: Emmanuel Macron calls NATO a ‘brain-dead’ alliance
in October 2019 titled, “Emmanuel Macron warns Europe: NATO is becoming brain-dead,” French President warned European countries they can no longer rely on US-dominated military alliance (note, by now France was a full-fledged NATO member): “What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” and declared that Europe needed to “wake up,” as it stood on “the edge of a precipice” and needed to start thinking of itself strategically as a geopolitical power, otherwise as Europeans, we’ll “no longer be in control of our destiny.” Worse, when asked whether he believed in the effectiveness of Article Five which provides that if one NATO member is attacked all would mobilize to defend it, Macron gave a convoluted, cryptic reply: “I don’t know, … what will Article Five mean tomorrow?”
But President Macron and his government would become still more problematic for the Anglo-American cabal with the escalation of conflict in Ukraine. Of all European leaders, Macron has spent the most time visiting with or speaking on the phone with his Russian counterpart; he sought to improve relations between Russia and France and he tried to influence other European nations to chart a more independent policy on the continent.
2022: Macron says Russia has legitimate security concerns
to take seriously Russia’s security concerns regarding NATO expansion near its border. He called for greater willingness to give Moscow the “guarantees” necessary for negotiations to be successful. He called them ‘essential’ if the West wants to get serious about talks and peaceful settlement. “We need to prepare what we are ready to do, how we protect our allies and member states, and how to give guarantees to Russia the day it returns to the negotiating table.” Macron added that, “One of the essential points we must address — as President Putin has always said — is the fear that NATO comes right up to its doors, and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russia.” These comments elicited rage and disbelief among the Anglo-American allies and western media who accused the French President of being a pro-Kremlin stooge.
April 2023: Macron visits China, flirts with BRICS nations
Emmanuel Macron provoked even more rage and disbelief after his three day high-profile, red-carpet visit to China, from 6 through 8 April 2023. Western “national security experts” were so alarmed by this visit, they called the event
“one of the greatest blunders by a major European power since the end of the Cold war…” Indeed, it was a slap in the face to the Anglo-American establishment.
in South China’s Guangdong Province where he received an enthusiastic welcome. He delivered a speech on China-France ties and took questions from the students. There may have been a subtle message in the very venue chosen by his hosts. Sun Yat-Sen was a vocal critic of the British Imperial system and their foreign policy. In his book, “The Vital Problem of China,” Sun Yat-Sen wrote that,
“When England befriends another country, the purpose is not to maintain a cordial friendship for the sake of friendship but to utilize that country as a tool to fight a third country. When an enemy has been shorn of his power, he is turned into a friend, and the friend who has become strong, into an enemy. England always remains in a commanding position; she makes other countries fight her wars and she herself reaps the fruits of victory. She has been doing so for hundreds of years.”
Speaking to journalists on the return flight from Beijing, Macron said that, “Europe must resist pressure to become America’s followers…” that the “great risk” Europe faces is getting “caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its own autonomy,” and that, “Europe had increased its dependence on US for weapons and energy and must focus on boosting its defense industries.” In referring to Ukraine, Macron said that it was, “a faraway country of which we know nothing…” But even this wasn’t as unforgivable as his swipe at the “extraterritoriality of the US dollar.”
While in China, Macron signed many deals expanding bilateral trade between France and China, many of which will be denominated in Chinese yuan. Already before Macron’s visit, in March 2023 French companies began to strike such deals, the first of which was the purchase of 65,000 metric tons of liquid natural gas settled in yuan. French leadership’s willingness to craft their own bilateral relations with Anglo-American Empire’s chief rival and bypassing the US dollar is simply unforgivable. But Macron would soon go farther: according to the newspaper L’Opinion, during last month’s telephone conversation, French President asked his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa to extend him an invitation to participate in the 15th BRICS Summit planned to be held in South Africa in late July/early August.
It’s about the two systems of governance…
It is important to keep in mind the broadest context of the current global conflict. As George Soros laid it out in his annual address to the World Economic Forum
in May 2021, it is the conflict between the two systems of governance. Soros mischaracterized them as “open societies” and “closed societies.” In reality, we’re witnessing the conflict between the western imperial colonial system and pretty much the whole rest of humanity.
The imperial system governance is controlled by the western occult oligarchy which, while it gives lip-service to the rule of law, freedom, democracy and human rights, in reality it consistently sows mayhem abroad and misery at home. Truth be told, the French ruling elites have also enjoyed the massive privileges of this system for centuries. However, they never accepted subservience to the Anglo-American establishment and always sought to plunder and exploit its colonies on their own terms.
Ukraine is some faraway place to you?
We don’t know yet whether France will indeed be invited to the upcoming BRICS Summit, but in the world where not being “with us” equals being “against us,” the Empire simply can’t tolerate the uppity independence of France. You think our military alliance is brain-dead? You don’t want to be our vassal? You dare to strike trade deals with China and trade in yuan? You want to seek peace with Russia? And Ukraine is some faraway place to you? Clearly, this is unacceptable and the Anglo-American establishment has had enough of France’s insubordination. It was time to teach France a lesson and bring her into line with the Anglo-American agenda.
AUKUS alliance: a stab in the back to France
The most recent sign of the Anglo-American cabal’s contempt for the French was the 2021 announcement of the AUKUS alliance between the US, UK and Australia. In 2016, France made a deal with Australia to supply 12 conventional submarines for her navy. The deal was worth $37 billion – a very substantial amount by any measure. French diplomacy celebrated it as the “contract of the century,” important not only for its sheer size and the strengthening of France’s relationship with Australia but also in terms of securing French strategic influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
But then, on Wednesday, 15 Sep. 2021 US President Joe Biden, UK PM Boris Johnson, and “that fellow down under,” as Biden addressed Australia’s then PM Scott Morrison, announced a “historic” security alliance between the US, Britain and Australia. Part of the deal included US and UK providing Australia with nuclear submarines and a significant transfer of US military technology.
With no prior consultations or warning, Britain, Australia and the US, otherwise well known for the high value they place on sanctity of contract, simply sidelined France, tore up her contract with Australia and threw French interests overboard provoking indignation and anger in France. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian referred to the AUKUS announcement as evidence of duplicity, treachery, and a stab in the back to France from her supposed allies and partners.
to the United States and Australia and Le Drian stated that there was now a crisis of trust with the US. EU Council’s President Charles Michel also strongly criticized the AUKUS announcement, accusing the Anglo-American club of leaving Europe “out of the game in the Indo-Pacific region.” This was not the first massive humiliation dished out to France from the same “friendly” Anglo-American circles.
Haiti’s reparations: how the US punished France’s opposition to Iraq invasion
American diplomacy and secret services found it easy to punish France’s opposition to the Iraq invasion and the embarrassment that France’s Foreign Minister Dominic De Villepin inflicted on the US delegation in the UN Security Council in February of 2003.
Jean Bertrand Aristide had first become Haiti’s president in 1991, but was deposed in a military coup after less than eight months in office. He spent years in exile in the US before coming back to power again in 2000 elections, with the help of the US. His US liaison was the diplomat and CIA agent Luis Moreno. On 7 April 2003 Aristide suddenly started calling for colonial-era reparations from France (note, this was 18 days after the start of the US invasion of Iraq). The precise amount that Aristide was demanding was $21,685,135,571.48 – that sum represented the lower-end of the scale of estimated damage inflicted on Haiti by France.
Formerly known as Saint Domingue, Haiti was a French colony, supplying sugar, coffee and tobacco to much of Europe. It was a boon to French merchants, slave owners and financiers. But in 1791 Haiti’s slaves staged a successful rebellion and won their freedom. In 1801, when Napoleon sent a large armada to subjugate them again, they defeated his troops and in 1804 Haiti’s leaders declared independence.
But France wasn’t ready to give up Haiti. King Charles X sent another armada in 1825 offering to recognize Haiti’s independence, provided that Haiti’s government agreed to pay an extortionate tribute in the amount of 150 million gold Francs. How much money was that? In 1803, France agreed to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States for 80 million Francs – an area that was 77 times larger than Haiti. But Haiti’s choice was simple: pay up, or it’s war!
The French would have been able to impose a naval blockade on Haiti and entirely cut them off from global trade and payment systems. Haitians had no choice but to submit to French ultimatum. To pay the ransom, Haiti was forced to borrow the sums from French bankers and pay back the loans plus interest from the proceeds of their commodity exports. Incidentally, this was the beginning of the new model of colonialism based on financial debts rather than military occupation. That, essentially is the imperial model of governance plaguing humanity to this day.
Haiti’s tragic experience was the only time in history when freed slaves had to pay restitution to their former masters and borrow funds from them to meet the ransom payments. This is why Haiti’s humiliation was called the Double Debt: it took Haitians over 130 years to pay it back and doomed the nation to chronic austerity, underdevelopment and crushing poverty.
It also made Aristide’s demand for restitution legitimate and an absolute bombshell for France. His campaign grew bolder over time with banners, bumper-stickers, government adds and graffiti spread all around the country. Not only was Aristide demanding a very substantial amount of money from France in reparations, he also encouraged other former colonies to join his fight and demand their own reparations from France.
French government was stumped with this development which their Ambassador to Haiti Mr. Yves Gaudeul called explosive. He urged his government to open discussions with Haiti to diffuse the situation, but he was firmly rejected. Instead, France recalled Gaudeul and sent a less sympathetic Ambassador to Haiti, Mr. Thierry Burkard, who explained the situation in stark terms: “Algeria can perfectly make claims, as well as most of our colonies… There’s no end to it. It would have set a precedent that we would have been greatly blamed for.”
Thankfully for France, the problem disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Before dawn on 29 February 2004 Luis Moreno, that same US “diplomat” who helped bring Aristide to power in 2000, came to his residence flanked with security officials and demanded Aristide’s resignation. Mr. and Mrs. Aristide were simply abducted and flown out of the country on a US-chartered plane back into exile. Haiti’s new, western-backed leader, Gerard Latortue dropped the restitution demands and the whole messy affair was closed.
Even though Jean Bertrand Aristide had been in power since the beginning of 2001, his calls for reparations came more than two years later, seemingly out of nowhere, but soon after France’s snub to the US over the Iraq invasion. Aristide demanded reparations from France, but never from the United States which had occupied it, or held it in debt bondage since 1915, subjecting it to equally rapacious exploitation.
Even before military occupation, in December 1914, US Marines landed in Haiti’s capital, Port-Au-Prince, broke into Haiti’s National Bank and simply took some $500,000 worth of gold belonging to Haiti’s government. Within days, Haiti’s gold was in the vaults of New York banks. Still, Aristide apparently made no precise calculation of damages inflicted on Haiti by the United States.
Furthermore, in an email exchange between Aristide’s government legal counsel Ira Kurzban, and their international law advisor Gunther Handl, the latter advised Kurzban that “Haiti must convey to France,” that there are suitable opportunities “for washing France’s dirty laundry in public.” It’s almost as though the affair was about pressuring and embarrassing France rather than securing justice for Haiti.
That notion is confirmed by the simple fact that France’s problem disappeared only after US agents removed Aristide from power, rather than after earnest negotiations with Haiti’s representatives and France’s acceptance of some obligation to Haiti. This fact alone suggests that France yielded to the United States in some backroom deal, not to Haiti. Perhaps France dropped its challenge to the New American Century and its full-spectrum dominance, and pledged her allegiance to the hegemon.
In 1966 under President Charles de Gaulle, France removed all her troops from NATO’s integrated military command and asked all non-French NATO troops to leave France. In 2009, only a few years after the Haiti affair (plus the destabilizing 2005 riots for a good measure), France once more became a full-fledged member of the North Atlantic alliance. But everyone did not live happily ever after and the relations with France remained difficult.
The Damocles’ sword of France’s colonial past
The Damocles’ sword of France’s ugly colonial past (though no more ugly than that of Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Great Britain or Germany), was brought up again in November 2022 when Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appeared on Italian channel 7
airing some of France’s particularly ugly-looking colonial dirty laundry. She showed the Italian public two exhibits: a CFA Franc banknote and a photo of a child working in a gold mine in Burkina Faso: “This is called the CFA franc. It is the colonial currency that France prints for 14 African nations, to which it applies seigniorage and by virtue of which it exploits the resources of these nations…“
Meloni claimed that thanks to the CFA Franc, 50% of everything that Burkina Faso exports ends up in the French treasury. In addition to being the Prime Minister of Italy, Meloni is also a member of the powerful Aspen Institute. Headquartered in Washington, D. C., the institute is funded by some of the most powerful exponents of the Anglo-American establishment including the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Carnegie Corporation and Lumina Foundation and Meloni might be doing their bidding in antagonizing France.
In another jab at embarrassing France, in May 2022, the New York Times published a 19,000-words long special report about the French colonial abuse of Haiti. Titled, “The Ransom: How a French Bank Captured Haiti
,” the report reads almost as though it was the French who invented slavery and colonialism.
Preannouncing the attack on France
The most bizarre element that suggests that the current uprising in France is a planned destabilization attack by the Anglo American imperial cabal is the fact that it may have been preannounced in what appears to be their habitual modus operandi. Last month I had the privilege of participating in the Better Way Conference in Bath, organized by the World Council for Health. One of the speakers on my panel was Mr. Mark Devlin (@DJMarkDevlin
) a DJ who made it his challenge to study how the ruling establishment use popular culture and entertainment to disseminate propaganda and manipulate the masses.
One thing he picked up on is that they invariably preannounce their plans to the public through popular films and TV series. Mr. Devlin claimed there are literally hundreds of examples of this, and he shared one with us: a short clip from the American TV show, The Dead Zone which aired in 2005. The plot involved a Coronavirus contagion. The virus originated from China and caused high fever and respiratory infections, necessitated lockdowns, quarantines, wearing of masks, tracking and tracing of contacts, etc.
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The clip was profoundly disturbing to see, but it suggested that Devlin was onto something important. As it happens, the case of riots in France also corroborates his hypothesis. Namely, in 2022 Netflix launched a film titled “Athena
” about a future ethnic civil war in France, which would erupt after the police killing of an Algerian youth. On 27 Jun 2023, French police killed an Algerian youth.
Seeking justice for Nahel by attacking Chinese tourists?
Another detail about the riots could have symbolic relevance: namely, Reuters reported that Chinese tourists were injured when rioters attacked a bus carrying a Chinese tour group in Marseille. The attack, which took place on Thursday, 29 June 2023 again reveals the cabal’s modus operandi. Recall, when the US and NATO bombed Belgrade in 1999, five U.S. Joint Direct Attack Munition
guided bombs hit the Chinese embassy, killing three Chinese state media journalists. One bomb might have gone astray and hit the embassy by accident, but five bombs were a message, as was (probably) last Thursday’s attack on Chinese tourists. It would be difficult to explain why rioters who had grievances against the French government and demanded Justice for the young Nahel Merzouk, thought they’d obtain that justice in attacking the Chinese.
What now?
Should we regard Emmanuel Macron and his government as the good guys in this saga? Will they be able to pacify the situation, or will it escalate? For my part, I’ve never been even slightly fond of Emmanuel Macron, but I believe that today France’s sovereignty is at stake, and it was Macron who invited Anglo-American cabal’s wrath. If France fights back, things will get ugly. Yes, they’ll have to crack down and yes, western media will accuse them of all the standard faults of tyranny, repression, intolerance and censorship.
If France capitulates, things will get uglier still and uglier for longer. But to defend France, the government of Emmanuel Macron will have to try to bring together all of France and this could prove their toughest challenge. Macron represents the French elites which do have much to answer to – not only to their colonial subjects but also to the French people whose country has been stolen from under them (though Macron is not the only one to blame for this).
In 1996, when I moved to Monaco, I recall that for several years in a row, France was winning the top spot as the country with the highest quality of life (I believe the quality of life surveys were conducted by Conde Nast or some such publication). Over the last 25 years however, quality of life in France has deteriorated precipitously. If France is to survive and lead Europe once more, the elites backing Macron will have to reconcile and make nice with the people.
With regards to her colonial past, France will at the very least need to set up a truth and reconciliation commission and offer an earnest apology and a helping hand to its former colonies to rise and develop as equal trading partners rather than simply territories to strip mine of their resources and subjugate in a cold and inhumane fashion.
The world should consider offering a helping hand to France, because with the present struggle, a very large opportunity has presented itself to humanity: to defeat the imperialistic system of governance that’s caused the unspeakable tragedies of our colonial past and its most powerful beneficiaries, the Anglo-American imperial establishment. If they succeed at taming France and making her their vassal, they will grow stronger.
If France prevails and joins humanity, the multipolar integrations and the other model of governance, the imperial cabal will suffer a crushing blow. I know where 99.9% of us stand and for my part, I would love to see Emmanuel Macron in South Africa at the end of this month, for once listening and earnestly seeking partnership and reconciliation with the world and securing France’s place as an equal in a new community of nations.
I’ve been learning about life the whole time. The problem is that most of my first twenty years were completely fucked up by abusive nightmare parents who not only failed to teach me many important lessons, but also straight up lied to me about life, themselves, myself, other people, and everything, thus leaving me with much to unlearn.
But haha, when your parents fuck you up, then later in life you usually find some other horrible person to continue the abuse, and that’s what I did. So the last twenty years of my life were ruined by the woman who is now my ex-wife, who lied, cheated, stole, and fucking ruined me, leaving me homeless and too depressed to even try to get out of the ditch.
Then, flat broke, desperate, I tried to go get some help, make friends, find a job, and generally start over at fifty years old. I’ve been trying for almost four years now, and I’ve failed at everything. I’ve given up, honestly.
I’ve been trying to eat, but food stamps aren’t enough. The food bank gives random crap, and not much of it. So I’ve been hungry. I’ve been trying to eat cheap, but it seems like food prices have suddenly become comical, just as I’ve become broke and homeless. I’m just trying to buy simple, healthy groceries, and I can’t afford them. Also, it’s really hard to cook when you’re homeless. I don’t really know how to be poor; I’ve always had at least enough to eat well without worrying about affording decent food. Lately, I’ve been trying, or I was before it got so hot I gave up on cooking. So how to eat can become an issue in midlife for different reasons.
And maybe the worst part is seeing how shitty most people really are. Stupid, of course, but also greedy, selfish, thieving, and cruel. I guess I was used to getting some respect. But now, absolutely everyone treats me like shit, because I got fucked over and became homeless. Not sure how I’m supposed to be happy in this situation. Been trapped in absolute misery for three, four years now, really.
I mean, I know a thing or two, and I learn more every day. I am sorry to say that the lessons I’ve learned lately have been pretty bitter. This world is kind of a nasty place, and a lot of the people I’ve met lately are nasty, mean, shitty people. Good to know, I guess. Not really sure how I’m supposed to be happy in such a lousy world with such awful people, honestly. My current solution is to get as far from everyone as possible, but then I get lonely. I dunno man, can’t really believe this is my life at fifty years old, but I’m still here somehow, still learning horrible lessons. Still trying to figure out how to eat, how to be happy. Maybe I never will get it.
Arnold Ziffel Gets Revenge on Oliver Douglas – Green Acres – 1967
This story publishes at 9:35 PM EDT. Minutes ago, at about 9:28, at least three drones hit skyscrapers in Moscow, Russia. Some damage was done but Russian air defenses are active above the city.
This is FLASH-Breaking News developing . . .
UPDATE 9:42 PM EDT —
Video is beginning to emerge from Moscow showing MORE THAN ONE skyscraper was apparently hit.
The Headquarters for the Russian Branch of Leroy Merlin, a French Home Improvement Company, has reportedly been struck.
UPDATE 9:57 PM EDT —
Moscow’s Komsomolsky Avenue close to Defense Ministry building closed after drone fragments fell on the area.
Multiple Roads near the Russian Ministry of Defense Building in Downtown Moscow have reportedly been Blocked by Police and Military Forces after claims that a Drone has been downed close to the MoD Building.
UPDATE 10:15 PM EDT —
Additional video of areas impacted in Moscow by drones brought down by Russian air defenses:
NOTE: Live updates terminated as of 10:22. It appears all is calm now and the attack is over.
Reports are beginning to circulate claiming Poland intends to enter Ukraine with troops, to “grab” parts of Western Ukraine, but also to “Tear-off” part of Western Belarus, under the protection of the NATO umbrella.
2023 07 23 07 29
While Russia __may__ be willing to allow Poland to take back parts of Ukraine that were formerly Poland, Belarus, it appears, would be “off-limits.”
Should Poland try to grab parts of Belarus, the region of Eastern Europe will likely immediately explode into full scale World War 3. Poland seems ready to begin playing a VERY dangerous game.
Developing . . . . slowly
UPDATE 2:04 PM EDT —
President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused NATO member Poland of having territorial ambitions, and said any aggression against Russia’s neighbour and close ally Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia.
Moscow would react to any aggression against Belarus, which forms a loose “Union State” with Russia, “with all the means at our disposal” Putin told a meeting of his Security Council in televised remarks.
I figured that this would occur.
Poland would recapture some of it's older territory pre-world war that is now considered "Ukraine". As this is mostly empty land, and they speak a dialect of Polish.
There is this land in Belarus also, but that is part of Russia. Well, a very pro-Russian area.
If the Poles are being smart, they would ONLY seize Western Ukraine.
If the Poles are acting as a Proxy, they would attack Belarus.
Lots of shadow play here. Just keep your eyes open.
-MM
The U.S. Wars Against Russia And China Have No Economic Logic Attached To Them
The U.S. politician Zbigniew Brzezinski was a hardliner with a (neo-)liberal core. He had a wide influence on U.S. policies:
Brzezinski is the author of The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives, a 1997 book on geopolitics that was based on Mackinder’s Heartland Theory. Brzezinski argued that the US could retain global supremacy only if it prevented the emergence of a single power on the World-Island.
The Brzezinski Doctrine remains influential in the US foreign-policy establishment. His protégés, among them Ukrainian émigré Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs, are a powerful voice in the US State Department.
Brzezinski had argued that without Ukraine, Russia would be unable to rule the Asian heartland and could not challenge U.S. power.
But I just learned via a Pepe Esobar essay about Henry Kissinger’s visit and a potential great power war with China, that Brezezinski had in later years changed his mind:
“The Grand Chessboard”, published in 1997, before the 9/11 era, argued that the US should rule over any peer competitor rising in Eurasia. Brzezinski did not live to see the living incarnation of his ultimate nightmare: a Russia-China strategic partnership. But already seven years ago – two years after Maidan in Kiev – at least he understood it was imperative to “realign the global power architecture”.
In a longer piece published in 2016 in American Interest, Brzezinski indeed argued for great power cooperation:
A constructive U.S. policy must be patiently guided by a long-range vision. It must seek outcomes that promote the gradual realization in Russia (probably post-Putin) that its only place as an influential world power is ultimately within Europe. China’s increasing role in the Middle East should reflect the reciprocal American and Chinese realization that a growing U.S.-PRC partnership in coping with the Middle Eastern crisis is an historically significant test of their ability to shape and enhance together wider global stability.
The alternative to a constructive vision, and especially the quest for a one-sided militarily and ideologically imposed outcome, can only result in prolonged and self-destructive futility.
For America, that could entail enduring conflict, fatigue, and conceivably even a demoralizing withdrawal to its pre-20th century isolationism.
The U.S. did not follow Brzezinski’s advice. It alienated China by launching an economic war against it and pushed the Ukraine into a proxy-war against Russia that was supposed to destroy Russia’s capabilities. In consequence Russia and China united their capabilities against their common new enemy, the United States of America. We will see during the next years if the consequences Brzezinski foretold for the U.S. under these circumstances will come into light.
It is interesting that the old rivals and political opponents Kissinger and Brzezinski have late in their lives come to the same conclusions.
As Stephen Roach in his take on Kissinger’s visit to China states:
For several years, Kissinger has expressed great concern over the worrisome state of the US-China relationship. As far back as late 2019, he warned that that the United States and China were already in the “foothills of a new cold war.” Given the trajectory of conflict escalation in the ensuing four years, there is a new urgency to his concerns. In the Chinese readout of this week’s meeting with [Defense Minister] Li Shangfu, Kissinger is reported to have said. “Neither the United States nor China can afford to treat the other as an adversary. If the two countries go to war, it will not lead to any meaningful results for the two peoples.”
Opposition to the U.S. bi-partisan policy of economic warfare against China is now also coming from the bigwigs of the U.S. economy:
Leaders of the largest US chipmakers told Biden officials this week that the administration should study the impact of restrictions on exports to China and pause before implementing new ones, according to people familiar with their discussions.
During meetings in Washington on Monday, Intel Corp.’s Pat Gelsinger, Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang and Qualcomm Inc.’s Cristiano Amon warned that export controls risk harming US leadership of the industry. The Biden officials listened to the presentations but didn’t make any commitments, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks were private.
Economic logic provides that the U.S. (and European) economy would be better off by avoiding a conflict with Russia and China. But, as Micheal Hudson explains, this now gets overwritten by national security preferences which have remarkable conseqences:
Instead of isolating Russia and China and making them dependent on U.S. economic control, U.S. unipolar diplomacy has isolated itself and its NATO satellites from the rest of the world – the Global Majority that is growing while NATO economies are rushing ahead along their Road to Deindustrialization. The remarkable thing is that while NATO warns of the “risk” of trade with Russia and China, it does not see its loss of industrial viability and economic sovereignty to the United States as a risk.
This is not what the “economic interpretation of history” would have forecast. Governments are expected to support their economy’s leading business interests. So we are brought back to the question of whether economic factors will determine the shape of world trade, investment and diplomacy. Is it really possible to create a set of post-economic NATO economies whose members will come to look much like the rapidly depopulating and de-industrializing Baltic states and post-Soviet Ukraine?
This would be a strange kind of “national security” indeed. In economic terms it seems that the U.S. and European strategy of self-isolation from the rest of the world is so massive and far-reaching an error that its effects are the equivalent of a world war.
The question is really why the U.S. is doing this harm to itself instead of following Brzezinski’s and Kissinger’s advice. As Yves Smith says in her preface to Hudson’s piece, it is a quite bizarre spectacle:
One of the subthemes of the latest offering from Michael Hudson on the bizarre spectacle of the US escalating against China is puzzlement that the West is not operating in its best interest. Lambert has been chewing over this conundrum too.
Perhaps it’s that they really do believe their propaganda, and still don’t recognize that the military and economic clout of the US/EU bloc on a relative basis isn’t anywhere near substantial enough for them to push the rest of the world around. But you think their self-delusion would have started to crack with the failure in their efforts to pressure many countries, such as India and South Africa, to side with the US and condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and now with the supposedly superior US/NATO war machine not performing too well.
Another possibility is the so-called Iron Law of Institutions, that individuals and interests are operating to maximize their own position, with little/no concern to the impact on the system.
I have come to the conclusion that the main actors in this game, the Bindens, Blinkens, Sullivans and their bipartisan supporters, are driven by a blind ideology that has dismissed or replaced global realities with wishful thinking.
The failure of their sanctions against Russia should have demonstrated to them that the real word is by far not the one in which they believe to be living. They however are now repeating their errors by waging a similar war against China.
It will not end well for the people they are supposed to lead.
Posted by b on July 22, 2023 at 17:12 UTC | Permalink
So many people today are in a rush to become successful.
They want to earn 7-figures in 12 months even though they have no marketable skills, no network, and no businesses acumen.
They want to build their dream body in 12 weeks even though they haven’t set foot in a gym in years and don’t really understand the current state of their physical body.
They want to magically find the man/woman of their dreams even though they themselves are completely undateable and have 0 social skills.
And I get it…
Human beings are inherently impatient.
But the great irony of success (in any area of life) is that an approach that is overly focused on speed will actually force you to go slower.
Trying to achieve too many things too quickly or changing too many aspects of yourself and personality in too short of a time span will detriment your results.
Don’t believe me?
Then let’s take a look at two (semi) hypothetical examples.
Example #1: Speedy Sam
Sam is just like everyone else.
He’s earning $50,000/year in a job that he doesn’t really like.
He isn’t fat, but he also isn’t in great shape and probably has 15–20 lbs. that he could lose.
He’s dating Sally from Accounting but their relationship is “meh” and he doesn’t feel the spark or connection that he’d really like.
After attending a personal growth conference (that he paid for on credit) he comes home and he’s on FIRE!
He’s ready to change his life and he’s ready to change it now.
So he makes a plan and decides to take action.
He decides that, starting tomorrow, he’s going to:
Exercise 5 days a week for an hour a day
Eat only whole foods
Quit smoking cigarettes and marijuana
Work for 5 hours on his side hustle
Take Sally on a weekly date night and have sex everyday (instead of once a week)
Meditate every day
Journal for 30 minutes a day
Read 60 minutes of personal growth literature
Wake up at 5 a.m. (3 hours before he normally wakes up)
He sets lofty goals for himself and decides that he wants to build a multiple 6-figure business in 6 months, lose 15 lbs. of fat and gain 20 lbs. of muscle, become as “Zen” as a monk, and feel abundant joy on a daily basis.
He wakes up the next day before his alarm goes off and for the following 24 hours, everything is perfect.
He does everything he’s supposed to do and goes to bed smiling and happy with himself.
The next day, he wakes up on time again, this time much more groggy and fuzzy headed.
He still accomplishes all of his tasks for the day, but he’s beginning to feel more tired and burnt out than he has in a while.
On the third day, he hits the snooze button for “just a few minutes” and oversleeps by 2 hours. He spends the rest of the day beating himself up and feeling like crap for being such a lazy p.o.s. He doesn’t make it to the gym and eats a cookie at the office.
By day #4, he’s tired, drained, and wondering why in the hell he even wanted to change his life in the first place.
After the first week has gone by, he’s sore, grumpy, and stuck in a pit of self loathing because he’s “Such a loser” for not being able to stick to his goals.
He quickly reverts back to his old patterns of behavior for a few months before casually picking up a copy of Awaken the Giant Within, getting a huge dump of motivation and trying to do it all over again.
He goes on like this for YEARS!
Setting big goals, getting really intense, burning out quickly, and ultimately accomplishing nothing.
After more than a decade of this behavior, he’s no closer to the life of joy and freedom than when he first started.
In fact, he’s worse off than before because now he feels worse about himself AND his finances, health, and marriage have all deteriorated.
Speedy Sam has royally screwed himself over and paved the path to failure with his own good intentions.
Now let’s consider the inverse of this approach with Slow Steve.
Example #2: Slow Steve
Steve is very similar to Sam.
He’s slightly overweight, working a middle management job earning $50,000 a year and stuck in a relationship that isn’t all that inspiring.
Steve knows his life isn’t working and he decides to do something about it.
But after reading The Compound Effect and The Slight Edge, he realizes that the key to success is to slowly but surely take SMALL actions everyday towards his goals.
He sits down and looks at his life and realizes that two things are holding him back more than anything else.
His health – his energy levels suck and he’s always tired and feels incapable of working on a side hustle or going to the gym
His finances – He’s buried in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and stuck in a rut of being unable to earn any more.
Steve knows that his life isn’t going to change overnight and so he creates a simple 12 month plan for himself to get unstuck.
But here’s the thing… His plan isn’t all that crazy or audacious.
In fact, it seems too simple to most people.
For the first month, Steve only makes three small commitments.
He’s going to walk for 30 minutes three times a week
He’s going to spend 45 minutes a day researching side hustles and new ways of earning extra money
He’s going to spend only 10% less on going out than he has been in previous months (a total savings of about $70)
At first, it doesn’t look like he’s making any progress. He loses only 2 lbs. during the first month, saves $70 in his War Chest, and narrows down his side hustle to 3 potential options.
Then, the next month, he adds on 3 new shifts.
He commits to going to the gym once a week and doing a full body workout
He commits to calling freelancers/small business owners in the 3 potential side hustles and asking them questions about what they do and how they do it.
He’s going to go on 2 dates with girlfriend and pay for them by spending less money on clothes.
Again, there aren’t many noticeable changes.
He loses a few more pounds of fat, boosts his energy levels by only 10%, and still isn’t earning any more money.
Slowly, but surely, he continues this trend over the following 12 months and by the time the year is over, he’s successfully:
Training at the gym 4 days a week and eating an 80% whole foods diet
Lost all of his excess body fat and gained 5 lbs. of muscle
Started earning an extra $1,000 a month doing freelance writing for 60 minutes on the weekdays
Improved his relationship and started consistently dating his (now) fiancee.
His life hasn’t changed all that much in 12 months.
He’s earning a little bit more money, he’s in better shape, his energy levels are higher, and his relationship is more connected.
But he isn’t a millionaire or fitness model and he doesn’t have some magical relationship where he screws like a rabbit everyday and never fights with his girl.
But he commits to continuing the process.
Another 12 months go by and another and another.
By the time that 5 years have passed, his life is COMPLETELY unrecognizable from the life he was living before.
He’s a lean, mean, fighting machine and weighs 185 lbs. with 8% bodyfat. He regularly competes in Jujitsu matches and Spartan Races, and he feels amazing.
He quit his corporate job and is earning $150,000/year as a marketing consultant and he’s in the process of self publishing his first book.
He’s happily married, feels deeply connected to his wife, and has a stellar sex life.
He put one foot in front of the other and changed everything.
Another 5 years go by and now, Steve is a world renowned marketer earning more than $3,000,000 a year. He has a budding personal brand, 3 best selling books, tens of thousands of dollars of passive income, and a career that he loves.
His body is a weapon and he’s in better shape than the guys that are 10 years younger than he is.
His relationship with his wife is a point of power in his life and spending time with her rejuvenates and inspires him (instead of draining him).
In other words… Steve is a badass.
But he didn’t get there overnight.
He did it in small steps that helped him prepare for HUGE leaps (like proposing, quitting his corporate job, and competing in his first physique show) .
Steve has changed his life SLOWLY.
But ironically… He changed faster than ANY of the other guys trying to rush their way to success.
Success takes time.
So chill out, trust the process, put one foot in front of the other, and eventually… You’ll get what you want.
Hope this helps
Stay Grounded,
I have installed another, newer, COMMENTS Feature – But a WARNING to all
Hal Turner is learning. I didn't know that he did time in the Fed. Well, at least the food is better than the "Global" and mashed turnips that I had to endure, and he didn't have to do hard labor in the hot Arkansas sun like I had to.
This is interesting. -MM
A week ago, I shut down the comments feature beneath articles because it had become a never-ending stream of aggravation for me. I’ve put a new comment feature in, but BE WARNED:
In June of 2009, the United States Attorney for Chicago had me arrested for an Editorial I wrote about a court ruling dealing with gun control, in Chicago. The US Attorney said my Editorial was a “Threat” and argued to the courts that MY words were a “threat” because of YOU.
Yes, YOU!
They cited to the court, some of the comments made beneath web site articles, and described those comments as “violent” and “hate” and “extremist.”
I went on trial in December, 2009. Hung Jury. Went on trial a SECOND time in March, 2010, Hung Jury.
They put me on trial an astonishing THIRD time in August, 2010. By that time, I was Bankrupt from being unable to do my radio show or be on the Internet (by court order) and had to get a public defender. Big mistake. I could have done a better job defending myself.
I LOST that third trial and was imprisoned for 33 months in federal prison — because of my READERS comments!
Oh, and those Readers . . . NOT ONE of them donated money for my legal defense. NOT ONE of them showed up at my trials. NOT ONE of them even wrote to me in prison.
I’m not going down that road again.
You see, while it’s real easy for you to shout “freedom of speech” it’s __ME__ they put in prison for what you write.
So here’s the deal. The comment area is back and we’ll see how it goes. BUT . . . if you post comments that a US Attorney can describe as “Violent” or “Hate” or “Extremist” or “Terroristic” then YOU are outta here.
I have zero interest in any of that nonsense. I do not advocate violence and will not have that on my site. I do not advocate hatred, and will not have that on my site. I do not abide extremism and will not have that on my site.
So watch what you post and watch carefully because I am watching; and my eye is keen to not being thrown in prison again over what YOU write.
If it’s a choice of your “freedom of speech” or my “freedom from prison” you lose. Period. Full stop.
This new comment module uses darker typeface, for those whose vision is less than stellar (like mine is now).
You can edit your postings.
It is much faster, very neat, and less cumbersome to follow than the old.
Lastly, this is not YOUR web site, it’s mine. Do not use this comment area to post things UNRELATED to the story above just because YOU think the public should know this. If YOU want to publish things that YOU think the public should know – then YOU go out and get YOUR OWN web site, build an audience on your own like I did, and then post what YOU think on YOUR site. Not mine.
Oh, and about YOUR site, these comment areas are not for you to advertise YOUR site. More than a few of you have zero interest in what appears on this page other than to repeatedly post links to YOUR site. You are not going to use my site as a cheap, sneaky method for advertising your site.
Enjoy —— but be very careful what you post.
“Scotty, Throw the Switch!” – Star Trek – 1968
Confessions Of The Son Of A Billionaire
July 7, 2023
How much is your father worth?
My father is worth just shy of $2 Billion liquid, and he’s on a rapid trajectory be worth significantly more.
What do you do for a living?
As for my current job, I work a generic IT position with a standard salary – nothing that will produce the kind of fortune my father’s work has.
What kind of car do you drive?
A 2014 Subaru Outback. Prior to that, a very-used ’98 Outback. Probably not the answer you were expecting!
As for my parents, the primary cars at each property are a Mercedes GLS and SL Roadster; they have lots of others, but nothing too fancy. Mostly old Chevy and Ford cars primarily driven by the various employees they have.
What do you do for work and why did you go into that field?
I’m a computer systems adminsitrator for a small company because it’s what I enjoy and it doesn’t require a large amount of non-immediate work. I didn’t inherit my dad’s strong ambition and drive, unfortunately.
Do you think having the trust fund played a role in your lack of ambition and drive?
The truth is that I didn’t know about the trust fund until I got married, so it had little influence over my upbringing. I knew that my parents were well-off and perhaps assumed that that would come to us someday, but nothing was explicitly stated about it as a kid. So if it did affect my ambition and drive, it was more subconscious. It’s certainly possible, though it didn’t affect my siblings. I’m more inclined to think of it being how I’m neurologically wired, just as my dad is wired to be a workaholic but less emotionally engaging. But it’s hard to say. I certainly do blame myself for my lack of sustained ambition, most of the time.
Do your nearest and dearest know your worth, potential or otherwise?
Well obviously my wife knows! We have one pair of friends who at least know my parents are very wealthy, since they’ve stayed with us at one of their properties. Everyone else (hopefully) assumes we have little more than the middle-class lifestyle that we provide for ourselves.
Wait so does your father not share his wealth with you?
We enjoy their material assets, get awesome gifts for Christmas, and each have a trust fund of $28K/year. But to have a comfortable life and income, we have to have our own jobs. For now, at least.
Did your father insist on a prenup for your wife to sign before marriage?
They suggested a prenup, but it didn’t happen. My wife hates their wealth and wants no part in it so I’m not concerned about her trying to run away with it.
How is your relationship with your parents?
My relationship with them is complicated. I appreciate what they’ve provided, but the emotional connection has been poor. I wish I could feel closer to them, but I just don’t think they’re wired for that kind of relationship. Dad’s a workaholic, Mom’s a socialite, I’m the kid who didn’t do everything perfectly and felt like the pariah for a decade. Things are better now, but conversations are rarely more than business and small talk.
What kind of schools did you go to? Were your peers wealthy?
I went to a private school for grade school, a boarding school for high school, and then private university which I eventually dropped out of. Since the familial wealth grew as I did, the peer group evolved over time; but I never understood the extent of their or our worth until recently. My perspective was more than a bit off growing up.
At what point in your life did you realize that your parents are very, very rich?
Far later than I probably should have. I didn’t really realize just how out of touch I was until around 23 or 24. Granted, we were worth significantly less when I was younger, but still, many things that I took for granted were definitely not common.
Do you think you grew up in a bubble, so to speak, unaware of things those of more modest wealth take for granted? Any funny or embarrassing moments?
I think so. Generally I was more naïve than anything. I can’t think of any specifically funny moments, but there are a lot of things that I roll my eyes about where I was much more flippant about the price of things. I was just a kid who was excited by certain things, but I didn’t realize that talking about them so much was likely very awkward for others who were adults and yet had experienced far less. I remember asking the person who maintains some of our land what his favorite place to travel to was, and when he told me that he had never flown on a plane in his life, I suddenly realized that there was a very big difference in how we grew up. I felt quite awkward and guilty about that one.
Do your parents pressure you to want more? Make more money?
Well I do think that my anxiety comes from my dad wanting me to do better, in part. As I mentioned elsewhere, I dropped out of college; I did terribly in school – had high overall intelligence and tested well but just failed to put in the necessary sustained effort. I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD and the difference since starting treatment has been profound, but I wouldn’t dare tell my father that because a) he’s convinced that it’s a fake condition, and b) I doubt the diagnosis myself because it just feels like too convenient of an excuse. I’ve been taught that there’s no excuse for not succeeding other than not working hard enough, and by that metric, I’ve largely been a failure. My dad’s success and his hope for my success has been an enormous burden, but I think at this point he’s generally “given up” on me having the same drive as him.
Do you have other siblings?
I have siblings, and I get the feeling that they’ve been better-supported financially because they’ve lived their life much more in line with how my parents had planned.
What’s that -one thing- you never got as a kid?
A gaming console. Or as my dad affectionately referred to it, the “Super No-friend-o”. Somehow computer games didn’t fall into that purview though, so I had a top-end desktop and laptop anyway. Didn’t stop me from being obsessed with gaming; the PS2 was the first purchase I made when I started getting my own paycheck.
Seems like even though you had connections to wealth, it wasn’t used as a magic wand to get you shiny things all the time. Did you learn the value of money and earning, over just “having” money?
Sort of. We (my siblings and I) certainly didn’t have carte blanche, and I’m self-sufficient currently outside of a growing and accessible trust fund; but they have a “what’s mine is yours” mentality when it comes to enjoying their homes and possessions, which are plentiful. As we speak, my wife and I are staying in one of their massive homes for a stress-free weekend, and everything from the cars to the cook is at our disposal. These days I’ve never asked for something that they’ve said “no” to, but I’ve never tried to push the limits.
Are the other homes always “staffed” even if your family isn’t there, or is it a more “on-call” situation?
Some of the properties are quite large and require constant upkeep. One is on a farm and has a family living on the property – the husband and wife handle the land and home maintenance, respectively. Some of the properties are in city high-rises and have building staff to take care of them. Then they have their main guy (I have no idea what his official title is but he’s effectively a modern butler valet) who almost always travels with them and handles arrangements to keep their flow as uninterrupted as possible. He also lives in a home provided by my family, right next to one of their “hub” properties.
