John Wally was a fellow that I worked with back in my early working career. This was before I worked in the coal mines. Back then, I worked in a a local grocery store / supermarket. And John Wally was the assistant manager there.

This was in the 1970’s, and in Western Pennsylvania in East Brady. Oh, that plaza sat on the river and was once the rail line passenger station for the town. I recon that around the 1960’s it was converted into a mini strip mall, and then expanded upon to make the supermarket.

Ah today… who knows what it is. Maybe a “Blockbuster” VHS store… nah. Those came and went. Probably a vape store, and a bar. Knowing PA as I do. From these pictures it seems that a “Family Dollar” emerged into the fray.

Anyways, John Wally had this real knack. This skill.

At the end of the day he would count the money in the registers as he always did. But right before he would count the money, he would put his hand in the till and pull out a pile of coins. Pennies. Dimes. Nickels and Quarters. He would then weigh them in his hand…

…and guess how much their total worth was.

Each time he did it, he got better and better at it.

Eventually reaching a 70% rate of knowing the exact amount of change that he held.

The remaining 30% of the time, he was off by one or two cents.

…

The human being is capable of great things. Many things require patience, and practice. But eventually you can master the most obscure, and difficult tasks and perform them effortlessly.

Have a great day!

Today…

Exciting

Have you ever taken the law into your own hands?

Yes. I was about 17 and my 12-year-old brother came home crying that his brand new neon green bike with white tires was stolen from the local strip mall.

Now, the bad neighborhood in my town was maybe only 20 x 10 blocks, so I grabbed a wooden Louisville Slugger bat, tossed it and my little brother into the back seat of my Chevy Impala and drove to the bad neighborhood. It was summer, so we had the windows open. I went to high school in that neighborhood, so knew it well. I also played on the inner-city football team, so knew how to be a VIP there.

Within 10 minutes, I spotted three 15–16 year olds doing wheelies with and laughing about a neon green bike with white tires in some overgrown dirt lot. I pulled right up and got out; being 17 or so, I was used to seeming intimidating to 15–16 year olds. When my tiny brother got out of the car, they saw the bat, though I didn’t need it. They were very apologetic and gave up the bike with no problem. One noted seeing the bat.

A couple of years later, I was home from college, and the story came up and my brother said, “You know, that may not have been my bike…”

I didn’t want to hear it. And assured him it was his bike. No one appreciates anything these days.

A verbal trick

What are some examples of human cruelty?

Happened recently in Helsinki, Finland. Police: Teenage murder suspects filmed “defenceless” victim. This case is straight fom “Lord of the Flies”.

Three young men, all age 16, brutally tortured and murdered their classmate after having tortured, humiliated and beaten him for several hours.

Okay, things like that happen.

But the victim had been continuously harassed and bullied ever since the first class in the comprehensive school – for nine years.

Nine years.

Both teachers, parents and police had been powerless because the perpetrators had been underage. The trope Adults Are Useless was fulfilled completely.

There is no question about the guilt of those prosecuted. They had videoed everything, with intent to publish it in the social media.

The Finnish law knows three degrees of homicide: murder, kill and intentional manslaughter.

Murder is the gravest, and can be prosecuted only if the homicide had been particularly depraved and premeditated. The sentence is always life imprisonment. And it is life unless the President pardons you.

It is tough to go for the life in prison when you are 16, but these human weeds deserve it.

EDIT: For those suggesting something about immigrants and their high crime statistics, my intuition tells me it is now native Finns who are behind this crime. The crime manifested such brutality, such viciousness, such cruelty, such depravity and such determination on which only native Finns are capable of. I wrote some time ago about the Great Northern War and its effect on Finnish genetics (Finland lost 70% of whole population) and this crime well demonstrates the effects of natural selection. It is the ugly flip side of sisu.

Immigrants can rob, they can rape and they can kill, but their violence is usually very spontaneous, irregular and unpremeditated, and they do it more to boast and demonstrate their position in the pecking order rather than to really profess dolus determinatus.

When native Finns commit such crime, it invariably demonstrates a deep down hatred and viciousness in the modus operandi itself. In this particular case the three human weeds prosecuted – Veeti Neramo, Alexis Koskivaara and Heikki Juutinen – had acted as if they had planned and intended their victim to die as agonally as possibly. There was no single intact rib in his body nor one single intact organ.

There are nowhere as many natural born killers, “super soldiers” as Dave Grossman calls them in On Killing, as there are in Finland. While in the WWII some 2% of US soldiers aimed and shot to kill, the number was up to 30% in Finland.

Dangerous trends

What was it like to be alive in the 70s? I always wish I was around then. Was it as good as I’m making it out to be?

I was a child in the 1970s, and I do not remember that decade fondly.

The World War Two was still omnipresent. The veterans were still very much alive, they were still in the work life, and they were either our grandparents or even parents. It was a recent memory. There were still ruins around from the war, and we were warned not to touch anything suspicious as it could be unexploded ammunition.

Seventies were an incredibly violent decade on the vantage point of a child. It was perfectly acceptable to raise the kids with a whip and beat them with a belt if they were naughty. Fights at school were commonplace – they happened at almost every break. Each weekend saw a gang fight or similar, and boys liked to play war with air rifles. Bullying and teasing was a non-issue. One of my schoolmates was bullied into suicide.

Finland back in the seventies was a country of one single truth. President Urho Kekkonen ruled with an iron hand, it was an era of the Finlandization, and our teachers reflected that. The Baby Boomers hated their parents and everything they represented, and leaned very heavily to left. The radio and TV were full of pro-Soviet propaganda.

My hometown was divided into Communists, Social Democrats and Bourgeoisie. Everyone knew where they belonged and who was who.

Smoking was ubiquitous. The majority of adults smoked. Alcohol was used on binge drinking. Cars were noisy, stinky and unsafe.

Life was dull, monotonous and boring. Food was bland and monotonous. Life was far slower pacing than today, and kids liked to play spontaneously, go doing sports spontaneously, go hiking to the woods or go swimming to a nearby swimming hole. Our parents would have been prosecuted from neglecting us nowadays.

Only in the 1980s things started to change – to better. The 1980s were a good decade. Unfortunately they ended in the Great Recession.

Wife PETRIFIED After I Presented Spicy Pics/Videos Of Her Cheating…In Our At Fault Divorce State

What are some gifts for older parents that they’ll actually use?