Do you have any “regular” friends now? What’s a Friday night like for you?
My wife and I are shut-ins and will spend most evenings just watching shows and playing video games together. When we meet up with friends, we meet at the pub or go to one of each others’ houses. A couple times we have taken some friends up to one of my parents’ properties, but only after we’ve come to know them quite well.
But generally, unless I’m with my parents at the time, I live a very standard middle-class lifestyle.
Thoughts on economics and/or politics? Libertarian free market, radical socialism, social democracy, liberal welfare state?
I generally lean conservative/libertarian on fiscal issues, which probably isn’t surprising.
Do you travel a lot ?
I did as a kid, less so now that I have my own income and my own job schedule. Starting around 12 or so, each spring break was spent on another Caribbean island and each summer was spent visiting another country or series of countries. My dad would increasingly joke that our hotels were picked by my mom Googling “Most expensive hotel in ____”; and those trips usually consisted of a private tour guide who would take us everywhere, get us behind velvet ropes at various museums, etc.
I didn’t appreciate how special those trips were as a kid, though I certainly did love them.
What games do you play?
We play special billionaire-only games that you wouldn’t have heard about.
Kidding. We just wrapped up Dishonored 2 and are currently replaying the Bioshock trilogy.
What type of hobbies do you have?
Technology, media, games. I have an awesome home theater which is my biggest piece of personal extravagance.
Please elaborate
Well we squeezed it into our relatively normal house, but it’s a 150″ screen with a 4K projector, seating for eight, Atmos 7.2.4 sound, and a whole lot of soundproofing to keep it contained 😉
I was so close to convincing my dad to put an amazing theater into his newest home, but regrettably he decided that a massive wine cellar was the more prudent option. But at least I get to say that I have a better home theater than him 🙂 Not much that I can beat out the billionaire in, so I’ll take what I can get!
What’s your favorite pop tarts flavor?
Nothing beats brown sugar!
Do you actually eat pop tarts? I don’t just mean pop tarts either. Like, when I imagine rich people eating, I always think of private chefs, or at very least having someone else cook for them in some way. Do you ever just open up the panty and grab something like a box of cereal, or pop tarts, or ramen noodles? Or do you always have other people prepare food for you?
Well at the house where I’m staying at right now, there’s a pantry with Tostitos and Skippy peanut butter, a freezer with Eggos, and there are always a half-dozen Oscar Meyer wieners available for cooking. Of course there are other fancy snacks as well and our freezer is actually mostly full of the meat from a cow and pig we won at a rodeo auction last year, but sometimes you need a quick breakfast or midday snack and it’s not worth having a professional always handling it. Depends on the circumstances.
What’s a problem that billionaires have that we plebians do not?
Child-of-a-billionaire problems include rock-bottom self-esteem and endless guilt.
As for my parents, their problems are a lack of time and a loss of perspective. Worst has probably been their focus on maintaining a social appearance which has come at a significant cost in regards to their relationship with me and my siblings. They spend so much time these days trying to make our family seem perfect that they forget to do the actual things that keep a relationship strong.
Is this more keeping up with the Jones’s or just being scheduled too much to make time? Running an empire is hard work, I don’t envy then the drudgery.
My dad lives to work. He knows he doesn’t need any more money, but it’s when he’s working hard that he’s having the most fun. So for him, it’s just keeping busy. My mom, on the other hand, took our class status as an opportunity to become a major socialite. I participated in literally over a half-dozen debutante events. I felt like a trophy being paraded around, the illusion of our familial excellence masking the superficial relationships we had underneath.
Things are a bit better now since I confronted them on all of this a couple years ago, but still, our relationship is so-so at best and I expect the wealth was a catalyst in that.
You mention that you live a middle class life now and work in a normal job. Are you content with this or do you have plans to get independently wealthy?
I’m not a strong worker. There are things that I’d love to excel at, but I lack the patience and focus to accomplish them. There are many causes and industries which I look forward to financially supporting once I am afforded that lifestyle, but I would be content to just live out my life as I currently do (with more perks, of course) and leave the ambitions to those who are cut out for it.
Why do you work, particularly in mid-range IT? You could be doing anything. Does working feel like waste of time?
The trust is only $28,000/year for the time being. That’s the maximum non-taxable amount and is enough to provide a nice boost without letting us get away comfortably with doing nothing. That will change in the future, but for now, my parents strongly encourage a good work ethic and the value of earning your self-sufficiency. Not to scoff at how valuable that $28,000 has been, of course.
Are you any less miserable than we are?
I have emotional problems like everyone else. But I don’t have to worry about my paycheck, I don’t have to worry about my retirement, I don’t have to worry about supporting my child financially, I don’t have to worry about a medical crisis ruining our family… There are so many burdens that I simply won’t know. I wouldn’t dare make a claim to the same sadness and difficulties that many people deal with.
What are your thoughts on whether money can (or can’t) buy happiness?
I once read that money can’t buy happiness but that it’s a good “unhappiness repellant”, and that seemed like a good way to describe it. There are a lot of things that can cause unhappiness that can be prevented with money: financial issues obviously, health-related crises, and lots of little things. Being able to skip the major airports and take a private jet instead bypasses a major headache!
But money can cause problems too. Especially extreme wealth.
Being given such an extreme amount of wealth creates the burden of managing that wealth properly. You don’t want to be the generation that loses what prior ones have worked so hard to provide. But you also want to do as much good as you can for the world while you have the opportunity.
Most importantly, I’m terrified about raising my kids well. I don’t want to raise spoiled brats, but I have no idea how to both acknowledge our extreme privilege and simultaneously impose a modest lifestyle. There are so many bad examples out there, and we only get one chance to raise them right.
What’s the best thing money can buy?
That’s a profound question to answer which can delve into the philosophical, so I’m just going to modify the question to “what’s your favorite thing your parents have bought?” to keep it simple and light. And to that, it’s almost impossible not to say the private jet. Not because of how comfortable it is, but because of the convenience and time-saving.
We don’t need to show up at the airport 90 minutes early, check our bags, wait in the security line, put our liquids in special containers within containers, then sprint to the gate desperately trying to reach it before the door closes. Instead, we literally drive the car onto the tarmac, let a crewmember carry in the luggage while we take a seat, and are in the air within 10 minutes. The crew is employed by us and is ready to go the moment we pull up. And our dog gets to sit in the leather seat next to us. Usually a meal is provided: shrimp caesar salads, a charcuterie board, a glass of wine, even a steak dinner if we request far enough in advance. And when we land, someone pulls our car around and meets us at on the runway, they put our luggage into the car, and we’re on the road – often much closer to the final destination than a larger airport is.
It is absolutely extravagant, but the reduction in stress and time is so significant that it’s one of their expenses that I absolutely think was worth it.
5 reasons to NOT live in the United States right now | Why the U.S. is broken
Confessions of a Man Who Got The Penuma Implant
June 27, 2023
First, some quick details:
Surgery: January 2023
Penuma XXL – this was right before the Penuma plus so I got the classic
As you can tell from my stats – I was never big – but I was always a grower. At least I had that. I felt ok about my penis when I was erect but was very self-conscious whenever I was naked and flaccid. I like to be naked a lot. Pre-surgery – I always found myself tugging on my penis trying to get it to chub up a bit so it wasn’t so small. I went into this surgery knowing that the purpose is not to increase erect length – but to increase my flaccid length which is what I really wanted and got!
I had the procedure on a Saturday and stayed in the local hotel overnight. I live about an hour and a half from Dr office so transportation logistics were not an issue. I work from home and had no problem working on that Monday in my sweatpants at my desk. Went back on Tuesday and had my drain removed. Didn’t miss any work after that. I also didn’t need the pain killers. I still have them and am looking for a way to dispose of them safely.
I’m not going to lie – the first two months were tough at night with the nighttime erections. I woke up every hour and a half to two hours the first month. When I did wake up, I would immediately go to the bathroom and urinate. This immediately helped relieve the pressure so I could go back to sleep. I urinated in a red solo cup standing at the toilet the first couple of months – this helped alleviate cleaning the little bit of spray on the toilet that I had at first. The stream corrected itself quickly. OTC Melatonin was a saving grace. The second month got better over time. Was getting full night’s sleep by beginning of third month.
I wore the Uro Wrap as prescribed for the first month. Wearing the wrap at night actually seemed to add to the pressure of the implant and causing more pain than benefit. I asked Dr at my one month follow up if I could discontinue use and he allowed it, except I still had to wear at the gym which was not a problem. Did light workouts at the gym at 6 weeks. Heavier workouts after 8 weeks.
At two months I was able to get into my favorite pair of jeans. I think old fashioned boxers are the way to go – but when I want a pair of briefs the Wildman T series really are perfect. I’ve heard other guys here recommend them and they were right.
The question everyone asks regarding sex. Yes, it’s amazing with Penuma. I haven’t lost any sensation and women really love the extra girth. I do seem to last a little longer now – that’s a huge benefit too. And I love the confidence that comes with having a large penis. I tend to have sex a lot. I’m divorced and have sex with different women. I don’t feel the need to explain to them that I have an implant – but they would be able to tell I had one if I was totally flaccid. What I do is chub up a little before they get their hands on it and then they can’t tell. My full erection was always 90 degrees and that hasn’t changed. Condoms – regular condoms do not cut it anymore. I ordered the MyOne 64 and they were still too narrow. I then ordered the MySize 72 and they fit like a glove.
Everything about this experience has been amazing for me. It’s more than just the great sex, it’s the confidence and little things. At this point, day to day I don’t even know that I have an implant there. However, everyday I appreciate having it such as when I enjoy laying on the sofa in lose shorts and actually feel it lying against my leg. I also like having to now point my penis down one leg of my pants or the other which I’ve never had to do or had the ability to do.
Arnold Ziffel Gets Kicked Out of Hooterville Elementary – Green Acres – 1970
The Taiwan strait is the wrong battleground today.
Let’s describe the geography first.
2023 07 24 10 58
The Taiwan Straits is shallow, less than 100m deep in most places, other than a narrow strip of water between Penghu and Taiwan.
It is a no-go for submarine activity. So we can discount the USN’s submarine service.
Way back when Newt was Speaker, America could parade TWO (2) CBGs through the straits in tandem as a show of strength.
Today, the risk is considered too high, because mainland China has defacto control of the sea and airspace in and around Taiwan, and it is being exercised on a daily basis.
The only way to get into the ring is to massively militarize Taiwan, and Penghu with American troops and equipment, but that will be seen as an invasion of Chinese sovereign territory.
In the present, we have to zoom the map out a little, when it comes to Taiwan.
2023 07 24 10 5d8
To contest the Taiwan straits, the USN must compete along the entire red dotted line of the 1st island chain, because the waters west of the line is firmly in the grasp of China.
That is a huge front, easily >10,000km, and even if every single combatant of the USN (which number about 200 after stripping away the heavy lift and coastal patrol elements) is activated, the firepower won’t be able to overwhelm Chinese defenses.
The principle is simple. In the Korean war, a chinese soldier had to get within touching distance to do damage to a US tank, whereas the US military had aircraft that could bomb Chinese supply lines hundreds of kilometers behind the front.
Today, the Chinese have the same capability as the Americans to maim from long distances. In some types of weaponry, the range and firepower exceed American equivalents. This means that any weapon system deployed by the the Americans that can hurt the Chinese will be within the Chinese kill zone.
In other words, this is no longer an unequal fight with America holding all the cards.
Any hostility will be paid in plenty of American blood. I won’t be surprised if the kill ratio favor the Chinese today, rather than the lopsided 1:x0 ratio of the Korean War.
This calculus does not change even if China were to face the combined might of Korea, Japan, the US, Nato and the Five Eyes.
Combined, they still won’t be able to hurt China more than they receive, because China can call on at least 10 million troops and have another 100m citizens dedicated to guaranteeing the logistics of war.
That is the status quo today.
Put another way, any attempt at hostility will require fight-to-the-death conviction, just to turn up at China’s doorstep.
As for show of force competition with the Chinese navy through operation tempo, the USN is already way behind the curve. European naval ships, and even the Canadian and US coast guards have to make 20–40,000km round trips just to “patrol” off the Chinese coast, because the USN is overextended, despite devoting 70 percent of active assets to Indopacom. With Russia in the mix, along with the rapid expansion and upgrading of the PLAN, the operational burden will only increase.
HK riots and protests were a failed CIA Color Revolution attempt, it ended 3 years ago, it is not happening now.
China didn’t do anything to intervene openly, that is SOP standard operating procedure for Chinese government, 秋後算帳, they gathered all the evidences, passed a new National Security Law, waited 1–2 year and arrested all the rioters who didn’t escape. They are all in HK prisons now.
It is cleaning the bills after Autumn, 秋後算帳，the judgment day will always come, just not right away. They don’t forget nor forgive, they will absolutely come knocking. There is no rush, but they will come for you.
The apartment building went section 8. Our income was such that our rent was going up by 2.5 times what we were paying. I jokingly said to the wife, for that we might as well have a mortgage.
So, long story short, we moved to my parents cottage for 9 months saving all the rent, picked an area where we would rent at lower cost while looking for a house to buy but in the next county because of lower prices, and lower taxes.
Within the year found a 3 bed, 2 bath on 7.5 acres.
Put in a bid, accepted.
So the big change, QUIET! No sirens, no traffic no horns honking. Within the first months, waking up to turkeys outside our bedroom window. A curious fox catching some sun on the front deck. Then only honking we heard were the geese going south in fall or north in spring.
Better yet was only paying for electric and phone.
Came with a wood stove, so heated with what fell during storms. Well for water, septic for sewage.
Been here for 27 years now, never going back to the city. Best financial decision we ever made.
Edit, wow, love the comments, so here’s a bit more.
My front yard
main qimg 37b1e3ad435eb4a2f0d0934d03b044c7 lq
Australian In China Is SHOCKED What He Experienced
2023 07 24 17 38
SITREP August 2023
In exactly one month, the fifteenth BRICS Summit will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa (August 22 to 24, 2023).
A significant number of nations, ahead of the reunion, already presented their candidacy for membership of the (current) BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group.
Moreover, the group will most probably make an announcement about the gold-backed BRICS currency.
China & Russia have gold reserves FAR ABOVE their officially declared amounts.
For those interested, Dominic Frisby created on YouTube a 2022 update for China’s REAL amount of gold. In a nutshell, it’s a lot more than the ~ 8150 metric tons the US IS SUPPOSED to possess (a serious audit under the supervision of an international commission would be most interesting). China’s true gold reserve is estimated at 20 000 to 25 000 metric tons, not the much smaller officially declared 2092 metric tons.
It’s part of the ongoing DE-DOLLARIZATION process.
Also, since the last 10 years, for the same goal of de-dollarization, China concluded bilateral agreements for international trading usage of her currency, the Renminbi aka the Yuan.
China has always veiled the true amount of gold she possesses because it was tantamount of declaring war to the US.
Since she declared war to the US on Monday Feb 20, 2023 by a document published on the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is no need to be coy anymore concerning her true wealth.
The title of the document is “US hegemony & its perils” . It’s an axio-epistemo-political proclamation upholding the legitimacy of the war she is now waging against the US as the de facto leader of the KFC-AZAEL (Kakistocratic Feudal Conglomerate of the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment).
Using the Chinese political lexicon, it’s the proclamation of intention by the Chinese rulers to restore the Mandate of Heaven : essentially Harmony & Justice at the level of the Heavenly Timeless Universal Principles.
This intention of restoring The Mandate of Heaven is made crystal clear and utterly pragmatic by 3 main inter-related projects :
*** The Global Security Initiative *** The Global Development Initiative *** The Global Civilization Initiative
There is no Civilization without Development.
And there is no Development without Security.
Those 3 inter-related initiatives are embodied by the BRI (the Belt & Road Initiative) and not forgetting the Agenda 2025 for acquiring and being excellent in the vital technological sectors.
The last 30 months have been filled with watersheds or at the very least extremely meaningful events and no one having a little bit of sensibility and a tad informed about the international events can escape the impression that we are going through an utter acceleration in the right direction of Universal History.
HERE ARE THE MAIN EVENTS I WISH TO UNDERLINE :
1- The Alaska/Anchorage China-US meeting (March 18 & 19, 2021). His Excellency State Councilor Yang Jiechi put US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to his rightful place, a more modest one compared to what Blinken probably had in his mind. Blinken, apparently, thought that he was speaking “from a position of strength” …
2- In February 2022, the renewed, at a much deeper closeness, SINO-RUSSIAN comprehensive strategic PARTNERSHIP of coordination for a New Era.
3- RUSSIA’S SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION (SMO) IN UKRAINE started on Thursday Feb 24, 2022.
4- Two days later, on Saturday Feb 26, 2022, the imbecilic, foolish & idiotic Western ruling class seized the Russian assets .Russia being the first nuclear power; Russia having developed hypersonic missiles; Russia being a major provider of energy; commodities and food; Russia being a permanent member of the UNO Security Council; Russia being a nation known for her numerous military victories; Russia having a super-amped, patriotic, proud, rather cohesive population boasting a charismatic & efficient leader, the same for the last 2 decades. Do I need to add more ? By resorting to such an abysmally stupid act, the Western ruling class was shooting in its feet by utterly & definitively destroying the global trust in the Western financial system and more simply, destroying forever the global trust in the Western system, destroying without return the global trust in the word of the Western ruling class.
5- At the end of September 2022, the rogue state US/KFC-AZAEL, assisted by 2 vassal states (Sweden & Denmark) , by an act of international terrorism, destroyed the Nordstream II pipelines buried under the Baltic Sea.
According to Professor Braun interviewed by the German reporter and documentary films maker Dirk Pohlmann, the terrorists used a mini nuclear bomb. Nuke or no Nuke, the pipelines have been destroyed to put Germany down, Russia out and the rogue state US/KFC-AZAEL in. This has been clearly stated in 1949 by Lionel Ismay, the first Secretary General of NATO as the pre-eminent goal of the North Atlantic Terrorist Organization.
Nowadays, the formulation of this NATO’s general policy might be slightly changed as follows : keep Russia down, China out and the rogue state US/KFC-AZAEL in.
BUT RUSSIA IS NOT GERMANY
AND CHINA IS RUSSIA’S COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNER OF COORDINATION FOR A NEW ERA
6- CHINA’S DECLARATION OF WAR TO THE US on Monday Feb 20, 2023 : The text “US hegemony & its perils”. The Chinese Sovereigns traditionally offered to the World the exhaustive written enumeration of the depredations of the criminals to be destroyed before going to war.
In the present case concerning the US/KFC-AZAEL, the crimes have been grouped in 5 categories (for details, please refer to the text itself) :
I- Political Hegemony - Throwing its weight around
II- Military Hegemony - Wanton use of force
III- Economic Hegemony - Looting and Exploitation
IV- Technological Hegemony - Monopoly & Suppression
V- Cultural Hegemony - Spreading False Narratives
7- March 20 to 22, 2023, President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow. When leaving Moscow on March 22, 2023, His Excellency said to his dear friend President Vladimir Putin :
President Xi : RIGHT NOW THERE ARE CHANGES WE HAVEN'T SEEN FOR 100 YEARS, AND WE ARE THE ONES DRIVING THESE CHANGES TOGETHER.
President Putin replied : I AGREE.
President Xi : TAKE CARE PLEASE, DEAR FRIEND.
President Putin : HAVE A SAFE TRIP.
8- April 6, 2023 : the diplomatic documents for the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement signed in Beijing. Less than a week later, a truce was agreed for the war in Yemen where Iran & Saudi Arabia were fighting a proxy war for years.
9- Orthodox Easter Sunday, 2023 : President Vladimir Putin received the Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu for discussing a closer Sino-Russian military cooperation.
10- Saturday June 3, 2023 : the USS Chung-Hoon, accompanied by the Canadian HMS Montreal, lost a brinkmanship type confrontation when challenged by the Chinese warship Suzhou in the Taiwan Straits. A week later, a US airplane has been chased away above the South China Sea by the Chinese airmen.
11- Janet Yellen kow-towing without success in Beijing concerning the USD bonds market.
12- July 18, 2023 : the 100-year-old Dr Henry Kissinger was received at the Villa no 5 of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse (as in 1971) in Beijing and discussed warmly with President Xi Jinping about the China-US relation.
I would like to quote the last 4 paragraphs of the piece penned by Pepe Escobar published on July 21, 2023 by Sputnik.
The original title of the article was “The definitive 21st century war is on, AND IT’S NOT A WAR ON CHINA”.
I wished to adumbrate this first title because it reflects, according to my understanding, the reality. The second title, having been chosen, is “Neo-cons want war with China” and it expresses the desire of the most dangerous group of hubristic psychopaths living on Earth nowadays.
It is most interesting that it has been selected as the definitive title because it stresses rightly, ironically and powerfully, among other things, the utter unreality within which are living the members of the Western ruling class & the Western intelligentsia serving as their political advisors.
REALITY versus UNREALITY :
REALITY versus NARRATIVES :
REALITY versus SHADOWS.
Being able to see the reality as it is, is consubstantially part of belonging to the upper class, the ruling class. The utter lack in the Western upper class of a supposedly consubstantial quality to its members is a clear sign of utter degeneracy.
That degeneracy most probably coming from intrinsic biological factors because of [1] excessive inbreeding, [2] abuse of toxicomaniac substances, [3] neglect of self-discipline, [4] loss of true understanding of authentic classical, timeless values.
The centenary Henry Kissinger’s visit to China on July 19, 2023 was the occasion, so to speak, for a deep analysis of THE NEXUS of circumstances.
Which is, of the seriously accumulated flawed judgments…
…all, because of a toxic mix of hubris, fecklessness, corruption and utter idiocy (from the Greek word “idiotes” meaning living exclusively in one’s own bubble) coming from the predatory entity I refer to as the KFC-AZAEL (Kakistocratic Feudal Conglomerate of the Anglo-Zio-American Establishment).
As well, of the coalition of the last 3 Sovereign Civilizational States (China, Russia, Iran) & all the global partners willing & capable to participate to the Grand Endeavor of unremittingly eroding and ultimately annihilating the existing exploitative global system.
I consider that the last 4 paragraphs of the aforementioned article by Pepe Escobar offer the quintessential gist of geopolitical penetration and truly deep grasping of Universal History concerning the present global situation :
The title for the last 4 paragraphs is perfect :
*** Destroying the rules-based international order ***
And here are those last 4 paragraphs summarizing the fundamental geopolitical reality of our present world :
" The crucial difference today, compared to seven years ago, is that the US is incapable, per Brzezinski, to "take the lead in realigning the global power architecture in such a way that the violence (…) can be contained without destroying the global order." It's THE RUSSIA-CHINA PARTNERSHIP that is taking the lead - followed by the Global Majority - to contain and ultimately destroy the hegemonic "rules-based international order".
As the indispensable Michael Hudson has summarized it, the ULTIMATE question at this INCANDESCENT juncture is ** whether economic gains and efficiency ** will determine world trade, patterns and investments, or ** whether the post-industrial US/NATO economies ** will choose to end up looking like the rapidly repopulating and de-industrializing post-Soviet Ukraine and Baltic states or England.
So is THE WET DREAM OF A WAR ON CHINA going to change these geopolitical and geoeconomics imperatives ? Give us a - Thucydides - break. THE REAL WAR IS ALREADY ON - but certainly not one identified by Kissinger, Brzezinski and much less Luttwak and assorted US neocons.
Michael Hudson, once again, summarized it : when it comes to the economy, the US and EU "STRATEGIC ERROR OF SELF-ISOLATION FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD IS SO MASSIVE, SO TOTAL, THAT ITS EFFECTS ARE THE ** EQUIVALENT OF A WORLD WAR **."
*** Please meditate deeply on the numerous ramifications of the 4 powerfully worded paragraphs above ***
Speaking of wet dream, Sun Zi (544 BCE to c.495 BCE) considered that ‘the Supreme Warrior wins without fighting’. That can be interpreted on more than one level but if I simply read it as ‘the Supreme Warrior wins without having to fight a kinetic war’, it is already more than satisfactory, at least having the least possible of that dimension called ‘kinetic war’.
The first paragraph of Master Sun’s Art of War :
Master Sun said : The Art of War is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road to either safety or ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
Here is the article I wrote recently on ‘The Everlasting Civilization’ which might contribute to the understanding of the fundamental principles underlying the present practical maneuvers by the Chinese rulers & their advisors.
That the present US ruling class needs a 100 years old man to go to Beijing exploring the possible overtures in the China-US relation is a glaring sign of the utter emptiness and incompetence of its members. That’s for Henry Kissinger (1923- ). Moreover, I warmly recommend his 2011 book “On China”.
Concerning Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928-2017), let’s remind that his 1997 Magnum Opus was named :
The Grand Chessboard, American primacy and its imperatives.
In that 1997 book, Brzezinski summarized as ‘American primacy’ (or GAS : Global American System) the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment’ endeavor for global Empire.
Fifteen years later, in 2012, Z Brzezinski wrote a sequel to the Grand Chessboard : Strategic Vision. In this book, Brzezinski calibrated downwards the ambitions for the US and was capable of taking into account the new realities of China’s revival and of Russia’s return from the ashes, like 2 splendid reborn phoenixes.
Brzezinski was capable to change his mind but he died in 2017. His followers apparently are not of the same caliber.
Let’s not be neither complacent nor naive. The KFC-AZAEL will not go down without a serious fight. Let’s be aware of this reality and let’s be ready.
At about 2:00 AM eastern US time Sunday morning, NATO instructed Ukraine to ABANDON THE FRONT LINES and have all troops “return to the cities immediately to seek shelter.”
Something BIG is apparently planned very soon!
Will NATO intervene, directly??
Will “peacekeeping forces” enter Western Ukraine to “freeze” the war???
Or will NATO simply outright attack??
Sadly, at present, 10:43 AM EDT Sunday, there are no apparent answers to __any__ of these questions.
Last night, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and US admiral James Stavridis stated NATO may be planning to attack Russian ships in the Black Sea! Russia will also be preparing for NATO to attack! He said NATO ships should accompany grain carriers in the Black Sea and, if necessary, open fire in response to Russian warships.
Also last night, Ukraine President Zelensky publicly pleaded with NATO Secretary General to urgently convene Ukraine-NATO Council Against the background of the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Odessa and the loss of NATO equipment.
Zelensky asked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to urgently convene the Ukraine-NATO Council.
Stoltenberg heard the request of the vassal. He has called a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council for 26 July.
The official agenda of the future meeting is consultations on the latest developments in Ukraine and discussion of the transportation of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
What is apparent to everyone right now is that something very, VERY, big is about to take place.
Get right with God.
Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast
Imagine a turkey breast pounded thin and rolled up with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Nice, huh? Now imagine it wrapped in bacon. Guaranteed. Win.
1 (6 ounce) package STOVE TOP Lower Sodium Stuffing Mix for Chicken
3/4 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce, divided
8 slices OSCAR MAYER Lower Sodium Bacon
6 fresh sage leaves
How to Butterfly the Turkey Breast: Place turkey on cutting board; carefully cut turkey horizontally in half, starting at thickest long side of breast, being careful not to cut all the way through to opposite side. Open like a book.
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat dressing in small nonstick skillet on medium heat.
Add onions; cook 10 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Cool.
Pound turkey to 1/2-inch thickness. Place turkey between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound with meat mallet or rolling pin to desired thickness.
Add water to stuffing mix in medium bowl; stir just until moistened.
Stir in onions; spoon down one long side of turkey.
Spoon 1/4 cup cranberry sauce next to stuffing.
Starting at covered side, roll up turkey breast; place, seam side down, on parchment-covered rimmed baking sheet.
Wrap bacon, with slices slightly overlapping, around turkey. (Turkey should be completely covered with bacon.)
Top with sage; press gently into bacon.
Spray foil with cooking spray; place over turkey, gently pressing foil onto bacon.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until turkey is done (165 degrees F), uncovering after 30 minutes.
Serve with remaining cranberry sauce.
Garnish with additional fresh sage leaves before serving.
Prep: 15 min | Total: 1 hr 10 min | Yield: 8 servings
My Dad back in Italy from China, No one can Imagine What he Saw in China!
Confessions of a Commercial Airline Pilot
July 6, 2023
How much of a flight is automated and how much of it is actually you piloting?
It depends on the day and the person flying. I generally prefer to hand-fly the airplane up to about 10-15,000 feet before engaging the autopilot. Then you turn it off when you’re landing.
So on a day when it’s nice and you feel like flying, figure 30-40% of the flight is hand flown, the rest is autopilot. Some days you don’t feel like working as much and turn it on earlier and off later, but it’s always off for takeoff and landing.
Other people turn the autopilot on when you’re 600′ above the ground (our company standard minimum AP engagement altitude), then snap it off when we’re 200′ above the ground, so they fly on autopilot for 95% of the flight.
Do you know what all the buttons do? Have you pressed them all even once?
A) Yes, and if I forget they’re all labeled so…. hooray cliff notes! B) No, there are several that never get pressed. In fact my company even has one button, the “High Power Schedule” button that kicks the engines up to their maximum possible thrust rating that we refer to as the “Get Fired” button.
Usually the ones that don’t get pressed are for emergency use only. Fortunately there are very few real life emergencies.
Is the audio quality of those transmissions really as bad as it seems in the videos? Because if it is, I cannot for the life of me see how you people understand each other.
The audio quality is a touch higher than on the recording. Most of us invest in high quality, noise dampening/cancelling headsets that run $600-1000 to assist in understanding. Further, most of the radio calls are very standard and we expect to hear the calls at certain points in the operation. if we have trouble understanding a specific word, we can generally either pick up what was said based on context. Additionally for any two way communications we will read back the precise instructions to ensure understanding. ATC then has the opportunity to correct us if we mis-heard.
Which commercial planes do you think is the best/worst designed from a pilot’s perspective? Are there any military or special-use craft that you think would convert well to commercial use?
Man, that’s not an easy one to answer. I don’t even know where to start on this one really. I haven’t flown enough different airliners to have a truly informed answer, but Boeing refusing to update the cockpit of the 737 due to type-rating issues hasn’t ever sat well with me personally.
Not that that particularly matters for anything and I’m sure there are thousands of 737 pilots who would tell me to shut the f*ck up, it’s fine how it is. The cockpit(s) of the Airbus line is so much better from a pilot perspective. It’s all sleek, and push button with actual space to move around, while the 737 cockpit is a direct rip from the even older 727 and is roughly the same size as my CRJ regional jet cockpit. Airplane generally flies just fine when there are competently trained pilots at the controls but that’s the best answer I can give you there.
The only military craft I could see having a viable civilian market (that doesn’t already HAVE a civilian market like the CH-47) would be the V-22 Osprey. The rest more prioritize power and performance (rightfully so) over efficiency, so making money with them becomes significantly harder. Companies like money. So… yeah.
Do you really have to eat a different meal than the co-pilot?
Haha I’m lucky if I get any food in-flight to begin with, let alone worrying if it’s different than what the other pilot is eating. I currently do not do the super long-haul cross-planet flights that entitle me to crew meals, so I can’t personally comment on whether that’s true or not. I think it’s up to each company’s individual policy.
What would be your one tip of advice for people terrified of flying?
Trust your flight crew’s judgement. If it were unsafe even a little bit we would not be getting on that airplane. We have families who love us too and aren’t trying to go die.
The bumps, the turbulence, can be scary to the uninitiated, but think of it more like driving over gravel or potholes in your car. You’re gonna bump around some and the ride is gonna suck, but you’re going to be fine. Up front, us pilots don’t wanna bump along any more than you are so we’re probably on the radio with ATC trying to find a smoother altitude to fly at. Some days though the ride sucks at all altitudes and all we can do is grin and bear it.
Hope that helps.
At what level of turbulence should we be worried? How bad does it have to get to become dangerous?
“Worried” is too strong a word, but when the captain advises the flight attendants to take their seats mid-flight, chances are we’re seeing a nasty looking storm out the front window. When you are seated, keep your seat belt on because sometimes things pop out of nowhere.
That said, I’ve flown through storms that LOOK like they’re going to be bumpy as shit and we don’t feel a thing. This is what happens 98% of the time.
Conversely there’s a rare phenomenon known as Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) that can be really severe but have zero indications it’s coming up until we’re deep in it. There was a Compass Airlines (Delta Connection) flight last summer I believe (maybe 2 summers ago?) that bounced the flight attendant off the ceiling of the plane and flipped a drink cart. In a situation like that, go ahead and be concerned, by all means. Believe me when I say we do our damnedest to avoid those sort of bumps.
Turbulence isn’t life threatening, it’s been a long time since I heard about a turbulence caused fatality or crash. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any in my lifetime. Injuries when it gets that bad are pretty common, usually from people that are up out of their seats when it happens.
I flew with a captain a while ago who got into Severe/Extreme turbulence (i.e. the top of the severity levels) while flying a smaller corporate plane. While he did land successfully and without injury (other than his passenger’s soiled pants), he said the plane was uncontrollable half the time and it took all of his skill to keep from breaking the plane. When they landed the tail was bent and the skin of the fuselage was rippled. It had to go back to the factory for 6-months+ worth of repairs.
I don’t tell you the previous story to scare you, but to highlight the fact that, even with those extreme weather conditions and a damaged airplane, it landed safely and everyone survived. The 757 airliner behind him flew through the same weather and also had to do an emergency landing because people go bounced around pretty badly (bruises, sprained ankles, etc) but that plane was not damaged like the small one was. Again, zero fatalities, plane landed safely.
These planes are built to survive extreme conditions. Like I’ve said in other questions, we are right up there with you and will not put anyone in a situation that threatens lives. Bottom line: the “Fasten Seatbelts” sign isn’t necessarily legally binding in the air like it is on the ground, but when it is on, you’re strongly advised to listen to it.
I often hear pilots say “we will make it up in the air” when there has been a short delay taking off. That indicates to me that you normally aren’t running at maximum speed (I’m guessing for fuel savings). How much faster could you go though? Let’s say it’s a 4 hour flight, could you get there in 3?
Basically, though not that much time. We can maybe do +/- 20 minutes on a 3 hour flight depending on conditions. It’s true, we don’t generally operate at maximum speed, and that is for fuel savings concerns. Our flight plan from out dispatchers has a planned flying speed and gives us a fuel load based on those calculations (with some wiggle room). And it’s not that we don’t HAVE the fuel to fly faster, it’s that the company makes less money if we burn through a bunch of extra gas we didn’t need to trying to make up 5 minutes. Gotta balance the concerns.
Other things we can do is ask Air Traffic Control for short cuts on our planned route of flight. From Point A to Point B there are generally proscribed routes of travel to make ATC’s job of tracking us easier. They’re generally pretty efficient, but not always the most direct route possible. Sometimes we can get the short cuts, if ATC isn’t very busy, sometimes not. We can usually save ~10 minutes with more efficient routing.
When the airline says my plane is delayed because of “mechanical issues”, what does that really mean?
99.9% of the time it literally means something broke and maintenance has to come out and fix it. Now that doesn’t mean something IMPORTANT broke, but if something is broken and it’s not in the aircraft logbook, it is literally illegal for us to go flying. Even if the door for an overhead bin breaks, its gotta get written up and entered on the aircraft dispatch release before we’re legal to go fly.
Usually it’s something like a fault cropped up in the electronics, maybe the temperature sensor for the wing anti-ice system threw out an error message and the mechanic is gonna come, pull a circuit breaker and reset the system, write it up as fixed, and boom. Done.
Buuuut, that takes time to call dispatch, get switch over to the maintenance desk and relay the problem to them. Then they have them call the company mechanics if we broke in a base, or draw up a quick contract with the local maintainers to come over and service the plane if we’re at an out-station. All of this takes time, usually for something really stupid that we honestly COULD go fly with if it weren’t illegal. Very rarely is it a serious maintenance issue. There’s an old pilot adage: problems on the ground don’t get better in the air.
If you’re ever worried about a plane coming off of maintenance, just remember: us pilots are on that exact same airplane with you. If it weren’t safe, we wouldn’t be getting on that plane. We love our jobs but do not have a death wish.
People always say pilot get paid by a lot (like enough to get u rich). Is that really true?
The simple answer to “do pilots make a lot of money” is….. eventually, if you’re lucky. Our pay is based on flight time. We’re only getting paid when the main cabin door is shut, until it opens again at the end of the flight.
All of that time preparing the airplane for flight, greeting all you lovely passengers as you come aboard, cleaning up the plane at the end of the flight once everyone gets off, sitting around the airport waiting for our next flight to start? We’re not getting paid for those times.
Airlines fall under the Railway Labor Act here in the US and have hourly pay rates for Captains, First Officers, and Flight Attendants, so the more we work, the more we get paid. Most airlines have a minimum monthly guarantee, i.e. you’ll get paid no less than 75 hours worth of pay, whether or not you actually get scheduled to fly that much. Pay rates are individual to each airline but a rough rule of thumb is a Captain makes twice as much as a First Officer who makes twice as much as a Flight Attendant. It’s not exact, but it’s relatively close to reality. As such captains are often unofficially obligated to buy the first round of drinks on the overnight and tip the airport shuttle drivers. haha.
Pilot pay has increased substantially since 2009 when new regulations went into effect, effectively shrinking the pool of available pilot candidates. They raised the airline pilot requirement from 250 hours of flight experience to 1500 hours of flight experience, a 600% increase to the minimum requirement to airline ENTRY LEVEL jobs. Prior to that, it wasn’t uncommon for a regional airline first officer to make $16,000/year and be on food stamps. Currently in the US, a regional airline a first officer can expect to make $40-50,000/year. A regional airline captain can make (roughly) $75-125,000/year depending on how many years seniority they have on the pay scale. The “big” airlines like Delta, American, FedEx, UPS, United, etc have much higher pay scales than the regionals and as such are the end-goals of most of us pilots.
Keep in mind though, these high-end pay scales are the…. “payback” for lack of a better term for years, decades really, of extremely bad pay and high cost of entry int o the aviation field. To become a pilot it’s not at all uncommon for people to go $50-100,000 in debt. Personally I got my pilots license with $57,000 of student loan debt. Then to accumulate 1500 hours of flight time most people have to work as flight instructors, pipeline inspectors, do banner towing along beaches, etc. Those jobs…. don’t pay a lot. Most pilots at that level can’t afford a house, or contribute to a savings or retirement account, so the high pay at the peak of the industry is designed to offset those early career detriments.
Bottom line answer: yes, you can get rich as a pilot if you stick with it long enough, keep your record clean, and have luck on your side. It’s less common, but for a large part of your airline career you can live a pretty comfortable, sometimes budgeted lifestyle. Hope that helps.
What effect does it REALLY have if I don’t put my device in airplane mode?
It can cause interference with our radios, both audio and navigational. On rare occasions we’ll have a lot of static on the radio, we’ll stop and make the announcement to remind everyone their phone needs to be in airplane mode and that if that doesn’t solve the problem we’ll have to return to the gate for maintenance. Reeeeeaaally quick the interference goes away. Go figure.
You want your phone in airplane mode too. Once we climb above ~5000 feet your phone isn’t gonna pick up any cell signal anyways so it’s just gonna spend the rest of the flight draining your battery searching for cell service.
Do you let young kids take pictures with you in the cockpit?
Absolutely. We all remember when WE were those kids. You’d be hard pressed to find the grumpy, crusty pilot who’s gonna pass up the chance to share our love of aviation with a kid and maybe create a life changing memory.
We can’t have people in the cockpit anymore during flight (thanks 9/11), but talk to the flight attendants about it during initial boarding, or talk to them in flight about doing it after everyone else gets off.
What’s your opinion on people who applause after landing?
I know, I know other passengers hate that and think they’re fools, but… I mean, most of us pilots have huge egos from doing what we do. We’re up front there probably applauding ourselves in our own heads. Either that or cringing at how we fucked up that landing, better do better next time. So.. whatever, thanks for the support I guess. Haha
Do they give you “Ladies and gentlemen, ah, this is your, ah Captain speaking” PA lessons?
Well ahhhhh, you have to pick your spots ahhhh, so that everyone knows you’re still speaking ahhhhh while you look for more pointless information to tell everyone like ahhhh the wind speed and direction at the destination.
Are all pilots required to wear aviators?
Yes. It’s hidden deep within federal aviation regulations 14 CFR 121.682 and all pilots are briefed on it when they’re in their new hire initial training.
He’s EXPOSING the secret alien interrogation program
Interesting. Relax. Do not get too caught up in this. But very interesting.
At least it confirms what I have been saying all along.
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14 People Reveal How They Found Out Their Partners Were Cheating
July 20, 2023
1. My wife tried calling and didn’t hang up once it went to voicemail. She accidentally left a 2:45 VM. The VM consisted of her and her BF talking shit about me and how much happier she was with him.
At the time I was home with our kids and I thought she was 1,800 miles away to be with her dying father. Two years later we are divorced and her father is still alive.
2. She needed a new phone so I put it in my name since I was working, 2 hours after leaving the store and having lunch with me joking about how excited she was to get married I found a photoreel full of pictures she had been exchanging with her ex whilst transferring her stuff to her new phone.
I put 2 and 2 together and opened her text inbox and surprise! She had been texting him for months and fucking him for a few weeks.
3. I counted the pictures.
This was in 2000, before everyone had a camera on their phone and you had to get your holiday snaps developed at the Walgreens photo lab.
She brought home the pictures of her vacation to see her “old high school friend” in Vegas, but there was something missing. See, back in the day the rolls of film were made up of exposures of 12, 24, 36 pics, etc. depending on the film you bought.
I went through the photos and it didn’t add up. Literally. The 24 exposure roll only had 18 pics. Eventually I found the remaining photos…her and the new boyfriend looking happy.
4. My super genius ex wife bitched about the cost of our joint cell phone bill. She told me I’m using it too much. I never used it except to call her phone which was free. So I looked over the bill and found the number to the dude she was cheating with.
5. iMessage linked to her computer. I was on her computer buying stuff off Amazon and she was sitting on the couch, feet from me, texting her ex. He was trying to get her to send him nudes and they were reminiscing about previous encounters. He was bragging about how he made her “leg shake” all the while I was watching the conversation in real time, right next to her. My adrenaline kicked in and I simply closed the computer and left the house without saying a word. This was over a year ago and I’m still fighting her for custody of our children.
6. She became more and more distant. Not just that, but also indifferent. She just stopped caring and it showed. I caught her because she claimed she was working OT, but her pay never reflected it. One day I got out of work early after a machine broke down in the department. I didn’t tell her. When I came home, I caught her red handed with someone in our bed.