My Chinese parents are almost impossible to buy for. They would scold me if the things I buy are of no use to them. Since I am an adult and I’ve decided that I will no longer endure the horrors of flying sandals thrown at me (I had more than my fair share of it as a kid), I have also gotten smarter. Over the years, I’ve learned to buy what they actually need and appreciate. Here goes:

1. Vitamins and supplements. As they are getting older, they need these to maintain health. Calcium, Omega 3, glucosamine, you name it. Rather than buying nice things or branded stuff, they appreciate it more if I take my time to ask them which vitamins are running out, buy them, and when they want to pay me back, I simply tell them to keep their money.
2. Money. This can never go wrong. The best gift is money itself, because they might not be needing/wanting anything now, but if you give them some money, it can really come in handy when they actually want to indulge themselves in something. Asians give hong bao/红包 (red envelopes) filled with money in joyful occasions (e.g. Chinese New Year). I usually do this on my parents’ birthdays.
3. Assets. Fine gold, stock, and mutual funds. Eyes on the prize, fellas.
4. Plane tickets. When they want to go on a vacation or visit other kids who live in different cities/countries, it’d be very helpful if we pay for their plane tickets. This is what they really need (and want).
5. Handbags for moms, perfumes for dads. If there are some indulgent and lavish things my parents won’t scold me for buying, they would be these. You just need to know their preferences when it comes to these things.

I know most of these things are not ‘romantic’ things to give, but as you get older, you become too practical, I guess (again, Asians).

While emptying a house, have you ever seen something in it that blew your mind?

Didn’t blow my mind, but it definitely freaked out my wife!

We moved into our new home taking the keys from the previous owner with whom we were friends.

The house had been cleaned, but not wife clean. So she scoured the kitchen, and AHA! She found something left behind in the very top shelf in the kitchen pushed far against the wall.

It was a set of steak knives with deer antler handles. She’s never been a fan of hunting, so she said “Eww! Get rid of them.”

And like a dutiful husband I put them aside to get rid of them later. Some days later I see them on the kitchen counter where they were left. We had been busy unpacking boxes the movers had left, so I just threw the knife set back on the top shelf and promptly forgot about them.

A few years later I was transferred, so the house was sold and the movers returned to pack us up. Once the moving van had left we went around the house with personal boxes packing up everything we’d need until the movers arrived at the new place.

The kitchen cupboards were bare… except! Yep, there on the top shelf was the knife set. I thought maybe I could sell them in a garage sale, so I grabbed them and stuck them in the top of my box.

And off we went to our newest new home.

Everyone grabbed their personal box and brought it to their bedroom. I unpacked mine in the living room, and right on top was the knife set. I chuckled to myself and brought it into the kitchen and tossed it in a top cabinet figuring it would be out of the way.

The next day I was putting together bed frames when I hear a blood curdling scream coming from the kitchen and something tumbling to the countertop!

I rush in there to see my wife coming down from the step ladder white as a ghost and shrieking “Tom, Tom, Tom, look!”

She was bring the kitchen up to wife clean when she found the knives that I stowed. When she picked up the box and saw what they were is when she cried out and dropped them.

“They’re just like the other house! What is going on?” She was in a panic.

Believe it or not my laughter did not lighten the situation one bit, and my explanation only got me in hotter water.

She screamed “I told you to get rid of them!” Then she threw them into the garbage can.

That was almost 30 years. They’re around here somewhere.

How has Covid affected China compared to other countries?

It made China a better nation. China always knew the west has ill intent but crisis like Tiananmen “democracy movement”, Hong Kong “constitutional protest” and Covid-19 pandemic, al man made and all western funded and orchestrated merely confirms the worst fear as real. China took every form of cure and prevention to ensure that the western designs to harm China won’t work but instead rebounded back harshly on themselves.

Whether it is the 5 U.S. marines who participated in the world military games who brought the mysterious vaping flu to Wuhan is the cause for the outbreak in China remains to be seen. It is certainly suspicious. But evidence clearly showed in the Red Cross blood samples of influenza viruses through the mainland U.S. that everywhere in the U.S. is seen 6 months before China’s first case but still it did not only owned up but shift the blame to China indeed. And dogs like Scott Morrison even push for China’s blame!

But not with standing that, China moves mountain to prevent a catastrophe making one right moves after another. China had the most severe and unknown at that time impact but 3 years on with the dust settled China lost a mere 6 thousand people while the U.S. lost 1.1 million people through Covid! 733 times more than China. All due to neglect, poor handling, over confidence and simply weak leadership. They were having a very “democratic” brainstorming i the middle of a huge fire deciding for months on what to do!

China grew its GDP from 2020–2022 close to 4 times that of the U.S. GDP during this pandemic years and came out of the pandemic stronger than ever! While the west shut down the Chinese took the lull years revamping and re-engineering their economy and it paid off. Ready for more western hypocrisy and further disruptions on China. It’s economy becomes more resilient than ever!

China knew that it had to allow nature to take its course and by late 2022 China confirms that the latest strains of the Covid-19 pandemic have dwindled down to a normal flu so China allowed it to burnt through its population.

To China and the rest of the world we see the worst in the west during these pandemic years. The western vaccines were meant for profiteering and reserved for the rich west while Chinese vaccines which ultimately turned out to be safer and more effective option were supplied to the entire world! It showed China’s willingness to share and care for humanity.

China came out of the Pandemic crisis as a more respected nation and a more generous one. It came out stronger and more resilient. The west went into a tailspin of war, double digit inflation and shortages. We call this karma!

Thank you for asking!

Greek Stew

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless lamb, cubed
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 cup white wine
• Pinch of dill
• 2 boxes frozen artichoke hearts

Instructions

1. Melt butter in stew pan or Dutch oven; add meat, onion, garlic, parsely, salt and pepper; brown over medium fire, stirring constantly. The gentle braising of the meat is the secret to success with this recipe.
2. When all of the ingredients are delicately browned, add tomato paste diluted in 2 cups water; add wine; dill and artichokes, stir; lower fire and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

Every Store in Downtown Miami is CLOSED

What was your biggest mistake by trusting any person?

My husband was diagnosed with cancer about 8 years ago. He fought hard through chemo, radiation and a failed surgery. He died in my arms 6 months after the diagnosis. I was devastated. One of my adult children with whom I was especially close, moved to my state, left her job in a different state. We had a business that could be run remotely from home. It was lucrative and provided a nice income. I asked my daughter to run the business for me. She was great in business having worked in mortgage banking. I was taking meds to calm my nerves and extreme shock and grief. He was only 62, and we thought we had many years left together. Bad things started happening: bills weren’t being paid, credit cards were maxed out, liability insurance lapsed, etc. When confronted, my daughter made up excuses which at first I believed. She was my much-loved daughter and I often referred to her as my best friend. She moved out saying she needed a break. I hired someone else to help me with the business. Soon we discovered the extent of the misapropriation (theft). Legally, there was nothing I could do because I had given her access to all the accounts. I almost lost the business, but managed to slog through it and rebuild the business and my trashed credit. I’ve tried contacting her – via letters and emails. She never responds. I worked with a therapist who encouraged me to forgive. I have forgiven her – I don’t understand her actions but I still love and miss her terribly. I lost my husband of 40 years, and my daughter within 16 months. Just writing this after all these years brings tears.

Who was the last German soldier to surrender after WWII whereas the last Japanese soldier surrendered in 1974?

I’d have to give ‘last German holdouts’ prize to the 11 men in the weather forecast unit under the command of lieutenant Wilhelm Dege stranded at a weather station on the Norwegian island of Nordausandet (near Spitsbergen), in the arctic. They had been deposited by U-Boat at the remote site in August of 1944 with a two year food supply and rifles to defend them from marauding polar bears.

They broadcast weather reports until 7 May, 1945, when they got news of the German surrender (along with orders to “destroy everything”). Not wishing to spend another winter in the arctic, they sent distress signals with no response. After several months they began broadcasting on allied channels as well and received a reply from the Norwegians, who dispatched a seal hunting boat to pick them up.

On Sept. 4, 1945, the rescuers arrived, whereupon Dege and his men hosted a large dinner for them (presumably with the best of the remaining supplies). Afterward, Dege handed his Luger to the boat’s captain and formally surrendered, becoming the last German military unit to surrender in WW2.

What corruption have you experienced in your life?

Can you imagine paying a Cop – Rs. 2000/- to ensure that a 19 year old kid was not handcuffed??? Can you imagine the cop saying -” I can take you in a Bus with handcuffs in your underwear or I can take you in the Jeep. You Decide”.

A 19 year old kid – who got angry along with some friends got into a fight with some other kids and nobody got hurt seriously – yet four days later he is charged with 307 – Attempt to Murder. Second Year College, His future is at stake and he is being accused of murder.

All because one of the Kids in the fight was a Policemans Kid (Not even Local Jurisdiction).

5 Kids were accused – 4 Cleverly absconded and this Innocent Boy who reads John Grisham novels and believes that Indian law is the same actually believed “I did not start the fight, how can the cops charge me”

His family paid –

• Rs. 20,000/- to ensure that the Kid was not harmed while in Police custody and would go directly to JC without request for Police custody.
• Rs. 2,000/- to ensure that the Kid could get Home Cooked or Hotel Food for the 1 day he was in Police custody
• Rs. 2000/- to ensure that the Kid was not handcuffed while being taken for Medical Testing before going to the JC and taken to JC by Jeep.
• Rs. 4 Lakhs to ensure that the Cop would change his testimony and a B report would be generated (Cop would say it was a different Kid).
• Rs. 10,000/- to ensure that the Kid got a decent cell on Day 2 after being moved from the General Cell.
• Rs. 1,500/- to the Prison Guards to allow the Kid to make 2 Phone Calls (Rs. 750/- per call)

It was a normal fight that boys indulge themselves in. No weapons or cats paws or longs or any usual weapons. What takes a normal First Aid Kit required almost Rs. 5 Lakhs

That is Corruption at its worst.

Imagine a 19 year old kid without the money. Imagine having to be beaten, humiliated, forced to eat horrible tasteless food – all for some young stuff that every body of that age experiences.

Imagine becoming an accused and visiting court in between college. Imagine if convicted? Future destroyed, No Passport.

The Kid will easily become a career criminal or hate the law and system more than anyone else.

And his friends got away without paying a penny. After this kids B report was filed, they had their lawyer file a 482 in High Court and HC ruled in their favor saying “You cannot just close the case against 1 accused”

What is the saddest thing that happened to you that you never shared with others before?

I was raped in my own classroom.

This happened years ago, I was 15 at that time. I went a high school that was very close to my neighborhood. It was one of the co-ed schools with high disciplinary problems among the students.

I was often bullied for my looks. I wear a large brimmed glass and was a slightly plump kid. I don’t do well in sports and often the main target for pranks.
I clearly remember, it was a Wednesday, and I was in laboratory finishing my works. I prefer finishing my school works in school because my house isn’t exactly very quiet and peaceful. I have 2 sisters and they were aged a year and 6 months respectively.

After spending almost 2 hours in the lab, I went back to my classroom to pick my bags. I did saw two guys sitting and behaving weirdly at the back of my classroom.

They were sniffing glue. It was my mistake to walk to them to see what were they doing. I told them that I would report their acts to our homeroom teacher if they continued doing this.
One boy shoved me down and forced his handkerchief into my mouth while the other was grabbing my legs. The one of top of me used a small pocket knife to tear down my shirt buttons. He then proceed to rape me while his friend was watching along the corridor.

I felt violated and extremely vulnerable. I couldn’t even scream at that time because of the pocket knife he was holding. I just wished that all of that would end quickly. After he’s done, and he threatened me not to tell anyone or else he would do this everyday.

I didn’t know why I never reported this to anyone. I was a fragile kid, with no strong family and always had financial difficulties. I thought my voice will never reach out to the authorities. I am 36 now, but those accidents still remain fresh in my memory. I would never forget the face of the boy who raped me.

Thankfully, my husband is a very understanding man. He calmed me down during the times I was attacked with nightmares of someone plunging themselves into me. It was the worst after I got married.

No one actually knows this, apart from my husband and myself.

Cold hard truth

How does the strength of the Chinese military compare to that of the US? Is there a significant difference or does the US always have a clear advantage over China in terms of military power?