7. I had a feeling for a while, it was always denied of course – directly and through a massive amount of gaslighting. Ultimately, the other woman was also married and her husband called me at work (found me via LinkedIn). Took everything I had to walk to my car to cry in private.
8. Back when cell phones had limited minutes, I got notified that we were over our limit. Checked the last bill and nothing but her and her boss talking at all hours of the day. Then she stupidly left her e-mail open on my computer and I got to read how he enjoyed touching her boobs a lot.
9. Just got on a flight in London headed to Vegas. Sitting next to my GF and she wants to show me something she has planned for the trip so gets out her phone.
It opens to the Messages and shows a chat with a guy (I know him) saying how much she is gonna miss him and how she doesn’t wanna go away with me anyway.
The doors close on the plane and that was a really fucking fun 10-11hrs…
10. I know this is cliche and I’ve definitely bitched about it before, but coming home from a 12 MONTH deployment to a BLACK baby when we’re both white were strike one and two. Strike three was telling me she had black relatives (whom I’ve never met) so that could be what happened, sure. Doesn’t matter what excuse You have there isn’t a magical 12 month gestation period. Makes me very fucking angry.
11. The dude told me. We used to go to school together. Saw him in Facebook and requested friendship. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I was great. Girl and I were about to celebrate our anniversary. He apologized to me and said he had to tell me that they had been fucking for the last week. Said he didn’t know we were together and I believed him. He sent me screenshots of pages of text as proof. She got called out by the both of us and we are still very good friends, he and I. Fuckin lying skank.
12. I woke up in the middle of the night when she was in the bathroom. Used her phone as a light. Saw texts from her ex about how good it felt to cum inside her the day before.
13. She forgot to end the call, you know, press the red button. I heard them talking about who was going to shower first.
14. She was in the toilet. Her phone flashed up. The message notification read “Did you tell him?”.
Apparently the message was about something completely different, but after I bluffed her into thinking I know more than I do – a name and that something’s up, she “confessed”.
10 years relationship destroyed. No turning back. Easier to build up trust with a new person the. with someone that cheated on you. And in long term relationships, marriage, you have to trust each other.
The Simpsons news! War between America and China
You ARE aware that the Simpsons television show has been able to predict the future, right?
Chinese don’t like war, not just for moral reasons, but because they are very costly and wasteful. Human lives are lost, families are wrecked, individuals are traumatized, buildings are destroyed, and deep ill-feeling is created.
Chinese especially don’t like the idea of killing other Chinese, even if many Taiwanese don’t consider themselves to be Chinese. Killing other Chinese is something which should be avoided until all other ways of resolution have been exhausted, and this is true for Taiwan.
Moreover, reconstruction costs would be huge, and the national treasury would take a major hit lasting years. If China attacked without provocation, the United States would be the first country to call for a boycott of China and Chinese goods, which would hurt the economy for years. The costs would run into the hundreds of billions of yuan.
The U.S. has lost every conceivable element of respect by must South East Asian people for being hypocritical and obnoxious, power that is bent in trouble making and war mongering which is what we do not want.
The U.S. must move from their moral high horse that no one buys and much less believe. To South East Asia we see the U.S. as the barbarous nation that murdered up to 3 million Vietnamese civilians and carpet bomb Manila to murder up to 1 million mostly Filipinos in its war against the Japanese. We know that the U.S. has a hand in murdering another 3 million anti communist in Indonesia.
The U.S. has completely and totally lost its plot in South East Asia. Apart from Singapore who is more interested in US money than US behaviour the U.S. do not have any influence here. Talking bad and talking down in China has turn off the South East Asian officials. To U.S. China has been our big neighbour for 5000 years yet we are still our own sovereign nation!
We saw what happened in the U.S. that begin with 13 East Coast states to stealing 37 more states till Pacific coast in a mere century! We appreciate that China in spite from actually way stronger than U.S. left us alone. The U.S. trying to sow fear about China is simply not believable at all. If anything. It showed the U.S. hypocrisy and it manipulative nature.
Sitrep
August 2023
There are three levels.
[1] Geo-political
In flux. The single ruling (American / UK) nation as a dominant entity is over. The world is in a situation of metamorphosis.
The duration of this period of change is unknown. However, a rapid change is suggested.
Most of the world (the Global South) are aligning with the China-Russian axis.
This suggests either [1a] a world consisting of two Geo-political axes or [1b] a world led by the Russia-China alignment.
This is a “bumpy road”. It may get “hot”, or “frosty cold”. But the changes will continue for a spell.
[2] Global Economic
Of the two emerging powers; (USA, Russia-China), the Western-led axes is remarkably poor. While the Eastern axes, (Russia – China) is powerful, wealthy and leading in most every indicator of value.
This trend is continuing in the two vector paths. One up. One down.
No one knows when the West will hit bottom.
The East will continue to go ballistic and there is no indication that the trend will plateau.
[3] Galactic
Various entities are observing these changes in the earth centrist sphere.
Domain is very busy right now, but the impression is that all is proceeding as it should. Medium bads only. No big bads are indicated.
Some very powerful entities have attempted to alter the “environment” to their personal benefit for one reason or the other. Domain has been patching away these efforts towards “full body repair”.
A period of stabilization and calm should be evident by the end of this decade.
Return To Green Acres (Full)
Ugh. So much sad and depressing stuff. How about something light, cheerful and happy for a change. This is my special gift for today. -MM
Today’s special treat! Happy times!
Sure they are older, by about 30 years, but it’s a fun time for all. Silly. Yeah. Not serious. Excellent! The stuff about Trump is pure gold.
The other day, a “fan” wrote to me for some of the comments / articles that I have generated on other venues. He said that he was sure that “Communist China must love me”. Huh.
He meant it is a compliment. I am sure, but the truth is that China doesn’t really know be from a “hill of beans”. I’m just another foreigner in China. Nobody special.
Just like the United States chucked me out. Useless. Discarded; a nobody.
And whether we are useful, or just discarded rubbish… it means NOTHING. What matters is how YOU deal with your life, under your own situation.
Are you making the world a better place?
Are you participating?
Are you doing good things and contributing… in your very own and unique way? That’s what is important.
I love China.
But that is just me.
Each and everyone of us must carve out our own little place on this planet. Make the world around you a good and sustainable one. Share your prosperity with others with no concern for profit or benefit. Be the “good guy”. No matter what.
Sense of humor. I’ve never met a single guy who was very funny.
Strength. Either physical or emotional. Preferably both. Some girls like “gentle giants” though.
Intelligence. Most girls I know are super attracted to smart guys. And if the guy is really gorgeous but dumb as a door knob, the girls get over them quickly.
Kindness. Yes, some girls are attracted to jerks. But they’re a masochistic minority. Most prefer a guy who could be nice to their mom and puppies.
Good hygiene. That’s a given. No one wants to smell too much body odor and see hairs growing out of your nose. Please.
Loyalty. Most girls are turned off by players. We were all raised on the fairy tales where prince and princess lived happily ever after, not where he texted his side chick.
Courage. I know, guys are human too. You have your moments where you’re intimidated or unsure. But brave men are inherently attractive.
Attraction. A girl wants that the guy to be really into her. Sometimes if a guy is aloof and cold, you’ll have some masochist girls taking it as a challenge. But most girls will just be turned off.
A crystal clear piece penned by Hu Xijin of the Global Times, the mouthpiece of the CCP.
It’s with a dance in my heart and a blazing flame in my soul that I copy down each word of the ante-penultimate paragraph, which absolutely deserves to be quoted in its entirety :
" China's military power is primarily used for strategic deterrence against the US, making it so that although the US military has advantages, it dares not resort to military blackmail against China. In addition, our military power is used to defend core interests, especially when it comes to the resolution of the Taiwan question, WE MUST HAVE THE FINAL SAY. We adopt a defensive military strategy, but in the Taiwan Straits region, WE HAVE GRADUALLY FORMED A LOCAL ABSOLUTE MILITARY ADVANTAGE. We will not engage in military confrontation with the US in regions far away from China's core interests. However, if the US military comes to China's nearby waters, especially if it intervenes militarily in the Taiwan Straits and assists the "Taiwanese military" in a possible future Taiwan Straits war, the People's Liberation Army will not hesitate to "BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF" THOSE US TROOPS. We will always make our determination clear to the US.
The U.S wanted to strong-arm China by banning Chinese companies, however it never knew it could backfire. The U.S Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen has already said that the U.S decoupling from China would be a disastrous mistake, that’s because she knows how China can make or break the U.S and its economy.
Just to show how essential China is for the U.S it canceled the 1.1 million tons of corn import order from the U.S but this should not be seen only from an escalating perspective, rather China wants to diversify countries so it can import grains at a better price but this has allowed the U.S to see how China can create shock waves and not only Tech but Agriculture and other sectors.
But how does this canceled order change things for not only the U.S and its Farmers but also the world’s grain prices.
According to the observatory of economic complexities (OEC) China is the world’s biggest exporter of goods and services, in other words China tops the list of producing and selling products to other countries and this allows China to generate excess revenues that could finance its phenomenal development.
However it appears that the U.S misunderstood it, it thought that if Chinese products were banned then China could be strong-armed, but this really backfired as the U.S forgot how much of the goods it exports to China, it also ignored the fact that if China stopped buying those products the U.S would struggle.
Then and now
2023 06 30 17 30
FIRST TIME HEARING Spacehog – In The Meantime REACTION
A short & PERFECT explanation of everything happening now on the World stage by Michael Hudson.
In a nutshell, the most clumsy behavior, coming from a staggering hubris, of the international bully aka US/KFC-AZAEL (Kakistocratic Feudal Conglomerate of the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment) triggered an awakening of the Global Majority (88% of the global population).
Using Hudson’s words appearing in this piece : ** What happened is a change in consciousness. **
The upshot will be civilizational in scope.
This time, the US/KFC-AZAEL doesn’t have as adversaries the usual downtrodden & disorganized Third World countries but the clear-minded coalition of the REAL international community together with the might of the last Three Sovereign Civilizational States : China, Russia, Iran.
Together, the people of the World will trigger the collapse of the Western World. This collapse doesn’t necessarily mean disorder and chaos in the streets of the Western nations.
That is a caricature more related to fear porn and definitely not going to the core essential.
The collapse of the Western World means the definitive & irreversible end of the Western global predatory system or using Hudson’s technical expression, the rent extraction system.
The collapse of the Western World also means the end of the Western overweening & laughable pretensions to superior morality & better understanding of reality.
That’s what I call the core meaning of the collapse of the Western World. Not wishing to appear too flippant nor too cynical, I still want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the neo-cons; their utter imbecilic decisions having certainly contributed a lot to this marvelous acceleration of Universal History. Whom the Gods want to destroy, they first made mad .. 再 见 ! Quan
Herodotus (History, Book 1.53) tells the story of Croesus, king of Lydia c. 585-546 BC in what is now Western Turkey and the Ionian shore of the Mediterranean. Croesus conquered Ephesus, Miletus and neighboring Greek-speaking realms, obtaining tribute and booty that made him one of the richest rulers of his time. But these victories and wealth led to arrogance and hubris. Croesus turned his eyes eastward, ambitious to conquer Persia, ruled by Cyrus the Great.
Having endowed the region’s cosmopolitan Temple of Delphi with substantial silver and gold, Croesus asked its Oracle whether he would be successful in the conquest that he had planned. The Pythia priestess answered: “If you go to war against Persia, you will destroy a great empire.”
Croesus therefore set out to attack Persia c. 547 BC. Marching eastward, he attacked Persia’s vassal-state Phrygia. Cyrus mounted a Special Military Operation to drive Croesus back, defeating Croesus’s army, capturing him and taking the opportunity to seize Lydia’s gold to introduce his own Persian gold coinage. So Croesus did indeed destroy a great empire, but it was his own.
Fast-forward to today’s drive by the Biden administration to extend American military power against Russia and, behind it, China. The president asked for advice from today’s analogue to antiquity’s Delphi oracle: the CIA and its allied think tanks. Instead of warning against hubris, they encouraged the neocon dream that attacking Russia and China would consolidate U.S. control of the world economy, achieving the End of History.
Having organized a coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014, the United States sent its NATO proxy army eastward, giving weapons to Ukraine to fight an ethnic war against its Russian-speaking population and turn Russia’s Crimean naval base into a NATO fortress. This Croesus-level ambition aimed at drawing Russia into combat and depleting its ability to defend itself, wrecking its economy in the process and destroying its ability to provide military support to China and other countries targeted for seeking self-dependency as an alternative to U.S. hegemony.
After eight years of provocation, a new military attack on Russian-speaking Ukrainians was conspicuously prepared, ready to drive toward the Russian border in February 2022. Russia protected its fellow Russian-speakers from further ethnic violence by mounting its own Special Military Operation. The United States and its NATO allies immediately seized Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves held in Europe and North America, and demanded that all countries impose sanctions against importing Russian energy and grain, hoping that this would crash the ruble’s exchange rate. The Delphic State Department expected that this would cause Russian consumers to revolt and overthrow Vladimir Putin’s government, enabling U.S. maneuvering to install a client oligarchy like the one it had nurtured in the 1990s under President Yeltsin.
A byproduct of this confrontation with Russia has been to lock in America’s control over its Western European satellites. The aim of this intra-NATO jockeying was to foreclose Europe’s dream of profiting from closer trade and investment relations with Russia by exchanging its industrial manufactures for Russian raw materials. The United States derailed that prospect by blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines, cutting off Germany and other countries from access to low-priced Russian gas. That left Europe’s leading economy dependent on higher-cost U.S. Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).
In addition to having to subsidize domestic European gas to prevent widespread insolvency, a large proportion of German Leopard tanks, U.S. Patriot missiles and other NATO “wonder weapons” are being destroyed in combat against the Russian army. It has become clear that the U.S. strategy is not simply to “fight to the last Ukrainian,” but to fight to the last tank, missile and other weapon being deleted from NATO stocks.
This depletion of NATO’s arms was expected to create a vast replacement market to enrich America’s military-industrial complex. Its NATO customers are being told to increase their military spending to 3 or even 4 percent of GDP. But the weak performance of U.S. and German arms on the Ukrainian battlefield may have crashed this dream, while Europe’s economies are sinking into depression. And with Germany’s industrial economy deranged by the severing of its trade with Russia, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told the Die Welt newspaper on June 16, 2023 that his country cannot afford to pay more money into the European Union budget, to which it has long been the largest contributor.
Without German exports supporting the euro’s exchange rate, the currency will come under pressure against the dollar as Europe buys LNG and NATO replenishes its depleted weaponry stocks by buying new arms from America. A lower exchange rate will squeeze the purchasing power of European labor, while lowering social spending to pay for rearmament and provide gas subsidies is plunging the continent into a depression.
A nationalist reaction against U.S. dominance is rising throughout European politics, and instead of America locking in its control over European policy, the United States may end up losing – not only in Europe but most crucially throughout the Global South. Instead of turning Russia’s “ruble to rubble” as President Biden promised, Russia’s balance of trade has soared and its gold supply has increased. So have the gold holdings of other countries whose governments are now aiming to de-dollarize their economies.
It is American diplomacy that is driving Eurasia and the Global South out of the U.S. orbit. America’s hubristic drive for unipolar world dominance could only have been dismantled so rapidly from within. The Biden-Blinken-Nuland administration has done what neither Vladimir Putin nor Chinese President Xi could have hoped to achieve in so short a period. Neither was prepared to throw down the gauntlet and create an alternative to the U.S.-centered world order. But U.S. sanctions against Russia, Iran, Venezuela and China have had the effect of protective tariff barriers to force self-sufficiency in what EU diplomat Josep Borrell calls the world “jungle” outside of the US/NATO “garden.”
Although the Global South and other countries have been complaining about U.S. dominance ever since the Bandung Conference of Non-Aligned Nations in 1955, they have lacked a critical mass to create a viable alternative. But their attention has now been focused by the U.S. confiscation of Russia’s official dollar reserves in NATO countries. That dispelled the thought of the dollar as a safe vehicle in which to hold international savings. The Bank of England’s earlier seizure of Venezuela’s gold reserves kept in London – promising to donate them to whatever unelected opponents of its socialist regime U.S. diplomats designate – shows how sterling and the euro as well as the dollar have been weaponized. And by the way, what ever happened to Libya’s gold reserves?
American diplomats avoid thinking about this scenario. They rely on the one unique advantage the United States has to offer. It may refrain from bombing them, from staging a color revolution to “Pinochet” them by the National Endowment for Democracy, or install a new “Yeltsin” giving the economy away to a client oligarchy.
But refraining from such behavior is all that America can offer. It has de-industrialized its own economy, and its idea of foreign investment is to carve out monopoly-rent seeking opportunities by concentrating technological monopolies and control of oil and grain trade in U.S. hands, as if this is economic efficiency, not rent-seeking.
What has occurred is a change in consciousness. We are seeing the Global Majority trying to create an independent and peacefully negotiated choice as to just what kind of an international order they want. Their aim is not merely to create alternatives to the use of dollars, but an entire new set of institutional alternatives to the IMF and World Bank, the SWIFT bank clearing system, the International Criminal Court and the entire array of institutions that U.S. diplomats have hijacked from the United Nations.
The upshot will be civilizational in scope. We are seeing not the End of History but a fresh alternative to U.S.-centered neoliberal finance capitalism and its junk economics of privatization, class war against labor, and the idea that money and credit should be privatized in the hands of a narrow financial class instead of being a public utility to finance economic needs and rising living standards.
The irony is that America’s historical role has been that although it itself was not able to lead the world forward along these lines, its attempts to lock the world into an antithetical imperial system by conquering Russia on the plains of Ukraine and trying to isolate China’s technology from breaking the U.S. attempt at IT monopoly have been the great catalysts pushing the global majority along these lines.
Russian Reacts to THE CRANBERRIES – Zombie | MADE me CRY
American exports to China
2023 07 01 11 48
BabantheKidd FIRST TIME reacting to Bobby Brown – Every Little Step
A fun reaction video…
American exports to China
2023 07 01 11 49x
Oven-Fried Tex-Mex Onion Rings
2023 06 30 15 48
Ingredients
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon water
2 medium onions (about 10 ounces), sliced 3/8 inch thick
2 egg whites
Instructions
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray large nonstick baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, chili powder, ground red pepper and salt in medium shallow dish; mix well. Stir in butter and water.
Separate onion slices into rings. Place egg whites in large bowl; beat lightly.
Add onions; toss lightly to coat evenly.
Transfer to bread crumb mixture; toss to coat evenly.
Place in single layer on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until onions are tender and coating is crisp.
They are primarily responsible for almost all our Military Industrial and Space Development
Everystep we took was with their technical know how and machinery. They trained thousands of our Pilots and Engineers until we could develop our own 100% indigenous training.
They gave us our Rocketry base. They helped almost all our Launch programs until the Late 80s, they gave us our first Space launch Programs, computers and processors until 1994.
Tank Design, Aircraft Design, Tech Collaboration, Wind Tunnel Guidance, Aircraft Carrier Development, Submarine Technology, Naval Avionics – without the Russians we would be nowhere
Radar and Aero Engineering (Cranwell) were the only two areas where Britain has helped us.
They built our entire Foundation so that now we are slowly overlaying ourselves.
Like US to Israel
They taught us to lay our entire Intelligence Apparatus
RAW and IB were British Intelligence oriented
However Radio Surveillance, Radio Tracking, Interception were all taught to us by Russians
From 1955 to 1987, over 2400 Joint Monitoring Intelligence Apps were carried out with Egypt, Yugoslavia and India participating with Czechoslovakia overseen by USSR
During that period post ’62 – we had no intelligence failures especially in the ’65 War
They were our earliest Nuclear Program Helpers
They helped us hugely.
2023 07 01 15 22
Tarapore, Narora and now the latest in Kundakulam – all have their Roastom training and guidance
Of course France and canada played a role , a good role even by 1979–80
However it was Primarily Russian Collaboration from 1956–1974 upto Smiling Buddha
So we owe them almost everything.
And they did it without any Bullying strings whatsoever
They never demanded we join Military Alliances like US did of Pak
They never demanded we send troops to Afghanistan
They never demanded that we forcibly buy Oil from them at higher rates.
They were instrumental in avoiding a Two front War with Pak today thanks to their 1971 War counter to Nixon
Right or wrong, Russians are our Mentors and Friends
2023 07 01 15 23
Even God would smite us if we ever went against them
If the Ukraine conflict continues on its current trajectory, it will end in a total disaster for humanity
Dmitry Trenin is a research professor at the Higher School of Economics and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is also a member of the Russian International Affairs Council.
Professor Sergey Karaganov’s “Tough-but-necessary decision” article
– which claims that by using its nuclear weapons, Russia could save humanity from a global catastrophe – has provoked plenty of reaction both at home and abroad. Partly because of the author’s status – he has been an advisor to both President Boris Yeltsin and President Vladimir Putin – and also due to the belief that his opinion may possibly be shared by some people in positions of power.
Dmitry Trenin, an extremely respected Russian expert who served in the Soviet military gives his response.
***
Professor Sergey Karaganov’s recent article brought into public focus the thorny issue of the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict. Many reactions to the piece boil down to the well-known reasoning that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and thus it cannot be fought.
Against this background, President Vladimir Putin, responding to a question at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, said that nuclear weapons are a deterrent and the conditions for their use is defined in a published doctrine. He explained that the theoretical possibility of using these weapons exists, but there is no need to use them now.
In principle, nuclear weapons have been “on the table” for Russia from the very beginning of the Ukrainian conflict precisely as a means of deterring the US and its allies from becoming directly involved. Nevertheless, repeated public reminders from Putin and other officials about Russia’s nuclear status have so far not prevented a growing escalation of NATO’s participation. As a result, it has become clear that nuclear deterrence, on which many in Moscow have relied as a credible means of securing the country’s vital interests, has proven to be a much more limited tool than they expected.
In fact, the US has now set itself the task – unthinkable during the Cold War – of trying to defeat another nuclear superpower in a strategically important region, without resorting to atomic weapons, but instead by arming and controlling a third country. The Americans are proceeding cautiously, testing Moscow’s responses and consistently pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of arms supplied to Kiev, as well as the choice of targets for them. From starting with anti-tank ‘Javelins,’ to eventually cajoling allies to send actual tanks, the US is now apparently pondering transferring F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles.
It is likely that this US strategy is based on the belief that the Russian leadership would not dare use nuclear weapons in the current conflict, and that its references to the nuclear arsenal at its disposal are nothing more than a bluff. The Americans have even been calm – at least outwardly about the deployment of Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus. Such “fearlessness” is a direct result of the geopolitical changes of the last three decades and the change of generations in power in the US and the West in general.
The fear of the atomic bomb, present in the second half of the twentieth century, has disappeared. Nuclear weapons have been taken out of the equation. The practical conclusion is clear: there is no need to be afraid of such a Russian response.
This is an extremely dangerous misconception. The trajectory of the Ukrainian war points to an escalation of the conflict both horizontally (by expanding the theater of military action) and vertically (by increasing the power of the weapons used and the intensity of their use). It must be soberly acknowledged that this momentum is heading towards a direct armed confrontation between Russia and NATO. If the accumulated inertia is not stopped, such a clash will take place, and in this case the war, having spread to Western Europe, will almost inevitably become nuclear. And after some time, a nuclear war in Europe will most likely lead to an exchange of blows between Russia and the US.
The Americans and their allies are truly playing Russian roulette. Yes, so far the Russian response to the bombing of Nord Stream, the drone attack on the strategic Engels airbase, the entry of Western-armed saboteurs into the Belgorod region and many other actions by the Washington-backed and controlled side has been relatively restrained.
As Putin recently made clear, there are good reasons for this restraint. Russia, the president said, is capable of destroying any building in Kiev, but will not stoop to the methods of terror used by the enemy. But Putin added that Russia was considering various options for destroying Western warplanes if they are based in NATO countries and directly take part in the war in Ukraine.
So far, Moscow’s strategy has been to allow the enemy to take the escalatory initiative. The West has taken advantage of this, trying to wear down Russia on the battlefield and undermine it from within. It makes no sense for the Kremlin to go along with this plan. On the contrary, it’s a better idea to clarify and modernize our nuclear deterrence strategy, taking into account the practical experience of the Ukrainian conflict. The existing doctrinal provisions were formulated not only before the start of the current military operation, but also apparently without a precise idea of what might happen in the course of such a situation.
Russia’s external strategy includes a basket of foreign diplomacy, information campaigns and other aspects – in addition to the military elements. The main adversary should be given an unambiguous signal that Moscow will not play by the rules set by the other side. Of course, this should be accompanied by a credible dialogue with both our strategic partners and neutral states, explaining the motives and objectives of our actions. The possibility of using nuclear weapons in the current conflict must not be concealed. This real, not just theoretical, prospect should be an incentive to limit and stop the escalation of the war and ultimately pave the way for a satisfactory strategic balance in Europe.
Regarding Russian nuclear strikes against NATO countries, as raised by Professor Karaganov: Hypothetically speaking, Washington would most likely not respond to such an attack with a nuclear response of its own against Russia – for fear of a Russian retaliatory launch against the US itself. This would dispel the mythology that has surrounded Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty for decades and lead to a profound crisis for NATO – possibly even the dissolution of the organization. It is possible that, in such circumstances, the Atlantic elites of NATO and the EU would panic and be swept aside by patriotic forces that would see for themselves that their security does not in fact depend on a non-existent US nuclear umbrella, but on building a balanced relationship with Russia. It is also possible that the Americans could decide to leave Russia alone.
It could well be that the calculation just described would ultimately be correct. But it is unlikely.
Yes, a US nuclear strike on Russia would probably not follow immediately. It is unlikely that the Americans would sacrifice Boston for Poznan, just as they were not going to sacrifice Chicago for Hamburg during the Cold War. But there will probably be some sort of response from Washington. Perhaps of the non-atomic type, which, without speculating too wildly, could be sensitive and painful for us. It is likely that with it, Washington would try to pursue a goal similar to ours: paralyzing the Russian leadership’s will to continue the war and creating panic in our society.
Moscow’s leadership is unlikely to capitulate after such a blow, since, at this stage, Russia’s very existence would be at stake. It is more likely that a retaliatory strike would follow, and this time, one can assume, against the main adversary rather than its satellites.
Let us pause before this point of no return and summarize our analysis tentatively.
Should the nuclear bullet be demonstrably inserted into the cylinder of the revolver that the US leadership is recklessly playing with today? To paraphrase a late American statesman: Why do we need nuclear weapons if we refuse to use them in the face of an existential threat?
On the other hand, there is no need to scare others with words. Instead, we have to prepare practically for any possible turn of events by carefully considering the options and their consequences.
The war in Ukraine has become protracted. As far as we can tell from the actions of the Russian leadership, it expects to achieve strategic success by relying on Russian resources, which are many times greater than those in Ukraine. It also relies on the fact that Moscow has much more at stake in this war than the West. This calculation is probably correct, but it should be taken into account that the opponent assesses Russia’s chances differently than we do and may take steps which could lead to a direct armed clash between Russia and the US/NATO.
We must be prepared for such a development. To avoid a general catastrophe, it is necessary to put fear of armageddon back into politics and the public consciousness.
In the nuclear age, it is the only guarantee of preserving humanity.
Nothing is cost-effective to the US military anymore. This DDG(X) program is mostly for cost-cutting by reducing quantity and making up by more advanced features. But US is clearly not the leader in this technological race. China already has 8 Type 055 in active service, plus more on the way (cooking dumplings). In any wars, preponderance in quantity is always the decisive factor. No exception. Same applies to the J-20 vs F-35 (with new ones stored pending final decision on revisions) and all munitions. This trend will continue to exacerbate the US disadvantage. The US is BROKE.
American exports to China
2023 07 01 12 16
Russia STRIKES US Soldiers In Ukrainian Pizza Restaurant
I was about 40 and on my way home from my pool league one night, I went home the back way. That’s why I came up over a hill at an intersection and was confronted with a police road block. There was no other way to go.
Of course I’d been drinking, not lots but some. I’d planned to drink more when I got home. Besides that, the case that my cues go in looks like a rifle case and was laying out on the back seat. On top of that, my new insurance card was still sitting home on the kitchen table.
The cop looked in my window and said into his radio, “Let this one through. It’s just an old lady.”
I smiled, thanked him and left and cussed him the whole rest of the way home.
American exports to China
2023 07 01 12 1ey6
MY MOM IS PISSED!! My Mom Reacts To Thomas Sowell – Facts About Slavery Never Mention In School
United Airlines Flight 232
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This to me was some of the most heroic yet tragic crash-landings I have ever witnessed in Aviation. This wasn’t done by one pilot, but an entire crew. Flight 232 from Denver to Chicago suffered a complete loss of hydraulics due to a tail engine explosion, causing the crew to divert to Sioux City. These pilots were flying a plane with zero flight controls.
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It had no wing flaps, it had no rudder, no elevators, no VS, no brakes for landing; the plane could not even deploy its wheels without manual deployment and gravity. They could not control the pitch, the orientation, direction or the altitude with their flight controls.
The pilots had to solely rely on their two remaining engines to control the entire plane.
As there was a loss of flight controls, the plane banked right and nearly became inverted. To combat this, the pilots increased power on the right engine to keep the plane horizontally stable.
The plane also tried to pitch down, for which the pilots increased engine power even more to stop it from diving. But this caused the plane to overshoot and pitch up, causing a stall, so the pilots repeatedly had to increase and decrease engine power to keep the plane from falling out of the sky while keeping the right engine at high power.
While calling an emergency, the pilots had to make a right turn to the nearest airport. Since the airplane wants to bank right, the pilots used precious minutes of their time to commit a full left turn circle formation by using maximum power on the right engine to make the move.
For about 30 minutes, against complete loss of flight controls and multiple dangers, the pilots managed to keep the plane steady solely using the wing engines. But as engine power was high, it was flying too fast and too high for a safe landing. These pilots now had another dilemma: they had to slow down the plane to decrease altitude and speed while keeping the plane fast enough to keep it stabilized.
Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Even after deploying gears to slow the plane down and managing to get the plane to descend, it was going way too fast for the plane to touch down in one piece. And so, the plane shattered across the field in Sioux City Airport going 270 km/h faster than normal.
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It might not sound like a successful landing, but it turned out over 60% of the occupants of this flight, including all pilots, survived the crash. There were 52 children on this flight – only 11 died. For such extreme conditions this plane underwent, touching the runway at nearly 3 times over the maximum landing speed and dropping nearly 9 m/s, catching fire, it was a miracle that anyone survived such a trip.
Everybody on this plane was supposed to be dead, but these pilots managed to wrestle back 184 people lives from their fate. Those men, with remarkable decision-making, communication and teamwork under possibly one of the worst conditions a passenger airplane could experience managed to look death in the eye and beat him at his own game.
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Edit: Aye guys, thanks for the up-votes. I just wanted to say that this was really a time where people came together at the right time and everybody did their jobs to the most perfect ability that set a standard and changed flying for years to come.
So I want to give credit to everybody on the ground as well, specifically emergency services without whose help and timing, a lot more people would have died. I also want to give credit to the ATC for handling this flight as well as the rest of the airport staff that provided critical medical attention to the injured. Clear weather as well.
And lastly the flight attendants, who unfortunately took the heaviest brunt on that crash for not only getting passengers into crash position but also moving them out of the plane broken in pieces when they were wounded as well! A group effort indeed!
First thing is when you need a QUAD and AUKUS to counter you, that means you have to be congratulated for your growth and rising power
That’s huge FACE for Xi Jingping
That the Western World fears Chinas rise so much that they need so many Abbreviations
Next let’s see how Xi Jingping dealt with either?
With UTTER CONTEMPT
Let’s see the AUKUS first
Australia, UK and USA
Let’s see QUAD next
Japan, India, Australia and USA
First let’s neutralize India
Simplest thing. A Land invasion can pulverize the growing Indian economy and send it into Ukraine mode within a year and send Modi scrambling to the Negotiating Table
So India is neutralized by a simple land threat
That will be so for at least 20–25 years until India really achieve a minimum 60% indigenous mass equipment manufacturing for a full scale defense (India is at 9% as of 2023)
India needs at least $ 10 Trillion to stand upto China by which time China may stand to $ 30 Trillion
Next let’s Neutralize Japan
Japan’s entire Arsenal and manufacturing is 1/18 of China or around 5%
Japan was outproduced by USA in 1943 and today China beats that USA by almost 2.5 times
China’s land batteries can pulverize the entire Japanese shipping lines and blockade their access to Oil and Gas in a matter of minutes with Russia’s help.
That leaves UK and Australia
Lackey puppets whose military is zero
No way would they be the slightest threat to China
That leaves USA
Yes US is a serious adversary. Always was.
So that’s just US again no matter whatever form anything takes
China’s only real adversary is USA and everyone else is a second fiddle player with zero threat perception
South Korea is countered by North Korea
India is countered by a Two front crushing pincher plus a potential Indian Ocean lock in
Phillipines and Taiwan can be pulverized to pieces with mere land based launch attacks alone
Equivalent to Mexico and US
As they say, it’s childs play
The only time Xi would be terribly worried would be with a US — Russian alliance
That would worry Xi and give him sleepless nights
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Xis greatest piece of luck was Biden treating Putin as a pariah and cementing an alliance with Russia which now makes Chinas position 20 times stronger
There are Two Lions facing an Older Lion and a bunch of small dogs and vultures
My husband is a native Indonesian and a retired lawyer from the Indonesian consular section at the Indonesian Embassy abroad( KBRI). .𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀..In Bali, weed is also highly illegal. The possession, sale, and consumption of marijuana in Bali is punishable with 10 years in prison. Those caught trafficking weed in Bali can receive the death penalty. Weed laws in Bali are strictly enforced. Tourists caught smoking weed in public can sometimes manage to bribe their way out of a problematic situation.Using cannabis or weed in Indonesia can lead to a prison sentence of up to four years. Possession of marijuana, cannabis or weed incurs a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison and a maximum 8 billion rupiah in fines (around $560,000).
Producing, exporting, importing, or distributing any kind of drugs comes with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of 10 billion rupiah.
In some cases, the punishment for weed in Indonesia can be the death penalty. Such cases include the production, import, export, distribution, sales, purchase for dealing purposes, transport, and provision to others leading to permanent injury or death of cannabis in amounts of more than 1 kg or over five plants.
While rare, executions for drug smuggling do occur in Bali and Indonesia, even for tourists. In 2018 eventually nine travelers from Australia were convicted of smuggling cannabis out of Indonesia. Two were eventually sentenced to death and executed by a firing squad. Cannabis trafficking has incurred the death penalty in Indonesia. to death and executed by a firing squad. Cannabis trafficking has incurred the death penalty in Indonesia.
Nine Arrive at Indonesian Execution Island as Jokowi Spurns Clemency Pleas
Australian death-row prisoners Andrew Chan, center, and Myuran Sukumaran, left, are seen in a holding cell waiting to attend a review hearing in the District Court of Denpasar, on the Indonesian island of Bali, on Oct. 8, 2018
In the darkness of early morning hours Wednesday, Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were woken by the Kerobokan prison guards in Bali. It took them 10 minutes to wash and dress for the transfer to Nusakambangan, the prison island in Central Java, where death-row prisoners are set to face the firing squads.
Chan and Sukumaran, sentenced to death in for drug trafficking, are among a group of 10 prisoners slated to be executed in Indonesia. Despite numerous and repeated pleas from across the globe to spare them — some of whom, like the two Australians, say they have reformed behind bars — Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, stands firm on his decision not to pardon drug convicts on death row.
BABYMETAL- HEADBANGER. Rock Singer’s FIRST TIME reaction
Oh there are so many things you could talk about beginning with the Democracy, Corruption, Rabble dominated elections, Inefficient Leadership, Disjointed Leadership, Poorer Quality of Education, Reservations etc etc. You could end up publishing a 700 Page Book on this.
To summarize why China is so ahead in everything however requires just two words – Decision Making & Accountability
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Source: Alamy Stock Photo
China is divided into provinces and each Province has a Provincial Committee.
This Committee controls activities like Commerce, Agriculture, Industry, Education, Water Supply for the entire province, the villages and even the Cities within them.
Each Committee has a Sub committee consisting of Specialists. The Education Sub committee has Teachers and Education Experts most of whom have Degrees from Australia or Singapore or US or UK. The Industrial Sub Committee have experts on Industrial Production etc. No Political Hacks in the Sub Committee (Only in the Committees)
And Sub Committees have extraordinary powers.
They can make decisions in hours. They can offer a subsidy of 30% on a crop in 4 hours after a single meeting if 2/3 of the Sub Committee members agree. Even the Main Committee cannot oppose a Sub Committee decision unless 100% of the Committee members are opposed (Even one single person saying OK will ensure that the decisions go through).
A Sub Committee in a Chinese Province took the decision to Liquidate 36000 Swine (Pigs) to prevent an outbreak of Swine Flu in 2015. The Decision was implemented in 3–4 hours and the Swine Farmers were compensated with Money or Stock Animals. All decided by the Sub committee. Beijing was informed of this only a few days later.
This is called Decision Making Power
A Sub Committee can decide to clear out a Village in 42 days to accommodate a Manufacturing Plant and the Local CCP officials have to comply (The Party Hacks). They cannot object or write to Xi Jingping (Unless Xi Modifies the Laws).
The Result is BRUTAL EFFICIENCY
Decisions get taken in a matter of days or hours compared to months and years.
A New Plant has to be opened. Industrial Sub Committee clears it in 3–4 weeks. No interference from the CCP or its hacks.
A New disease is infecting Chickens – the Sub Committee can authorize liquidation of 500000 Birds without a 10 second hesitation – even if 200000 of them belong to the CCP Head of the District.
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In India – the Opposite is true
There is No Decision making that can be done quickly.
You have State Ministers, Central Ministers, MPs, MLAs, Opposition Parties, Laborers, Sanghs, PILS that HC and SC will keep deciding on.
As a result – if there is a fear of a Crop Infection – the Farmer must cooperate – otherwise we have a Crop devastation in months. If some farmers who may not be literate enough ignore the blight even if a Zealous young agricultural officer (Assuming decent quality officers) points it out, the officer has to pass it to his boss to will toss it in the can and his boss and his boss and this minister and this community etc etc – until the Crop infection hits and destroys 50% of the crop leading to higher prices and more cribbing by the farmers.
If a Good Minister makes a decision that could improve life – BANG!!! A Nutcase goes to Supreme Court and files a PIL and delays it for months and months.
If a Decent Minister like Mr Goyal or Mr Gadkari implements a Traffic Fines and Violation Rule (Hasty in the short run since roads are so bad) – BANG!!! State Governments will destroy the plan. Fines on masks are an apt example.
This is one of the Biggest Reason why India fails even when compared to Democratic countries.
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This is a Former Railways Minister of China.
In 2011 – there was a Train Crash and 47 People Died and 472 were Injured.
The Chinese Government coughed up $ 3.785 Million Equivalent and conducted an Inquiry. In exactly 151 Days- the Committee presented the report.
A Single Signal Box had failed. A Young Engineer had sent 14 Memos to the Corresponding Officials who had ignored them. It would have cost $ 75000 equivalent to have modified the issue.
276 Officials were investigated and 251 were Acquitted or let off with a warning or fired with no further consequences.
25 Officials were found to be guilty and sentenced to terms between 15 months to Death Sentence for 4 People. The Railways Minister was sentenced to death. And not for his politics – as even the most liberal Chinese in US admitted.
The Best part was that in 151 Days or 5 months – the Issue was finished. 25 people were in Jail and new replacements had been hired and the boxes were modified.
Its called Accountability. A Single Signal Box fails because you did not modify it when you should have – Your fault – You are convicted of something called LOSS OF PUBLIC LIFE THROUGH CONSPIRACY OR NEGLIGENCE.
If Negligence is proven its a huge fine or 7 years jail.
If Conspiracy is proven – its a hail of bullets.
(The Man was reprieved and is serving a life sentence now)
Every Action in China is accountable. An Accident – Inquiries and the reason will always be detected and the wrong doers be punished. Brutally at times.
An Engineer who used a slightly inferior cement to finish his work faster on a bridge which collapsed ended up with a 1 year sentence and 100000 Yuan fine for Negligence. The Committee members were sentenced to between 4–7 years and Million Yuan fines for Negligence because They made the decision!!!!
An Abusive Cop was awarded 64 years Jail by the LEPPA courts for PUBLIC ABUSE (Commuted to 16 years in 2019). Policemen cannot beat up anyone (Unless for Political Reasons). A Policeman can beat you if you protest politically but if he beats you for any other reason – he will be roasted alive by the system.
Even in HK- Police have carte blanche to beat up and tear gas protestors but the same police beat someone for not paying interest for a loan shark – the policeman is boiled by the system and spends 1–7 years in Prison and a permanent spot on the blocklist.
Accountability keeps a country in check. Minimizes errors and ensures every decision better be as clean as possible.
In India – Engineers get 10 years in Jail while the Ministers and Officials who ordered him to do shoddy work end up with Crores of rupees and a handful of eyewash suspensions.
In China the floods caused a lot of trouble this year.
An Inquiry was set up and 198 people were examined. Ultimately it was found to be a Design error in the 1970s (They did not estimate so much rainfall).
A COVID 19 inquiry was set up and 750+ people were examined to examine the cause.
In India Demonetization destroyed the economy
Has a single inquiry been set up to examine?
We have had 10,000 decisions from 1947 to present which have all been horrible for the country. Millions of Accidents. Yet has a single inquiry resulted in massive change?
The Answer is NO. The Usual Arrest of Scapegoats, Eye Wash Suspensions but at the end of the day – Fearlessness among the Officials that the System is rigged in their favor and even if there is an Accident or public death – nothing is going to happen.
A Failed Giant Wheel in a UP Fair killed 8 people. The Giant Wheel Owner spent 5 1/2 months in Jail and faces a Case (For 21 years from 1999) but the Authorities who permitted the Giant Wheel, the Safety Inspector who issued the safety certificates and permits – all retired comfortably or are in promoted posts.
So China – Excellent Decision Making and Accountability
India – Zero Decision Making and Zero Accountability
In Every sphere this is the same.
Shri Narvane wants Blankets for his boys – he needs 100 permissions to get them sanctioned.
In China – a single call to the Office of the Procurer and in 10 hours – you have Blankets ready.
XYZ wants to build a Manufacturing plant for a Chemical in India – he needs the same license for safety from State and Centre which will take 9 months at the earliest and 24 months normally as every office in the State has to wet their beaks and every half wit will put in his thoughts.
XYZ wants to build the same Manufacturing Plant in Guangzhou. The Committee will conduct the inspections and issue a permit in 2 Weeks flat. No opposition from anywhere including Beijing.
By the time Indian permissions are still forthcoming – the Chinese factory will have imported their third batch of products.
However…..
In China – Manufacturers who produce shoddy products are hauled up and by law their entire shareholding can be taken by the Govt if they continue to produce inferior products
In India – Manufacturers have carte Blanche and can do what they like.
Thats the Long and Short of it.
As they say in Hindi “SAALA SYSTEM HI KHARAB HAIN”
Yes, actually I didn’t buy it. I got it for free……. It wasn’t a car, But an RV…. Yes an actual RV. It was a 2002, 26 foot class A RV. It was in perfect condition. Just didn’t run. Inside was perfect. The RV only had 16000 miles on it. Generator only has 30 hrs on It. The RV was practically new. The guy that owned it didn’t want it anymore. He was paying storage to park it. He said he didn’t want to pay storage anymore for an RV that didn’t work. I guess it wouldn’t start one day. He took it to a shop and they told him the engine was blown and he needed a new one. The cost would have been around $8,000. Crazy. So he just parked it. So this guy who I didn’t know came to my work wanting to dispose of the RV. I said I would take it. I got the RV to my Mechanic. He looked at it and replaced a $70 part on the fuel system…. RV started right up!!!!! Ran perfect. Took it to a smog shop and it passed in a few min. I couldn’t believe it. I got an $25000 (today’s value, new was over $100k) RV for free!!!! Best RV ever. I have driven that thing all up and down California. Amazing. What a find….
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The Truth Can Be Scary! Paul Harvey: If I Were The Devil…
The real risk of China’s presence in Cuba
China’s enhanced intelligence-gathering and new military presence in Cuba shows Beijing simply no longer cares what the US thinks
The Wall Street Journal reported this month that the People’s Republic of China has heavily invested in a cash-strapped Cuba in exchange for access to an electronic intelligence collection (ELINT) facility, and negotiated an agreement to train Chinese soldiers on the north side of the island.
These developments have been met with great concern in Washington, particularly due to the strategic threat that the PRC’s presence in the region poses.
China’s history of US intelligence collection through Cuba can be traced back to 1999 when Cuba granted the PRC access to facilities at Bejucal, a city just south of the capital, previously operated by the Soviet Union, to collect intelligence on the United States.
More recently, the Biden administration’s response to the WSJ’s report confirmed that the Chinese had indeed been operating an intelligence facility in Cuba for some time, and had only upgraded it in 2019. This ran counter to presidential spokesman John Kirby’s characterization of the reports of China’s “building” of the base.
However, the dialogue left unclear exactly how much money the PRC has invested towards the 2019 upgrade and whether or not it was included as part of the debt restructuring and investment credits awarded by the PRC to Cuba this past November.
By contrast, the possible rotation of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military personnel through the island for training crosses a small, if important, threshold with respect to an enduring Chinese military presence close to the US mainland.
Regardless of the minutiae involved, both developments showcase an increased disposition by both Cuba and the PRC to take risks through explicitly US-focused military initiatives, in ways that suggest it’s willing to take similar risks in other areas as well.
This has significant implications for the United States, necessitating an appropriate, and carefully crafted response from Washington to both current and future events involving both parties.
In the case of Cuba, the government’s willingness to host military threats to the United States has remained consistent since the 1962 missile crisis.
That being said, the regime’s willingness to permit PRC military operations on the island, with the added risk that they might be discovered by US counterintelligence, more greatly highlights the regime’s current desperation for resources amid increasingly severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine – which have prompted a growing exodus of refugees from the island and inspired scattered protests that led the government to temporarily shut down the internet.
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Such desperation is consistent with Cuban government behavior surrounding shortages, such as offering Russian investors notable tax breaks, long-term land leases, and options to repatriate profits, in exchange for investments aimed at addressing deficiencies in the country’s petroleum supply, rum and food production.
As for the PRC, the willingness to host anti-US-focused military capabilities for both intelligence collection and training in proximity to the continental United States is a stark departure from the PRC’s otherwise restrained military engagements in the region.
Even if the PLA electronic intelligence presence in Cuba is not new, the 2019 upgrade suggests a decreased concern over alarming or upsetting the United States, which may be, in part, a move emboldened by Xi Jinping’s government’s growing military power and confidence as well as growing military tensions with the United States.
It suggests a growing PLA willingness to construct military operations against the United States in the Western Hemisphere, which will surely fuel a reassessment of the interpretation of its security, people-to-people and commercial activities in the region.
The presence of the PLA is ever-expanding. The intelligence operations at Bejucal are probably not a game-changer in terms of capabilities. However, they pose a dangerous complement to the expanding array of other PRC operations to act on and use against the United States in both peace and wartime.
PRC options to use against the United States also include the numerous Latin American military, police and other government officials who regularly travel to mainland China for “people-to-people diplomacy,” some of whom may be used to provide insights to the Chinese and be labeled by them as friends or “paid consultants.”
As seen by the practices of PRC “police stations,” other options include ethnic Chinese in the region who may be induced by the PRC to cooperate in the interest of familial ties. In addition, the PRC capabilities may also be supplemented by those of Cuban intelligence and those of other anti-US regimes, with personnel in both the United States and throughout the region.
Beyond its facilities and human intelligence capabilities and options, the PRC also has the ability to capture data relevant to US security in the region through its vast and expanding digital footprint there. This is because any Chinese company operating within the United States, under the 2017 PRC National Intelligence Law, is required to turn over any data that may be relevant to security to the PRC.
Some of these architectures, such as Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi, Oppo and others in the region’s telecommunications infrastructure, can utilize exploitable sensitive data against Latin American government officials and political entities. For example, Huawei uses cloud computing, along with “Smart” and “Safe Cities,” which utilize surveillance technology. Didi Chuxing, a ride-hailing application, has been known to collect trip data on its users.
These are but a few examples of Chinese companies operating within the region that deal with sensitive data that can be subject to exploitation.
In the event of war between the United States and China over Taiwan, anti-US countries close to the United States like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua would likely be too vulnerable for the PLA to base in them traditional forces such as aircraft and ships for attacks against the United States.
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Still, Cuba and other such countries could serve as key staging areas from which the Chinese could observe and disrupt US deployment and sustainment flows, along with other war-critical operations, which would put the United States and its allies at risk.
Both the presence of the Chinese-operated electronic intelligence facility and the development of a PLA training operation on the island will certainly help the PRC to create favorable conditions to counter the United States.
While it is true that the United States and other democratic states conduct international waters and airspace operations under the freedom of navigation principle (FONOPs), the United States cannot simply tolerate an intelligence collection facility 100 miles from its shore operated by its principal geopolitical rival, nor the rotations of PLA military personnel through the island. Such acts of espionage go beyond the simple characterization of “what rivals do” and should be met with a response.
Besides military strikes or other extreme measures that would ultimately be counterproductive for the relationship with the region, the United States most likely can neither persuade nor coerce Cuba and the PRC into abandoning their US-focused military cooperation.
However, this should not prevent the United States from exploiting all other available means to maintain pressure on, and isolate, the Cuban regime and China. Doing so helps limit the ability to extend both anti-US intelligence collection and other capabilities elsewhere.
It also strongly signals to others that the United States draws the line, and will extract a high price, for explicitly collaborating with extra-hemispheric rivals in ways that threaten US security.
Evan Ellis(r_evan_ellis@hotmail.com) is Latin America research professor with the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute. The views expressed here are his own.
This Is So Accurate! Paul Harvey Freedom To Chains 1965 | REACTION
Pennsylvania Dutch Sour Cream Cabbage
2023 06 30 15 46
Ingredients
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
2 cups distilled white vinegar
Instructions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add cabbage, salt and pepper and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Mix sugar and flour together in a medium bowl, then add sour cream and mix well; finally stir in vinegar and mix well.
Add mixture to cabbage and simmer all together until desired consistency is reached.
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
“I Was Made In China” – Funniest EVER AGT Audition?! | Australia’s Got Talent 2022
This is from Michael Crichton’s 1969 novel, made into a film in 1971 by Robert Wise, who had directed West Side Story and the Sound of Music, and would go on to direct the first Star Trek movie. I would describe it as a science fiction medical procedural alien pandemic thriller.
It doesn’t mess with your mind or turn you into a zombie, it just kills you. Death isn’t painful or gruesome, nothing like that, it’s instantaneous. The original un-mutated form clots your blood into dry sand in a matter of seconds.
But… it has no DNA, RNA, amino acids, or common organic chemicals. It’s extraterrestrial, falling to earth on a satellite that was knocked out of orbit. It turns any energy you can throw at it into food, Godzilla style, so it can’t be killed. And it mutates quickly to becoming non-lethal, eating plastic, and escaping out into Earth’s upper atmosphere, where it keeps mutating.
It’s scary as existential dread, us alone in a cold, empty, hostile universe, where the first and only extraterrestrial life we find is a virus that defies our understanding.
There are plenty of real diseases as bad as anything in fiction, by the way.
AFRICAN GIRL FIRST TIME HEARING LUCIANO PAVAROTTI – NESSUN DORMA | THIS IS A MASTER CLASS
My very first professional job in an engineering firm about a million years ago lol.
Designing a concrete retaining wall to stop rubble falling down a hill and into a person’s backyard. A very simple design. Concrete block, reinforcement. I got the sketches from a senior engineer, PhD, always made sure to tell everyone. I drew them as given to me, made a blueprint, and added a note saying I seem to be missing any details for horizontal tie backs, long rods that are drilled into the hill to stop the wall from falling over.
Dick head rights a large angry response in red Sharpie on the drawing basically saying, how dare some scum like me without a PhD have the audacity to question his truly godlike and glorious level of knowledge. Do the fucking drawings as I’m told or quit.
Alrighty then asshole.
I mentioned this to one of my co-workers and he tells me, keep that drawing safe as if it is your firstborn child. Hide it somewhere. Hide it somewhere very good. Make a photocopy of his note. Hide that somewhere even better.
Quite some time passes and a bunch of rubble falls down the hill, and doesn’t the freaking wall fall over. All because there are absolutely no tie backs keeping it from falling over.
Later one evening as I’m about to go home I get called down to the CEO’s office. Inside are a couple of their lawyers, all of the senior staff, and little old me. Probably the youngest person in the entire company.
Lawyer proceeds to tell me I am fucked. I did not do this to PhDs specifications and they are going to screw me six ways of Sunday.
Like fuck I think. I say wait here, under a few protests I stomp out, down to my office, find the drawing, come back in unfold the part with his note on it. He does not look happy. The lawyer does not look happy. In fact no one looks happy except me.
I look up and say any other questions? The lawyer says no I think we’re done here kind of have that drawing please. Me: not a fucking chance. And I’m quite willing to physically fight anyone who tries to take it from me. There were no takers lol. So back to my office, grab my shit and went home. The next day told my boss, he laughed, my coworker laughed, bet the PhD didn’t laugh. And that was that. Not surprisingly, when my term of employment ended, they didn’t renew it. How dare I not become the fall guy!
MY FIRST TIME LISTENING THE CRANBERRIES – ZOMBIE REACTION (Quite Emotional For Me)
China will not be another Soviet Union, but forge its own path
The New York Times, citing a public opinion poll by the Roper Center, said Americans’ views of China are starting to resemble their views of the Soviet Union decades ago. This has reinforced the hardline China policy adopted by the US government, and vice versa. The NYT article also cited experts who claimed that China and the US “are really in a serious competition,” with escalation on one side leading to escalation on the other, and that they are in a cold war.
The US is moving toward a new cold war.
As the article said, a series of policies toward China since the Trump era, including the “competition” mentioned by US President Joe Biden, have increased the American public’s hostility toward China. However, I believe that China will never become another Soviet Union, participating in the “serious competition” led by the US, or a true Cold War. China will have the wisdom and the ability to increase the powerful variables into the historical trajectory and steer mankind toward a different future.
First, China indeed is not the Soviet Union.
Fundamentally speaking, China is an open country, while the Soviet Union was closed. China’s opening-up was a result of its own will, as well as the general environment. China operates as a market economy, with a prominent export-oriented nature, and there is a high degree of freedom in personnel and cultural exchanges with the outside world. In contrast, during the Soviet Union era, ordinary people of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries were unable to travel to the West. These countries operated under a planned economy, where people earned the same no matter whether they worked hard or not. Additionally, there was no Internet or channel for the public to express their demands, and information was highly restricted.
Today’s Chinese society is completely different.
Chinese people’s views on the US are becoming more and more negative, and the “hostility” toward the US is increasing. However, this “hostility” is primarily directed at the US policy toward China and its hegemonism, rather than being “incompatible” with the US. Most Chinese people support, or do not oppose the idea of easing relations with the US.
As China is not the Soviet Union, the US will certainly miscalculate if it treats China as the Soviet Union. It will mess itself up, and its China policy will yield minimal results. For example, the idea of “decoupling” will not hinder China’s economic development, but will promote China’s independent technological innovation and damage the interests of leading American technology companies. While the US attempts to strategically encircle China, many of these efforts are merely superficial. Despite spending significant resources, the US will not be able to effectively contain China’s rise.
China needs to maintain strategic composure.
This composure, first and foremost, means that we are firmly aware that we are not the Soviet Union. At the same time, we are determined not to follow the Soviet Union’s path, but to forge our own unique strategic path. China will not engage in global military competition with the US; instead, we will pave the way globally through economic cooperation. In doing so, the win-win mechanism of China’s economic exchanges with other countries will mobilize more global forces to stand with China and dismantle the US strategy of containing China. The presence of US military bases and alliance systems around the world will become ineffective and will not be of much help to the US.
China’s military power is primarily used for strategic deterrence against the US, making it so that although the US has military advantages, it dares not resort to military blackmail against China. In addition, our military power is used to defend core interests, especially when it comes to the resolution of the Taiwan question, we must have the final say. We adopt a defensive military strategy, but in the Taiwan Straits region, we have gradually formed a local absolute military advantage. We will not engage in military confrontation with the US in regions far away from China’s core interests. However, if the US military comes to China’s nearby waters, especially if it intervenes militarily in the Taiwan Straits and assists the “Taiwanese military” in a possible future Taiwan Straits war, the People’s Liberation Army will not hesitate to “beat the crap out of” those US troops. We will always make our determination clear to the US.
China’s public opinion will inevitably form an opposition to that of the US. The more rampant the US side is, the more determined we become.
At the same time, as a whole, the Chinese people cannot be restrained by the political and opinion elites of the US. We must prevent ourselves from unconsciously approaching the role of the Soviet Union just because they treat China as such. This should be a long-term vigilance for us.
How the US describes and treats us is one thing, while it’s another crucial matter for us to adhere to China’s comprehensive self-development and maintain a big picture and pace. China’s development must be prioritized over struggle against the US. Self-development and self-strengthening must always be the focus of China.
In this way, the US’ containment strategy against China will ultimately end in shameful failure.
Therefore, I also believe that the most important thing is not how to label the current tension between China and the US, but rather, we need to have a different mindset and approach from the Cold War era. We must fully mobilize and utilize the enormous resources and advantages that the Soviet Union did not have, and draw a beautiful strategic curve for the Chinese people in the 21st century to break through the US containment.
PLA Has Capability, Confidence to Smash Taiwan Separatist Attempts, Foreign Interference: Spokesman
Our leaders in Washington and the collective west in general are lost in their own sea of arrogance, ignorance and incompetence. They are also certifiably insane. They will escalate the world into oblivion.
JustAMaverick | Feb 8 2023 14:55 utc | 4
Crazy times. A little depressing. Sigh.
Check out the death throes of the United States.
From <redacted> …
Unz can find all the MSM stats he wants and maybe he doesn’t leave home, but Florence and I just lost a third good friend in the last year, all younger than us, all jabbed. That’s statistically abnormal.
Our Indian friend, 42 years old, just dropped dead from a heart attack. Fit, practicing Muslim, father of two children, whom we adopted as honorary niece and nephew starting 22 years ago.
He told me he was going to call me for chat and two weeks later, he’s gone.
Luckily, his wife will have the support of her family in India, but that is no compensation.
Interestingly, on French TV, they recently reported that there is an epidemic of heart attacks in India and they actually suggested it was being caused by the jabs.
-<redacted>
In a conversation with CNN, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says the company is preparing for possible US sovereign debt default. The financial institution is the second largest bank in the country and is reportedly preparing for the worst regarding Congressional conflict over the nation’s debt ceiling.
Moynihan spoke about the Congressional debate, and specifically how that impacts corporate America. Subsequently, defaulting on the country’s debt remains a very real possibility that entities, like Bank of America, cannot disregard.
In the first few months of the new year, the National debt has reached unprecedented levels. Thus, that development has led to debates on both sides of the political aisle on whether or not the national debt ceiling should be increased before the summer months.
“We have to be prepared for that, not only in this country but in other countries around the world,” Moynihan told CNN. Additionally stating, “You hope it doesn’t happen, but hope is not a strategy – so you prepare for it.”
There is some expectation that President Joe Biden could address the debt ceiling debate during Tuesday’s State of the Union Address. Conversely, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has already expressed a warning over the nation’s debt crisis. Noting the possible default as soon as June, if the ceiling is not raised.
The US government has so over-spent, for so many years, it does not have enough cash on hand to pay its debts AND fund ongoing operations. If the debt ceiling is not raised by Congress, then the government would only have the cash on hand which comes in each month from things like Payroll taxes. That __may__ be enough to keeps some parts of the government operating, but it would not be enough to pay off debt – or even interest on the debt.
The China Communist Party (CCP) has quietly passed its Reserve Military Service Law, which will take effect on 3/1/2023. Anyone who is 18 years or older is obliged to enlist after a national defense mobilization is announced.
The notice, instructs China citizens “After receiving the call-up notice, reservists must report to the designated place at the specified time in accordance with the requirements. After the state issued the mobilization order, the reserve personnel who have not received the call-up notice shall not leave the reserve registration place without the approval of the troops and the military service organs of the reserve registration place; if they have left, they shall return immediately or standby in the same place.”
The above was only just published. I am currently busy but will eventually read it and make up my mind.
Update: 13:50 UTC
I have now read the piece but I am someone in doubt over it. The story that Hersh tells seems incomplete and not researched as deeply as possible. I bet that his sources know more than that.
While the Baltops 22 maneuver already took place in June and July of this year the U.S. Sixth Fleet left the Baltic Sea only a few days ago (in German, my translation):
Big Fleet Group From U.S. Navy Passes [German island passage] FehmanbeltOn Wednesday morning the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, escorted by the Landing Ships USS Arlington and USS Gunston Hall, was en route towards west. Previously, the ships were part of US units that took part in NATO maneuvers and called at numerous ports in Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States.
The “USS Kearsarge”, flagship of the association and largest warship of the US Navy, which was in action in the Baltic Sea in the last 30 years, has 40 helicopters and fighter planes as well as more than 2000 soldiers on board, the escort ships about 1000. For the around 4,000 soldiers are heading back home on the east coast of the US after their six-month deployment.
A significant focus of BALTOPS every year is the demonstration of NATO mine hunting capabilities, and this year the U.S. Navy continues to use the exercise as an opportunity to test emerging technology, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa Public Affairs said June 14.In support of BALTOPS, U.S. Navy 6th Fleet partnered with U.S. Navy research and warfare centers to bring the latest advancements in unmanned underwater vehicle mine hunting technology to the Baltic Sea to demonstrate the vehicle’s effectiveness in operational scenarios.
Experimentation was conducted off the coast of Bornholm, Denmark, with participants from Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, and Mine Warfare Readiness and Effectiveness Measuring all under the direction of U.S. 6th Fleet Task Force 68.
Off the coast of Bornholm, Denmark, is where the pipelines were hit. Just days ago the USS Kearsarge was in that area:
Back then I presented just the available fact and left the conclusion open for the reader to chose.
But it has since become more and more obvious that the U.S. was responsible for the enormous economic damage to Germany that its action has caused.
The gloating by Sec State Anthony Blinken and his deputy Victoria Nuland is just too too obvious. It is a”tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come” said Blinken and Nuland, in a Congress hearing, was “very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal.”
Most Germans, if not their pliant government, have drawn their conclusions from that.
This is a pretty-looking dough and a good way to get spinach into the kids. The spinach flavor is very mild and the color is a healthy green. A good pizza for a Christmas party could be made from this green crust with a bright red tomato filling.
4dd6e956ac395ecd17e69ed1390a2a8a
Ingredients
1 cup fresh spinach, leaves lightly steamed
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) olive oil
2 packages dry yeast
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
3/4 cup warm water
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and stir in the light brown sugar. Set the yeast mixture aside for at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the ricotta cheese and the spinach leaves in a blender and blend at high speed until you have a smooth, bright green mixture.
Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Make a depression in the center of the flour and add 3 tablespoons of the oil, the egg, the spinach mixture and the yeast mixture.
Put flour on the kneading board and place the dough mixture on the flour. Knead the mixture for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is uniformly mixed and elastic. Add flour as you knead if necessary to keep the dough from becoming too sticky.
When the dough is ready, place it in a clean bowl that has been brushed with oil.
Brush the top of the dough with oil and place a clean cloth over the bowl.
Put the bowl in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours.
During the final minutes of my radio show last night, I told my audience I wish I didn’t know some of the things I know. Now, one of those things has become public: It was the United States that bombed Russia’s Nord Stream 1 & 2 Pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Norway participated by flying-in a sonar buoy which gave off the Detonation Signal. NATO is an accessory, by willfully using BALTOPS 22 “Exercise” as a cover to plant the bombs. War is now likely.
In an article written by long-time, world-renowned Investigative Journalist, Seymour M. Hersh, the truth has now come out.
First, from Wikipedia:
Seymour Myron “Sy” Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an 85 year old American investigative journalist, and political writer.
Hersh first gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. During the 1970s, Hersh covered the Watergate scandal for The New York Times and revealed the clandestine bombing of Cambodia. In 2004, he reported on the U.S. military’s mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. He has also won two National Magazine Awards and five George Polk Awards. In 2004, he received the George Orwell Award.
Hersh accused the Obama administration of lying about the events surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden and disputed the claim that the Assad regime used chemical weapons on civilians in the Syrian Civil War. Both assertions have stirred controversy.
In his “substack” web site, published about nine hours ago (about 7:00 AM eastern US time today) Hirsh published a story entitled “How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline” with the sub-title being “The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now.” (Direct Link to Story)
It’s a long read, but worth it.
In the story, Hirsh reveals that the Operation was planned for nine months. It was planned in the top floor of the Old Executive Office Building, on the grounds of the White House. The biggest concern: How to leave no evidence tying it to the United States.
The story reports that the explosives were placed during the annual NATO Naval Exercise “Baltic Operations 22” (BALTOPS 22) by US Navy Divers. The NATO exercise was used as a “cover” for the explosives to be planted.
It also reveals that months later, after receiving the “Go” signal from CIA Director Burns, a plane from Norway’s military dropped a special sonar buoy into the Baltic Sea which gave-off the Detonation signal, triggering the explosives and destroying the pipeline.
Ladies and Gentlemen, make no mistake: This was a crime. It was a criminal conspiracy to commit a bombing, and later, the actual commission of that bombing. It seems to me, as a layman, the people who engaged in this are personally guilty of federal Felonies.
The planning for this crime was so thorough, they even chose the use of a specific US Navy undersea dive team which would NOT trigger any reporting to the US Congress about its activities!
Now, I could go paragraph by paragraph to report and analyze Seymour Hersh article, but it is much better if you go read it yourselves.
Very long story short: The President of the United States ordered his staff to come up with a way to “deal with” the Nord Stream Pipeline. They did. It got blown up. This was a crime. It is also, an Act of War against Russia.
I suspect the Russians are absorbing and analyzing Hersh’s article. As Russians are well known to do, they will think about this for a good while. Then, they will take well-thought-out and thought-through action.
We have committed an Act of War. Russia now has a Casus Belli – a cause for just war.
I suspect that Russia may publicly demand President Biden be Impeached and criminally prosecuted, along with the other Conspirators. I also suspect that Russia may add, if Biden is not impeached and prosecuted, and the Conspirators not prosecuted, then it will be war.
Knowing that the US Government will never agree to impeach its apparently now-criminal President, nor hold accountable the other Conspirators, I also suspect war is coming — a lot faster than any of us think, and a lot worse than any of us know.
UPDATE:
The Biden regime said an article by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claiming the United States was behind the explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines was “utterly false and complete fiction.”
“This is utterly false and complete fiction,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
Spokespeople for the CIA and State Department said the same thing, according to Reuters.
US issues Red Alert on China as Biden launches warships
At this point, insanity is beyond belief, and stupidity has consequences!
The military didn’t clap. That says it all.
Each day is more shocking than the last.
I will strongly suggest to change our leadership quickly before we sink.
We sinkin
To late
too late , point of no return has been reached, asta la vista baby
People believe China will have a hard time invading Taiwan because there is a 100 mile stretch of water between China and Taiwan, but the US will have no issue with the thousands of miles required to move weapons and ships to the China theatre. LOL.
Jerry Finds Out Elaine Faked It
Celebrities Recreated As If They Were In Classical Paintings By Kyès
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Art from the past comes back into our lives once again. The internet fell in love with classical paintings that were turned into memes, therefore, we are sure you will be interested to see what this artist did.
Kyès (previously featured) is an expert in using the style of French 17th-18th century paintings to reimagine what today’s celebrities would look like if they lived back in the day. His first works portrayed French rappers, but later on, he included other celebrities. These paintings are made digitally using computer programs, but the results seem to look just like real paintings from the past.
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Kyès’ first shared digital painting was of Charles Baudelaire, a French poet, portrayed as a joker. The artist seems to give attention to French artists and celebrities first, but over time has incorporated other well-known people such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye West, and others as well.
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Kyès uses Photoshop to recreate old classical paintings into ones with celebrities that are famous today. Such an approach makes us look up original paintings that let us revive our memories of old art. We noticed that Kyès usually uses paintings from the 16th to 18th century as a base. The art style varies from the High Renaissance to Rococo and Neoclassicism.
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Most Renaissance artwork is thought to be made between 1300 and 1600. After that, all the art is classified as High Renaissance. The difference between these two is that while earlier Renaissance artists would emphasize a work’s perspective or technical aspects, High Renaissance artists were willing to forego technical principles to create a more beautiful, harmonious whole.
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George Wants To Get Fixed Up With Marisa Tomei
BREAKING NEWS: Video Proof Ukraine Using Chemical Weapons Against Russian Troops
WARNING. GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW. VIEWER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED. Video has been put out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces laughing about their use of Chemical Weapons to kill Russian Troops. The video, complete with happy, carnival-type music, appears below.
The video, shot from the drone which drops the chemical weapon, shows two separate cartridges being dropped on Russian troops who have taken cover in a small creek or stream.
The first cartridge has limited effect. The second cartridge, with a blue end cover, is utterly horrifying.
The soldiers go into spasms and convulsions, with balled-fists, and flailing legs.
As the chemicals saturate them, the soldiers clearly cannot control their body movement, and end-up failing to keep their heads above water, presumably because they are neurologically impaired from the attack, and their brain cannot think to keep their heads out of the water. Both soldiers die within minutes.
The Geneva Protocol
The 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, commonly known as the 1925 Geneva Protocol, bans the use of chemical and bacteriological (biological) weapons in war.
Based upon this video, it appears Ukraine is now using such banned weapons, and boasting about what they’re doing by releasing videos with happy music.
This is the single most disgusting display of inhuman cruelty I have so far seen from the battlefields of Ukraine.
WARNING: This video is extremely graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.
Combine yogurt and 1 cup flour in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary until combined.
Knead on medium high for 5 minutes.
Slowly add additional flour as necessary to help dough come together. Depending on how thick your yogurt is, you may need up to an extra 1/2 cup of flour.
Dust clean counter top with flour and remove dough from bowl. Knead a few turns until dough is tacky, but not sticky. Roll out and add toppings as desired.
Bake in a preheated 450 degrees F oven for 10-12 minutes.
Yield: 2 medium pizza crusts or one extra large pizza crust
George Dates A Convict | The Little Jerry | Seinfeld
China Rejects “Shoot First, Talk Later” Attitude
Here is demonstration of typically childish-arrogant behavior of the U.S. government towards foreign countries.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that China had rejected a request from Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to speak with his Chinese counterpart on Saturday soon after an American fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
That statement by the Pentagon immediately raises a question. Why hadn’t the U.S. defense secretary called the Chinese defense minister before shooting down the Chinese weather ballon?
The U.S. apparently detected the balloon on January 29 when it was over the Aleutian Islands. Austin could have called his Chinese counterpart anytime in the seven days between that detection and the time the decision was taken to shot it down:
“We believe in the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and the P.R.C. in order to responsibly manage the relationship,” Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in an emailed statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “Lines between our militaries are particularly important in moments like this.”It was not to be. “Unfortunately,” General Ryder said, “the P.R.C. has declined our request” to arrange a call with Wei Fenghe, the Chinese defense minister.
The purpose of high level lines of communication between military and political leaders is to prevent that crises happen or, if one has happen incidentally, to prevent their escalation.
Before the shot down the Chinese defense minister Wei Fenghe likely would have taken that call. But the U.S. decided to shoot first and to talk later. That was and is inappropriate.
On January 29 the Chinese weather balloon was drifting westward over Alaska and Canada. There was no expectation that it would cross into the United States. But an unusual low pressure formation over east Canada eventually caused that. Low pressure areas in the northern hemisphere turn counter-clockwise. High pressure areas turn clockwise. The unusually strong low pressure zone over east Canada pushed arctic air masses south through Canada and then south west to west to New England. This phenomenon, on February 1 and 2, caused a cold snap in east Canada and the northeast of the U.S.. But the wind also caused the 200 feet high balloon to turn south.
Picture the coldest Canadian night imaginable. What did you think of it? Clear skies? Calm winds? A deep snowpack? This cold snap had none of these ingredients align because this type of cold is different. Meet advection cold.The cold air wasn’t developed on location. The imported cold was fed south by a strong low and the trajectory of the polar vortex. The polar vortex was swirling near Hudson Bay and was slingshotted south by favourable atmospheric dynamics.
The cold air wrapped around a developing low, lifting across Labrador. Not just any cold air, either — the stratospheric polar vortex mixed down in what’s known as a tropopause fold and occurs near the core of a jet stream.
A wind and pressure map from February 3 shows the then already waning low pressure area in the upper right. The red arrow shows the balloon’s course.
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biggerBoth the cold snap and the balloon’s turn were surprising. The jet stream would usually have prevent both from happening. But this time the low pressure area proved to be stronger if only for a short moment. It is the reason why the balloon ended up crossing the U.S.
Ed Russo @EdRussoWX – 11:37 UTC · Feb 4, 2023Replying to @soonersfan2022
The balloon is flying at the height of the jet stream. The jet stream winds will steer the balloon… even a simple rudder won’t be a match for the 200+ mph upper level winds.
By no means could China have planned the balloon’s course. Any allegations that the balloon was being ‘steered’ and intentionally crossed U.S. missile fields and military bases to ‘spy’ on those are thereby bogus. China has some 300 satellites in the earth’s orbit. It does not need balloons to take aerial pictures of static missile silos in the mid-west U.S.
China has insisted that the electronics-laden machine was simply a weather balloon that had drifted off course.
The balloon debris has not been recovered yet. Based on what fact is the NYT then claiming that it the balloon was an ‘electronics-laden machine’?
China is not happy that the Biden administration is hyperventilating over the incident. But it will keep its calm:
Different political forces within the US, including President Joe Biden and the Republican Party, are still hyping up the incident of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship in the US media in order to gain political interests ahead of the annual State of the Union address, rather than making efforts to cool down the matter.Chinese experts said on Tuesday that it shows that the chaotic, messy and sick political situation in Washington means that China-US tensions are unlikely to ease in the near future. It also proves that the Biden administration is incapable of setting so-called guardrails for bilateral ties under the complex situation within the US.
China will keep calm and observe what the US does next, and whether Biden creates conditions for engagement or Washington allows bilateral ties to keep worsening, China is ready to handle any possible moves by the US, experts noted.
Austin’s attempts to call his Chinese counterpart AFTER the shit happened is seen as an attempt to additionally insult the Chinese government.
Austin will not be given a chance to do that.
Posted by b on February 8, 2023 at 14:34 UTC | Permalink
Banks admit the COLLAPSE is coming and they don’t want YOU to know about it
...that's the thing... all this money going to the military and banking complex means eroding living standards for the same citizens..
the destruction of the fabric that holds a country together - medical system, gov't funding for any number of programs that benefit people - have to be removed so that more can be spent on the military..
oh and forget about this global economy where all boats rise.. no.. cordon it off into areas of exchange that remove all the so called bad guys...
i hope this bites the west in the ass really hard to the point more people wake up to this bullshit..
i am not counting on anyone waking up though, or if they do - probably too late...
Posted by: james | Jan 31 2023 18:24 utc | 11
Today we are going to have some irreverent fun. Lot’s of cussing, profanity, and other anti-social behaviors. We are “letting loose”.
When I was in second grade, we were living in our new home in Monroe, CT. (Which by the way, ended up turning into a multi-million dollar house, in a very exclusive neighborhood. Too bad we sold the house, for a job in Pittsburgh. But it was the 1960’s, and my dad couldn’t peer into a crystal ball for the future…)
It was Easter.
My bad brought a cute white rabbit home. And all of us kids played with it all day. And of course, it being Easter, we had tons of hard-boiled Easter eggs, and chocolate. And of course, being kids, we fed that rabbit a long stream of our chocolate.
What we did not know, being all of seven or eight years old, and what our parents did not know, is that while we (as humans) could eat chocolate, little animals such as a dogs, cats and rabbits could not.
The next day; Monday, we woke up to a dead rabbit.
And there, on Monday morning, we had a little memorial service and buried the rabbit in our back yard.
The End.
Let’s get on with today’s installment…
This Instagram Account Creates Sinister Parodies of Kid’s Cooks To Ruin Your Childhood Memories
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Thomas Columbo is the creator of Digital Meddle. He alters vintage children’s books through the use Photoshop, adding the text in order to give the stories a different meaning with a comedic effect. Something that drives his passion for this unique art form is people’s disapproving comments, although overall his work is well received.
“It is reported that [yesterday] Jens Stoltenberg said in one of his speeches that Russia must lose, must be defeated, and that the West cannot afford to let Ukraine lose, because in that case the West will lose and the whole world will lose”
MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s message on Ukraine, handed over by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, contains only calls on Russia to “quit and stop,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a media conference following talks with his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday.
Mr. Minister, while answering the previous question, said that he had conveyed a certain message from Secretary of State Blinken, who was recently on a visit to Cairo. I confirm this,” Lavrov said, answering a question from TASS. “Russia is ready to listen to any serious proposal that is aimed at resolving the current situation in its comprehensive context.”
“We have had one more message Egypt’s foreign minister has handed over to us to the effect that Russia should stop, that Russia should quit, and then everything will be fine,” Lavrov went on to say, adding that at the same time “Blinken omitted something.”
“The other part of the message, showing the true interest of the United States and the West, was stated by NATO Secretary General Mr. [Jens] Stoltenberg, when he was in the Republic of Korea yesterday,” Lavrov noted. “He said in one of his speeches that Russia must lose, must be defeated, and that the West cannot afford to let Ukraine lose, because in that case, he argued, the West will lose and the whole world will lose.” Stoltenberg, as Lavrov pointed out, “took the liberty of speaking not only on behalf of the North Atlantic Alliance, but also on behalf of all other countries of the world.”[.] (emphasis added)
Certainly, that message will not move 1 millimeter for talks.
3 Strikes: the West cheated at Minsk. Theft of RF’s foreign reserves. “Terror attack” on NordStream 1, 2 and last week very publicly bragged about the dastardly act.
Wake up. It will take decades to restore Confidence, Trust, Credibility.
Russia will soldier on (pun intended) until ALL its goals for de-militarizing and de-NATOfying to its 1993 borders are achieved.
Posted by: Likklemore | Jan 31 2023 18:39 utc | 19
Common School Blueberry Muffins
IMG 7463 682×1024 1
Ingredients
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease tins.
Sift together dry ingredients; add blueberries to flour mixture and stir gently.
Mix egg, milk and butter together. Add to flour mixture; mix only enough to moisten flour. Do not beat. Fill tins 3/4 full.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Size Matters – On A U.S. Ground Intervention In Ukraine
A European financial research company has sent me one of their quarterly research letters. It is a ‘contrarian review of political and military ramifications’ of the war in Ukraine. It analyzes ‘winners and losers’ of the war.
It is contrarian only in the sense that it counters the false views of ‘western’ mainstream media with reality. The losers of the war are all on the ‘western’ side with the only two winners being the owners of the U.S. defense industry and Russia.
I was sent the courtesy copy because, as the company writes, the discussions at Moon of Alabama were “immensely helpful” in forming their view.
Note to the authors: You are welcome.
I will not quote from the paper as it seems to be a somewhat confidential business product. But I will steal two graphics from it that will help to understand the size of the war in Ukraine and how it will NOT end.
There have been theories that Poland or some U.S. led coalition force would intervene with their troops on the ground in Ukraine to ‘kick the Russians out’.
The two graphics though dispel any hope for such an operation.
The following is an operational map of Desert Storm. The U.S. led operation in spring 1991 to kick Iraq out of Kuwait.
iukr1
biggerIt took the U.S. some nine month to assemble a forces of some 700,000 U.S. and 250,000 allied troops with all their equipment. Iraq had an estimated 650,000 troops in the theater. The U.S. first created total air superiority by destroying Iraq’s fighter aircraft and air defense forces. With that done it took only 100 hours of ground operation to destroy a third of the Iraqi forces. The rest of the Iraqi army retreated under fire towards Baghdad.
There are some 550,000 Russian troops in and around Ukraine. A hypothetical operation to ‘kick Russia out’ would thereby have about the same size as Desert Storm. But the geographic dimensions differ drastically.
The following is an operational map of Desert Storm from above overlaid in scale on the map of Ukraine.
iukr2
biggerThe map was turned to the left by 90 degree. North is to the left, east at the top and Crimea in the south to the right.
Russia occupies some 87,000 square kilometer of Ukraine. The Desert Storm theater around Kuwait was five times smaller.
A hypothetical U.S. coalition of the size of Desert Storm could probably cross the Dnieper and cut of Crimea. But it could do little more than that. The Donetz and Luhansk oblasts and Crimea itself would still be in Russian hands.
But there are many reasons why no such operation will ever be planned and executed.
The U.S. no longer has a force of the size it committed to Desert Storm. Nor do its allies.
The U.S. was able to create air superiority in Iraq because it could fly from nearby Saudi airfields and from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. Air superiority in eastern Ukraine could only be achieved with the destruction of long range air-defenses within Russia. The next safe air fields the U.S. could use are in Poland and Romania. No U.S. aircraft carrier will dare to enter the Black Sea. U.S. fighter planes to not have the necessary reach for combat missions in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian rail system is by now a mess. It is incapable of moving a large force from the west into east Ukraine.
Any attempt to move a large force through Ukraine would be subject to deep battle interdiction by Russian and Belorussian forces.
Iraqi equipment was badly maintained and Iraqi forces were barely trained. Russia has a well trained high tech army.
I could go on but you can certainly see the point.
No U.S. ground troops will move into Ukraine. It is ludicrous to think otherwise.
Posted by b on January 30, 2023 at 16:23 UTC | Permalink
Humorous Illustrations Blending Sarcastic Nature and Adopted Cat’s Attitude
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The Internet has been abuzz in recent years with the phenomenon of cats taking over, and now we have one more artist to add to their ranks. @st.aftercigs, an Instagram account with 190K+ followers, gives a whole new dimension to cat appreciation with their bold, humorous artworks inspired by the artist’s own adopted cat.
The artist behind the account expresses the stark contrast between cats’ sassiness, and their ability to be inspirational muses. By blending the artist’s own sarcastic nature with their cat’s grumpy cattitude, a unique and lively art style has been born. The artworks are a great reminder of the many nuanced personalities our cats possess and the joy they can bring to our lives.
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About the USA
The US only engages in direct conflict against a far weaker opponent.
It’s preferred method of controlling other states is to work in the shadows – propaganda and psy ops to turn people against their government, support of extremist factions, manipulation of elections, color revolutions, and sanctions.
All underhanded and sneaky.
The neocons were sure their toolkit would work in Ukraine.
The US government is committed to this as long as it doesn’t have to confront Russia directly.
The US public is committed to this as long as it doesn’t come down to thousands of boys coming back in body bags.
Otherwise it’s one big reality show to entertain.
There are descriptors to be used for people who act like the US acts, none of them complimentary.
Things can go really bad, or a managed up-swing that changes the Geo-political situation forever.
I’m looking at an “event” of some sort towards the tail end of this 2023.
Meanwhile, everyone, please continue with your campaigns and living your own lives. Eat WELL.
Please do not get too CAUGHT UP in the “news”, it’s all fake.
And enjoy life a little bit more.
Surprise! Corruption Is Behind Recent Southwest Mass Cancellations
The American way! Don’t you know!
Chicken Lazone
“This recipe comes from the restaurant “Brennan’s” located in New Orleans. No one has to know how simple and quick it is. I posted this recipe exactly as it was in the book, however, if you like a little “heat” please feel free to add some cayenne pepper to taste.”
In large saute pan melt half of the butter and cook chicken over medium heat for about 7 to 8 minutes, turning once.
Pour the cream into the skillet and lower the heat.
Simmer for several minutes, stirring until the sauce thickens then add the remaining butter.
When butter is melted place chicken breasts on four plates and top with the sauce.
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A Beverly Hillbilly’s Christmas at Hooterville
Its so nice to see these shows again. Loved watching them week to week when I was little. These shows made you forget everything and laugh at anything.
He DOESN’T want you to know this about Hunter Biden laptop story and Ukraine
If you think the laptop is bad, consider how much COORDINATION went into silencing it to ensure a certain candidate got positioned where he is.. It is no simple task to organize a 100% media blackout. Along with inter-agency buffer operations. Whatever entity needed this candidate in, went to extreme lengths, and it sure don’t seem to be because they had America’s “best interests” at heart.