Because of the U.S. boastful character and it’s constant exposure you know what the U.S. has. But the world knows very very little of China’s capacity and capabilities. China intentionally chose to hide its strength. And latest military hardware and software so China has a thousand surprises ready to spring on the U.S. if it ever misjudge and attack China!

What is clear is that they are years ahead in sonar and laser technology, in drones, in ship building, in fighter jet production capacity. What is very clear is that China sees the aircraft carrier as sitting ducks as China is able to rain down its hypersonic missiles at 20 times the speed of sound. So China clearly has many advantages.

But China wants peace as long as the U.S. behaves itself, China prefers to let the U.S. collapse on its own mountain of debts and deficits. The only clear advantage is projecting power beyond its shores but to China that is a non factor as it has no plans to attack any nation or do U.S. military style foreign incursions. China has a sound sustainable approach to world peace. The U.S. doesn’t.

What is the rudest thing another shopper has told you while waiting in line?

I was inline at the express checkout, 12 items or less, I had 7 items, while in the line, I saw a retro brand of chocolate bar, limited time only, from my childhood. I bought 5 to take me to my limit. While I was checking out, the cashier looked at the chocolate bars, and says these are on sale, buy two, and get the third for free. So far I had 4 at the regular price, and 1 free one. The cashier told me that I could take one more and it would be free. So I asked the person right behind me, if they could grab me a chocolate bar. They exploded, and said i I was over my limit, and she was in a hurry. So I reached by the person crowding up behind me, to get the free chocolate bar. The cashier scanned them all, gave me my receipt for paying for 11 items, and I turned around and gave the free chocolate bar to the person behind me. I said “Sorry, this is to compensate you, for your inconvenience”

I turned and walked out, the lady behind me sputtered, the cashier said, hey you have 13 items, to the lady behind me, she said , “But its his free chocolate bar”

The cashier said “That didn’t seem to matter a minute ago”

The dark side

What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?

My area has a problem with rampant porch pirates. So, I regularly save my prime shipping boxes to recycle as rubbish bins when it’s time to empty my cat box. I then seal them back up and leave them out on the porch and watch the “free garbage pickup” on our camera. I also post the pictures on social media so my friends and neighbors can also experience the joy of watching people get EXACTLY what they deserve. It never gets old watching some asshat sneak off all smugly with a box full of turds! 🤣🤣🤣

Edit:

It is hilarious to me how many people assume I can get into some sort of legal trouble for this. Our local police are fully aware of my actions! 🤣

Also, to address a couple of points I am repeatedly asked about this on quora and social media sites:

Yes, the majority of these decoy packages are located and properly disposed of after they are taken. (Not that they create any more rubbish than the packaging off someone’s stolen holiday gifts)

And no, I don’t feel the need to obscure my address from the packaging. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, my prank hinges on the packages looking new. Secondly, if one is stealing a package with the address label in tact, it would be hard to argue that “mail theft” was not the intended crime. And thirdly, I’m simply not worried about retribution from any of these idiots. To return for revenge would risk further exposure on film, more likelihood of arrest, and the possibility of meeting a deadly object if said intruder seems violent. Most people, even thieving lowlifes, have at least a basic sense of self preservation.

This is serious

This guy should be sacked:

A bloke starts his new job at the zoo and is given three tasks.

First is to clear the exotic fish pool of weeds.

As he does this a huge fish jumps out and bites him. To show who is boss, he beats it to death with a spade.

Realizing his employer won’t be best pleased he disposes of the fish by feeding it to the lions, as lions will eat anything.

Moving on to the second job of clearing out the Chimp house, he is attacked by the chimps that pelt him with coconuts. He swipes at two chimps with a spade killing them both. What can he do? Feed them to the lions, he says to himself, because lions eat anything… He hurls the corpses into the lion enclosure.

He moves on to the last job which is to collect honey from the South American Bees.

As soon as he starts he is attacked by the bees. He grabs the spade and smashes the bees to a pulp. By now he knows what to do and shovels them into the lions cage because lions eat anything.

Later that day a new lion arrives at the zoo.. He wanders up to another lion and says “What’s the food like here?”

The lions say: “Absolutely brilliant, today we had ….

Fish and Chimps with Mushy Bees

Gonzalo Lira. Lagarde, Trump threat to EU. Sunak, as long as it takes. Medvedev warns UK

What are the implications of Taiwan’s presidential election for China, the US, and the world?

Zero.

The Taiwan presidential election was a 3-way farce that made no difference who came out as the
“winner”. This island remains a geopolitical pawn in the rivalry between the U.S. and China for regional dominance in Asia. The DPP has emerged with a lesser mandate and even less likely now to dare even consider to declare Taiwan’s independence from China.

With the DPP back in place and under better control, U.S. politicians are now “assured” they can continue its saber rattling provocations with Johnson getting ready to send in a house delegation to Taiwan to amp up anti-China rhetoric for the start of the 2024 electioneering to hold on to its house control.

Biden is working on the assumption that the U.S. side can maintain and manage this U.S-China high tension act now that communication linkage is re-established between the generals of the two militaries and any mishap or miscommunication is not likely to happen. But then after finding out that the White House was left clueless when its top cabinet member running the Pentagon went AWOLf? What kind of people is running the show? These are the issues we should be worried about snd not who the jokers are now in charge of Taiwan.

U.S. Journalist Gonzalo Lira DIES In Ukrainian Prison!

What is the one in a million coincidence you have ever had?

In about 1973, I was hitchhiking around the US and Canada for the summer. I tramped from my university home in Florida 2,500 kilometers northwards to the state of Maine, up near Canada. I was out in the country near the town of Bangor, and I wanted to go to Acadia National Park on the coast. But the spot where my previous ride let me out was out in the woods and had hardly any traffic, so I decided to go into a little convenience store sitting in its lonely location across the road to get a Coke. I figured that I was going to be stuck in that spot for a long time.

Just then a Volkswagen Beetle drove by and stopped and then backed up to me. The window rolled down and the passenger yelled out my name. Inside the car were two students who lived across the hallway from me in my university dormitory in Florida. They were going, by chance, to the town of Southwest Harbor, right in the national park. So I got into the car and rode with them, where they took me to a friendly bar where their friend worked as a bartender. We had a great evening eating and drinking in the pub (they bought my beers), then the bartender let me sleep on the couch at his place.