“Suburbia”: The Melancholic and Mythological Artworks by Carlos Barahona Possollo
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Degree in Painting, final mark of 18/20, from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Lisbon University. In 1995 Carlos Barahona Possollo accepted an invitation to teach at the Faculty. He had read Architecture at the Technical University of Lisbon from 1986 to 1989.
He was officially commissioned to paint the Portrait of the Portuguese president Cavaco Silva, shown at the Presidents’ Gallery permanent collection in the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic, since 2016. Since 1995 he has been co-operating with the Portuguese Mail in the production of originals for the printing of stamps, notably their commemorative series of the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama’s arrival in India (1996-98), and also with the Portuguese edition of the National Geographic Magazine (first nine issues).
His works can be found in private collections in Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy – most notably, of many in this country, in that of Prince Jonathan Doria- Pamphilj – The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, U S A and Argentina. Also, in public collections such as the Vatican (IOR), The White House, the Bank of Portugal, the Portuguese Museum of Communications, The Setubal Museum, and the Union of Portuguese Speaking Capital Cities.
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Christmas With The Addams Family | Full Episode S02E15
Did you notice when the kids realized they had way too many presents, the first thing they thought was to donate them? They really are raising them right.
https://youtu.be/U19Bizv-LQQ
Making the stinkiest chemical known to man
I love this series of a slightly anosmic chemist’s perilous quest to find a smell that moves him.
This is just GREAT!
Artist Challenges Herself To A 100-Day Cat Meme Drawing Challenge
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Emily Paquin, aka Catwheezie, is an animation student who challenged herself to draw a cat meme every day for 100 days back on the 13th of June. She is currently on day 75 and it looks like she’s determined to reach that 100!
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Emily said that cats were actually the first thing that she ever learned to draw. She says that she always loved funny cat pictures and used to print out similar ones and glue them on her school notebooks.
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As for the current 100-day challenge, the artist says that she finds most of the cats for her drawings on Instagram, and says that each one of the drawings takes her 2 to 3 hours to finish. “Usually, I work on several of them at a time so I can make sure I’ll have a new cat to post everyday,” says Emily. “A lot of planning goes into this project.”
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Former President of France Admits: Minsk Agreements Were to DECEIVE Russia; Allow Ukraine to build for war
In an interview with the “Kyiv Independent” newspaper, former President of France, Francois Hollande, claimed that the Minsk agreements had brought Russia to diplomatic territory, leaving Kiev’s army time to strengthen. An admission contradicting the peaceful declarations of the time.
While Vladimir Putin was advancing in the Donbass using the pro-Russian separatists ( … ) “we led him to accept the Normandy format and to come to Minsk for the negotiations.” said Hollande.
The former French president aligned himself with Angela Merkel who, December 7 in an interview at “Die Zeit,” claimed that the Minsk agreements had been “an attempt to give Ukraine time” to strengthen militarily for a future confrontation with Moscow.
Officially, these agreements, signed on September 5, 2014 were concluded with the stated objective of restoring peace between Kiev and the Donbass Republics. That conflict left nearly 15,000 ( civilians and soldiers ) dead between 2014 and 2022.
To the question of whether the Minsk negotiations were intended to delay Russian progress in Ukraine, François Hollande replied in the affirmative: « “Yes, Angela Merkel is right on this point. The Minsk agreements stopped the Russian offensive for a time. What was important was how the West would use this respite to prevent any subsequent Russian attempt.”
Holland claims to have enabled the strengthening of the Ukrainian army, a respite that the West and Kiev seem to have taken advantage of: “Since 2014, Ukraine has strengthened its military capabilities. Indeed, the Ukrainian army is completely different from that of 2014. She is better trained and better equipped. It is the merit of the Minsk agreements to have given the Ukrainian army this opportunity” he said.
According to him, the latter also prevented the area controlled by the separatists from expanding. In winter 2015, they were at the gates of Marioupol and had just won two decisive battles, taking over Donetsk airport and the city of Debaltsevo.
Regretting divisions within the EU and German ambiguity, refusing to question the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, François Hollande reports today that he was in favor of maximum sanctions, recalling that he himself had canceled the sale of Mistral ships to Russia in 2014.
In 2022, trust between Moscow and the West disappeared. Strangely, François Hollande, who believes that a lasting solution is necessary for peace in Ukraine, completes his remarks by affirming that “the Minsk agreements can be resuscitated to establish a legal framework already accepted by all the parties.”
Angela Merkel’s confession, however, already provoked a strong reaction from Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 9. Putin said “Trust is almost nonexistent, but after such statements, a question of trust arises: how to negotiate, on what, and if it is possible to negotiate with someone, what are the guarantees?” Putin went on to say “I still hoped that the other stakeholders in this process were sincere with us. It turns out that they also cheated on us. It was only a question of strengthening Ukraine with weapons, by preparing it for hostilities” he added.
Vladimir Putin then estimated that in view of these new facts, Moscow should have, perhaps, had to launch its military operation in Ukraine earlier, stressing that Russia, for its part, hoped to be able to resolve the conflict in the Donbass through the Minsk Agreements.
Hal Turner Analysis and Editorial Opinion
So there you have it: Both Angela Merkel of Germany, and Francois Hollande of France, personally KNEW they were attending the Minsk Negotiations as a ruse, as a deception, for the express purpose of buying time for Ukraine to prepare for . . . . WAR . . . with Russia. The very war which is taking place right now.
Back in February of 2022, when Russia finally sent its troops into Ukraine, both France and Germany, along with the United States, feigned horror that Russia was engaging in battle, when all along, that was the precise goal of Germany, France, and without doubt, the United States and the rest of NATO. Their “shock” at Russia using its military, was phony. They not only knew Russia was going to act militarily, it was THEY who set the entire stage for it!
In my opinion, this was a criminal conspiracy to facilitate war.
Some may argue that both Merkel and Hollande enjoy Sovereign Immunity. They do not. Fraud vitiates everything, and both Merkel and Hollande perpetrated premeditated and willful fraud upon the peoples of Europe, Russia, and America, as the very crux of their meetings in Minsk, Belarus back in 2014.
The fraud perpetrated by Merkel and Hollande has cost the people of the United States, tens-of-billions of dollars in war support for Ukraine, cost Ukraine hundreds of thousands of dead soldiers, cost Russia tens-of-thousands of dead soldiers and countless billions in war costs. The consumers in both Europe and America have had to pay Billions more in increased costs for natural gas, oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel as a result of the Sanctions imposed, over a war, they planned to start!
I want Merkel and Hollande criminally prosecuted at the world court, for Fraud and criminal conspiracy to facilitate war. And if such a prosecution takes place, it will be interesting to find out what role then-U.S.-President Barack Obama played in this fraud. It seems to me that neither France nor Germany would have engaged in such acts without the express approval of the United States.
Merkel, Hollande, and likely Barack Obama, belong in prison for the rest of their lives because the war they deliberately facilitated has killed hundreds of thousands of people, whom they used as pawns for their “sport of kings” — war.
Putin, Xi year end summit. China, Russia De facto alliance
Very happy to learn more of Russian/Chinese alliance to combat the insane neo-cons in the US! The whole world rejoices also. Thank you both and happy New Years as 2022 comes to an end!
This is an important video.
Stolen Elections Have Consequences: Stocks Suffer Worst Year Since 2008
Stocks slipped on Friday to end a brutal 2022 with a whimper, as Wall Street wrapped up its worst year since 2008 on a sour note.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 73.55 points, or 0.22%, to close at 33,147.25. The S&P 500 shed 0.25% to end at 3,839.50. The Nasdaq Composite ticked down 0.11% to 10,466.88.
Friday marked the final day of trading in what has been a painful year for stocks. All three of the major averages suffered their worst year since 2008 and snapped a three-year win streak. The Dow fared the best of the indexes in 2022, down about 8.8%. The S&P 500 sank 19.4%, and is more than 20% below its record high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 33.1%.
Sticky inflation and aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve battered growth and technology stocks and weighed on investor sentiment throughout the year. Geopolitical concerns and volatile economic data also kept markets on edge.
“We’ve had everything from Covid problems in China to the invasion of Ukraine. They’ve all been very serious. But for investors, it is what the Fed is doing,” said Art Cashin, director of floor operations for UBS, on CNBC’s “The Exchange.”
As the calendar turns to a new year, some investors think the pain is far from over. They expect the bear market to persist until a recession hits or the Fed pivots. Some also project stocks will hit new lows before rebounding in the second half of 2023.
Lemon Chicken Milanese
“This dish makes a quick, filling meal. Great served with rice or pasta. Enjoy!”
Season chicken with salt and pepper and set aside. Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
Pour flour onto a plate and set aside. Do the same with eggs and then with breadcrumb mixture.
Dredge chicken in flour and tap away excess. Dip chicken into egg. Cover chicken with breadcrumbs and press them inches.
Heat oil in frying pan. Fry chicken on the first side for about 2 minutes, flip and fry for another 2 minutes. Repeat until chicken is browned and cooked through. If you’ve pounded the chicken thin enough, cooking time is greatly reduced.
Once chicken is cooked, place on a paper towel-lined plate in order to absorb excess oil.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon and additional lemon wedges.
I Went Back To California. My Home Town Looks Like A War Zone.
A MUST watch!
For those of you not in California, it is 100 times worse than what you are being told. Homelessness is literally INSANE here. Drug problems are WAY out of control.
Another day, and more bullshit. I really, honestly don’t know why I still bother to check out the American headliners. It’s all bullshit fantasy that has no bearing on reality. Absolutely no bearing on anything.
It’s frustrating, but heck, what are you going to do? You just turn it off.
Here’s what I woke up to this morning…
According to the American news feed, the United States is still the “top dog”…
From my Feed. Russia on the Run, and China being told to “behave” or else…
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This is from today’s Drudge Report. The USA is telling China to do this, and that, or else…
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Nvidia tailors “A800” high-end chips for China to evade US ban | Digital Times BusinessNext
China unveils ‘drone killer’ laser weapon at Airshow China, can shoot down target at low cost
ByCao Siqi, Liu Xuanzun. and Fan Wei in Zhuhai Published: Nov 11, 2022 08:47 PM Updated: Nov 11, 2022 11:03 PM
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A laser weapon used against drones attracted wide attention at this year’s Airshow China. Dubbed the killer of UAVs, the weapon can launch effective strikes on low, slow and small (LSS) targets, which refer to those that fly below an altitude of one kilometer, at speeds of around 200 kilometers per hour and have a radar cross-section smaller than one square meter.
The weapon also reminded many military fans of a similar weapon that Saudi Arabia announced at the first Arab World Defense Exhibition on March 6 it had purchased from China: the “Silent Hunter” laser air defense system.
The vehicle-based laser weapon, called the LW-30 laser defense weapon system, was unveiled by the China Space Sanjiang Group under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), one of China’s largest missile manufacturers.
Laser defense weapons are a new type of weapon that use high-energy laser beams to attack targets. Its characteristics in-clude “light speed engagement, silent attack, continuous operation, flexible and accurate, high cost-effectiveness ratio.” It is a new type of weapon that all military powers are focusing on developing, and has broad application prospects in the international military trade market. By focusing high-energy laser on one point, when the energy reaches a certain level, the targeted weapon can directly burn through the control panel of the UAV.
“The LW-30 laser defense weapon system has a power output of 30kw. The laser comes out of the canister of the tracking and firing system and hits the target directly, knocking it out,” Chen Chaoyang, spokesman for China Space Sanjiang Group, told the Global Times.
“The system is effective at intercepting targets within a few kilometers. Achieving instantaneous destruction of the UAV requires a higher-power output from the system, and the weapon system is still being optimized for this purpose,” Chen said.
The Global Times learned from the company that the LW-30 laser defense weapon system is mainly used for critical field air defense, with hard killing capability against typical targets such as UAVs, as well as hard and soft killing capability against photoelectric detection and guidance equipment.
Compared with other air defense equipment, this weapon has high strike efficiency, multi-target strike capability, which can fire multiple times in a short time with high strike accuracy, and strong sustained operation. The implementation of electric energy strikes also makes the weapon cheap to use – just a dozen yuan (about $2). It can also respond quickly as it only takes a few seconds for the system to aim at the target.
This system can be flexibly deployed in key areas according to specific scenarios and needs. It can carry out not only independent combat with a single vehicle, but also multi-vehicle network attacks. It can also be incorporated into traditional air defense weapon systems, and be used with traditional weapons such as close-in artillery and air de-fense missiles.
It is widely believed that the laser needs to be active at one point for a sustained period of time to damage the target, which raises the question of how the LW-30 achieves multiple target strikes and multiple shots in a short period of time.
Chen told the Global Times that the laser vehicle can inflict damage on ordinary targets for a few seconds. That is to say, within the range of the target, the weapon can shoot down a drone in a few seconds, and then enters into another drone attack mode. The vehicle’s tracking and sighting system can rotate 360 degrees to instantly turn fire on another drone.
In addition to high strike efficiency, compared with traditional anti-aircraft weapons, laser weapons are cheaper to use because they mainly rely on electricity converted into laser to destroy targets.
“If it’s an ordinary small drone, it costs about a dozen yu-an, and our goal is to try to bring the cost down even further,” Chen said.
The widespread use of UAVs in hot military conflicts has also led to an increasing demand for anti-UAVs. In terms of defense systems, the laser weapon is a hot new weapon, and all countries are spending a lot of money researching and producing this kind of weapon. As drones continue to improve, laser weapons continue to be upgraded.
“The LW-30 laser defense system is mainly aimed at low, small and slow UAVs and has a very good defensive effect. The global market prospects are very broad,” Chen said.
So how do you see tech competition between China and US?
Some say China-U.S. tech competition has forced U.S. tech companies to abandon a dynamic market, putting them at the forefront of the confrontation.
Thanks for the request.
U.S, tech companies are unfortunately being squeezed by our own government. The Chinese market is existential to these companies. . . . and its the U.S. government banning them from this market.
Biden is continuing trump’s sanctions of China’s tech companies – that latest salvo being the ban on U.S. tech companies from selling to China the latest version chips. But for what end?
Bottomline, on a head-to-head confrontation, the U.S. just can’t win because ultimately, you need to be able to sell what you produce. And this has to be through China because they are the market.
And by banning U.S. tech companies from the Chinese market now is allowing Chinese startups to take over the vacuum left open and effectively replace the U.S. tech companies not just in the Chinese but the global marketplace over the long term.
A McBagette…
Found in McDonald’s in France. “It’s basically two hamburger patties and all the classic toppings you’d expect on a baguette. What a world.”
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I got an invitation to a high school reunion where I was bullied. I am successful in my career. I want the satisfaction that I’m doing better than my bullies, but I don’t want to demean myself on that level. Should I go?
In high school, I was a nobody. Very few friends and a bit of a weirdo due to my unusual level of maturity.
I wasn’t asked out by a single boy the entire four years. Not one date.
Despite all this, years later, I decided to go to a reunion. I figured things were different now. I’d grown into an attractive, confident woman, and I had a successful career as a DJ on the most popular radio station in our metropolitan city. Plus, I figured all my former classmates would have matured enough to look beyond superficialities anyway. I thought it would be a nice evening of adult interaction and nostalgia, perhaps a chance to make new friends.
I was so wrong. Ten minutes in, I realised that most of them were in arrested development.
It occurred to me that I could’ve walked in there wearing a tiara and holding an Oscar award, and every single one of them would’ve been more interested in themselves. It’s how they were in HS, and they’d not evolved.
The only thing the reunion did was remind me why I hated my high school so much in the first place. School is just a bunch of people thrown together in the same building. That doesn’t necessarily make them your people.
Going to your reunion to prove something to anyone is a futile exercise. Haters will always hate, and the self-centred never change. Let your success be your own private, unsullied joy.
And, also, well done you!
Mass escape: Americans are asking to move to Russia
More than once I heard about the disappointments of people who left Russia. Faced with the "free and democratic" realities of the Western world, they suddenly find out that there is no smell of democracy, freedom and respect for human rights there. And now Orthodox families from the USA and Canada are saying the same thing: they faced persecution for their religious beliefs and upholding their right to live a conservative way of life - without reverence for sexual perversions, without corrupting children under the guise of sex education. These people are concerned about the future that awaits their children in their historic homeland. They really want to get Russian citizenship, because they understand that in our country traditional family values are under the protection of the state.
According to RT, the editorial office received an appeal from several families from the United States and Canada who profess Orthodoxy (a total of 75 people). They ask for help and assistance in obtaining Russian citizenship, because they want to live in a country where same-sex marriages are not welcome, where they will not become "parent No. 1" and "parent No. 2", and will not be persecuted for religious beliefs. Finally, where children at school will not be taught about "diversity", suggesting that perversion is a variant of the norm.
The letter was written by Orthodox priest Joseph (Joseph) Gleason, an American who several years ago moved with his family to Russia. Father lives in the Yaroslavl region. He, among other things, tells the Americans the truth about our country and helps with paperwork for those who wish to move to us.
Behind the curtain of political correctness
Here is what Fr Joseph tells about the reasons why Americans want to move to Russia.
Behind the screen of political correctness and tolerance, the United States is pursuing a policy aimed at destroying the fundamental foundations of any society: the right to freedom of speech, political, religious beliefs, and most importantly, traditional family values.
In Russia, in his opinion, the interests of all the peoples inhabiting it are equally taken into account and respected - with their religious beliefs and traditional customs. This is where our country differs from the United States.
We are all Orthodox Christians, and the aggressively implanted ideologies of LGBT, atheism and moral relativism are alien to us,
the priest writes.
Dictatorship of a corrupt minority
In one of his interviews, Father Joseph admitted that one of the main reasons for his departure from the United States was the aggressive promotion of non-traditional relationships and same-sex marriages. Yes, most Protestant churches condemn the sin of Sodom in the same way that Orthodoxy condemns it, but because of its "militant and intolerant" planting, it cannot be ruled out that many Protestant denominations in the US will soon begin to bless such "marriages." For father Joseph, all this is unacceptable; nor can he accept lessons in "sexual tolerance" in schools, dressing up boys as girls (and vice versa) in summer camps.
As the priest said, US citizens who do not want to indulge the "wants" of perverts are subjected to quite real repressions. A pastry chef who refused to bake a blue wedding cake was fined $135,000 for being politically incorrect. A family making a living by filming was threatened with jail for refusing to film a "marriage" of a same-sex couple. If you rent out venues for events and refuse to do so to perverts who intend to formalize the relationship, you will be fined.
And these are not stories: these are all real stories. America is no longer the promised land that Protestant pilgrims and Russian dissidents dreamed of. Now the jokers say that the USA has turned into the USSR – Russia and America have changed places. Russia has become freer than forty years ago, and the United States is intolerant,
Father Joseph says.
And if this trend in the "stronghold of freedom" continues (and, apparently, it will), then it will simply not be safe for anyone who professes traditional values to live in America. That is why many Orthodox families seek to settle in Russia.
The situation in the US is so critical that people were ready to move to Russia in the spring of 2021,
Father Joseph is sure.
However, they, according to the priest, faced a very serious problem ...
Why not make an exception?
Since March 18 last year, due to the covid pandemic, the entry of foreigners and stateless persons into our country has been restricted. Also, during the time of infectious danger, invitations to enter Russia are not issued and are not issued. There is only one exception: our compatriots living abroad - their resettlement to their homeland takes place according to the relevant state program. However, as we understand, citizens of the United States and Canada, even very pretty ones, are not covered by this program.
Davy Knowles & Paul Reed Smith – Dear Mr Fantasy
I am so turning into a big fan of this Davy Knowles fella…
Simply Oven Baked Pork Chops and Rice
“This is DH’s recipe. It is simple comfort food and is very versatile. You can use chicken quarters in place of chops or chicken broth in place of water. Feel free to experiment with different herbs. We never make this the same way twice. A side note: I would recommend using a bone in, fattier cut of pork and not loin chops in this recipe.”
Stir together soup, water, rice and 1/4 teaspoons pepper in a 3 quart casserole.
Add onions.
Salt and pepper chops and place on top of rice.
Cover and bake at 350* for 1 1/4 hours or until meat is done and liquid is absorbed.
Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes.
The flavor is 5 star! I used chicken broth instead of water and also sprinkled a little seasoning salt and pepper on the pork chops. Then prior to putting them in the oven, I seared them and added chopped onions and garlic to the skillet.
To kick up the flavor a notch, I mixed in 1/2 tspn of thyme to the broth and rice mixture.
Because I seared the pork the oven time needed to be less or else it would have dried out.
So to ensure my rice cooked through, I heated the broth to boiling before mixing it in. Overall a very tasty meal that I will definitely do again. Thank you for sharing.
You-Tube deletes a “Redacted” video
Oh yeah. The one showing Zelensky in front of a green screen. Now GONE! Sheech!
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Why is that USA likes to squash everything coming from China.. Recently it was Huawei now Xiaomi?
China’s rise poses a threat to Western hegemony. The West, especially America, cannot let that happen.
So the West is trying to prevent or retard China’s rise by employing a variety of tactics:
demonize China with propaganda lies and accusations
interfere with Chinese commerce (banning Huawei, TikTok, WeChat, SMIC)
interfere with Chinese politics (CIA and NED affiliates in Hong Kong)
abduct Chinese nationals on trumped-up charges (Meng Wanzhou)
apply trade sanctions and tariffs
The end goal is for the West to preserve its global dominance.
As Long As You Approach Her, It’s A Success
So many guys judge success as “did I have sex with her” or “did I get her phone number” or “did I get her laughing”, etc. However, I judge success differently. It is a very binary way of measuring success, and it is also incredibly powerful. I judge success like this: “Did I approach her or not?”
And really, that’s the only measure of success you should have when it comes to women. When you see an attractive woman that you want to meet, did you or did you not approach her?
Because as soon as you approach her, your chances of getting her name, getting her phone #, getting a date with her, and getting sex with her essentially went from zero to non-zero. It might be a 5% chance of getting her phone #, but that’s better than nothing.
As soon as you view success this way, you start to easily gain momentum when approaching women. Let’s say you see an incredibly attractive girl sitting down. She’s a literal 10/10, with a pretty face, an incredibly fit body, and legs for days. Do you go up and approach her? If you do, it’s a success. Everything else doesn’t matter.
Did you literally shit your pants from fear as soon as you went up to her and introduced yourself? Still a success.
Did you stutter because you were so nervous? Still a success
Were you sweating from nervousness? Still a success
Did you forget to ask for her name? Still a success.
Did she give you a fake phone number? Still a success
Did she ghost you and stop responding to your texts? Still a success
Because at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Did you or did you not approach?
In this life, you’re going to have the chance to find an amazing girl one day, your own personal 10/10. You’re going to have the chance to talk to her and get her laughing and smiling, and she asks what your name is. You’re going to get the chance to get her phone number and go out on a date with her. You’re going to have the chance for her to be your girlfriend, and she tells you how amazing you are and she can’t imagine a life without you.
But that’s only going to happen if you actually approach her.
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is shrinking
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What makes having a cat so special to you?
I work at a college and there is a woman who will find stray cats, take them home, get them fixed, work with the feral one and eventually give them to individuals who want a cat. She always leaves the door open, if you were to find that it is not a good match you can always bring the cat back to her. Animal shelters could learn a thing or two from this woman.
I have had at least one cat with me throughout my life. My husband is a dog person and has never really liked cats so for a time I lived in a catless home and I always felt like something was missing. One day I was talking with a coworker and they told me about this lady and I decided it was past time to have a cat back in my life. This is where Turbo came into my life, my daughter choose her, and my life is blessed again with the pitter patter of kitty paws.
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Turbo is an ornery kitty and she is very opinionated. If she wants to snuggle in the middle of the night and I am not in the right snuggling position she will let me know with a little lick and if that does not give her the desired response she will lightly bite the bridge of my nose. I would not give up my little fur baby for anything she is a huge part of my life and I think my husband is coming around to the kitty side as well. Look at her. How could you not love that little ball of fur with all of your heart.
UFO evidence expected to be covered up by Congress in new report
Breaking “news”
A swell burger
xowxndfa58v91
This is what a dollar bill looked like in 1917…
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In a way, does Chinese acceptance of its authoritarian government free up its citizens to focus on other, more substantive things than politics?
The Chinese are highly pragmatic. They only care about results, not political freedom.
For over 2,000 years, Chinese emperors have ruled according to the “mandate of heaven.” If the people do well, the emperor has earned their position. If the people don’t do well, the emperor loses the mandate to rule.
This is consistent with Confucian and Taoist philosophies. Underneath it all is the fact that Chinese society is collectivist. The good of society is the highest priority. That means safety, security, stability, and prosperity.
Westerners do not understand this. It’s very much an alien concept. They have not lived with it for thousands of years like the Chinese have.
Today’s political system in China follows along the same lines. It delivers the results the Chinese want. Enormous prosperity. Safety, security, and stability.
Meanwhile, the West has its political freedoms like free speech and freedom to choose among a party plurality. But what do they give up?
stability — Capitol Hill riot, BLM, Brexit disaster, Taiwan parliament fights, etc.
safety — Today, the US has 457,931 Covid deaths, Brazil has 226,383, Mexico has 159,100, India has 154,635, UK has 108,013, Italy has 89,344, France has 77,238, Russia has 74,158, Spain has 59,805, and Germany has 59,386 (at the time of writing).
safety — The US is plagued by gun violence and mass shootings.
prosperity — The quality of life has been sliding all over the world. That’s why populism has infected so many countries, why people like Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro got elected.
The results speak for themselves.
The good old days
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This guy was in his future wife’s family picture (the guy on the left), on a trip to Rio De Janeiro. 7 years before they met.
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How has China been able to maintain an authoritarian government for so long?
China’s government maintains power by serving the people well, by delivering the goods to the people. This should be the objective of Western democratic governments, too, but they do a rather shitty job.
In the last four decades since the great reforms of Deng Xiaoping, China has given the people the following:
enormous prosperity
the total eradication of absolute poverty
the world’s finest infrastructure
a world-class military
unbelievable scientific and technological advancement
total protection from COVID-19 (China has the lowest death toll of all the developed economies)
Right now, Western democracies are wracked by high inflation, high fuel prices, severe fuel shortages, and political chaos (particularly bad in USA, UK, and Germany).
People everywhere only care about practical outcomes, not ideological nonsense.
The USA shot itself in the foot
By not selling to China, they are digging their own grave = Shooting oneself in the foot.
Capacity utilization rates for TSMC’s 7nm process platform and its process variants N6, N7 have fallen below 50%, according to industry sources.
Many IC design customers are cutting orders and delaying pull-ins of TSMC’s 7nm process. Companies that have had the biggest impact include MediaTek, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Qualcomm, Apple, and Intel, as well as Chinese companies like Unisoc, which have been restricted by bans.
TSMC’s utilization rates for its 7nm and 6nm processes have fallen and are not expected to return to previous levels until the first half of 2023, according to sources.
Change…
This passage that shows the evolution of the English language:
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What happens when a cat goes senile?
This is Tigger and I kid you not he is 22. He was at the vets this week and yes he has dementia. He sleeps all day and wakes up just to eat. Yesterday I had hand washed some dishes and left them to dry on the counter. I walked back into the kitchen and he was laying on top of all of it. Cutlery, plates and bowls.
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Another day he was just sitting on the middle of the kitchen island checking things out from a new perch. Something he had never done before.
A month ago I was watching TV and smelled urine. He had just peed in the basket that held all of the cat toys.
I asked the Vet how long he had and he said “Five years ago I would have given him a year”.
Happy 23rd Birthday Tigger
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Does China acknowledge itself as an authoritarian government or a democracy of “Chinese characteristics”? Is it ever going to try to democratize its system?
China regards itself as democratic. However, China’s democracy does not hew to the Western model. It is, as you suggested, uniquely Chinese.
That said, how can China further “democratize” its system? Adopt the Western model? Why the fuck would China do that?!
China adopted the Western model back in 1912 and it did not turn out well.
China saw India adopt the Western model in 1947 and it did not turn out well.
China saw Russia adopt the Western model after the fall of the Soviet Union and it did not turn out well.
China saw Taiwan adopt the Western model in 1996 and it did not turn out well.
China saw US democracy go down the toilet with the January 6 Capitol Hill riots.
So, please, please, tell me: Why would China give Western democracy another try?
What would China stand to gain?
Feathers
This photo of a penguin’s coat of feathers…
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Davy Knowles & Paul Reed Smith – Fire On The Bayou
What was the pettiest complaint somebody ever called your police department with?
You’re going to love this!
Several years ago we had an older neighbor (in her late 60’s) who didn’t approve of my marriage (Interracial couple). She was civil until she started getting dementia, which her children apologized for often.
First she started calling the police any time I fired up the grill, telling them I had an open fire. They would show up, see I was barbecuing and leave.
One night at work (Walmart) around 11pm, an officer I knew came in and tells me he just left my house, that my neighbor had called in a noise complaint. I told him that no one was home, as my wife and I were both at work. He told me that he knew that, as he knew my wife also and had been at her work (Hospital) on a combative family member complaint when the noise complaint had come in. so he checked it out and heard nothing.
While we were talking, he got another call, at my house, for another noise complaint, from the same neighbor.
About forty minutes later he came back in and told me he looked and listened and found nothing out of the ordinary. Which at this point had me scratching my head. He got another call and left. I went home at lunch (3a – 4a) and looked around my house and found nothing that could have caused her to call the police about noise.
Around 630a that morning he comes back in smiling. He tells me that he’d gotten called back to my place again, for a third time. So he met her at the door and asked her if he could come in and listen for what she might be hearing. She agreed, he walked around and listened and found that an alarm clock radio had gone off and was playing music.
She had literally heard music playing in her spare bedroom, and called the police on my wife and I three times. Over music playing in her own home! While both of us were at work.
(While I would certainly have done the same, to clarify, I didn’t have this experience but am passing it along.):
So I’m in line at the bank and I hear the teller that’s helping the elderly man next to me say, $60,000 is a lot of money sir, why do you need it? The elderly man says, “I can’t tell you that but I need that money”. A red flag went up in my mind. As I finished my transaction I stepped over to the elderly gentleman and said, ” Sir, I ‘m sorry to interrupt your personal business but may I talk to you for a moment.” I walked him away from the window and said to him, I don’t mean to pry in your personal business and I’m not going to tell anybody anything so don’t be afraid. But who’s on the other end of your phone telling you that you need to send them $60,000? Is there somebody telling you that they have a family member who is hurt and needs medical attention? Or is it the IRS telling you you owe back taxes? Did they tell you NOT to tell anyone?
Immediately he says , “No, it’s the Social Security office and the Glendale Police Department is involved. I said, “no sir you need to stop this right now.” This is a scam and you are NOT taking $60,000 out of the bank today.
I walked him back to the teller as they were sliding a cashier’s check for $60,000 through the window saying, here you go sir. I looked at it ,and gasped because it was $60,000.
Then, I slid the cashier’s check back through the window and said miss please cancel this man’s transaction and put this money back in his account immediately. As they were doing the transaction to put the money back in his account the man tapped me on my shoulder. I looked at him and he pointed his flip phone at me and said they’re on the phone right now. I grabbed the phone from him and said hello. A woman with an Indian accent send hello. I said, ARE YOU TRYING TO STEAL $60,000 FROM MY DAD YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!! Needless to say she hung up. I put my arm around the old man and escorted him out to his vehicle. I told him if anyone ever calls you and tells you that you owe money for any reason it’s a scam.
I called my phone from his phone so I could call him later when I got home to check on him. After I put my phone number in his phone I told him if he ever had any questions just to call me.
The elderly man about 85 years old said thank you very much son. It felt pretty good to save him from losing his life savings.
The reason I’m posting this is because not only do I want all you younger folks to inform your grandparents and parents of these scams but I also think that Bank tellers should be more aware of theses red flags. Perhaps, they should be trained to look for these signs. It was so obvious to me what was going on. Those young bank tellers gave up that man’s life savings in a matter of 3 minutes. The man told me he had an addressed envelope with a stamp on it in his car ready to drop in the mailbox. So please discuss this with your parents and grandparents and make sure they understand that these people exist and they will steal your money. You can also put your name on their account with a warning that says contact me before any large withdrawals. Please be aware of these people they are scumbags and it’s no joke. They’re slimy and slick and old folks are very easily fooled by them.
Be aware!! These old folks worked very hard for their money and don’t deserve to have it stolen from them.
Wear your helmet
The guy wearing this survived (wear your helmet on your motorcycle, kids).
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Self hating
This sounds like one of my cousins. David, and his friend John Lee. They were UK born but self hating Chinese. Both of them work as MLM scammers online these days. But then again John got the shit kicked out of him for scamming a group of people recently.
But this is poetic
in 2017, Chinese exchange student Yang Shuping (from Kunming, a service oriented city with little industry in the middle of the jungle in Yunnan) made a speech comparing the ‘fresh air of freedom’ in the US to the ‘dirty polluted air’ in China.
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She posted on Weibo that US air is the air of freedom, she hates China, and “ch*nks I’m getting a greencard, don’t be jealous.” People in China congratulated her on her ‘achievement’, told her to f* off and never come back to China again.
She graduated with a masters in theater, tried to get a job, was rejected from every one except a small business that dealt with Chinese people.
Looks like the boyfriend didn’t stick around either.
She then got into an argument with coworkers, plus pandemic, was laid off, and because she was laid off, her visa conditions were no longer met and she got deported.
She then went to South Korea, but then when her new company went down due to the pandemic, Korea deported her too.
Davy Knowles w/Band of Friends – A Million Miles Away
Busy man
Bruce Willis starred in 22 films between 2020 and 2022.
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Are there people in Taiwan whom actually wish for China to annex them?
I am from Taiwan.
Using the term “Annex” shows ignorance of world history and current events.
It is very simple to answer this question, which is, “Yes. A Lot”, except they know better than using the term “Annex”, but “Re-unify”, or “Recover”, as Taiwan is only a province of China.
The person described below is but one example, although a pretty outstanding one. She basically gives a slap in the face to all those who try hard to conceal this ostensible fact to foreigners, by crafting all kinds of “exceptions” to downplay the significance of this well-known phenomenon in Taiwan. She is by no means alone, either.
Why do I see some Taiwanese people defending the CCP on Quora?
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I was born and grew up in Taiwan. I have never lived in mainland China and do not consider myself enamored with the CCP.
I criticize the CCP on Quora from time to time. So I don’t categorically defend the CCP, or even the PRC.
But ironically, the fact that I am from Taiwan made me see more clearly the mendacity and treachery of Western main stream media (MSM), and thus more sympathetic to the PRC when it is being smeared and demonized by Western MSM in ways that insult my intelligence, as elaborated below.
Chiu Yu's answer to Who really controls Western media?
It seems that on the surface there is press freedom but underneath the media mostly have the same tone about certain global issues like North Korea, China, etc.
This may have given you and similar people on Quora the impression that someone from Taiwan, such as myself, is defending the PRC (which you are mixing up with the CCP).
I have gotten quite some questions from people on Quora questioning my Taiwanese credential.
While such questions are really not worth my time and I have successfully convinced some in the past, I would like to analyze this mentality a little more, and give a few more powerful examples to preempt further similar nonsense.
So what kind of people are likely to question my Taiwanese credential, and even suggest that I am paid by the CCP, when they see me either defend the PRC or criticize Taiwan’s corrupt, anti-China DPP regime?
There are several possibilities of these people. - They are simply ignorant.
These people cannot tell Taiwan from Thailand, and gulped down wholesale the garbage shoved down their throats by Western MSM, that China is BAD, and it is impossible for anyone to have anything positive to say about it. - They are from North Korea and can only imagine Taiwan being the same, where everyone must toe the DPP party line in lockstep.
So how can anyone from Taiwan badmouth Taiwan and defend the PRC?
It defies the North Korean model!
These people are really not qualified for democracy. - They have never done anything for a higher calling in their lives other than for money, and therefore cannot understand others doing something not for money.
Who knows, maybe they themselves are paid by some shady organizations to go on Quora to spread rumors and innuendos.
It takes one to know one. - These people, most often pro-independence Taiwanese, have Fascist stench in their blood.
They are Taiwanese Nazis, always looking for an angle to divide along lines of background, ethnicity, etc. to demarcate between “us” and “them”, and whoever holds a different opinion is one of “them” and labeled a “non-Taiwanese”, kind of like Jews and Catholics were “non-Germans” in Hitler’s eyes.
I see some answers to this current Quora question apparently from these Taiwanese Nazi’s.
These may be the most despicable of all.
See Note Added below for more detail.
Unfortunately for them, the person I am about to introduce gives these Taiwanese Nazi’s a big slap in the face!
It’s like Hitler being attacked by someone with 100% Aryan blood. LOL. It is people like these, who haven’t the vaguest idea of what Taiwan is like, or what democracy is all about, that would have the audacity to say I am not from Taiwan.
I have never gotten such nonsense accusation from people who are real Taiwanese, who can tell right away which camp I am from in Taiwan.
The people who question my credential would do well to shut up, so nobody knows they are idiots.
Of course, another explanation, which happens quite often, is that such people could not refute my narrative based on logic and facts, and this is their last resort, pathetic identity attack.
I always like the statement attributed to Paul Mitchell, that “When they call me a wumao, I know I won the argument”.
Right on!
In any case, judging from the writing quality and the substance that goes into these people’s posts, I think my suspicion is well grounded.
Can You, Who Question My Credential, Even Comprehend This?
If even my Quora postings already perplex you to this degree, I have great sympathy for you when I introduce the following person from Taiwan.
What I say on Quora is Mickey Mouse compared to her opinions and narratives. 黃智賢 Huang Chih-hsien - Wikipedia Her family has been in Taiwan for several hundred years, since the Qing or even the Ming Dynasty, way before the ROC or the PRC even existed.
Like the Mayflower of Taiwan, her lineage is as native Taiwanese as it gets, if you don’t count the aboriginals.
She was born and grew up in the city of Tainan, the Number One enclave and stronghold of the pro-independence, anti-China DPP party, where it is said that the DPP can win any election even if they put a watermelon on the ballot.
Her entire family is influential in the local area and deeply pro-DPP, and looks like a Who’s Who of the DPP party.
Her elder brother is the current DPP Mayor of Tainan.
Another brother is a leading political analyst at an anti-China DPP think tank, who talked about lobbing missiles at the Three Gorges Dam last year. Her first cousin is the presidential spokesman for the DPP president Tsai Ying-wen.
Yet, my Quora posts would look so sheepish next to her staunch pro-China opinions and rhetoric.
I at least pay due respect to whoever is willing to put his life on the line to honor his call for Taiwan independence.
She categorically dismisses all pro-independence persons as traitors to the Chinese nation, and openly advocates re-unification with China posthaste!
She has so antagonized and intimidated the DPP, with her TV shows that attracted a huge following in and out of Taiwan, that the DPP forced her off the air, and later shut down the TV station (CTI) that hosted her programs altogether.
That was an excellent demonstration of how free and democratic Taiwan is, just the same way Trump shut down MSNBC and kicked Chris Cuomo off the air.
Oh wait, sorry, I was wrong!
Trump knew better than that!
I was thinking of Kim Jong-un. Her political stance made it impossible for her to live in Tainan, facing threats to her safety amidst unrelenting, abusive verbal and cyber attacks.
For some period, she could not even visit her parents easily.
Come on, imbeciles, those who moronically claim there is money to be had in defending the PRC and castigating Taiwan independence!
This again betrayed your ignorance about Taiwan, of how lucrative it is to be a DPP official, legislator, operative, hitman, or just party member, waving its pro-independence, anti-China banners.
I have made hundreds of posts on Quora about how the only goal of the DPP is to embezzle and loot taxpayers, using China as a scarecrow and the US as a collateral, to secure their election bids, persecute the opposition parties, dissidents, intimidate and coerce the media and strong-arm the judiciary, so that they can stay in power forever to loot and extort more money.
It gets too tiresome for me to keep quoting these posts again and again, so please look them up yourself.
With this kind of inherent political capital, if 黃智賢 had simply exploited her enviable family clout within the DPP and in Tainan, and gone along with its treacheries and sleaze by effortlessly becoming a DPP legislator or political/media hitman, she could have been making literally 1-10 million US dollars a year, not unthinkable at all if you had read my other Quora posts on DPP corruption.
Look at how much the DPP pays its crony news outlets through government contracts.
Even a 30-year-old unemployed thug on the DPP cyber hit squad payroll can have bank accounts of nearly one million USD, as was recently exposed and described in one of my Quora posts.
Given her media charisma, eloquence, and political/educational background, she could have easily become a bigger DPP media star than those current DPP crooks on screen, making 10s of millions USD a year.
So, can you explain to me why a Taiwanese is doing a thing like this?
Doesn’t make sense to You (who clearly know nothing about Taiwan or democracy), right?
She has to be an Idiot if she were advocating re-unification and lambasting Taiwan independence for Money!
She is not alone, either.
One can easily find another 100 in the public opinion space exactly like her.
Each single one is a big slap in the face to those questioning their Taiwanese credentials.
I have here a pretty old link with many Taiwanese YouTube channels* that lambast the DPP regime in Taiwan, including some that defend China.
This list badly needs updating as the number has increased a lot in the past years.
Several of them have subscribers numbering in the millions. Chiu Yu's answer to With the closure of HK’s Apple Daily, does this raise fears of a broader crackdown on media freedom in Hong Kong?
So Who is the Real Fake?
This reveals what a fake these people are, who claim to know Taiwan, know democracy, and claim those who criticize the DPP or defend the PRC cannot be Taiwanese, or cannot be doing it without money.
黃智賢 is the perfect case to call their bluff and shut them up for good!
My advice to those who question my Taiwanese credential: Just shut up before people discover you are a Fake and an Idiot, if not a Nazi on top of it all! *
And why only YouTube?
Because all the anti-DPP TV stations have been shut down, and the lucrative government PR contracts, worth up to 1.9 billion USD (including money for DPP cyber hit squads), are awarded only to DPP crony TV and other news outlets who are subservient to the DPP and do its bidding.
The DPP recently passed a legislation to start regulating web media as well, carrying heavy fines and potential prosecution and jail terms for web channels/posts that violate certain guidelines.
Note Added 10/25/2022
Fascist Stench in the Blood of Some Pro-Independence Taiwanese and The DPP I took a quick glance at other answers to this question, and saw something ominous and indicative of the familiar Fascist stench of some Taiwanese people, especially those from the fanatic pro-independence camps.
Sure enough, they are asserting exactly what I described at the opening of my answer, that whoever criticizes the DPP or Taiwan independence, or even argues in China’s defense, is distinguishable from the “real Taiwanese”. Somehow, a line can be drawn along background, ethnicity, or other dimensions to demarcate between “us” and “them”.