So, in one amazing coincidental moment, I went from being stuck in the middle of nowhere to being taken to my destination, and treated to food, drink and lodging by my generous Florida neighbors and their friends.

What is the smartest thing you have ever done in an interview?

This is gonna sound dumb as heck…

I picked up a crumpled up piece of paper as I walked through the door to the store.

My first ‘real’ job… Chatham, Ontario (Canada)…. went into a camera shop to apply as a salesclerk…

As I walked through I saw some paper on the floor, so I picked it up and gave it to the guy and asked him to toss it in the garbage.

Turns out the ‘guy’ was the owner who would be doing the interviews… I knew a fair bit about cameras, definitely not enough to put behind a counter by myself the first day, but as I told him, I am a quick learner.

Interview went as expected… usual questions, usual answers… “What is your biggest failing?” “I can’t tolerate stupidity or idiots.”

Got a call a few days later offering me the job….

A few weeks into the job, having a coffee with the boss, just the 2 of us there, and I asked why he hired me when I was sure there were people who applied who were better qualified.

He told me that I was the one that picked up the piece of paper…. all the other applicants walked by it. He had placed it by the door just to see who would do something about it. He explained that his thought process was that if someone picked it up to have it put in the trash, they’d keep the store clean and pay attention to detail

Well, fry me for an oyster – I got my first job because my parents told me to clean up a mess when you see it regardless of who made the mess in the first place.

Gonzalo Lira’s Death Reveals SHOCKING TRUTH About Ukraine and NATO

Do you know anyone where the husband/father did the old “I’m going out for a pack of cigarettes”, and just took off and disappeared?

I know this exact story. I had a friend, he was pretty wild and crazy. Just to give you a feel for his character, I’ll tell a second story.

I had two wild friends partying together in one city, when they left the party, crazy friend two, uncharacteristically said he was too drunk to drive, and asked crazy friend one, if he would drive. On the way home, crazy friend two fell asleep. He woke up in scorching heat, still sleeping in the passenger seat. Fortunately this was when power windows weren’t common. He rolled down the windows, and noted he was parked on a street he didn’t recognize. The keys were in the ignition, but it wasn’t running.

He crawled over to the drivers seat, and drove off. It took him 15 minutes to figure out he was in another city, about 7 hours from where he lived. There was a big festival going on. He never found friend one. He spent a day at the festival, hoping to spot friend one, and then drove home.

A couple of years later friend one found someone, and we were all surprised at how he settled down. He kept a steady job, they bought a house together. Then one day he said he was going out for a pack of smokes. It took him about 9 months to find just the right cigarettes and return. He just walked back through the door as if he had been gone for 15 minutes.They hadn’t been fighting. He would never talk about it, but they were divorced shortly after. I have no idea if it was planned, or spontaneous like the trip to a festival in another city.

He died young, I hadn’t seen him in ten years, and he wanted no visitors to the hospital and no funeral.

Volunteers 1985

Full FUCKING movie! A really worthwhile watch. Please enjoy.

What is one remarkable thing you’ve witnessed at a funeral?

When I was a child, my father had a cousin who was a rollickingly jolly man who told terrible jokes. Cousin Bernie’s favorite joke was “What do you say to a hippie with arthritis?” then he’d hold up his hands in a peace sign with the fingers bent over, and he’d laugh and laugh. (No, it doesn’t make sense, but this was the 1970s.) You’ve heard the term infectious laughter, that’s what he had. I’d laugh even though the jokes were never funny. Eventually I grew up, moved away and lost touch. Decades passed. My father died. A few years after that, Cousin Bernie died. I knew my father would want me to pay my respects on his behalf, so I traveled back to my home town for the funeral.

First off, you need to know that Cousin Bernie worked as a drycleaner in the same neighborhood his whole life, or at least since he got married. He and his wife raised their daughter, who became a teacher and school principal, and when he was widowed, he stayed in the same house for a few months until he died of what a romantic would call a broken heart. While he lived, his happiness was the happiness of his family, he didn’t need anything beyond that. He was a very happy man indeed.

So imagine my surprise when I arrived early at the funeral home to find their biggest room already overflowing with mourners. I expected Cousin Bernie to be beloved because he was a lovely man, but I was daunted by the staggering number of lives he’d touched. The service started formally, but as each speaker spoke, it became more and more personal. Everyone I could see was crying by the time Bernie’s daughter got to the podium. I always found her to be a stern and formidable woman, but she hunched over, sobbing too much to speak.

That’s when the remarkable thing happened.

Cousin Bernie’s daughter straightened up, tears streaming down her face, and silently raised her hand in a bent over peace sign. His favorite joke when I was little.

The entire room — hundreds of people — all raised our hands in the same gesture, at the same time.

That was more than ten years ago. Maybe even twenty, I don’t remember exactly. I was the only person from my family who went (long unpleasant story) so I didn’t know anyone. I keep thinking that someday I’ll meet someone else who was there but as far as I know, I never have.

OMG

What is something someone who has never been poor wouldn’t understand?

How expensive being poor is.

This is the paradoxical part of being poor, that a lot of folks don’t understand. When you are poor, everything costs more.

• You can’t buy food in bulk. You often make the smaller, less efficient purchases.
• You can’t afford to buy high quality goods that will last longer. Instead of buying more expensive shoes that will last 2–3 years, you buy cheaper ones that will last a couple months. You buy a cheaper car that will require more maintenance, and lose value more quickly.
• You can’t afford to make large payments on a leased vehicle, so you opt for more payments over a longer period of time, paying more money overall.
• Owning a home is a pipe dream. You almost certainly rent a place, never gaining any investment or value out of your money.
• It’s nearly impossible to save any money at all, so unexpected costs hit harder. You also don’t have any savings accruing interest.
• You’re more likely to miss payments, and pay additional fees and charges, leading to paying even more money.
• You rely more heavily on credit, paying a premium on many purchases.
• Similarly, you’re more likely to take a payday loan. We know how fucking garbage that shit is.

This is why it can often be so difficult to get out of poverty. You’re continually paying a premium in nearly every area of your life, because you are poor.

What are some dark secrets about today society?

• Nobody wants to be associated with a failure.
• There’s no unconditional love anywhere, you can get one from your mother if you’re lucky.
• Making money online these days is not about how skilled you are, it’s how often you show up.
• Most people smile but only a few are happy.
• Elites don’t care about race, tribe or religion. Instead, they are friends to one another for beneficial purposes while the masses fight and make enemies among themselves.
• Many are masters, only few are skilled.
• Everyone is replaceable in the society. If you die today, the world will keep moving on smoothly & your family and friends will miss you for a long time.
• If you’re famous, most people would automatically assume you’re rich.
• If you’re too generous, people will take you for granted. Help the needy but don’t go broke while at it.
• Neither you nor your religion owns the monopoly of truth. There are numerous beliefs in the world and yours is just one of them. So learn to respect people’s beliefs as long as it doesn’t cause harm to others.

What is the most tasteless thing you have seen people on a cruise do?

Stop bathing.

Our most recent cruise was a two week one from Tahiti to Sydney, Australia that we chose just so we didn’t have to make the long flight from San Francisco to Sydney. On the second week of our cruise a woman stepped into our packed elevator and immediately people began quietly to gag to the point that one couple quickly pushed the button for the next deck and got out as fast as they could. It was an overpowering combination of body odor and dirty clothes—she was evidently one of the many passengers who had embarked weeks before in Sydney for a roundtrip cruise.

Another time we were on a Caribbean cruise with my brother and his wife, enjoying lunch together when a male passenger sat down behind us. Suddenly my husband leaped up and motioned for us to follow him to a table much further away. As we walked with him, we realized that the man reeked of body odor and general dirtiness.

One other time, on a cruise with friends, I stood in line at guest services behind a very well dressed man who evidently had also given up bathing midway through the trip. It was a shock to the senses; the eyes saw a man in expensive clothing while the nose smelled someone who might have been living rough on the streets for some time.

Every cruise cabin I’ve ever been in has had a shower, and thankfully most cruise passengers use theirs regularly. But there seems to be at least one person per cruise who chooses to stop bathing for the duration and to me, that’s the most tasteless thing a person on a cruise can do.

On Gonzalo Lira’s Story. I admit…

How does China’s property downturn compare to the US housing bubble of the late 2000s?

If you understand truth and facts and not blindly follow western propaganda and rhetoric what China U.S. doing is highly responsible and admirable and what happened in 2009 is very hurtful to the poor.

Let us understand what China did. First China took the “opportunity” of the Covid Pandemic window of opportunity to cleanse the flaws of its economy such as excessive screen time especially their kids, they look into the ill effects of capitalism such as profiteering, such as social ills of consumerism and widening disparity between the rich and the Xi Xinping emphasised that homes are for living not for speculation or profiteering.

China set rules for 2nd and third home buying. So that prices is within reach of the poor and middle income. So prices or what I will call bubble deflate. Ain’t it good for the common men? Sure as hell it is. China don’t want what happened in the U.S. to happen in China. Up to a million are homeless! Deflating a run away asset and home prices is what Japan ought to do in 1980’s or the US ought to do in the 2000’s but instead it let the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.

China is probably the most responsible nation on earth!

How have you been treated by the police in America?

This is how one person was treated by a police officer, in America.

Picture a beaten small framed girl, in nothing but a t-shirt and underwear, being dragged away from her screaming child and pushed off a stilted porch by an equally beaten man.

Now let’s add all of this happening on a bitterly cold and frozen December night.

Imagine this girl shaken, distressed, and in full my-baby-is-in-danger mode.

She goes to her car that doesn’t run because it’s been wrecked by her ex husband. …the same car she had taped the spare key to on the undercarriage.

(Thank you Mom for telling that girl to do that.)

She finds her old broken cell in the glove box. Thankfully, it had 15% charge. Thankfully, the Cat Lady neighbor had shared her WiFi password.

After a series of emails to her mother, she heard a radio. Standing outside the car was an angel silhouetted behind the brightest light. The shadow asked the girl to get out of the car after making sure she wasn’t armed.

This angel immediately gave her his coat and ushered her to back seat of his heated patrol car. He poured her a cup of very hot and bitter coffee from his thermos.

He assessed her injuries while asking gentle but probing questions.

What happened?

Start from the beginning.

Tell me as much as you remember.

Why are you unclothed?

Keep drinking the coffee.

This angel left to go talk to his partner, who had been talking to her child and ex husband.

This angel went inside the house and brought the girl’s child to her under the guise of she wants to see her before we make an arrest.

He very carefully checked the child over and made notes of the marks on the child. He gave her a teddy bear from the trunk of his car.

He asked the child what happened in the most gentlest way.

Out of the mouth of a child came the loss of innocence.

Daddy hit mommy.

Daddy hit me.

Daddy pushed mommy outside.

Daddy got me dressed.

Daddy said we were going to Grandpas.

That angel stood up and shut the door. He walked up the stairs and right into the front door, where his partner was waiting.

That angel placed the ex husband under arrest and held him prone on the floor until another officer could take him.

That angel went over every protection offered at the time to the girl and her child after both were checked by the paramedics.

He kept reinforcing they could only hold the ex husband for 24 hours before bond could be posted and this paper. ….this thin paper would be the only thing protecting them.

He let her use his personal cell to call her mother (She was already on her way with a family friend).

This angel came back later to make sure everyone had arrived. There was bad snow storm moving in, he said. We had to move quickly to get ahead of it.

This angel pulled the girl aside. He spoke the hard truths of reality that she NEEDED to hear.

She left that conversation with the knowledge she was a Woman and not a girl. She was a survivor, not a victim.

This angel is a husband, father, brother, son, and human.

This angel stands every day on a very thin blue line against those who would do harm and he does so willingly.

This angel is a Police Officer.

What did a flight attendant do that made you go “you gotta be kidding me”?

I was on a British Airways flight seated in a row that was an Emergency Exit which was on the wing and slightly behind the port engine. After about ten minutes of cruising altitude, I looked out the exit window and noticed that there was a slight white trail coming from the engine. In order not to frighten other passengers, I went to the rear galley and said that there was a suspicious leak coming from the port engine and that I think she should have a look at it. FA said “Oh, its just clouds we are passing through” which I knew to be a lie as there wasn’t any above or below us. I repeated the fact and she said that if I didn’t go back to my seat and was quiet, I would be restrained by the onboard crew and arrested.