Wow! Blatant, unabashed Fascism, so reminiscent of the despicable former Taiwanese Fascist of a president Lee Teng-hui, whom I call the Joseph Goebbels of Taiwan*, who used such divisive tactics to persecute his opponents and radicalize the society for his own political and financial gains.
May his name rot in human history.
Apparently we still have a lot of such stinking lowlifes in Taiwan who instinctively adopt this reactionary mindset and tactic of Lee, Goebbels, Hitler, Joseph McCarthy, or Kim Jong-un, labeling whoever holds a different view as “non-Taiwanese”.
This occurs to these people so naturally, because Fascism is already in their blood, the same reason why they shut down TV stations, kick news anchors off the air, persecute the opposition party, violate judicial independence, fudge election outcomes, and harass dissenting voices without thinking twice.
This is also why the DPP-employed cyber thugs were so at ease with lobbing N-Words at the World Health Organization Secretary General Tedros Adhanom.
Reading these people’s answers gives me shudders, and should give you a good idea of the degree to which Fascism has penetrated into the DPP/pro-independence camp in Taiwan.
After all, didn’t Hitler also say whoever didn’t support him was not German?
Finally, what’s most pathetic about these Fascists’ narrative is that, 黃智賢 defies every single one of their dividing criterion.
A slap in the face!
It is like Hitler finding that the person most against him was one with 100% Aryan blood! LOL. *
I originally called Lee the Slobodan Milosevic of Taiwan, but I go along with David Wood’s comment, that Milosevic was really not nearly as despicable as Lee. * Fascism/Nazism is no stranger to modern day Taiwan at all.
Chiu Yu's answer to How can I help Taiwan against CCP as a European? A picture of the SS Taiwan Panzer Division on parade:
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Note Added 11/10/2022
Part of my response to Peter Elliott’s interesting comment in a Space to this answer, musing on the prospect of formalizing Taiwan’s status under China while keeping its various freedoms and rights.
Indeed as you said. It would be great if Taiwan, the province, is reverted to its legal and rightful place inside China, the right earned by 30 million people who lost their lives. I am all for keeping all the level of press and speech freedom currently ongoing. Actually, under the DPP regime, there is very little press and speech freedom in Taiwan right now. TV stations are shut down, and media personalities are kicked off the air, harassed, or put on the wanted list. The PRC has an easy job to do better than that. Doesn’t take much.
My main opinions are the following.
Taiwan being a part of China is a right earned with blood and fire. If the pro-independence Taiwanese want to change that, no problem. All they need to do is earning it with a commensurate price, and not stealing it like a coward. They’ll have all my support.
The current DPP regime in Taiwan is not interested in pushing for independence. It is only a treacherous scheme for more grabbing of money and sex (not trying to be silly here), using China as a scarecrow and the US as a collateral. The Taiwanese taxpayers play the roles of ATM’s and victims of sexual crimes whenever the banner of “Taiwan independence” is unfurled.
The prospect of what you suggested, of a Taiwan province integrated into China but enjoying exceptions in terms of freedom, has been offered by the PRC in the past. But with unrelenting provocation by the DPP for the above purposes, this prospect is fast disappearing. If it comes to a unification by force, then Taiwan would not be in a position to bargain for anything.
Tourists can now move to Bali for up to 10 years — if they have at least $130,000 in the bank
Indonesia is introducing a new visa aimed at attracting wealthy foreigners.
The new “second home” visa allows foreigners to stay for five or 10 years.
Applicants must have at least $130,000 in their bank accounts to apply.
Indonesia is introducing a new visa aimed at attracting wealthy foreigners and boosting the country’s economy.
The country is focusing on its tourist capital, Bali, in an effort to lure in visitors for longer stays. The new “second home” visa is available for five or 10 years and will come into force from December 25 this year, per a press release.
Applicants must be able to bring at least two billion Indonesian rupiahs (around $130,000) with them, and the funds must be placed in Indonesian state-owned banks.
“The goal is to attract foreign tourists to come to Bali and diverse other destinations,” said acting Director General of Immigration Widodo Ekatjahjana at the launch of the visa on Tuesday.
The visa hopes to bring in those who could “contribute positively to the Indonesian economy,” the press statement continued.
The move follows countries like New Zealand and Portugal, which have recently introduced “digital nomad visas” to capitalize on remote workers who want to work overseas after the pandemic upended traditional work structures.
Over a dozen other countries have launched similar programs to attract young and travel-keen remote workers.
The digital nomad lifestyle is growing in popularity as pandemic-enforced working styles such as remote work become more common.
Last year, 15.5 million Americans identified as digital nomads, according to a report.
China debuts container-type missile launch system; weapon can ‘effectively improve defense capabilities of coastal countries’
By Fan Wei andCao Siqiin Zhuhai Published: Nov 12, 2022 09:28 PM
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China's leading missile developer exhibited a container-type sea defense combat system at the ongoing Airshow China in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, which could effectively improve the defense capabilities of coastal countries for its outstanding mobility and capability to disguise itself.
At the exhibition hall, the Global Times reporters saw an anti-ship missile launch system in the shape of a container with naval camouflage, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the country’s largest manufacturer of cruise missiles. The container is about 13 meters long, 2.3 meters wide and 2.5 meters high.
The Global Times learned from the corporation that the missile launch system can integrate an operating station, a power station and missile launchers into the container.
A representative from the No.3 Research Institute under CASIC told the Global Times at the airshow that the missile launch system, no matter what platform it is mounted on, does not need an external power source. Its own power supply can fully meet the operational needs.
“The launch system can connect with various independent detection and command units such as early warning aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft and shore-based radars. It could receive target information from those external sources through encrypted data,” he said.
According to the representative, based on the information from the detection unit, the command unit could formulate a combat plan automatically. The command unit then sends the instructions to the launch system. The detection unit and command unit can also provide operational information support for the launch system. After making some adjustments, the operators then confirm the plan and send the order to each station as well as the firing parameters to each launch unit.
“The launch system does not require a lot of personnel. It only takes four people to complete the whole launch process,” the representative said.
The Global Times reporters noted that the launch system on display adopts a quadruple mounting method, which can simultaneously carry four YJ-12E supersonic anti-ship missiles. In addition, the launch system can optionally be equipped with four YJ-18E anti-ship missiles, as well as other types of anti-ship missile weapon systems, reflecting its strong compatibility.
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The above two types of anti-ship missiles are some of the star coastal defense missile weapon systems developed by CAISC on display at the air show.
Among them, the YJ-12E supersonic anti-ship missile can reach Mach 3 and has a range of 290 kilometers. Compared with the usual subsonic anti-ship missile, YJ-12E has an advanced flight speed and strong penetration ability, which makes it an effective weapon to break through hostile missile defense system.
Meanwhile, it has the advantages of high accuracy, outstanding damage output and low life cycle cost. It is mainly used to attack large and medium-sized surface vessels and high-value targets on the ground. This standoff weapon is highly disguisable, could operate actively and respond in a short time. It is a powerful weapon to achieve long-range, rapid and precise attack on high-value targets.
The YJ-18E anti-ship missile adopts a system of “subsonic cruise plus supersonic strike,” taking into account the unique advantages of long range during subsonic flight and final supersonic attack. The missile can covertly strike large and medium-sized surface vessels and formations at a long distance, and at the same time has the ability to attack small ships and fixed targets on land.
The missile is designed for hidden attacks, can travel long distances, has high damage output and is easy to use. It has a maximum range of nearly 300 kilometers, leading the international market. Using advanced flight altitude control technology, it can fly close to the sea at ultra-low altitude, and choose the appropriate attack route and attack mode according to the specific battle scenario.
The terminal stage of the missile can effectively break through enemy defenses. The missile’s seeker has a variety of guidance modes and is capable of precision strikes against multiple targets at sea and on land through modular retooling. A single hit can heavily damage or sink a typical ship target.
According to a CAISC representative, the container-type sea defense combat system can be mixed with the YJ-12E supersonic anti-ship missile and YJ-18E anti-ship missile or other types of anti-ship missile. However, to achieve the best strike effect, the most ideal way is to simultaneously deploy YJ-12E supersonic anti-ship missile and YJ-18E anti-ship missile.
“The container-type launch system can change its firing angle at will, or even launch the missile vertically,” the representative said.
The Global Times learned from the corporation that the missile launch system can be loaded on heavy trucks, becoming a set of maneuverable shore-to-ship missile launching system. It can also be used in the upgrades of old warships.
“This weapon system, if deployed ashore, will effectively enhance a country’s defense capability to safeguard its exclusive economic zone,” the Global Times was told.
Two strangers sit next to each other on a flight and meet their Doppelganger
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A fine breakfast
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Why was the loss of China to communism so upsetting to Americans?
The truth is, Americans have NEVER cared about China. Not 150 years ago. Not 50 years ago. Not today.
Most Americans couldn’t find China on a map. They just don’t care to learn anything about this country.
As for the US government, it has helped China from time to time but only because it serves US interests. For the US, everything in geopolitics must serve US interests or else they won’t do anything.
Found the cliff this cliff bar came from
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Iran has developed its own hypersonic missiles which can sink the US aircraft carriers recently. Now, Iran needs to speed up its nuclear weapons capabilities development like North Korea. Why?
The only way you can ward off a bully is by making sure that he will get his lungs ripped off and his head bashed to a million pieces if he tries any hanky panky.
we all know that
Iraq,
Syria,
Libya,
Afghanistan,
any many many more are living examples of American bullying.
In fact I would advice Iran to focus on developing small nuclear bombs the size of a suitcase. and provide logistics to highly motivated individuals from Syria, Libya, Afghanista, and Iraq the way to reach New york, London, Paris and other NATO nations that have destroyed their lands.
After the nuclear attack the rich and powerful will run for their lives they will scatter and establish new locations.
these are the people that need to be targeted after their shield of invincibility is broken.
let me give you an example
take nancy pelosi – look into her campaign and see who are her greatest contributors – who have paid for her campaign money… these are the actual enablers of American policy … these people need to be marked and they need to be hunted down … because it is not the politician but the sponsors of such politicans – the financers – the enablers who actually create the policy of the USA … these are the people that need to be hunted down – their families and their friends. and their relatives.
the problems are created by the politicians but the people on whose behalf these politicans create the problems are the main culprits – hence we need to hunt down these people and their families. it is their money that enables the politicans to create the problems
so remember first [1] the nuclear attack and create chaos and then [2] the hunting down of these individuals …
it is not just the governments – but the rich individuals from these countries that need to take initiative to enable these activities because once you hunt down these enables your business competition that uses unfair means (the military of USA) to give you unfair competition is no more… and your business and development is further enabled. you have literally killed your competitor … the same way that your competitor uses his government to undermine you and your business.
Met a stranger at a wedding that looked just like him and was wearing the same thing.
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China displays powerful space monitoring radar for first time at Airshow China
China’s leading radar developer exhibited a giant space monitoring radar, which is believed to be the “most powerful radar,” at this year’s Airshow China. It’s about 10 meters high, and it attracted wide attention not only from military enthusiasts but also from foreign visitors.
Standing out in the pavilion and recognizable for its huge and spectacular array of antennas, the SLC-18 space surveillance active phased array radar, developed by the No.14 Research Institute of CETC (China Electronics Technology Group Corp), was exhibited for the first time.
With the development of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology, satellites mainly used for information collection and battlefield reconnaissance have gradually become core equipment for modern, powerful countries to obtain remote information.
These satellites are usually characterized by strong capability, small size and flexible orbits, and they can realize intensive, 360-degree and all-factor reconnaissance of hot spots.
The Global Times learned from the No.14 Research Institute that the radar can search, track, calculate, catalog and forecast space targets such as LEO satellites, and obtain multi-target tracking and measurement data. It is mainly used for space target monitoring.
Sun Lei, deputy general manager of CETE Guorui Group, told the Global Times that in order to guard against the prying eyes of other countries’ satellites, movements of sensitive equipment or deployments on the ground of many countries must often maneuver intentionally to avoid the transit time of satellites, or take countermeasures to interfere with satellite signals.
All of this is based on knowing when a satellite is in transit, but for most developing countries, it is difficult and expensive to develop the technology to monitor space targets. In the past, they bought in-orbit satellite data from developed countries, which is expensive and often outdated, making it difficult to obtain first-hand information, Sun said.
According to Sun, the SLC-18 radar, a P-band solid-state active phased array radar, is mainly used for space target monitoring. It can search for and capture LEO satellites and other space targets, and obtain multi-target tracking and measurement data.
In recent years, the US has promoted constellations of LEO reconnaissance satellites. They are no longer a few expensive satellites, but often consist of hundreds of small satellites. For example, the NDSA “Defense Space Architecture Layered Orbit Satellite Constellation” proposed by the Pentagon includes a large number of satellites running in different orbits. The US military plans to launch as many as 100 satellites in the next five years.
To cope with new challenges posed by constant launches of LEO satellites, the space monitoring system must have the ability to quickly monitor and identify objects, which brings new technical challenges.
“The SLC-18 radar can detect satellites from afar, and identify and catalog satellites to form a radar database, so as to guide other equipment to respond accordingly. It can also send satellite data to the command center to help make decisions,” Sun told the Global Times.
The SLC-18 has wide-area detection capability, which can quickly capture a satellite’s orbit and input the orbital data into the database. Through comparative analysis, it can quickly determine whether it is a new type of satellite and what its main use is, according to the orbit characteristics.
The radar has such outstanding advantages as all-weather, all-time, multi-target, large power and large search areas, which can detect LEO targets in a wide range of airspace and cover a large number of LEO satellite targets, he noted.
The Global Times learned from the institute that the SLC-18 radar can complete the all-round monitoring of satellite targets, and it has the ability to survey space targets. It also has a high measurement accuracy.
Based on the tracking information of the radar, a satellite overhead transit forecast can be provided through the orbit determination, and offer enough time for on-the-ground decision-making to take countermeasures.
Sun said that the radar is domestically made from manufacturing to chip technology and at the same time, it adopts the modular design, which means the radar can further improve its ability based on the need to increase the module, indicating that China’s radar development has reached a new level.
“In the past, only a strong military power that had technical strength and economic and industrial foundations could conduct space target surveillance. For developing countries, it was difficult to have such capability.
“The SLC-18 radar uses relatively cost-effective ground-based space target surveillance, and it can serve countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, and provide situational awareness against LEO satellites,” Sun said.
Voting ability test
“1920s NY State Regents literacy test for voting. Passing grade required 6 of 7 questions correct. Designed at 4th grade level.”
fascinating isnt it 640 04
A photographer took a photo of a bird holding a shark with fish in its mouth
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The Butter Boat
For decades, locals living near Ireland’s Streedagh Beach visited the remains of a shipwreck. Lodged in the sand, nobody knew where it came from or the name it sailed under, and it eventually became known as the “Butter Boat.” In 2020, researchers decided to crack the mystery. What they pieced together was a remarkably detailed and tragic tale.
After testing the ship and sleuthing through historical records, they discovered the ship’s real name was the Greyhound. It was a trading ship that frequented the coastline between Ireland and Britain. In 1770, the vessel sailed from Yorkshire’s Whitby Port and ran into a storm at Broadhaven Bay.
The crew successfully abandoned the ship, but after a head count, they realized that a cabin boy was still trapped on the ship, which was anchored near some cliffs. The crew and local volunteers returned to the Greyhound, but the storm dragged the ship and many of the rescuers out to sea, killing 20 people in the process.[From HERE]
This guy called Ken found a mini plastic version of himself at Homegoods
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CH-6 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
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How does it feel for a foreigner living in China?
I’ve lived in China about 8 years across 25 years in 6 cities in 1 village. What it is like to be a foreigner living in China has certainly changed over time and is a lot different in Beijing than in a village in Shandong Province. Even in a city like Beijing, there is a big difference between living in an expat community verses living in and among the Chinese.
There are also lots of aspects of how I feel living in China, such as how people treat me, what the living conditions are like and so on. I will highlight just a few key points:
1) As a foreigner, I am usually treated as an honored guest. This is less true than it used to be years ago, but still, people tend to go out of their way to make sure I have a good seat, something to drink, and so on. Once, it meant that I won a rigged lottery drawing (or at least I am pretty sure they rigged it so the only foreigner in the room won.) On a visit to the Great Hall of the People, we got to bypass the lines and wander around the main hall freely while the people had to wait in a long line, and then were cordoned off behind velvet ropes. Still, there are days when it would be nice to just blend in, but that is unlikely in China.
2) Sometimes people heap all of their frustration with the U.S. on me. One guy launches on a tirade about the U.S. involvement in the Korean War every time he gets a little drunk. On a couple of occasions, a person spit disgustedly in my direction and wagged an accusing finger at me for no obvious reason other than that I was foreign. Once a group of us had some bricks thrown at us. These kinds of things are very rare, but there are people out there who don’t like foreigners.
3) I feel like a rock star. Decades ago, a friend and I sat down on a bench at a beach, and people started to gather standing and squatting in front of the bench just looking at us. By the time we left, there with 50 people there. We once went to the Beijing zoo. People starting looking at us instead of the animals. Everywhere we went, people would call out ‘lao wai’ or ‘foreigner’ or shout ‘hello’. There is a lot less of that now, but especially in smaller towns, it still happens. I recently visited Japan and a girl shouted out ‘hello’ at me. Yep, turned out she was Chinese.
At tourist places, it is still pretty common to have people come up and ask to take a picture with me. It’s not that I’m famous, just that I’m white. Somewhere in China, a child is growing up with a picture in an album of me, random white guy, holding him on Tiananmen Square.
I”ve been on TV. I’ve been in the paper. There was a documentary about me. Friends have been plastered all over town in ad campaigns or become TV and movie stars. Sometimes I feel like a dancing monkey, but it’s been fun, too.
4) I feel a bit misunderstood and a bit used. It is also less true than it used to be, but people tend to see foreigners as rich and as a means to get abroad. As students, we weren’t so rich, but compared to the people around us, we still really were pretty well-off. Students used to come and ask if we could put up $10,000 as some sort of security they needed (or thought they needed) to apply for a visa to go to the U.S. This wasn’t all bad. We could saunter into any fancy hotel in worn jeans and tattered Tshirts and use the restroom and hang out in the lobby like we belonged there. Nowadays, lots of Chinese drive cars I could never afford, so people see us as less wealthy in comparison.
Until the mid-1990s. Foreigners generally had to pay more for train tickets and entrance tickets. That always made us feel bad, though with our student ID we could sometimes get the Chinese price. We also had a different currency that we received when exchanging dollars that we were supposed to use. Every day, every transaction, we were reminded that we were outsiders and expected to pay more. Fortunately, these things have changed. It is still possible, however, to show up at a hotel and have them say foreigners aren’t allowed to stay.
5) I feel fascinated. In part because of the above and impart because China is changing so fast, I also find life really interesting here. I get to meet interesting people all the time, and just the pace of change and uncertainty about how things will unfold makes living in China really really interesting.
6) I feel like it is hard to breathe and a little scared of the food. The air is often pretty bad in the cities, and there are lots of horror stories about unclean or poisonous food. This has gotten worse, but the air in the cities was really bad 25 years ago, too.
7) I feel annoyed. Again, it used to be worse, but China has been a developing country during some of my time here. Buying train tickets, getting on a bus all used to be pitched battles with unruly crowds all trying to get to the front at once. Things don’t always work well, bureaucrats can be obstinate. Taxi drivers can be wonderful or they can be deceitful cheats, depending on the time and place. Even as things become much easier to manage, I find that I am less tolerant when I do encounter things that don’t work well.
8) Sometimes I feel amused. Maybe this is insulting, but I hope not. I think Americans can be amusing when seen by outsiders, too. In part, how we survived the rather intense challenges of navigating day to day life humor was one way we dealt with it. What can you do when you are in Walmart and a child is taking a leak on the floor in front of you? Laugh it off! Also, I continue to enjoy the English translations and translations we see around the country. It’s fun. So above the urinal, there might be a sign, “Peeing into the pool, you are the best!” I am the best, indeed. Ha.
People of other races have different issues in China, and I am sure it is harder than for a white guy. For Asians, there can be a lot less tolerance when they don’t speak Chinese well or don’t follow the rules. Chinese really never expect me to understand social rules, and I get a pass for doing things wrong, or even offensive. What do I know? I’m a barbarian after all. Of course people who look more Chinese, they have the possibility of blending in.
For black people, they also stand out and get lots of attention, but tend to face more negative attitudes than white people. It can be tough.
Having lived in China over this span of time, though, I am very aware of how much things are improving, and over all, how very quickly things in China change.
Baked Pork Chops in Onion-Sour Cream Gravy
“I make this recipe on cold nights…the gravy is SOOOO good!! I serve it with whipped potatoes and I practically have my family licking the plate.”
Leave 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Add to pan the flour and onion soup mix. Blend in water. Pour over chops in baking dish.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Uncover and continue to bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove pan from oven.
Remove chops from pan to serving dish and then add in the sour cream to the liquid in the pan to make gravy.
Serve immediately.
Serve with potatoes or noodles.
Great base recipe! After browning chops, I added a little butter to the skillet and browned half lb. sliced portobello mushrooms; then lightly sauteed about a half cup sliced celery to smother the chops. I retained all of the pan drippings and deglazed the pan with about a third cup white wine, then proceeded with the flour and the rest of the recipe as written. Freshly ground black pepper stirred in at the end of the sauce cycle. Phenomenal!
Davy Knowles – “Almost Cut My Hair”
What a real treat!
Some say China-U.S. tech competition has forced U.S. tech companies to abandon a dynamic market, putting them at the forefront of the confrontation. So how do you see tech competition between China and US?
The U.S.-China trade war has been intensifying.
2022 11 13 16 32
The essence of a trade war is a technology war. The strength of scientific and technological innovation is also a key factor in determining which country will win or lose in the Sino-US trade war. In fact, it is not the China-U.S. technology competition has forced U.S. tech companies to abandon a dynamic market, but the US elites have failed to make progress in scientific and technological research and development innovations. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, relying on their excellent organizational skills, it has taken China only about 70 years (since 1949) to successfully overtake Britain and catch up with the United States. This is not the boast of CPC, but it can be fully reflected in the short-sighted China policy of the United States, and there is no falsehood. From the ability to implement the anti-epidemic measures this time, it can be seen that the organizational ability of the CPC is indeed very effective.
The scale indicator of the Chinese scientific and technological human resources has surpassed that of the United States. If China can continue to maintain the rapid growth of R&D expenditure, it will overtake the United States in the next few years to become the country with the highest total R&D expenditure in the world. If China can continue to maintain a high growth rate in the number of scientific research papers, it will overtake the United States in the next few years and become the country with the highest output of scientific research papers in the world. Whether it is in the overall technological innovation capability of the equipment manufacturing industry, or in the technological innovation capabilities of the four sub-industries of mechanical equipment, medical equipment, transportation equipment and electrical equipment, China has shown a trend of rapid development. Whether it is in the overall technological innovation capability of the information and communication industry, or in the technological innovation capabilities of the four sub-industries of computers, communication equipment, semiconductors and instrument measurement, China has shown a trend of rapid development. The United States is still the country with the most powerful technological innovation capability in the information and communication industry in the world, but its advantage over China is shrinking, especially in the technological innovation capability of the communication equipment sub-industry. China has already surpassed it in 2014.
Over the past 26 years, more than 300,000 scientific and technical personnel from more than 400 units across China have participated in the construction of the Beidou system and have successively conquered more than 160 key core technologies including inter-satellite links and high-precision atomic clocks. A breakthrough has been achieved in the development of localization of components, and finally a 100% localization rate of core components has been achieved.
The aerospace-grade CPU has always been the diamond crown of all the chips and the most expensive chip products in the history of chips. The price of an aerospace CPU of Beidou satellite made completely in China is 9 million yuan, and it is already several times cheaper than before. The self-developed anti-radiation quad-core CPU chip, SoC2012, and the operating system SpaceOS2 with independent intellectual property rights since 2017 are comparable to the highest level of similar products in the world. More than 200 kinds of radiation-hardened integrated circuits have been successfully developed and exported to Germany and Russia.
When the European sc80c32 chip was used to build a satellite, a lot of the chips has to be put together in order to meet all the function requirements. One domestic Loongson has ten times the computing power of the European sc80c32 chip. In addition, when working in the sky, the sc80c32 chip will have a calculation error about once a week, but in the 30-year cumulative life of Loongson, the error rate is zero.
The export of high-tech products comprehensively reflects the advanced degree of a country’s industrial system and its position in the global production network. After initially lagging far behind the United States in the export of high-tech products to overtaking the United States in 2015, the gap between China and the United States has widened rapidly, and it has become the country with the highest export value of high-tech products in the world for many consecutive years.
The balance of power between China and the United States is changing. The gap is narrowing, and China’s economy is on the verge of surpassing that of the United States. Globalization centered on the United States has lost momentum. In the past decade, China has contributed to an average of one-third of global economic growth and has become a new engine. China is already the world’s manufacturing center. In 2019, the global share of China’s manufacturing added value increased to 28%, which is the sum of the manufacturing value added of the United States and Japan, while the sum of developed countries dropped to about 55%.
In the long run, the Covid-19 pandemic will further promote de-globalization. Western countries are determined to build a new regional trade system, and the regionalization of the industrial chain is obvious. A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is reshaping economic growth. From the digital economy to the life economy, global competition is focused on competition for the commanding heights of science and technology. The new scientific and technological revolution provides opportunities for late-developing countries to achieve technological catch-up, and countries have deployed their layouts around key areas. The leading role of the United States and China in the digital economy is growing.
China’s model is to build a huge manufacturing capacity, a fine division of labor in the industrial chain, to form economies of scale in the manufacturing industry, and to strengthen the domestic roots of the industrial chain. Although the United States has always been a global technology leader, its position is being challenged in some areas. For example, artificial intelligence (AI), China’s Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, have established a complete AI business ecosystem and have massive data for rapid application, which is not available in the United States.
The technological game between China and the United States is in full swing. China’s advantages are its strong manufacturing capabilities and stable domestic epidemic situation, while Western countries mainly rely on technological heritage and camp advantages. On the whole, the political decoupling policy toward China is being implemented, and the economic relationship between the two countries has decreased. In the fields of finance, energy, and technology, isolation has become the theme. Some industrial chains that have already been formed are also being gradually reshaped, which is a huge cost to the United States. Decoupling in information technology alone could cost the US 48% of the market and 30% of global market revenue.
The interests of American companies are not aligned with the will of the government. They have huge interests in China and still maintain business contacts with most Chinese companies. China has proposed a dual circulation strategy to partially replace global trade and tap domestic potential. After all, China is already the world’s largest single market in many industries such as mobile phones and automobiles. The United States imposes single-point sanctions on core Chinese companies. This long-arm jurisdiction will force companies of all the countries to choose sides in the short term, resulting in isolation blocks. However, in the medium and long term, Chinese companies have the opportunity to break through. Taking the information technology industry as an example, domestic ecosystem entities such as HiSilicon chips and Kirin software are constantly growing.
China does not want to decouple, but if it is forced to strengthen independent technology, it will gradually weaken its dependence on US technology, and the result will be further decoupling. Chinese enterprises have strengthened independent innovation.
This is a dangerous road and a road of no return, but once China establishes an operating system whose core elements are independent of the outside world, it will be subversive to the existing world pattern.
Married couple in China discover they appeared in same photograph as teenagers.
main qimg d96ab798d1edb725abea89261bdc48de lq
Why do people buy houses that are cheaper in further areas only to drive an hour to work? Is it worth it?
Most people can’t afford the property around the area they work in, or they have to settle for something much smaller than what they really need.
You’re not talking about a difference of 5–10k either, the difference in property value between the area want and a little further away could be up to, and even a lot more than, 100k. Even if your commute is over an hour away, you might just have to consider it for a difference that large. How many trips to work would it take to make up that difference?
Young couples and families don’t always have the opportunity to be so discerning. Getting property in the area they really want would be unrealistic, their mortgage payments would equate to too high a percentage of their income leaving them little room for freedoms and emergencies, or compromising on the features they need to bring the price down.
And you also have to consider the aftermarket costs, especially when buying an established house. There are always more expenses.
You’re not really saving in the long term if the mortgage payments are financially crushing. And if you can’t afford to make repairs or keep up with maintenance because your mortgage payments are too demanding, you also risk lowering the potential future value of your property.
But buying in an outer suburb or even in the surrounding country brings the price down a lot, and you’ll have the opportunity to buy a lot more for a lot less, even if you’re building.
This is the issue we faced when we first looked into buying as well. Had we bought our land in the area we both worked, even if we went smaller, we just couldn’t realistically live with a mortgage that high, virtually all of our income would have gone onto the repayments. So we built a house that was a good half-hour away, our repayments were less than what we paid in rent in our desired areas and we were able to build a house that was big enough for our needs.
And ultimately, it was a good choice, because only a couple of years later, a car accident put us both out of the workforce. Had we aimed higher, we would have lost our home as well, but taking a smaller risk meant we were able to hold onto it and actually pay out the mortgage.
But you need to also consider that a house isn’t just somewhere you go to sleep, you’re going to spend a huge amount of your life there, you need to be happy with your purchase. It needs to do what you need it to do, have the room for you and/or your family to grow in whatever capacity you need to. Settling on something just because it’s close to your job could lead to huge issues down the road and you could unintentionally put yourself in a really tight spot and be trapped in a house that doesn’t have the space you need, and no longer have the means to change.
Normally, digital art doesn’t really do anything for me. But this art is different. Please kindly enjoy his work. I hope it makes you feel clean, and new, and reminds you of special times, like it does for me.
It speaks to me; my God, it really, really does.
Sam Yang is a digital artist. He lives in Toronto. He has a Youtube channel, an Instagram account and a patrean account. He draws digitally. That guy focused more on the characters.
Although he is quite young, he makes great drawings that can be used in many places! His talent is at an uncommon value. His drawings can be used in many areas such as computer games and animes. He has a youtube channel. And he shares the stages of his drawings on this channel. Thus, it sets an example for people who are interested in drawing like him. This generosity he has done also gives him a reputation!
I love his art. It’s special and he has real skill.
It speaks to me. It takes me to other places, and carries me away. That is special, and unique. And thus, I present this here. I hope that you have enjoyed this article.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this one in my Art Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
I’ve been posting too many serious articles as of late. This has pretty much skewed the content. Just like it was skewed during the President Trump’s administration. This article and others, are my attempt at trying to reestablish balance in MM. Let’s put a big happy smile on our faces. And I hope this article helps facilitate that.
Now, that being said, let’s face the facts. Most people work in front of a computer, or use a cellphone. Or else how do you read MM, eh? And if you are one such person, then this article is for you…
Whether your desk is messy or tidy, your walls adorned with pop culture posters or neatly framed art pieces, you could see yourself in one of these delightfully stereotypical character illustrations.
The project was started by Serbian artist Dmitry Narozhny, who drew a new character each month for Devexperts’ company calendar, with designs ranging from the hipster to the hippy, goth to the geek.
So, can you spot someone resembling you among these geeky stereotypes?
The [1] artist / poet compared to the [2] wholly-organized creator.
6 4d9
Or, perhaps, you are the [3] Travel dreamer / adventurer, or the [4] fastidious organized worker…
5 5d0
Consider the [5] cellphone as the primary medium of communication, or the [6] busy and disorganized MM. (Yup! That’s me.)
4s 51
Not found yourself yet? How about the [7] hedonistic or the [8] comfortable gamer.
3 a53
Then there’s the [9] urban hipster, or perhaps the [10] hard-core designer type.
a2 54
What ever you may be, I am sure that you have found comfort in your life. What ever it might be.
I will tell you that I would like to hear what kind of person you all are, and what archetype that you fill. It’s my curiosity, only. I’m not going to collect the information and sell it to some data-collection agency. LOL.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this one in my Art Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
I just read that wine is bad for you. It’s all over the Western “news” media. My guess is that soon there will be a temperance movement to rival the anti-smoking movement. For the “children” don’t you know.
It’s all so silly.
I really don’t think I want to live in a place that bans drinking wine.
Wine and cheese.
I mean, really! Wine is bad, but lard burgers deep fried are good. Sheech!
You know, the longer I stay outside the “West” the more insane it appears.
Dionysus cat agrees!
Dionysus cat.
…
It’s been accepted that the Western Bloc (in defiance of Donald Trump’s executive orders to the contrary) pretty much uses Tictok as an Application to make and share movies. It’s a division of the Chinese version known as Douxing. It is NOT the same thing.
In fact, most of the videos posted inside of China are banned by the non-Chinese versions.
Thus, because of that, the presentation of what China actually is; is withheld from the global readership. (It’s something that I do not fully understand why, but it offers strong hints of Geo-political manipulation for domestic consumption purposes on a regional basis.)
To get around this limitation, you must have a Chinese cellphone and install Douxing on it while you are in China.
Now, with that awkward introduction, let’s get to the meat of this article. Here is a South Korean group of video-blogers that take various Chinese Douxing videos and comment on them. I find that it is interesting, and amusing and telling on how the Korean society reacts to the Chinese society. Because, after all, they are both of the Han race.
Please enjoy this great peer into cross society insights.
2021 Overview
We start with this video.
At the end of 2021 were a bunch of videos that summarized the events of 2021. Some are actually quite good. Of course, most of the world outside of China has no idea what has been going on inside of China. Their government (especially if you are an America or Brit) won’t allow it. Here, the Koreans get to watch some of the videos and comment on them.
The Chinese honor, fund and keep the traditions and societies of all the minorities within China alive and prospering. Here is a selection of the various videos in this category.
The PRC officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China inaddition to the Han majority.
As of 2010, the combined population of officially-recognized minority groupscomprised 8.49% of the population of mainland China.
In addition to these officially-recognized ethnic minority groups, there are Chinese nationals who privately classify themselves as members of unrecognized ethnic groups, such as the very small Chinese Jewish, Tuvan, and Ili Turki communities, as well as the much larger Oirat and Japanese communities.
-Wikipedia
What’s not to love? This is the real deal, with many Shaolin monks participating. video 26MB
Han Clothing
Very popular. On display here for thoughts and comments. video 13MB
Han Cosplay
These are videos of people dressed in Han Clothing and meeting in cosplay events and fashion shows. video 14MB
Honoring the family
This is a big thing. Not only does China have a firm belief in the importance of the traditional family life and culture, but it funds videos that are sprinkled in with all the other videos to remind people of the importance of family and community. It’s sort of how the LGBT “news” and “issues” are all being driven in the United States today. It’s a very big part of what China is all about. When was the last time that you saw a video or a commercial stressing the importance of family, community and care for others in America? video 14MB
I love how this scene mesmerized the movie critics.
Honoring the Rufus firefighters
In praise of Rufus. You just don’t see this kind of stuff in the West. video 14MB
In another time
In another time. Sigh. It reminds us, through these videos, that while times, clothing and society has changed, we are still the same. We are still people who work, earn a living, have a family and participate within society. video 20MB
And of course, the Chinese promote the Uighur culture and Xinjiang. And oh baby! The USA hates that. Great video 17MB
One last thought…
Dionysus is strongly associated with the satyrs, centaurs and sileni. He is often shown riding a leopard, wearing a leopard skin, or in a chariot drawn by panthers and has been called the god of cats and savagery. He may be recognized by the thyrsus he carries.
-Dionysus - Crystalinks
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my China Music Index here…
I am so tired of trying to counter the mega-onslaught of hate being generated out of the United States towards China. The redirection is working. Most American hate China and blame all their troubles on it, instead of themselves and their (so called) “government”. Well, let’s just deal with things as they actually are and not what the American government wants others to believe.
2021 was China’s best year. Ever.
by Godfree Roberts*
Amidst global gloom, 2021 was the best year in modern Chinese history. Here’s what they accomplished:
Released a fractional orbital bombardment missile from another missile at 17,000 mph.
Simultaneously commissioned three warships, becoming the world’s biggest navy.
Expect China to maintain this pace through 2022 by launching, among other things, the first, greenfield, automated, 21st century city for six million knowledge workers. With 70% woods and lakes, the loudest sound will be birdsongs.
Massive booby juggle. That’s one thing that the Chinese gals like to do. If you all got the boobies, then you are allowed to jiggle them. It’s cute actually, and I always get a big kick out of it. Jiggle jiggle jiggle. video 25MB
Now, I know that China is bad. I read all about it in the comment sections from moronic Americans and Brits. Ah like this…
World's most advanced censorship and surveillance regime with no freedom and a punitive social credit scheme. I admire the work ethic and manufacturing prowess but would rather live in a cabin the woods than submit to such a regime. Sadly, while losing ground in technology, our elites are catching up with their own repression and Woke overthrow of Constitutional rights.
Posted by: Fran Macadam
and this…
A totally deluded and mostly inaccurate summary. China is currently self-destructing because it is the only country in the world still trying "zero COVID". Their entire real estate market is close to collapse. They had terrible floods and large destruction of farm lands. Several dams broke, and the huge Three Gorges dam almost broke. Everybody wants to leave China, from Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang to Taiwan.
Posted by: Niall K.
Yah. The USA is exceptional. It has delicious “freedom” and “liberty” and all that wonderful “democracy”. You can see it everywhere…
But if that is what appeals to you. I say enjoy it. Me, I’m gonna stay here. eat delicious food. hang out in the beautiful sunshine, with the trees and the flowers. Eat delicious meals. Play with pretty girls and have lots and lots of fun.
Conclusion
I hope that you enjoyed this little update on China. Many things were left out. Such as the Space exploration accomplishments, and the energy accomplishments, and the environmental accomplishments.
Have a great day, and remember to always be the Rufus.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my China Index…
I am so tired of trying to counter the mega-onslaught of hate being generated out of the Untied States towards China. The redirection is working. Most American hate China and blame all their troubles on it, instead of themselves and their (so called) “government”.
Instead, today, we will just go over some elements of Chinese society. These are little “snapshots” or culture. Isolated pictures, and images, as you will (understand). And taken together it’s a fun look at the great diversity of life that is colorfully presented in such a huge and enormous nation filled with a huge and enormous population.
We are not going to talk about Geo-politics, Biden, Trade wars, hybrid wars, Vaxx wars or another American-centered subjects. We are just going to talk about life, and in China that means videos and fun. We’re not going to get too serious here, at least I don’t intended to, anyways.
I’m presenting them in no particular order, because after all, life kind of throws things at us in a seemingly random order as well. Though, you do know that you have had an intelligent hand in the development of your life… don’t you know.
Bar Scene
Here’s a girl singing to the audience in a pretty typical bar. Video 8MB
A Park in China
I think that it is lovely. Most parks inside of China re quite nice, and the government is constantly expanding them, and improving them in so many little ways. video 3MB
College Dorm
Dorm rooms in the USA are usually two people affairs; two people share a room. In England it is one person gets their own room. In China, the dorm rooms are six people share a room. Here’s a group of girls in their dorm room. video 6MB
Death by cute (part 1)
It’s a fashion thingy that found it’s way from Japan. It’s called loli. I like it. So does my little girl. Video 6MB
It’s very common to see people dancing all over China. I mean that you NEVER see this in the ‘Stats, but you see it all the time inside China. video 3MB
Incidentally, this kind of view… the buildings lit up in the background, the blue sky, the open plazas are so very typical of China. It’s everywhere.
Han fashion (1)
It’s a fashion trend throughout China. It’s pretty popular and there are girls and guys wearing these outfits in the malls, the parks and on the subways. video 8MB
Han Fashion (2)
This is a sort of Chinese version of a medieval festival, only with Chinese culture and clothing. Continues video 7MB
Han fashion (3)
Here’s some more images from a different festival. video 5MB
Han Fashion (4)
Couple runs into each others arms. I love the expression on the little girl to the left. Cute. video 4MB
In America, everyone is a “lone wolf”. If you are fired from work, you are alone, and no one stands up for you. If you are in a car accident, you are alone and no one helps you. Most Americans eat alone, pay taxes alone, mow their yard alone, and travel alone.
Not so in China. China is the land of groups and communities. Everyone is part of something bigger than themselves. And if they individually make a mistake, the group absorbs the mistake and moves forward. video 7MB
Peng G3
When I first saw this video I thought that it was some kind of photoshop video manipulation. Then I went to a Peng show room, and that an actual car feature! This is how the Chinese introduce new features into the market. I wonder when Detroit will start copying China? Hum? video 5MB
Sending your dreams aloft
It’s a tradition for the Chinese to put their dreams and wishes on a scrap of paper and then light the balloon to send them into the sky. It’s very beautiful. video 2MB
Shanghai
Yeah. Everyone knows about Shanghai. But it’s really impressive when you are there in person. It makes New York City look like a small village. video 3MB
By Sweety Boy
Thai song adopted by the Chinese pop scene during 2019 / 2020. video 3MB
Time Machine
China has gone through so many wars, struggles, occupations, poisonings, humiliation, and growth. There is a sub-culture that memes this historical trend. Here’s one such video. I call it “time machine”. Video 4MB
Here’s a third video of the same “time machine” theme. video 13MB
Wedding 1
Chinese wedding. This is in a tiny remote village. Here we see the ritual of presentation before the parents and the town elders. video 3MB
Wedding 2
Chinese wedding. They don’t throw rice. It’s too wasteful and the Chinese just don’t understand that American ritual at all. video 5MB
Wedding 3
Chinese wedding. Bride presentation with her brides’ maids prior to the groom entry to “steal her” from her parents home. video 3MB
Xinjiang HST
High Speed Train in Xinjiang province. These are all Uighur staffed, and serving the Uighur people. Of course, you would never see anything positive about China in the American “news”. It’s all a 7 billion dollar funded hate-fest. video 9MB
Conclusion
I hope that you enjoyed this little travel vacation. Have a great day, and remember to always be the Rufus.
Do you want more?
You can find more articles related to this in my China Index…
This is part 2 of my orgy of James Bond movies. This time it’s with a classic movie titled “Goldfinger”.
Usually during Christmas I spend extra time to make the holiday a little bit special. One way that I do this is with rituals, and pomp. That means a Christmas tree, some decorations and music. I also like to wear a special Santa hat. Another way is with food. KFC, and hot ham and tomatoes on fresh bread. Mustard with sausages, and lots of cold cuts. And a third way is with movies. Not just Christmas movies, but some older movies just for the fun of it. Today, we will chat a little about a nice fine James Bond movie “Goldfinger” (1964).