Fed up, I walked through the curtained off area at the front to Business Class and spoke to the purser, explained the situation and what had happened with the rear FA and she went white, then red with anger, went into the cockpit to speak to the Captain who came with me to my seat to look at it, groaned, thanked me and went back to get a priority landing at Heathrow. As I was leaving, I was asked my name and number by the purser and a few weeks later a letter arrived stating the FA had been sent for retraining and that I was to be awarded 2000 Avios points and a free upgrade for my next flight.

What do the nonpoor not realize about being poor?

I have an uncle who is a social worker, and he says helping the marginalized poor is the saddest and most frustrating job in the world.

The worst thing is ringing the doorbell. And Mary Grace opens it.

Mary Grace, who has mothered seven children, all of whom except the last two were placed in Foster care because she and her hubby Austin cannot take care of children, due to mental challenges and their basic lack of understanding of the many responsibilities which come with raising children.

Mary Grace and Austin, who can’t handle money and are deep in debt, and became parents when Mary Grace was 16 years old, just like her mom when she was born. Mary Grace, who didn’t finish high school, just like her mom and dad.

And when she opens the door, my uncle sees her pregnant belly, and he can hardly stop himself from crying. Because it happend again.

Just like her remaining children, this unborn kid will end up in Foster care as well, and the story will be reset for all these displaced children, and then repeat itself. And it will never stop.

And thats what the non-poor do not realize about being poor —

The poor are caught in a trap.

And they can’t walk out.

So, Gonzalo Lira is NOT dead? This is Ukraine’s VERSION of what happened to him. Narrative composing?

What should I do if my boss says, “If you don’t like the job, you can go”?

I faced this type of situation in my last job in state government. I worked in IT at a state medical school/hospital and we’d have a department meeting. After all of the department heads had reported on what was happening with their teams, the IT Director would recap what was happening in IT and the hospital before reminding us that we were required to follow hospital policies and that failure to do so would result in termination. He’d close each meeting by saying, “It’s my way or the highway, people. Follow the policies or find another job.”

I heard this every Wednesday morning for 16 months before I decided I’d had enough so I found a job in the private sector that was less work, paid more, and was closer to my home. The new job was also strictly a Monday through Friday position, which meant not having to work a weekend every couple of months while being on-call.

I accepted the job offer and then waited for that Wednesday morning meeting. When the director went into his spiel I let him get “It’s my way or the highway” out before standing up and heading for the door. The director stopped mid-sentence and asked where I was going and I replied, “I choose the highway”.

It was a terrific feeling to walk out of that meeting.

The West looks really fucking stupid

What would happen if China’s economy collapsed? What is a realistic timeline of collapse without intervention?

An Economy collapses only under one or all of five conditions :-

• No money to buy Imports (Foreign Reserve Crisis) and no external help
• Inflation rises by at least 25% a year and the Nation is a net importer with at least 25% Deficit
• Nations Manufacturing Index falls by at least 50% meaning Industries are decimated
• Economy loses at least a third of its value in domestic currency without being propped up
• At least 2/3 the population prefer holding gold or assets than domestic currency

Now let’s see China :-

• $ 3.3 Trillion in Reserves. Sufficient for 20 months of Imports
• 0.4% Inflation. Lowest in the world
• Manufacturing Index 49.6. Biggest fall being 4.3% a quarter in 2020
• Economys real value as much as $ 13.3 Trillion or around 70%. Much higher than Japans (58%) or USA (68%)
• Gross Savings of 45%

So the only two conditions under which China could collapse include :-

• War – Nuclear War or Invasive War into China like Nazi Germany from 1943–1945
• Major Civil War

What was a Christmas bonus you got from your company that made you speechless?

Not a Christmas bonus, but similar. And completely jaw-dropping.

Worked for twenty years for a family-owned business. In 1996 they had their 50th anniversary, and the owners (the three children of the founder) spent a day going around personally handing envelopes of cash to all the employees. I had been there over 12 years at the time, and my envelope held $500. Very nice and much appreciated.

After a few more years, they had to choose between vastly growing the company, letting it remain as it was, or selling it to someone who would grow it appropriately. Being older and nearing retirement age anyway, they decided to sell it. They wanted to show their appreciation to their employees for their part in the company’s success, so once again, they handed out bonuses. They had wanted to do it in cash again, but the accountants said no, so we all got checks with taxes, FICA, etc…

I stuck the envelope in my pocket and went on with the lunch, etc, that was part of the festivities. Toward the end, a friend asked if I had looked at my check, and I said that I hadn’t, that I would get to it, it was probably similar to what I had gotten before, yadda, yadda.

He said, “Dave. Look at your check. Look. At. Your. Check.”

$12,000. I was just one out of a couple hundred employees. Blew me right away…

Glorifying addictions

I am in my late 20s. Will I regret not having children once I am older?

Ah, this reminds me of a conversation I had with a dear friend of mine, who faced a similar dilemma in her late 20s. She was torn between the societal expectations of starting a family and her personal aspirations that didn’t necessarily include children.

Years later, now in her 50s, she shared some insights that might resonate with you. She mentioned that whether or not you’ll regret not having children when you’re older is a deeply personal matter. For her, she found immense fulfillment in her career, travel, and the freedom to pursue her passions. She nurtured rich relationships with friends, nieces, nephews, and became a mentor to many.

She did say there were moments of wonder about what life with children might have been like, but those thoughts didn’t equate to regret. Her life was full, meaningful, and happy in ways unique to her journey.

The takeaway? The decision to have or not have children is profoundly personal and varies for everyone. It’s about understanding what brings you joy, fulfillment, and a sense of purpose. Some find it in parenting, while others find it in different aspects of life. It’s essential to make a choice that aligns with your values, hopes, and dreams. And remember, a fulfilled life can take many forms!

Be like this father

Have you ever had a job where you did nothing for years and nobody found out?

Yes!

Few years ago, I worked for major IT firm from India with a very good salary. Now, in interview I was told I was being hired to work on a very niche upcoming technology which is very new.

When I reached the office on first day, I was informed by HR to report in training lab instead of any ODC which got me confused but I dismissed it thinking nothing of it. There I was told that before starting the work i will have undergo a 2 week training program and since my manager is still looking to arrange a trainer, I can brush up my coding knowledge in lab meanwhile. Great, i thought.