So you sit down with your favorite beverage. You gather your friends, family and pets. Or if it is late at night, you gather a bowl of potato chips alone, and sit down to enjoy this movie.
Today I would like to promote the idea of enjoying some delicious chocolate moose, on a nice tray, while you enjoy the movie.
A delicious chocolate moose.
Doesn’t that look tasty…?
And here is our hero;
James Bond fighting the powers of evil during the Cold War. He does look good in suits, and I really do like how he is able to keep his hair all nice and tidy when he gets involved in a tussle.
James Bond in Goldfinger
This movie differs from Dr No in that it is more action / adventure. There is more fighting. More science. More gadgets. and really only one girl that James Bond cavorts with.
Just one. Or maybe two.
Perhaps three.
But that’s it.
Tops.
It’s treated as a top 007 Bond movie because of that, but you know, I think that it fails in that regard as much as it is praised.
Certainly the laser beam that going to cut bond in two is enticing for the six year old boy inside of me, and the idea of scientific geniuses taking over the world has merit, but really, where’s the interesting chit-chat and the fine bed-side manner?
It’s all cavort and plunder. Cavort and plunder.
Hum…
James Bond in Goldfinger
She’s a feisty vixen. Eh?
I’ll bet you that she (removes the snarl and fierce expression) would be a blast to go out with. Maybe go for some nice dessert. And in my mind, a nice dessert is a strawberry shortcake. No question about it at all. hands down.
I know. I know. I know.
Strawberry shortcake is for Springtime dates, and Summer outings. Oh don’t fall for that disinformation. It’s just perfect anytime of the year. Look at just how Christmassy festive it is.
A nice strawberry shortcake.
So imagine that you are out with this chick (girl). Her name is Pussy Galore…
Which in American slang means “always open for copus quantities of indiscriminate sex”. Which is kind of an “inside joke” if you are an American.
And then after a fine delicious strawberry shortcake, a nice walk down the boardwalk (well, I am imagining a seaside stroll after all). Then a stroll to the hotel, or bungalow.
Maybe a passionate embrace and wet sexy kiss once the door is closed.
I wonder what is going to happen in their relationship? Well, knowing what I know about James Bond movies I can extrapolate. Let’s see how accurate I am…
Adventures in bed.
Oh my!
By their expressions it does seem like they are having some fun. I’ll bet that about twenty to forty minutes later, Bond is smoking a cigarette, and she’s just purring while looking at herself in the mirror, and primping a bit.
And I am not complaining. I think that women look their best while they are getting pretty. Not afterwards. Life is a journey. Not a destination. Which is why I wrote my article on why it is critically important for a woman to have her own very special vanity, with a HUGE circular mirror. HERE.
But you know, being a secret agent is difficult business…
James Bond in Goldfinger
You never know when a car passes you by and shreds up your tires! Yikes.
I’m not sure, but I believe that this movie was the one that set the trend for automobile gadgets in the James Bond vehicles. When I was younger I had a Corgi version of the James Bond car. It had a escape passenger seat, a rear shield that would cover the rear window, machine guns in the front, shredding do-hickeys in the wheels, and a jet engine exhaust in the trunk. It was pretty cool, I’ll tell you what.
Toy James Bond Car.
Here we see Jame Bond in a well appointed private jet, and a very attractive Chinese stewardess. You know, I could never figure out why the costume would expose her cute belly, but not show her bellybutton. That belly button is the most erotic part of a woman’s belly, don’t you know.
But that’s life.
Hollywood has distinct rules on what can and cannot be shown on the “big movie screen”. And belly buttons are absolutely verboten! (Sounds of marching, goose-stepping Nazi Germans in the background. No. I’m not insulting Germans. I’m just playing with mental images of World War II movies.)
I see all the classics are on the shelves, as well as a quaintly dated telephone on the desk.
That “wood trim” is obviously cheep vinyl wall-paper. Sheech! You would think that evil scientists would appreciate the natural hues and textures of real wood in their private jet aircraft.
Vinyl is just…
…tacky.
Well, it is.
It’s sort of like giving a starving dog a rubber bone. It looks like the real things, but it isn’t and once you taste the bitterness of vacuum, the nightmare memories of what you thought you were getting ring like a hollow bell in a deep dark cavern.
Anyways, James Bond is a man of many talents.
Here’s James Bond tackling with some kind of a bomb. I’ll bet you that there a count-down going on and that he only has seconds left before every thing goes kablooey! How nice that the bomb has these red and yellow indicator lights and wires that you can rip out to render the bomb inert.
James Bond in Goldfinger
And here we have the “bad guys” trying to use a laser to break into Fort Knox to get all the gold there. Good luck with that! That place has been looted and sitting empty for decades.
Is it me, or does that laser look like a giant syringe?
The uniforms are curious. They are wearing battleship greys, and Chinese 19th century Boxer slipper. Though, I have yet to figure out what the black and yellow thing-a-min-jib around their waists are. Maybe it’s some kind of henchmen life preserver. Eh?
Why does the door to the vault look like a suburban garage door?
James Bond in Goldfinger
This movie has lots and lots of twists and turns. We’ve got James Bond fighting with landing a plane, laser beams, lots and lots of gold, henchmen, pretty girls with some fine charms and incredibly strong vixen capabilities.
The movie starts off with a bomb.
Seriously. There a bomb that has to be dealt with. And you know, it’s a job that only James Bond can handle.
James Bond bomb.
That’s where things start to get interesting.
After a quick tussle, some fighting and the bathtub electrocution, we are introduced to the always calm and confident James Bond. I do love him in the white tux, and I have to admit that the red carnation is a nice touch. Don’t you all think so?
You will note that a white tux is formal, while a deep blue tux is for semi-formal events. Nice lapels, but I think a shawl collar would have been a slightly better touch. Look at those nice shoulders. A nice cut suit for certain.
Too bad he’s in what appears to be a garbage-variety boat garage. I can just smell the rotting fish, the stale dried sea moss, and hear the waves lap up against the bollards.
James Bond in top style.
So many cool things in the movie don’t you know.
There’s all sorts of cool adventures. All done and carried out in a span under five minutes. Bombs, killings, good guys, bad guys. Nice fancy and swanky venues.
Even a few cats.
Somehow Bond finds his way into a room with an attractive nude woman taking a bubble bath in the tub. Of course, this is the 1960’s and since he is wearing a tux, and he is (after all) James Bond, he seduces her which his devilish good looks…
…and well, you can guess the rest.
James Bond getting some “nooky”
After the credits finish rolling, we find James Bond by the pool.
Certainly the fashions have changed, but a beautiful girl is a beautiful girl, and I for one would not throw her into the pool. I’ll tell you what.
I do like her cleavage. I wonder whats down there. Maybe some money, a set of keys, or a venomous poison spider to attack 007 with. Being a secret agent is a risky business, don’t you know.
Nice cleavage.
Boy!
James bond is hairy. Don’t you think?
Ah. But the ladies don’t mind. They think it is sexy.
Of course, my chest hair is all white, and sometimes my wife absentmindedly plucks a chest hair away. Ouch! Come on girls. It’s sensitive!
Oh, and by the way, I do like how all the maids fall into the arms of James Bond. He’s quite the “Ladies Man” don’t you know.
Look at his legs. So very hairy as well. No wonder he is rarely shown rearing shorts.
Ladies man.
He really is, however, quite the ladies man.
Here’s James Bond “copping a feel” with the fine girl that massaged the oil on his back. I note that the evil villain NPC smiles in approval.
Copping a feel.
There’s many half-clad girls in James Bond movies.
Here’s a chick that will feature predominately later on. Shes busy on the VHF, or is it a UHF, or maybe just a CB radio. She’s got a fine backside. Nice and oiled up and toasty from the hot sun. She’s really just eye candy for the audience, though, don’t you know.
She’s a lure to take James Bond on an adventure.
Nice backside.
Of course, we know that shes a spy.
Gasp!
And James Bond is going to use her… well, he thinks anyways. Here she is spying away. And James is very interested in her technique. And she, obviously, is very interested in his manly chin.
Spycraft. Always a tense moment.
The movie has all sorts of interesting adventures and situations.
And some of the most interesting occur in, on, and beside, the beds. But you know, for some reason there’s always telephones near and on the beds. I mean… really. You want to rest on a bed, or you want to have sex on a bed. But the telephone is just a distraction. You really don’t want to be interrupted when you are in a dream, or having sex. I mean, that’s just not fun. How can you concentrate?
Right?
Nothing quite breaks up the mood as a ringing telephone when you are in the middle of something interesting.
Telephones and beds so not match.
Oh, and by the way, she’s a pretend blonde. You can tell by her eyebrows. She’s intentionally dyed her hair a harlot platinum blonde. Not that it’s bad, mind you. I happen to enjoy harlots. It’s a personal favorite activity of mine, don’t you know. But I do like women to be themselves.
I am so turned on by a woman wearing pajamas, in the house, or a tee shit and jeans outside rather than get all dressed up. Of course, I do enjoy when a woman gets dressed up, but on the sexiness scale, a “real” woman being herself just oozes sex. It’s like when they cook food. OMG.
There is few things sexier than a woman cooking.
Well, aside from coming out of the shower.
Anyways…
Anyways, having sex with James bond can be dangerous. As is shown in this scene here…
…Yikes!
Yikes!
For you all who are unawares, this chick didn’t get a chance to read the “Time magazine” on the table, nor flick though those stacks of phone books. Poor girl. She has missed on on so much.
Well…
Life goes on.
Here he is flirting with his bosses secretary…
Flirting for fun and advantage.
Ah, there’s a lot of things happening…
And I don’t want to give away the plot.
But, I can give you a hint of things to come. There’s guns, sex, difficult situations, lasers, plans, evil, and airplanes.
Oh my goodness!
A lot of things happen from here to there.
There’s a guy , Asian no doubt, that has this decapitating hat, and he’s a sight to behold. The evil genus is a pug-like portly fellow.
However, things aren’t always tea and crumpets. Sometimes you can get hit on the head and wake up on a slab with a evil laser ready to cut you into two.
Not that I ever had THAT particular experience, don’t you know.
Things aren’t always tea and crumpets.
And on and on.
Oh! By the way. Do you all put up stockings for Christmas? We do. And we fill it with these little Japanese (actually Chinese, sold under a Japanese brand name) little figurines, and some healthy candy.
You do not have to spend a lot of money on Christmas. All you need to do is make it special for the ones you love.
And that, of course means left over turkey sandwiches…
Left over hot turkey sandwich.
This one looks like it uses English muffins, or grilled crumpets, potato bread with coleslaw, cranberries, stuffing, and turkey to make the delicious dish. I would add hot turkey gravy, myself.
Or, turkey soup..
A nice bowl of hot turkey soup.
And what is soup without some nice crusty bread and butter / cheese. Eh?
Here we see Bond and his latest newly acquired vixen friend trying to land a dangerously out of control airplane.
James Bond in Goldfinger
Of course, everyone is concerned.
You can tell that they are by looking at their expressions in the airport control tower. It’s all a matter of high international importance!
James Bond in Goldfinger
But you know all ends well.
James Bond lands safely using a parachute, and he and his vixen friend decide to celebrate! You know, in ways that are relaxing, strenuous, and enjoyable.
Twenty minutes later, Bond is smoking a cigarette, and the Vixen (whose name is Pussy Galore – wonder if she lives up to the name) is adjusting her hair so the next great adventure.
A happy ending
James Bond in Goldfinger
Now wasn’t that nice?
If I were to host a movie party…
Obviously I don’t. My idea of a movie is a rare thing that I do as a special family time. But in the past I would host a movie “party”. But I used to do it. And if I were to do it again, I would project the movie big on the wall. (I used to do this, but the projector remains stolen. Sigh.)
And I would play some vintage “Let’s go to the movie” cartoons, and about three or four vintage movie trailers. To get the entire scene going. Not to mention popping some popcorn for the proper smells of a movie theater.
If you are going to do something, why not go all out and make it special? Hum?
Usually during Christmas I spend extra time to make the holiday a little bit special. One way that I do this is with rituals, and pomp. That means a Christmas tree, some decorations and music. I also like to wear a special Santa hat. Another way is with food. KFC, and hot ham and tomatoes on fresh bread. Mustard with sausages, and lots of cold cuts. And a third way is with movies. Not just Christmas movies, but some older movies just for the fun of it. Today, we will chat a little about a nice fine James Bond movie “Dr No” (1963).
It’s a classic, and I love it. Guys wearing tuxes, nice suit jackets, cavorting with pretty ladies who are wearing gowns, bikinis, or just a simple towel. And the gambling, alcohol and the cigarettes. Not to mention the occasional fist fight and small arms fire. Classic. It speaks to the man in me.
No CGI here. It’s mostly dialog and chatting.
I can really relate to this scene. Can’t you?
Why do women look so tasty when their hair is disheveled? And my oh my, why aren’t men wearing blazers any more. Look at now nice it fit him.
Simple blazer. Simple black tie. Simple blue-white shirt. All alone in a tropical bungalow. You can almost smell the tropical lushness, hear the ocean waves, and listen to the tropical birds out the window.
Oh, and my she does have nice shoulders. Doesn’t she?
Nice tux. With a nice thin bow tie. He looks good, don’t you think?
When a man wears a tux, all eyes should be on the lady that accompanies him. In this case she is wearing an eye-popping red dress with one shoulder exposed. It’s her best shoulder, I believe. Nice lips. Look at her lips. And by the way, those earrings are nice match for the dress. Lips, fingernails, dress all nicely coordinated.
She’s carrying a gold purse and lots and lots of gambling chips. My goodness!
Here’s a great shot showing all the cool gadgets 007 has. In this scene he is off picnicking and cavorting with a beautiful gal in a nice pattern bikini, while talking on a telephone in his car! Imagine that! A phone in the convertible. WOW!
Love those James Bond gadgets.
The phone plays a big role in this particular James Bond flick. You have phones in cars. Phones in hotel rooms. Phones in the rooms of the beautiful girls. Phones with the bad guys. Phones with the evil doctor. Phones in the 007 office and phones on the bed.
Nothing like making a quick call while you are discussing important matters in bed with the girl you just met.
Pack of cigarettes, and a notepad by the bed. Oh, how charming!
I once read that by wearing a tux, the perceived attractiveness of a man increase three points. (On a scale of zero to ten.) There’s something about a well made, well fitting, tux, with the clean lines and appearance that speaks to me. Too bad I never have any opportunities to wear my tuxes any more. The last time I wore it was at my father funeral.
I think that a tux is better reserved for seduction, personal enjoyments and pleasures. Who doesn’t want to look their best? And besides, any (American) policeman would think twice before pulling over or arresting anyone in a tux.
Doesn’t he look good?
The room decor seems a bit dated. For a while in the 1960’s everyone seemed to have paintings / pictures of clowns, cats with big eyes, and old fashioned cars. Don’t ask me why. It was a “thing” back then.
Like this…
Big eyed kids.
Yeah. I guess that you would need to have lived through that area to appreciate it.
I do love this next picture. He thinks he’s in control, but it’s really the woman who is controlling the entire scene.
This interplay is just great.
Hey! Do you all know what goes great with a nice James Bond classic movie? Aside from beer or wine?
That’s right.
Cheese, crackers, bread and cold cuts. My father used to make up a platter of these kinds of cheeses, sardines, olives, pickles, and crackers when he would watch a movie. It sort of looked a little bit like this…
Cold cut spread.
I suppose everyone is different. I hear that the preferred snack food in the States these days are Doritos, or Lays potato chips. I can understand why, but you all know that you need to have a decent dip with them to fully appreciate and savor the enjoyment of the food.
Now, when I was growing up, one thing that my father liked to do was eat Limburger cheese sandwiches with a big thick slice of tomato. Yeah, I guess it’s sort of a generational thing don’t you know. He also liked liverwurst. I ended up getting a taste for it myself, but only on sandwiches.
Liverwurst sandwich.
Anyways, Christmas is a time of many things. For me I really enjoy the movies, the food, the friends and the general atmosphere. It’s a chance to eat well, and to eat things that you enjoy. You know, most of the time people don’t give pickles a second thought, but at Christmas time, well that’s when all the dill pickles, the baby gherkins, and the Grandma’s butter chip pickles come out. Yum!
This next picture show some lousy bread, but some pickles and good selection of cheese. Personally I think that the ingredients are enough for one or two sandwiches max. Kinda skimpy if you ask me. But it looks good. Oh, yeah. Don’t forget the horseradish, the wasabi, the kielbasa, and the various kinds of relishes that can be bought and found everywhere.
Sometimes you don’t always have the right ingredients on hand, so you make do.
i think that it’s really a great thing to do, don’t you know, to sit down with a glass of wine. Some fine cheeses, and watch an older movie. I really enjoy the older movies. they are not so adrenaline-rush run-run-run action packed CGI affairs. It’s full of personal interactions, gestures, and movements. It’s more intellectually stimulating.
And more so with wine, cheese, and olives.
Did I ever mention that olives go great with wine? I really think so. A fine green or black olive dip is just wonderful. You heat up some olive oil with some thin cut up olives and mushrooms. A little Italian spices, and then spread the olives and mushrooms on the french bread. Oh so tasty.
The you sit down and watch the interesting interplay on the movie.
I do love that phone. It was state of the art back then. See the nice rattan chairs on the balcony on the porch, and the Chinese themed dangling red ornamental lantern. Curious eh? I most especially love the shadow of the phone cord on her soft chest. Sexy but not overt.
Of course, I am an old man, and this lass was my mothers age. So I’m looking back in time. When this movie was made, we had Robert Kennedy in office, and he was talking about getting out of Vietnam and shutting down the military-industrial complex. As it was getting too powerful.
Well, we do know what happened to him, don’t we?
Here’s some lox and bagels. You see the salmon to the left, and a fine cream cheese spread. You put the cream cheese on the bagel. Then lox, then lemon, then tomatoes and onions. Don’t forget the olives. (I note some sliced hard boiled eggs. What an interesting turn of events!) The wine is not shown, but no matter. Maybe a fine glass of orange juice is near by.
A good movie serves as a perfect excuse to eat.
And speaking about Christmas, James Bond, food and movies… I will bet you all that the most festive places to spend Christmas at must be in a pub or a brasserie. I remember one Christmas (When I say Christmas, I actually mean the entire month of December, and into January.) I went to an Irish Pub. Wow! So very festive. Drinking pints. Singing songs. Eating bangers and mash.
Bangers and mash served with a good stout. Yum!
I think that there is something really magical and special about the pub environment. It’s something that never was present in the Untied States. Pretty soon, America will probably ban bars completely. You know follow in the footsteps of NZ in banning everything. You know. “For the children”. Sigh.
I can only imagine what it must be like in Scotland, Ireland or in the UK today. Chilly and damp, but warm inside the pubs. I tell youse guys that you are so fortunate to be where you are. Don’t take what you have for granted. It’s special.
Here’s the interior of a typical British pub. People are hanging out. Talking, chatting. Drinking beer. Not too much in the way of electronic media, eh? Nope. Just companionship, friendship and acceptance. I really love that.
British pub.
I hear that some pubs really get festive and decorate everything up. I have no first hand knowledge about that. What I do know is what I have seen on the internet, and some places do more than just put up a tree. They make it special.
Christmas themed pub.
There are pubs in Hong Kong, and some are very nice. I can imagine that there would be pubs all over the former British territories. I haven’t gone to the pubs in Hong Kong in years, even though I can see Hong Kong from my living room. It’s the Coronavirus thing don’t you know.
British pub in Hong Kong.
Now in Australia, they have these things called a brasserie. They are not found in the USA because one reason or the other. It’s hard to tell why. I happen to like them.
In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word brasserie is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing business". A brasserie can be expected to have professional service, printed menus, and, traditionally, white linen—unlike a bistro whichmayhave none of these. Typically, a brasserie is open Wednesday to Sunday andservesthe same menu all day. A good example of a brasserie dish is steak frites.
-Wikipedia
The last time that I was in Sydney, Australia it was near Christmas time, and I truly enjoyed the Brasserie’s there. Again, like a pub, it was cheery and festive and warm. It was a very comfortable atmosphere to hang out in and enjoy the time with friends or family.
Sydney Australia, Brasserie.
Anyways, one of the things about Christmas is that you can socialize and spend time at home too relaxing. Good food. Being around those that you care about. Talking. Chatting. Exploring. Listening. Man, I need to do more listening, I’ll tell you what.
And watching good movies that relaxes and stimulates. Like 007 James Bond.
James on the beach being warned by the locals of hidden dangers and adventure.
In Dr. No, James Bond travels to the Caribbean. Being well attired, he meets interesting and colorful people. He embarks on a mission to save the world from evil and their evil influences. All the time enjoying the company of the attractive lasses whom he meets along the way.
Typically, as I would watch this kind of movie, I would set a platter or a plate of food nearby to smunch and nibble with. During Christmas, I’m trying to assign special foods like French breads, chocolate, and peanut-butter. Not to mention the aromas wafting from the kitchen of fresh bead in the bread making machine (fun fact, I helped design bread makers for Sunbeam-Oster) and simmering sauces on the stove with garlic, onions, spices and peppers.
Here’s a lox and bagel platter.
Salmon snack tray.
Or course, my household always has alcohol.
You know, I never drank as much as I do now prior to my “retirement”. After I was retired, I pretty much said “Fuck this”. And stopped worrying about what other people thought. If I wanted to smoke, I smoked. If I wanted to drink, I’d drink. If i wanted to to spend some time in a bedroom with a new friend, I would. You know, the USA has so many restrictions on you, that you have to tear them off and say STOP!
Live life on your terms.
Like James Bond.
Jame Bond talking with his bosses secretary. I do love the tea set on the filing cabinet.
Most men like to imagine ourselves like James Bond. Wearing a tux. Going to interesting places. Eating good food, and drinking. Being the master of our world. Cavorting with pretty women, and making new friends every night.
Alas, most of us is something else. We are actually more like Bruce Willis in “Die Hard”. That movie resonated to me on all sorts of areas and for all sorts of reasons. Of course, one is simply because of my MAJestic role. But another is because I am really just a normal guy; a regular man.
That’s John McClane. (Bruce Willis).
Die Hard
It’s neither good or bad. It’s just that being Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” is far more painful than being James Bond in “Dr No”. It’s something that us men can relate to. It’s about life, and being thrown into situations that aren’t really what you ever intended to happen.
Which is why movies are great. All movies, if they are well done, can become something that you not only enjoy, but something that you can relate to on some level.
The beginning of the super-successful franchise, this remains one of the most satisfying Bond films. Connery, with only a hint of irony, is the suave secret agent, introduced at a gaming table while lighting an expensive fag, enjoying an expense account Caribbean holiday that must have seemed like unparalleled hedonism to British audiences who’d only just got over rationing.
The license to kill gets several endorsements as Bond efficiently and brutally sees off dastardly baddies who are threatening world peace, and – in another fantastical touch – Britain holds the key to the balance of power.
Dr No, a German-Japanese genius with metal hands, is about as credible as Fu Manchu, but Joseph Wiseman mints all the Bond villain clichés, from the gorgeously-designed island lair (courtesy art director Ken Adam) with built-in nuclear power plant (and a then-famously-stolen portrait of the Duke of Wellington hung on the wall) through to purred threats and attempts to convince 007 to sell out and join his evil organization (‘I thought you had some style, Mr Bond, but I see you’re just a stupid policeman’). And, of course, there’s Ursula Andress as prototypical Bond girl Honey Ryder, emerging from the seas in a bikini with a knife strapped to her thigh, with her own reasons for wanting to see Dr No’s scheme for world conquest thwarted.
That twangy guitar theme and the gunsight-iris titles sequence are in place already. Series regulars Bernard Lee (M) and Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny) make their debuts, but Peter Burton plays Q (to be replaced by Desmond Llewellyn) and Jack Lord is CIA agent Felix Leiter (to be replaced by a succession of stooges).
Here’s James Bond deep inside the secret lair…
I do love how the attractive woman gathers near to him. You know, I like her better in this dress than the bikini (with the knife strapped to her thigh). Notice that she has her top button unbuttoned. That’s not how you wear a qupao. But it is erotic.
What do you think of her hair?
In those days all the ladies wore their hair “bee hive” style. I think that she started the trend for flowing lions manes like Raquel Welch in “one million years BC.”
Jame Bond rides the elevator.
You know, as much as I love this movie, you have to admit that the women of the 1960’s were all stunners.
Here’s Raquel Welch. I personally think that she would have made a fine, fine Bond girl. Don’t you?
Raquel Welch
Well, the point here is that Christmas is a time of togetherness. And that means making friends, spending time with the friends and family that you do have, and that you spend the time eating, drinking and talking. Emoting and sharing.
Whether it is in a pub, or at home in a restaurant. It does not matter.
Now, I do have to admit that my little daughter is not so interested in these kinds of “grown up” movies. She is more apt to watch “Peppa Pig”, or some kid-oriented Christmas movie. So you have to take that into account.
Though, she really enjoys “Two Broke Girls”. Who figures?
But she also really likes to sit by me (MM) – her daddy, and taste what I am eating, and be next to me. As a two year old she has a short attention span, so it’s still a trial. But it’s a precious trial. it’s family. It’s togetherness. It’s special.
I believe that a good movie is best shared with friends, family, alcohol and lots of delicious food. Oh, and a cat or two as well.
Oh yes. Did I fail to mention that cats love snack trays as well.
What would your cats do to a snack tray with thin sliced meats, salmon, and sausages? Well, I can tell you that they would jup up, snag a tasty morsel and then scamper away with it. Especially the ham. My goodness!
James Bond eating with Dr. No, and enjoying a fine smoke. Not much on the table though. Fruit and wine.
I love that view of the underwater ocean behind Dr. No. Not only does he have a secret lair built inside a volcano, but it reaches deep down underground and has windows so that the staff can enjoy the ocean view. How thoughtful of him. You see, bad guys aren’t all that terrible!
Here’s another scene. I love the newspaper on the bed, and the rotary dial phone nearby. What’s with her wearing high heels to bed? Are those her house slippers? If so, where the fur lining? Oh, sometimes the 1960’s can be so very confusing to me, don’t you know.
I have always loved the simple white robe on a woman.
You know, eating all the foods while you watch these olde timey movies can put some weight on, and make your belly grow. You don’t want to look nine months pregnant with twins, do you?
The way to control this is to add some nice fruit. Pay the extra money and buy some fruits that you normally don’t buy. Like cherries, or duran, or grapes. Don’t let the cost dissuade you. Let Christmas be the time for “outrageous” purchases.
Notice the generous quantities of cheese and meats.
Of course, with James Bond, you will always have the guns and the violence. But in Dr. No it’s rather tame. Less than 50 people were killed, and the karate chops were all rather quick and simple. No matrix-style events, or Chinese flying warriors walking on tree tops here.
It’s all rather calm and relatable.
Hot gun action!
Nice grey suit. I do like the black tie with the grey suit. It fits him nicely. It’s a nice color combination, and the cut of the suit fits him. It’s well cut, nice thin material, it’s the tropics after all, and his hair is always in place. Must be the Brill-creme hair tonic.
Here’s another view. You know it must be sweltering on the beach, but James Bond is calm and composed. His nice jacket sways in the slight breeze, while the boat captain is sweating in his red tee shirt.
James Bond on the beach.
When you make up a food spread choose your foods carefully.
Don’t go for processed cheese spread. Use real cheese instead. Do not use cheap inexpensive margarine. Use real salted bread instead. Do not use cheap chocolate with fillers. Use real chocolate. Pay the extra money to make the holiday special.
And presentation is everything.
Ok, so you aren’t going to drink wine. You are going to drink coke instead. Well then, crush up the ice and fill a tall glass with crushed ice, then pour the coke into the hyper iced glass. Presentation is everything. Wine uses wine glasses. Whiskey uses thick glass base tumblers, and beer, well… an iced mug is precious.
We should all appreciate cheese.
And when you are enjoying the movie, taking the savory bites, and chatting with friends and loved ones observe. Observe what they are doing, and saying and what is going on in the movie. All sorts of little details will “pop out” at you if you just are mindful…
Evil villain in anti-radiation attire.
And enjoy yourself.
Smile, say only good things. Listen to what others want and GIVE IT TO THEM. No need to argue. SO what? Make their day special. It’s a good feeling. And if someone wants to sing Christmas carols, then sing along. Get the dog a barking, and the cats following with you all as your all parade around the house to “Frosty the Snowman”.
Live life.
Food done right. Live life on your terms.
Live life on your terms.
Live like James Bond.
James Bond.
And be your best.
Smile, be kind, be helpful and do what you can to make the season special for all those around you.
Christmas is not about buying gifts, but you know, if you have gifts to wrap up, go overboard. Like @old-wine has. My goodness!
Making Christmas special .
And if you are not so talented, like MM here, perhaps something simpler like a bunch of aluminum foil wrapped ham and cheese sandwiches that toast comfortably in the oven.
Have a great time with your loved ones.
Show your appreciation, and share a good 007 James Bond movie. You will enjoy it. I promise you.
Ham and cheese sliders.
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my Movie Index here…
Have you guys ever seen the pomp and ceremony that constitutes the army and military of Pakistan? Well you should. It’s a sight to behold. Here, we take a moment to watch some videos of the Pakistani military doing various things. I have found it very interesting. I hope that you do as well.
It’s not what you would think, and it looks like they are making things much more involved and difficult than they need to. But, perhaps that’s their culture. Don’t you know.
Watching the military conduct their procedures and maneuvers is far better than fighting them in a war. Don’t you think? What ever you might think of this bit and their actions, know that when it comes to fighting and using their weapons, they are nothing to take for granted. They are quite capable and serious. And I for one, applaud them.
I hope that you enjoyed this little glimpse at the nation wedged between India and Afghanistan.
Oh, and one more thing…
Be the Rufus
Here’s a compilation of videos where everyday people, show their appreciation to others. Mostly teachers, janitors, cooks, beggars, drivers, lorry-men, and so forth. Video 60MB
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my Happiness Index here…
I do love a delicious baked lasagna. It’s not like I can get it often. Here in China, it’s truly a rare thing.
A fine baked lasagna.
It’s great with a fine bottle of wine. Red wine. Dry red, would be lovely.
Though I do get to eat other kinds of food often enough instead. I think that food is something that needs to be savored. You know, most people, in most nations savor their food. unlike the United States (where I grew up) which was dash, grab, smunch, and return.
Meals should be shared. They should be savored, and they should be enjoyed.
Our health is determined not only by what we do, but what we eat and who we eat the foods with. A solitary life is unhealthy. It really is. I know, I have been solitary on and off for much of my life. I didn’t like it then, and I sure as heck don’t now.
Your weight, I strongly believe, correlates on HOW you eat, WHAT you eat, and WHO you eat with. If you want to trim down, then start going out more with friends and savoring the food.
Isolation is toxic.
Most MM readers are older, and are or have been married. Never the less, every now and then I get a email or a message from someone who is alone and very lonely. I have been there before, and so I just cannot sit by and let this pass.
This is me, ol’ MM, dishing out advice.
I’m going to be straight and honest, and abrupt. And I might upset some people. I apologize for that. I guess that this is my way to plow through a bunch of fears and bullshit, and tell you all things that are truthful. I hope that it connects and changes someone’s life for the better.
Background
This article was inspired by this letter…
I’m almost 32 and still a virgin. I can honestly say I don’t feel human. I hate to admit this but suicide seems more and more like a viable option as every day goes by.
The worst thing is when I try to reach out for help. I don’t know why I am a masochist and try to get advice from my mom…. I told her that I am desperate for a relationship and can’t find one. Her answer was that I should pray to God that I lose my feelings of wanting a relationship. Implying that I should give up and not try.
She even told me that one of her friends had a relative my age and they suggested setting us up. She told me that she said to them “I wasn’t interested”…. not that I would actually want to have someone set me up with a stranger but…. really??? Most moms are dying to help their daughters with this. Mine seems to get a KICK out of sabotaging me and not wanting me to just find someone.
And I was talking to my mom last night and brought up the idea of liposuction. Cue a huge fight between the two of us. I am not overweight but I do have a few odd body proportions that I think make me unappealing…. It’s like an affront against nature for me to try to improve my chances of finding someone. Literally the world turns on me the moment I think of maybe being alluring. Almost every other woman can have her moment, but when I get ideas of trying to be pretty? It’s like I murdered someone. I am now reeling after this conversation, wondering what types of rope would be best to hang myself with.
I don’t know how to navigate life and frankly, killing myself is less of a horrible idea every day. I know that it’s a “permanent solution to a temporary problem” but my situation feels like I am trapped and there is no other way out. People reading this, can you blame me for wanting this to end?
It is unbearable being someone like me, who wants a relationship but can never have it. I am not human. I’m not even sure I should be alive.
I’d almost think of losing my virginity to a prostitute but frankly that would just be me adding to a larger problem of abuse. I’d rather not do that. Frankly, there is no future for me. I am starting to plan out suicide methods at the same time most women are planning baby showers and weddings. I am toying with the idea of going out into the snow during winter and just falling asleep. There is something dignified about just falling “asleep” in the snow. Maybe nobody would find me and it would be a mystery as to what happened to me.
I’ve lost hope.
And, it hurts.
I know it hurts. It really hurts.
So I am going to talk as a man, who appreciates women.
[1] There is a man for every woman.
The very first thing that YOU must understand is that there is a Mr. Right out there, somewhere for you.
This is a TRUTH.
This is an undeniable truth. Somewhere, out THERE, is a guy that is just like you, wanting to share his life.
It’s just that he is not available in your area, with the group of friends that you have, or anywhere near your school, industry or day to day activities.
Hell, I didn’t get to go out with girls / women (myself) until I started getting out of the male-dominated schools, industries, and societies that I frequented. I had to break out of the little close knit life that I had.
You might have to break out from your normal circle of friends to find him. You might have to go out further to find him. You might even have to employ an agency, or travel overseas to find him…
…but find him, you will.
I am convinced that there is a man for every woman simply because I have been exposed to so many men who all have such a wide array of tastes and interests. Many of the women who I wouldn’t be that interested in would really cause some of my male friends to just fall madly in love.
For instance, I am not interested in a woman who is taller than I am. It’s a personal taste. I just feel very odd looking up to a woman, and having to stand on my tippy-toes to kiss her. But that is just me. However, when I have mentioned to this to other men, I find that a goodly 25%, or one in four counter with “so what?” they argue (for the most part) that sex would be great; that our kids would be either fashion models or basketball players, and that all the other guys would think that I was a “stud” because I was with such an extraordinary woman.
I am also freaked out by Polydactylyism. But that is again, just me. It’s not that I am revolted by it, it just seems a little odd to me, and I don’t know if I can focus on the relationship if the woman had eight fingers on each hand. I’d always be wondering what our children would be like.
But on the other hand, a person’s kindness, confidence, experience, ability to communicate and participate in my interests, food, and just being fun goes a long… long way in me wanting to spend time with them.
[2] Men are attracted to a wide variety of shapes, and sizes.
I know I am.
There is NO SUCH THING as being too fat, too “thick”, too thin, too ugly, or too short. Nor is there too old, or too young.
I will tell you that, me personally, I generally have an upper limit on size for a woman that I am interested in. If she is bigger, wider or heavier than I am, I tend to lose interest. It’s NOT that I don’t like thick or fat people, it’s that I lose my interest in them as my interest lies towards smaller women than I am.
But I am not the average.
I have discovered, to my GREAT surprise, that many American men love bigger women. The urban ethnic folk call it “having booty”, and they absolutely go “ape shit” over a bigger voluptuous woman. I mean, really! And they are beyond themselves in how they react to the bigger women. And I mean it, too. The bigger… the better!
Like… really big… is really great. They just love a “pear shaped” woman.
Me, well, robust busty woman with big hair, big smile, and big shoulders are a turn-on. And I am not alone.
And I can see their point of view. I once dated a woman who was much larger than I was, and she had the nicest personality, she loved to cook and I ate well, and Lordy did she have an awesome chest. Purely amazing! So, this one woman altered my perceptions of what I like and favor in a woman. Who would have thought?
So, no matter what you size is… tiny, petite, slim, slender, curvy, athletic, rotund, bouncy… etc, you would be surprised at how others might find you to be attractive. And that is in everything. You NEVER know.
So accept yourself.
Just. As. You. Are.
[3] Stop trying to please your friends
When I was in High School there was a girl that was infatuated with me, and everyone at my work just hassled me and hassled me, and hassled me over it. They kept on saying how ugly she was. Well, I didn’t think that she was ugly, and she sure as heck had a “rocking body”, but I didn’t go out with her after the few precious dates. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, it was that I hated the non-stop hassling at work, about how ugly she was.
She wasn’t ugly. I thought she was rather strong and handsome in a very womanly way. Like Loni Anderson.
But I listened to the asshole co-workers. Oh, how I regret that decision. Oh, how I lament my ignorance, and my piss-poor decision making ability!
Then one of those co-workers went out with her and they ended up getting married. And I remained single.
Single as in alone with no dates, at all.
Opportunist, jackass, asshole.
She wasn’t ugly. And she had a very appealing body shape. And I didn’t end up with her, even though she was really interested in me. Why?
It was because I listened to my friends and co-workers.
I often think of her. I often wonder what my life would have been if I spent some time with her. i often wonder what it would do to me, and affect my personality, but I never got that chance. I was young and I was a fool. I didn’t know any better. I made mistakes.
But I learned.
Slowly. Unfortunately.
As you get older, you learn that the opinions of others DO NOT MATTER when it comes to your own personal happiness. So shut them off, and go ahead and go after what YOU want. Stop trying to please others.
This goes to both men and women.
On another occasion, I was on a date where my (then) girlfriend brought two of her girlfriends along. I liked the girl. She liked me, but both of her girlfriends disapproved of me. And that was it. Who knows what kind of relationship we could have had. But I do know one thing, it went nowhere because her friends did not like me. I failed in pleasing three girls. I thought that pleasing one would have been enough.
Lesson learned.
Do not listen to your friends. Listen to your heart. Video.
[4] The most important thing that attracts a man is confidence.
It’s the same for women. Isn’t it?
I do not want you all to confuse being aggressive with confidence. I mean being comfortable with you you are, and what you are doing. Confidence. It’s such a turn on. In fact, many men will not ask a confident woman out on a date because they are afraid that she would say “no”.
So be very careful with this power.
You need to be who you are. Be comfortable with your good and your bad traits, and accept them. Think of yourself as a a nice comfortable pair of jeans. Just accessorize yourself as need be and as the occasions arise.
Myself, I am clearly a comfortable tee-shit kind of man, with a clean pair of jeans, and some well worn, but well tended for loafers.
Who are you?
A confident woman, would be able to throw on a dress, put on a thin foundation and some light makeup and run out the door in some low heels without a second thought. Are you that kind of woman?
Be confident on who you are, and what you are. Spend time with friends, and cherish the time with them. Share. Laugh. Enjoy a good drink and good food, and NEVER, ever, ever make a man feel uncomfortable around you. Men are attracted to confident comfortable women. That’s a fact. Video.
Ask any KTV hostess. They will tell you who the most popular girls are. They are the ones smiling, and joking around. Not the ones that are “beautiful” or who “look like fashion models”.
Fact.
This poor girl needs some confidence…
Important day tomorrow yet here I am. I would try to make myself more palatable/acceptable to people by being extra nice to them. Try to please them. At least let’s be the sweet ugly girl than bitter ugly b**ch I thought. No surprise but it doesn’t work. People just walk all over you and don’t treat you well still.
I tried to be cold, strong and someone who stands their ground but I couldn’t. The thing is, my voice gets shaky easily during confrontations and it immediately turns to full on bawling. I once lowkey embarrassed myself in public by crying like that.
So here I am, total people pleaser, doormat, someone who’s taken advantage of, always ditched, flakes out on and yet I take it without standing up once for myself. I hate it. I resent people because I end up giving more than what I get from them. I lost count the times I said sorry when I didn’t have to.
Since I never had good friendships since 17 or so, I don’t know how a healthy adult friendship is supposed to be. I don’t know what to expect, I’m in constant worry “is it okay to share this? Am I burdening this person?”. I never had friends (both online n irl) who I could go and vent to. It feels as if no one will ever understand me and support me.
I’m tired and lonely af. I feel vulnerable and weak.. I’m crying my eyes out as I write this.
Or this lovely lass. See how her personality comes out when she smiles… video.
[5] Have a Passion.
So please find out what you love. What are the things that you can go on and on talking about？ Food? Dogs? Cats? Horses? Houses? Furniture? Fashion? Televisions Shows? Alcohol? Hunting or fishing? Politics?
Cast iron miniatures?
Gardening? Crafting? Cooking? Trees? Novels?
Find out your passion, and then find a man what has the same passion. You would be surprised. Yes you would.
You see, men are interested in COMPANIONSHIP.
If your passions match that of a man, then he will over look any of your (perceived) faults and really show an interest in you. You see, men are not looking for 100% perfection. They want 50%, and they will work on the other 50% to meet you half way.
You will be amazed at how they will not be able to see the imperfections that you are so worried about. And you will end up scratching your head at the things… the everyday things… that you do that really “turn him on”.
Here’s a woman who loves to cook. Being able to cook well is on my top personal requirements, and this gal is cooking bacon with peppers, onion and garlic. OMG! video.
I used to date (well we actually lived together) with a very attractive fashion model. I mean she was gorgeous. And though she was amazingly beautiful and we did eventually break up, the thing that attracted me to her was our shared love of poetry. And there she would sit listening to me read my poetry over coffee and absorb it all in.
I loved that.
Alas, she had faults that I could not bear, but that is immaterial. What attracted me to her was our shared passions.
Max was peeved. “I am so sick of boring profiles on the dating sites. The first thing people want is to hold hands and walk with someone at sunset on the beach. The second thing is to cuddle up on a couch and watch TV. Why can’t they think of something more interesting?”
I explained to Max that this yearning for sharing quality time is a universal because it reflects close companionship. This is what we all need and desire. It’s especially vital for older folks who must move at a slower pace and have the opportunity to savour shared quality time.
“But I’m not slow!”, declared Max. “At 68, I can keep up with the 40 year olds when we cycle round the bay on Sunday mornings. I want the companionship of a woman who can ride her bike with me at least for two hours into the country and pitch a tent an enjoy the peace and quiet of the bush”.
Where Max wanted active companionship, John was different. He was the film buff who enjoyed nothing more than holding hands with his woman for a film-fest and then having dinner and debriefing the film.
Both men could find their ideal companion. The significant thing about companionship is that there’s no “have tos” – it’s just time shared where you feel bonded and content.
But is companionship better than sex? It’s actually expressed in good sex!
Trust is an essential ingredient of companionship and trust is essential for good sex.
Kevin believes that love is also essential for good sex. He said, “Sex is empty without love. Sure the physical sensations are exciting and pleasurable but it dissipates quickly and leaves in its wake a sense of longing for what was missing. If loving intimacy is missing I feel both sad and upset during the act, like I’ve used the other and abused my own values – a vacuum forms and I feel it in the pit of my stomach – and in my heart. When everything is in place though and sex is love-making – there is nothing that compares!”
Seniors can be sexual in order to express affection, passion, love, loyalty and appreciation of life as opposed to merely a sexual release.
I acknowledge that some older folks become very limited in being able to engage in enthusiastic love-making. For them, non sexual touch is also magical. An arm around a loved one, a small caress on the back or a brush along the cheek with the back of hand are affirming, reassuring and reflect a partnership where the couple are caring companions.
To be truly loving, a relationship would need to work on a number of levels – spiritual, mental, physical, emotional. All of these are intricately interwoven and in balance, with caring companionship, can enhance longevity and quality of life.
[6] Change what you don’t like.
If there is something that you don’t like about yourself, don’t tolerate it. Change it.
As we get older, our faults become deeper and more ingrained. Our problems multiply, and our issues become real personality faults. Change what you cannot bear.
For some people it is their job.
For others it is their negative friends, or their over-bearing family.
For still others it is their appearance.
What ever it is that bothers you… change it.
We haven’t been taught to change things, but rather to deal with them; to accept them. And that generates anxiety and worry…
We have been worrying ever since we were little about making people angry or disappointed. These are worries that negatively affect us and are not at all beneficial for us.
Are you the type of person that thinks that they worry too much? Have you ever thought that you worry more than others? If that’s so, it’s time for you to change that situation, because you probably don’t like it, right?
Not worrying excessively doesn’t imply that we’re free of worrying, but it does mean we should learn to not give it as much importance as we currently are.
Many of the worries that currently hassle us are pretty silly. Do they really deserve all of our attention? Everybody else doesn’t give them their full attention, you shouldn’t either. Start changing today.
It’s incredible how much your life can change when you decide to change how you think. There are many things that have been instilled in us from our childhood, considerations that torment us when we become adults because something is just simply not working.
So do not worry about the things that you don’t like. You change them into something that you DO like.
If it is your weight, then you can exercise, and change your eating habits. I did not say diet. I said change what your eat, how much you eat, when you eat and all the rest.
If it is your shape, and exercise won’t do it, then sculpture your body.
If it is your outfits, clothing or whatever, you have the power to change it. Bleach away the old and embrace in the new.
[7] Don’ t force the change, embrace it.
Never force things. Always adapt to them.
Maybe you wish to be slim and petite, but you are tall, chunky and robust. No problem. Embrace it. Personally, I like robust women. But you need to know how to wear the proper clothes and how to carry yourself. Here’s some more robust girls that are fine with tight clothing.
It’s the same with me. If I wear tight fitting clothing, I need to exercise on my push-ups and sit-ups to make my frame fit the clothing. Otherwise, I look like an old man with a pot belly so big that it looks like I am nine months pregnant.
So what I do is wear bigger clothing, looser clothing. I just look like a regular guy. You cannot tell that I wear size 2xxL, instead of a M.
This trick is the same with women. Now some more robust women can wear tighter clothing and “pull it off”, but it’s difficult.
Accept who you are. Then adapt your lifestyle to fit. video
The rule is a simple one.
Tight clothes go on thin bodies. Loose clothes go on thick bodies.
The thicker, or fatter you are, the looser the clothing should be.
The girl below has a “barrel” shaped body, but look how absolutely gorgeous she looks in the nice wide flowing dress. She displays her best features; hair, eyes, cleavage, shoulders, and minimizes the things she doesn’t like.
The heavier you are the looser the clothes should be.
So maybe you wore tight fitting clothes when you were in your teens, today, being twice that size means that you must adapt with the changes and adapt to the newer, more mature you.
Don’t live in the past.
Accept who you are right now.
This is how good a plus sized woman looks when she is wearing roomy clothes that fit her. WOW! Video.
[8] Good enough is good enough
Don’t wait for the perfect relationship to come. Go forth and make friends. One day, one of those friends will end up being the guy that you would like to settle down with. For some people this is quick, but for others it takes a lot of time. Don’t rush it.
Friends first.
Then something better later on, if you want.
Don’t look for perfection. Just look for friends. Given enough friends, you will be able to find the very special person, but the important key is getting out there and meeting him.
Remember; perfection is an ideal. It is not actually possible to obtain.
Do not seek perfection in yourself or in others. It will only cause you heartache and despair. Accept things, people and situations as they are. Not as you want them to be.’
It’s called being pragmatic.
[9] Turn off your preconceived notions.
Men are men.
Women are women.
Cats are cats.
If you think that you are going to change a cat to fit your lifestyle, then you are wholly mistaken. The same is true with just about every other animal, and that includes men and women.
If you are looking for a mate then get to know them first. Over time they will change to fit your needs, and you will change to fit their needs. You do not need to force this as it will happen naturally. But what you do need to realize that in a loving relationship, there is always room to grow… to expand… and to accept.
Be realistic about what men are, how they think, and what their desires are. It is neither a 14 year old teenager’s fantasy, or a feminist nightmare. It is something else entirely.
[10] What a man REALLY wants in a relationship.
I have a post on this. And it boils down to the simple rule of “best fit”.
There are about ten major things that a man looks for in a woman. If you can meet most of those items, you can definitively snag yourself a good decent man that would make a fine husband.
But if just meet the top three, you have a very good chance at a mutually sustaining long-term relationship.
Remember this simple fact; Men play the percentages.
Not convinced? Here’s six minutes of being a Rufus, and showing compassion. video. 256MB.
Still not convinced? Here’s another three minutes of being a Rufus and showing compassion. video. 78MB
[12] Desperate times call for desperate measures
Forget about the free dating sites. (Or almost free computer dating sites.)
Go to a professional and pay the money.
Get a real assessment of your chances in obtaining dates and meeting desirable men. You will be surprised with the results. If they are good, they will help you and perform an entire “package image makeover”. They are worth their weight in gold.
The world might be falling apart, you might be ugly and have the body of a whale, but your smile will be what people will remember.
Never forget that.
Make a difference by smiling big and huge and radiating for the entire world to see.
[14] Nothing lasts
You might believe that you have found Mr. Right, and for a set period of time everything is just great. But over time, people learn, change, adapt and all sorts of things happen. For many of us, it means that often we all change. And when we change, we tend to move in different directions and our relationship might become strained.
There is nothing good or bad about this. It is just the way life is. You need to accept it, and realize that you have a window or an opportunity to get the best that you can in life. Accept what you have right NOW, and realize that things… all kinds of things can upset that perfect balance that you are living. So enjoy it. Savor it, and by all means NEVER compare yourself to another person.
Conclusion
I think that this gal is going to take some of my advice. In any event she has moved on, and MM is just a stepping stone on her life road. I hope that I performed some beneficial role in it. She said thank you and moved on. And that was that.
Don’t get caught up in the “woe is me” syndrome.
What ever you do, keep in mind that you are perfect as you are. Improve upon your perfection, and seek out others who share your interests. Get out, and go forth into the world with confidence and gusto.
Do not try to live up to the expectations of others, just know that somewhere out there is someone who understands you. Seek them out.
And know that you might have to travel a bit to find this person. Do not be afraid. Take the fist step in a journey that will continue for the rest of your life. I believe in you.
Do not try to live up to the expectations of others, just know that somewhere out there is someone who understands you. Seek them out.
One of the things that I loved to do as a boy was to go through the history books in the stacks at the High School library. In particular, they had these illustrated books that went decades by decade and helps pictures and stories about what it was like to live there at that time. There was a book on the 1920’s. There was another on the 1950’s and so on and so forth. Of course there were many history books that I just loved, but these were special because of the great pictures and easy reading captions. This article is of a similar nature using movies from the past. I do hope that you all will enjoy it.
Here we list the movie videos with both an embedded player and a link. I strongly advise the reader to click on the link as it will open up in a new tab and allow much faster loading than relying on this article to view the video. In any event, I hope that you all will enjoy these videos.
It’s a nice “rainy day” article. I hope that these videos remind you of how unique this time is, and how wonderful it is to enjoy it. Stop thinking that one of these days… something will happen. The time is now. So go forth, make some special treats for your cats. Put on a nice outfit and go out with a friend. Call your parents or your grandparents. Treat yourself to a nice cup of coffee and a pie at the local diner. Ride a bicycle.
Make your time special.
It will be gone soon enough. But you are here now. This is YOUR time. Enjoy it and share that enjoyment with others it’s ok. Just do it.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this in my Happiness Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
One of the things that I loved to do as a boy was to go through the history books in the stacks at the High School library. In particular, they had these illustrated books that went decades by decade and helps pictures and stories about what it was like to live there at that time. There was a book on the 1920’s. There was another on the 1950’s and so on and so forth. Of course there were many history books that I just loved, but these were special because of the great pictures and easy reading captions.
This article is of a similar nature using movies from the past. I do hope that you all will enjoy it. It’s a trip down familiar places with unfamiliar people separated by generational experiences. These movies come to life using (Chinese) AI technology, and are wonderful. I do hope that you are as enthralled by them as I.
1950’s in America
In all these videos you have the option of watching them on this page or clicking on the link. I strongly urge you all to click on the link. This page is heavy with videos and unless you have super efficient internet access, it might take forever to load the videos.
It’s a nice “rainy day” article. I hope that these videos remind you of how unique this time is, and how wonderful it is to enjoy it. Stop thinking that one of these days… something will happen. The time is now. So go forth, make some special treats for your cats. Put on a nice outfit and go out with a friend. Call your parents or your grandparents. Treat yourself to a nice cup of coffee and a pie at the local diner. Ride a bicycle.
Make your time special.
It will be gone soon enough. But you are here now. This is YOUR time. Enjoy it and share that enjoyment with others it’s ok. Just do it.
Do you want more?
I have more articles like this in my Happiness Index here…
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
This article is a slow moving, fine meandering, easy going, stroll through various works of art. I hope that you enjoy it, and perhaps are inspired by it to some degree. This is a general article, and no particular painter is promoted. Though, you will notice that many of the fine works by these artists are now long gone and lost in the dust-bin of history.
Head’s up to “Ohio Guy” for his awareness.
Max Seliger – Archers
Not much is known about this man. But I do really love his form and attention to the male figure. For me, I have always found it far more interesting to draw and paint the male figure as opposed to the female figure. I just never could get the curves and softness of a woman’s body correctly. However, men’s bodies were much easier to draw and paint, and far more interesting. (From an artist’s perspective.) While women’s tended to focus on the eyes, the hair, and the clothing.
Another lonely singular remaining work of art. This time of the female form. Also two figures crammed into one painting. I find it lovely. But that is just me.
You will notice that the muscle definition on the female is very subtle and soft. The smooth shading of shadows is particularly difficult to render. I worked out a technique where I would paint a lighter under panting, and then paint over it with a slightly darker flesh tone, then using a rag, I would wipe away the upper layer and then apply a wash. It’s a nice effect.
You will note that the positioning of the clothing, instruments and objects all served to cover the genitals for a very timid Victorian audience.
It’s not simply the muscle tone and definition that is important in fine at, but also the clothing, the textures and the lighting. So many aspects come into play. Here’s a nice example. I think that this is a very nicely done painting. It doesn’t strike me emotionally as others do, but I find it a treasure never the less.
I really love the details in this work of art. Obviously the artist was a fine draftsman and then colored the work afterwards with thin washes of oils, layer after layer until the desired effects were achieved. I love the expressions on the faces, and the details on the woman’s dresses.
Marcus was a Victorian Romanticist painter, history painter, illustrator and genre painter. He tries to convey snapshots of emotion in his works, and this painting is typical.
What I find so appealing in this painting are the details in the skirt. Just look at this masterpiece. It’s wonderful.
Julius Adam- Painter of kittens
I really love this artist because he loved to paint kittens.
Anyone who can manage to paint kittens, those forever moving bundles of fur, is an expert in my book. Only seven paintings of his survive. The rest were destroyed during World Wars I and II.
He was a German painter, and his works certainly ended up in many a fine home that was later bombed into oblivion by the Allied forces in the 1940’s.
I am not usually a fan of landscapes. They tend to be calming to the point of blandness. However, Oswald here has some nice works that would really look nice in a hallway or in a living room or study.
Fireworks in Naples
That’s nice. Here’s a rather nice study of a tree in a wooded glade…
Study of a Tree
And this one depicts a Shepard and his flock… look closely, the figures are tiny, tiny, tiny.
Here’s a fine artist. He’s known as a Golden Age Illustrator painter, illustrator and muralist. Some of his works are just spectacular. Such as this one. Note that the young man is wearing red, a bright color to attract attention while the woman is a harlot as denoted by here green sleeves. You will note that a mistral is playing music in the background and the only thing missing is a bottle or jug of wine. All in all a very nice painting.
‘O mistress mine, where are you roaming?’
Another nice painting, and sorry for the embedded watermarks due to the screen capture.
The Penance of Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester
Eleanor Duchess of Gloucester was forced to undertake public penance and walk through the city of London without a hood, and bearing a lighted taper. Life imprisonment in various remote locations followed.
In July 1446 she was sent to Peel Castle (Manx: Cashtal Purt ny h-Inshey) on the Isle of Man (Mannin) in the north of the Irish Sea.
What was her crime?
Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, was a mistress and the second wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. A convicted sorceress, her imprisonment for treasonable necromancy in 1441 was a cause célèbre.
The Penance of Eleanor, Dutchess of Gloucester is an oil painting by Edwin Austin Abbey, finished in 1890. The painting is quite large, at 85″ wide and 49″ tall. It depicts Eleanor, former mistress, and now wife of the Duke of Gloucester, performing penance for her crime of consulting with sorcerers to help the Duke gain the throne.
Study
A “study” is where the artist makes a series of rough sketches of the idea for a painting. Some are very rough. Some are detailed drawings and paintings of various important aspects of the art. And some are beautiful in their own right. Here’s a perfect example of one by Edwin Austin Abbey. This one is with back and white chalk on a tan paper with high-lighted details in black ink by pen.
I personally think that it is awesome.
With Pride upon her Brow
And here’s another one in Gouache. It’s a nice medium. Though I never had the opportunity to practice using this method.
Around my fire an evening group to draw” (also known as Study for The Deserted Village)
Conclusion
Did you know that almost every museum has one day that allows for free entry to the museum. This is most especially true for art museums. All you need to do is look up (Google) the local museums nearby and then go to their websites (they all have one). There are the times when they are opened and which days are free, and whether or not there are special events.
Present your Electronic Benefit Transfer card (EBT Card) from any state (Pennsylvania Access card, Ohio Direction card, West Virginia Mountain State card, etc.) and receive general admission for up to four people at $1 each at Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History. Simply present your EBT Card along with a matching photo ID. This program is supported by BNY Mellon.
It’s a perfect opportunity to visit a local museum if you are unemployed and want some inspiration, or a good excuse to take a day off from work for you to make a date with your spouse of special friend.
You do not have to park at the site. You go to cheap parking and take a bus to the museum. All cities have bus stops near their museums and parks.
Hint. Hint. Hint.
Make a day of it. A nice ride, then a nice lunch. Then a visit to the museum, and finish up with a trip to an ice cream parlor for coffee and a sundae. Wouldn’t that be nice? I think it would be. We are so very used to doing our routines that life tends to pass us by. Don’t allow that. Go out and try to enjoy it.
A free trip to a museum, a coffee and a sundae, and maybe a blue plate special for lunch. How expensive can that be. And you know, in one week it’s going to be middle of October. This is a special golden time throughout most of the planet.
It will be a lovely day.
What a nice thing to plan. What a nice event you can generate. Make memories. Make friends. Enjoy yourself.
Do you want more?
I have more articles on art and art related interests please go here…
Here, I continue on my “bender” on taking a look at other nations in our world. In each case, so far, I have shown the reality to be something different from what you would ever read about in the Western (especially the American) press. I have looked at China, Russia, Thailand, Cambodia, the middle East, and now, Vietnam.
Vietnam is a very interesting place full of great beauty, beautiful women, delicious food, and an easy going happy-go-lucky lifestyle.
Enter Donald Trump and his neocon war-mongers
Vietnam continued their easy and laid back lifestyle since the tumultuous 1960’s when America decided to churn up and rape the countryside for freedom™ and democracy™. And it continued that way through the decades, up until Donald Trump took office and started his “War on China”.
He demanded that American companies leave China or face all sorts of consequences. In American “language” this means that “border-line legal” actions might (and probably would) be directed at the company. Such as suspicious hard-line tax audits, and review of OSHA and EPA policies and factory operation shut-downs during the “investigations” as well as mysterious fires in the warehouses, random union uprisings and personal tax audits and random arrests of key corporate executives.
Many, but not all, American companies started to relocate a number of their operations out of China. The vast bulk did not return to America, however. Instead, they went to Mexico and Vietnam.
About Factories
When America switched from manufacturing inside of America to outsourcing to China, they did NOT teach the Chinese how to make factories or build products. Instead, they went to existing factories, handed over the blueprints, and quality specifications, moved their tooling and equipment, and said “make this for us”. And that is pretty much (as harsh as it sounds) what actually happened.
Now, in the thirty to forty years that America has been devoid of solid manufacturing skill, the American companies that manufactured inside of China were in a bind. Just how do you move your factory, when you don’t own it?
Do you start from scratch? Hire new engineers? Try to reverse engineer your systems to fit a Mexican or Vietnamese work force? What do you do?
Well, I can’t say that this is what happened to all of the factories, but I can tell you that a sizable number took this action…
…the Chinese factories that supplied the American companies, set up divisions inside of Vietnam.
Thus, the Donald Trump trade war, as far as bringing manufacturing capability back to the United States failed. Instead, all that happened is the existing Chinese factories continued to supply the American companies. The only difference is that they did so out of Vietnam.
Vietnam Changed.
Of course, all of this movement of Chinese factories into Vietnam, and with it, the Chinese support structures, have made great changes to Vietnam. While it is still a sluggish and rather backward nation, it is growing and expanding. And this has created a rather unique mix of older traditional Vietnam, with modern Chinese industry and support structures. Very few American influences are present. As America is rather a nation of bankers, accountants, lawyers, and diversity experts. Very few have an kind of impact on Vietnamese society.
Here we are going to look at some videos out of Vietnam taken these last two months. It’s a quite interesting mix of color and tradition.
The Videos
Let’s go through these videos.
I suggest you watch them in order to get the full diverse effect. And I hope hope that you enjoy them and get “something out of them”. This group has around 85 (give or take) videos. So to prevent you from getting carpal tunnel syndrome (yikes!) clicking on each individual video, I have clustered the videos into small zip files that you click on, download and then browse through at your leisure.
Group A
Cooking some kind of purple Vietnamese food.
Foreigner in Vietnam trying to pick up a local butterfly girl.
Young love having some fun.
Lunch in a Chinese factory located in Vietnam.
Dressing up to go out on a date.
You ride scooters to get anywhere.
Making supper.
Loved ones going off to do their mandatory military service.
Some girls getting down at a local gathering.
Another foreigner trying to pick up some butterfly girls.
Night life in one of the bigger cities.
Two girls on the way to work (my guess is a massage or restaurant).
Bar Life.
Home made turbo-generators for local village power needs.
As the Biden administration consolidates its foreign policy, it has predictably turned its attention towards Southeast Asia in a bid to “counter China”.
Just last week, Mid-August 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore in a bid to increase military ties between Washington and the region.
Means… allow American military bases there, American war ships to sail there, and the placement of American offensive missile systems there.
You know like swallowing bile that rise up in your throat.
The vice president’s aim with this trip is to “call out” China over its maritime claims in the South China Sea.They can’t do it personally face-to-face with China. They will no longer play “that game”. So like cowards, they are trying to undermine all the relationships of all the nations that border on China.
They come with suitcases (no cross that out) pallets, (no cross that out) Shipping containers full of freshly minted US dollars.
Freshly minted.
Hot off the (over worked) printing presses.
For, you know, the leadership to do what ever they want with the nice crisp “green backs”.
This comes amid America’s attempts to militarize the region.
They’ve been really busy, don’t you know.
The anti-China QUAD; those vassal states of the UK and Japan who will be compelled to “die on their swords” at the push of a button from the American Pentagon. To Australia who has only become a vassal state for reasons not so obvious. In my mind, a treasonous Morrison government with many, many skeletons in his closet is willing to sacrifice his people for Washington DC.
As well as continuously sailing aircraft carriers through the sensitive waters in a bid to project American power.
No prizes here for guessing who he was talking about…
The US says that it’s “back” to Southeast Asian countries.
It’s just bullshit.
The reality is this: apart from all the militaristic “sabre rattling” and pushing a non-stop hate China narrative while convincing everyone (with a pulse) to oppose China, the United States actually doesn’t have a strategy for the region.
But Beijing does.
In many ways, the legacy of recent US policies in this area of the world has been self-defeating.
The “political space” (the room to maneuver and work around is) that Biden has to turn it around is really quite limited.
In other words, it’s essentially still Trump’s ‘America First’ sentiment.
And that is quite telling as the biggest gaping hole in America’s strategy towards Southeast Asian countries is failing to offer them anything in return.
There are no, absolutely zero, economic incentives to oppose China. All they have to offer is personal riches for the rulers. As well as promises to offer them “green cards” and citizenship if the whole plan goes “tits up”.
China, need I remind you, which is right next door to these nations.
On this front, America has isolated itself.
In so many ways too.
Most notably by withdrawing from the mega trade deal which Obama fashioned as an anti-China initiative known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Now rebranded CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) amongst local partners.
On the level of US domestic politics, this is toxic because the consensus is that free trade is bad, especially if it detracts from jobs at home.
Therefore, Biden faces protectionist pressure not to re-join it, thus it has not come back on the Biden agenda.
China, on the other hand, has comprehensively doubled down on its economic ties with the surrounding region and entrenched its presence. Most notably through joining the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which it quickly ratified.
This creates an obvious problem for America.
China is increasingly integrating itself with the region on an economic level.
In which local parties (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, etc.) welcome with open arms gleefully.
But, you know, the United States is not happy with in the least.
No longer is trade being conducted in the “almighty” US Dollar. It’s local currency to the e-yuan. And as time moves forward, more and more nations are following this lead.
The US doesn’t have an answer to any of this.
Recently, it was reported that Washington wanted to try and propose a ‘digital trade deal’ among the economies of the Asia-Pacific. This “digital trade deal” is intended to lock China out of trade with any nations that sign that agreement. This is by regulation.
A favorite technique, mind you, well established and mature to crush nations that do not “toe the line” with American Geo-political policy.
This is intended to be done by setting strict rules and regulations on the ‘digital economy’ of the region.
Because it’s absolutely untenable for these countries to lock China out, and it’s not hard to see why.
Yesterday (Mid-August 2021) Huawei announced it would be investing $100 million into over 1,000 software start-ups throughout Southeast Asia. And that’s just one of the many initiatives in bringing manufacturing, development, growth and prosperity to all the nations that surround China.
With a high degree of integration and economic benefits, it is impossible for the US to now shape the region’s initiative while keeping China excluded.
There’s nothing left.
This leaves the military.
And this is where China is increasingly powerful, but the US remains competitive and relevant.
Many countries in the region accept the presence of the United States and its allies militarily, because it gives them strategic space to prevent them from being completely dominated by China.
For a small city state like Singapore, this inclination makes obvious sense, but this is not so much ‘siding’ with America as it is a geopolitical balancing act between both powers.
Walking the “tight rope”; the “fine line” of neutrality.
Here lies the problem: America wants countries to align with it against China in a binary way, but the nations themselves want neutrality.
And ASEAN (The association of South East Asian nations) as an institution officially seeks such.
Some of these states of course are formally allied with America, such as the Philippines. Yet, you know, for all intents and purposes they utilize a strategy of ‘hedging’ between both sides.
And for certain, they do not seek confrontation with Beijing.
If Washington pushes too hard on anti-China initiatives, these countries become uncomfortable, and this may have the ‘opposite’ result.
This aims to ease tensions, and brands the US a ‘troublemaker’.
Duh!
Again, Washington doesn’t have the ability to conduct close diplomacy with these countries as a neighbor, only as a ‘visitor’.
America is an outsider.
China is local.
China is right there.
All in all, geography works against America. China is the neighbor of Southeast Asia, not the US.
Beijing is the largest economy in the region and is irreversibly integrated in terms of trade, technology, and finance.
America is not.
Yet, the US foreign policy strategy seems to pursue the bizarre premise that they can somehow dominate this region…
… push back China…
…and match its growing power…
… despite the fact they physically cannot, simply because they are not based there.
This means that whilst these countries are not necessarily rejecting an American presence, they are never going to adopt any serious anti-China policies or the militarization of the region that Biden hopes for.
Would you start a fight with your much bigger next-door neighbor?
Biden has no economic incentives to offer either.
China is, in many ways, continuing to lead and shape the regional agenda through its own initiatives, and as its own military presence in this area also grows, it has plenty of options to counter US posturing.
And the United States is impotent in the region, no matter what the American media says to the contrary.
Conclusion
Most of the world is still being influenced by the American media in one form or the other. And on subjects that everyone seems to have adjusted to what ever narrative that the American government made, the belief is that what ever Washington DC says is the truth. Nope. It is not.
Vietnam is many things, but an American proxy nation, whether military, commercial or economic, is simply not true.
This article broaches the true and actual state of affairs, and I do hope that it was interesting and meaningful at the same time. I have tried to present a diverse collection of videos showing the great breadth and width of the colorful Vietnamese society, and I hope that I put it in a positive light.
I have many friends how go to Vietnam, as it’s not too far from where I live, and they pretty much confirm what I have listed here. I hope that you all can see that it has a bright future ahead, and some deep and wonderful culture and traditions. I sincerely hope that they hold on to them and not allow them to disappear.
And when the pandemic ends, perhaps a nice visit to Vietnam would be a wonderful trip, and I am sure that you would make some wonderful, maybe even lifelong friends. And isn’t that what we all want out of life?
Here’s some notes that I collected over the years, and pulled together for myself. It’s just some thoughts, and some guidelines that I collected in a file that I promised myself that I would get to “one of these days”. On Saturday, I was going though a dusty old hard drive and found this collection. And so, I decided to “put it up there” for everyone to read and (perhaps) to scoff at. (Hopefully not.)
Now, I have gone in and out of fashions and styles all my life. There were times when I was truly fashionable. Such as the bell-bottom, long-haired 1970’s, and the cargo pants and layered pastel polo 1980’s. This evolved over time into the early 1990’s when I was wearing pencil thin neck-ties, double breasted suits and mullets. And so on and so forth.
But something happened to me.
Maybe it was prison.
Maybe it was no longer working in a corporate environment.
Maybe it was China.
Or maybe it was when my facial hair started to turn grey.
There comes a time, in every man’s life, where you take a step back and say, “well, I just want to wear clothes that are comfortable, and where I look good in them”. And that is what caused me to generate this collection of guidelines.
Don’t you know…
Introduction
There’s a joke that “we spend all our lives trying to look older, right up until we spend all our lives trying to look younger.”
Terrible idea, really.
The perfect age to be is always the one you are.
Although you all have to admit that being of legal age to do everything is always an improvement.
When you start seeing your hair turn grey (or white) is when a man should fully come into his own. You’re a gentleman with a firm idea of himself and his place in the world, and your wardrobe should reflect that.
Casual Attire
Your business wardrobe is your business wardrobe. Sigh. It’s dictated by the necessity of your profession. Whether you wear a uniform, or meet the company “dress code”. Do it well — but do your “casual” wardrobe better.
Your casual clothes are, quite simply, what you wear for yourself. It’s the most obvious outward expression of your taste, your attitude, and your place in life.
Don’t go on confusing “casual” with “sloppy”.
Big mistake.
Just because you’re not at the office is no reason to look like you don’t care. Your clothes should still look like a deliberate choice and a conscious statement — a powerful one, too, at this age.
Here are some things an older man wants to keep in mind when choosing his casual wardrobe:
[1] Fit
Wear ONLY clothes that fit you well.
Do not wear clothes that don’t fit.
Do not wear clothes that are too tight. Or clothes that are too big. You wear clothes that fit you well. I know that you all probably have nice clothes that cost some money, but you never wear because they don’t fit you well. But you keep them anyways.
Throw them out or give them away.
Fitting well on a man’s frame.
By this decade of your life, you should have a very good sense of your body.
[2] Tailoring clothes to fit you well
I go on the internet, and especially on English websites, they talk about having a tailor make some perfectly fitting clothes for you. How wonderful! But let’s face it, most men don’t have a few thousand dollars to dedicate to this. And having clothes that fit is not on the main list.
Instead, it is on a secondary list that includes chores, repairs, and special purchases for the family. And at that, unless you are single, it’s at the bottom of that list.
But think a minute.
If you had no other issues; no other attachments, wouldn’t clothing rank as your top priority after food? (Fine, delicious food, by the way.)
The guy (or gal) you go to doesn’t have to be someone who actually creates tailor-made clothing, though they’re often the best. There are perfectly good tailors at basic clothing repair shops and even some dry cleaners that can do adjustments. The point is that you should be getting those adjustments done.
They don’t cost a lot of money.
In the days when I worked for a massive automotive electronics company, our dress code was a white shirt and a red tie. But I made sure that I would buy off-the-shelf high quality shirts, and then spend a few dollars having each one tailored to fit me exactly. It did make a difference on how I looked and felt about myself.
Get everything trimmed to fit you.
Shirts, and trousers are mandatory. Suits and jackets go without saying. About the only thing you should be leaving unadjusted at this age are your socks, underwear, and gym/chore clothing. Everything else gets a tailored fit.
Oh, and don’t be afraid to toss old underwear, too. And, ladies… this includes old bras. Toss those fancy wire things that you love that never wear, and those bras that are old, and frayed. Go get yourself a nice VERY WELL fitting bra. Make sure that you have the right cup size, and the right under boob width. Wearing a comfortable bra makes all the difference in the world.
Or, so I am told.
This has a twofold benefit: it makes your body look better, flattering the best parts of your figure, and it also makes you more comfortable.
A big part of looking good when you get old is looking relaxed and at ease with yourself — hard to pull off when you’re constantly re-tucking your shirt or tugging the crotch of your pants into place. (It’s a guy thing, don’t you know.)
[3] Comfort
I wear black tee-shirts all the time.
But that’s just me. When they get old I toss them and get a newer one. These are plain black shirts that fit me well, and that either have a small logo on my left chest, or an embroidered pattern. I rarely wear large garish patterns, or designs.
Again, that is just me.
Look good. feel good.
And remember that I live in the tropics. Zhuhai temperatures are much like Singapore. We have two seasons. Warm, and very Hot and very humid.
On that note, an older man really should look comfortable, and even relaxed, at nearly all times. Leave the hard-edged, high-strung look to the younger guys.
A lot of looking comfortable in your clothes comes down to actually being comfortable in your clothes, but you can do a lot with tailoring and styling too.
For those of you who still wear suits, and even I do from time to time, this is a good time of life to be moving away from aggressively fitted “power suits” and sharp-edged European cuts. The American, slightly looser suit was made with the middle-aged man in mind — give it a try.
For less dressy styles, try relaxed looks like sweaters and knitted tee-shirts, or other more relaxed shirts. You just need to move away from the business-standard dress shirt and its turn-down collar (and tie) ensemble. (Burrr.) Handsome, well-fitted clothing that’s obviously made for leisure tells people that you’re prioritizing your own pleasures.
A man who is comfortable, will look comfortable.
A man who is happy, and confident, will look happy and confident.
The key here is to have stylish comfortable options. Yeah, stretch-waist sweatpants are comfortable, but there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing. Buy clothes that fit your personality; grown-up clothes, just buy them in soft fabrics, relaxed cuts, and a nice casual variety of colors.
[4] Luxury
Not to be confused with comfort, though it often provides it, luxury in clothing is the province of the older gentleman.
This mostly comes about as increased discretionary income intersects with a life’s worth of dressing experience. Even if you never got that serious about your wardrobe, decades of putting fabric on your body gives you some idea of what feels good and what feels cheap. And of course you know this. Don’t you?
Look good and feel good.
Rich wools, soft cottons, light linens — live ’em all up.
The texture and “drape” of a good fabric are more noticeable, even at a distance, than we often think.
It’s the reason a bunch of men in $99 blazers from the sale rack at Men’s Wearhouse all look vaguely insubstantial — and the reason a man in the middle of them wearing a $599 blazer made from top-notch worsted wool stands out like a lighthouse.
Buy less frequently than you did when you were younger, but more expensively.
Decades of accumulation should have your wardrobe in decent shape for the staples. That frees up your clothing budget to add a couple reallynice things for yourself.
Whatever you like to wear most, buy it in the best quality you can get…
…Then wear the hell out of it.
[5] Some “Looks”
When you were younger, your style perhaps could have been summed up in one or two words: “urban cowboy,” “power exec,” “thrift-store hipster,” whatever.
By now you should be past that.
Your clothing should just be you, defying categories. It should look like what you wanted to wear, not like what a “style blog” told you to wear.
Maybe the most important thing at this age is for everything to look like an outfit, rather than a collection of unrelated clothes all thrown on together.
Look good and feel good.
You should put some time and care into selecting not just the big pieces (trousers, shirt, jacket), but the accents as well (everything from the necktie and shoes to things like scarves, watches, hats, pocket squares; even your eyeglasses if you wear them).
For me, I tend to wear (and keep in mind that I am in the topics), a nice well fitting black tee-shirt, and long well made (hiking) trousers. I wear with a special kind of canvas loafer local to China, and accessorize with my (good will energy) bracelet, watch, and belt.
With that in mind, here are a couple of looks that will always look good on a man in his older years…
The Sunday Best
We’ll start at the top end of your casual wardrobe: the social suit and tie.
For most men, especially younger men, this doesn’t exist anymore. Suits are strictly business wear, and not even then are they a necessity for a lot of professions.
That just makes it even easier for you to stand apart from the crowd when you dapper it up don’t you know. A suit in a casual color and pattern offers all the things we talked about above: luxury, comfort, and, if your tailor did his job right, a perfect fit as well.
But what ever you do, don’t look like a used car salesman!
The traditional time for a man to wear his social suit was on Sunday, to church and then to the inevitable social activities afterward, but don’t let that middle-American habit limit you. A casual suit, with or without a necktie, is always good daytime wear when you want to look sharp.
When I wear a suit, I always simply wear a black blazer over my black tee-shirt. It’s simple. I’m dressed up. Ya gotta problem with that?
For a real impression, I buy a brand new crisp white tee shirt. Then wear it instead of a black one. You gotta break out of your mold every now and then, don’t you know.
Shirts. I do wear them from time to time. Especially when the temperature drops below 90C (30C or so).
After 5:00 or so be sure to skip the necktie — you don’t want to be mistaken for a businessman with dubious professionalism coming home from work. Leave the collar open unless you’re going somewhere very fancy (and if you are, maybe wear a darker, more somber suit).
The Stroller
A “stroller” is an older phrase for daytime semi-formal wear, especially for being out and about — truly strolling somewhere.
It’s really a cool thing to do. But what ever you do, don’t clasp your hands behind your back, carry a boom-box playing forty-year old pop music, or wear pristine white tennis shoes as you do so.
Not recommended.
You should own a good walking outfit, or several, because frankly a man in his silvering years needs to be walking from time to time. It keeps you in good shape — and strolling down Main Street, taking in the crowd for no reason other than personal pleasure is both a perk and a tradition of the silver-haired years.
So own some simple, comfortable trousers and nice clean top, and a good pair of walking shoes, and then… Suddenly you’re a respectable gentleman of means out for a stroll.
A couple of good accents help with this one.
Own some scarves, hats, and gloves with a little flavor to them. Yes, you could wear a baseball cap and stick your hands in your pockets, but (come on!) you can do better than that.
Besides, if a fine attractive lady and you strike a nice conversation, take it inside and enjoy their company over some delicious food!
The Silverback Badass
Style in your older years (not ancient years) is all about not trying too hard. You don’t want to look like a rebel without a cause. That was silly when you were 20, and now it’s really silly.
But can you still be a bit of a rebel from time to time?
Sure. An older gentleman can still wear a leather jacket and jeans, or a denim coat and cords. He just has to make it a little more dignified.
This is a great age for plain-fronted leather jackets — think stripped-down bomber or fatigue styles, not too heavy on the details and fitted close but not hyper-streamlined. Don’t be shy of a little surface weathering; it goes well with gray hairs (assuming you have those — some guys don’t, even in their fifties).
If leather’s not your thing, show some attitude with mix-and-match levels of formality instead. Wear a plush velvet suit jacket over a pair of jeans and let people like it or lump it. You do what you want, right? You gotta problem with that?
It’s important not to get too experimental — you don’t want to look like a runway designer’s latest vision. That’s for younger men. If you can’t wear the look with casual confidence, skip it. But if you can, go ahead and be a rebel now and again.
Here’s some things that an older man should own by now…
Given your environment, obviously.
A Wool Cardigan
No, it’s not a grandpa sweater.
Did Steve McQueen wear grandpa sweaters? No. He wore cardigans, and he looked rugged as hell doing it. So did John Wayne. So does Daniel Craig. They’re awesome, and you should have one.
Look good; feel good.
A good cardigan should be knit wool, heavy enough to be your outer layer for much of the fall and spring. An inner lining of something like flannel makes it warmer and can minimize dry cleaning needs as well. Stay away from hugely oversized floppy collars or really big buttons — those are a little feminine — but otherwise feel free to play around with styles.
Gray is always a reliable color if you don’t feel like experimenting. For the more adventurous man in his fifties, try a cardigan in deep shades of bright primary and secondary colors — burgundy red, forest green, burnt goldenrod.
You can throw a good cardigan over almost anything and be ready for everything from brunch to a cozy late night coffee date. Expect to, once you’ve bought one you like.
A Good Scarf Collection
Scarves?
Yeah. I tend to dress in dark colors and when I am wearing a black blazer over my black tee-shirt, a few nice black scarves really makes the outfit “pop”! And it’s a great conversation piece with the ladies.
Scarves as a style piece rather than a functional necessity are a direct descendant of early airmen and fighter pilots. That made them popular during the interwar years in America, and worn well they still lend you a little of that old-fashioned, dashing appeal, like a gentleman who goes about in something called a “motorcar.”
Start with the basics (black and brown) and then start adding color and pattern. A scarf can be an eye-popping centerpiece or it can blend right into your jacket until the moment when the wind catches the end and whisks it about. Both are good.
Look good, feel good.
While you’re at it, practice a few different ways of looping/tying your scarf. There’s no reason to use the same knot every time. Thin materials look better in different knots than thick materials, and you may want a more or less structured look depending on the rest of your outfit.
So are you fully scarf literate yet? If not, that’s a good project for your later years.
Suede / Canvas topped Shoes or Boots
I have been told that I’m done with sneakers and court shoes at this point in life, except for on the actual court. But that is ok. Suede / Canvas toppers are your new casual, comfortable footwear default.
For the classically-styled man, bluchers in white, gray, blue, and brown are the way to go. If your style is more modern, suede skate-style shoes with contrast lacing make a nice grown-up alternative to teenager’s footgear.
And if you’ve never tried the look, go ahead and get yourself a pair of high-ankled boots in suede. They’ll serve you from about the time it gets too cold for sandals to when the snow starts falling, and the reverse in the spring.
Skin Care Lotion That You Respect
Ignore the commercials; there’s nothing wrong with wrinkles. Your face ought to have some creases after fifty years of well-lived life. If it doesn’t, you weren’t using it enough.
But…
But you want your skin to feel good, and as you age that means taking a little more care of it than you did when you were younger. Find a product or two that keeps your hide feeling supple and healthy. I use moisturizing cream twice daily, and I live in the tropics. If I didn’t my face would probably look like the grand canyon with all sorts of deep crevasses and wrinkles from my days of working the chain-gain at Brickey’s East Arkansas Regional Unit’s Hoe Squad.
If it makes you feel artificially slick or dried out, it’s the wrong product. A really basic moisturizing cream made from natural ingredients if often all a man needs. Lightly scented if you please — you don’t want it to clash with your cologne.
(You are putting a splash of subtle cologne on when you get dressed up at this point in your life, aren’t you? Work on that if you’re not.)
Looks to avoid
There are no completely hard and fast rules in fashion. Someone, somewhere, has probably pulled one of these off in his later years. But you’re not him, and you’ll probably just look bad if you try. So don’t.
Sneakers/trainers. You’re done with ’em. Give it up and get over it. A pair for the gym or other athletic endeavors is fine, but unless you’re in a rock band and on stage, you shouldn’t be wearing athletic shoes as a style choice.
Neckties without jackets. This is a look men should avoid in general, but once you get into your fifties it can only make you look like a depressed, mid-salary cubicle worker with nothing left to live for. Very Death of a Salesman. Throw a jacket on if you’re wearing a necktie. For that matter, throw a jacket on if you’re wearing a dress shirt in general, even without the tie.
Sleeveless shirts. Even on the beach. Tank tops, especially the scoop-neck kind, should be firmly left behind as soon as your hair starts receding and/or going gray. And if you’re in your fifties and it hasn’t, good for you, but still don’t wear sleeveless shirts as your only upper-body covering. (Though, I do wear them in the house as house clothing in the impossibly hot Summers of the South China Sea.)
Also worth avoiding is anything with too much of an “advancing age” feel to it — the really chunky orthopedic shoes, thick, dated eyeglasses, worn-out sweatshirts, or elastic-waist trousers. Oh, and don’t forget to toss that Alice Cooper Tee-Shirt from 1971.
If there’s something you need for your physical health, do it, and don’t ever let anyone make you feel ashamed of it. But go ahead and keep the element small and surrounded by other, purely aesthetic accents, so that it’s not defining who you are the moment people look your way.
Youth is almost always wasted on the young, but with a bit of sharp dressing, middle age can be made to work great for the man in his fifties. Have fun with it. You might be surprised how well you feel, how well you look, and the kinds of people you will meet and strike up conversations with. You never know.
Do you want more?
I have more posts like this in my Happiness Index here…
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The undisputed leader in terms of the number of killed fighters is Poland (2,960 arrived, 1,497 eliminated).