1 week passed and there was no news on when training will start. This was August. I dropped a mail to my reporting manager who said it is difficult to find a trainer for my location so it might take a week more

2 more weeks passed, even after dropping multiple mails to both trainer and my reporting manager I got a same reply: please wait it might take a little more time

After 2 months i was done with all basic coding assignments given to me and still there was no sign of my training to start. Everytime i mailed i got the same reply, project is in pipeline, it could start anytime soon

After 3 months this got really boring. No one asked what I did whole day, no one even cared if I even went to training lab or not. Sometimes I would do a swipe in at main gate and go grocery shopping or go for a movie. On other days I would come office for 5 hours which was minimum requirement for my attendance to count as a full day and those days were spent playing table tennis, carrom, darts etc. In meanwhile i would send mails asking when will I get actual work and most of those mails went without replies. In December end I got mail that my training would start from January 14th. I was finally relieved but 14th passed and so did 15th and there were no signs of any training. On raising questions about the training i got the reply that the training was available only on weekends but it was not possible logistically so it had to be cancelled. I stopped asking. Since both manager and HR sat in different office altogether there was no way of face to face communication and no one to really bother me.

This continued for 1.5 years. It was the most relaxed time of my life but the worry was always present in back of my mind But I was afraid of quitting since my salary was already way higher than market standards (almost double!) and justifying what I did in previous job would be a task. Eventually I did find an equally paying job although with a lot of struggle but with relevant work since it did affect my profile negatively.

Indian service based IT companies can be fickle. Till today i never got to know what happened to my project or training. I wish I would’ve been informed properly at all stages instead of being given false hopes month after month. But I have no regrets whatsoever because I have made some great memories and friends that time which otherwise i wouldn’t have had!

Transactions…

What are the things we’ll only understand when we get old/older?

What a child brings to school for lunch indicates a lot about their life at home.

When I was younger I was always jealous of other kids whose lunches were comprised entirely of chips, candy, and soft drinks. At the time I was little and I wanted sweets as often as possible. However, my lunches were always filled with fruit, vegetables, and healthy sandwiches. If I was lucky, my parents would pack me fruit snacks.

It wasn’t until much later when I worked as a camp counselor at a day camp that I began to notice yet again what children brought for lunch. Most campers had lunches similar to what I grew up with, however, I observed that one camper had a lunch consisting solely of Cheetos and fruit snacks, nothing healthy. He brought these same foods almost every day. I found it odd that his parents never packed him anything with more nutritional value.

During pick-up, I would walk my campers to their parent’s cars. Most parents would exclaim, “how was your day,” when picking up their children. Unfortunately, this camper’s parents would ignore him, not even looking over when he got into the car. Later in the summer, I learned that his family was going through a lot of problems at home.

At this point, I realized how lucky I was that my parents packed me healthy lunches when I was young. It wasn’t because they wanted to deprive me of sweets, rather, my parents wanted to make sure I was staying healthy because they loved and cared about me. I learned that something as small as what a child brings for lunch each day indicates a lot about their parents socioeconomic status or, in some unfortunate cases, whether there are problems in the child’s home life.

Guys have standards

What is the most degrading job you ever had?

Working at the university alumni call centre.

I fucking hated that job. I hated it with the passion of Christ himself.

My job description effectively read that working in the call centre meant that:

• we are the connection point between university alumni, and the university
• we help keep and maintain records on our alumni
• we notify alumni of important events and projects happening within the university
• we help to maintain the pride of the school and our alumni keeping in contact with them years afterwards

What we actually did:

• call and beg for money

I hated it. We would phone dozens of alumni every day, and our calls would consist of 3 phases:

1. Introduction, and maintenance of information – introduce ourselves, and make sure that our current information on the alumnus / alumna in question was all still correct
2. Notify them of big events and projects going on at the school – hey, did you know that the university is doing this huge heart transplant study? And that our new science wing is nearing completion? Isn’t that cool?
3. (The real purpose of the call) give us money please! – Given the importance of that science wing I just mentioned, and how it’s going to really revitalize the university science program and provide amazing facilities for our students, would you be interested in donating $100? No, that’s too much? How about $50? You’ve just been laid off work you say? Well can you manage $20?

I fucking hated this bullshit. Hated it. We were required to get our “three asks” in, and had a big list of ‘comebacks’ for various responses people might give to not donate. I hated that basically our entire purpose was simply to get money, at all costs. They just graduated two years ago and still haven’t found a job? Ask them for a lesser amount. They aren’t interested in funding XYZ project? Offer different things for them to donate to.

The biggest thing that really sealed the deal for me happened during one afternoon, where I got on the phone with an older alumnus. He had graduated from the university back in the 70s. At some point during our conversation, he mentioned how he had just come back from Europe. I mentioned how I had visited Europe only a couple years before, on a trip with my dad, and this man and I shot the shit about visiting Germany and France. Halfway through the call, the manager comes by, and tells me to get onto the next call, we don’t have time to chat with alumni if we’re not bringing in donations.

I basically ignored the manager, and kept on chatting with the guy. He and I talked for about 10–15 minutes, during which time I got angry looks from the manager on several occasions. At the end of the call, I brought up the current thing we were looking for donations for. Our usual ask was $100, but he ended up offering over $1200.

Oh, look at that. All of a sudden I’m doing an excellent job. Way to go, Jeremy! The manager’s disposition does a complete 180 when I brought in the biggest donation of the month by actually treating our alumnus like a human being, and not an ATM. I quit at the end of that day.

0/10, would never do again.

What a fucked up USA

What are the biggest myths about living in America?

Things that surprised me when I first moved to the USA, good and bad (as they occur to me) were:

• Everybody I met is so nice. People are generally friendly and polite. From the TV shows I saw, I expected everyone to either be scowling at each other in a threatening manner, if not actually shooting.
• The areas I first encountered were and still are covered in trees. There is much more green space in housing areas and a lot of this is covered by trees.
• It’s not really the land of opportunity at all. If you come in as I did with a good job already, you can do quite well, but moving from being working class to middle class is actually more difficult than in the UK where I come from.
• The US is a great place if you have enough money but can be a terrible place if you are short of money. There is far less of a safety net for people who have problems, and there is certainly a less sympathetic attitude.
• It’s much easier to get things done in the US than in the UK. People have a much more forward-looking attitude in businesses.
• Much of the growth in the US is actually driven by foreigners. So many of the IT departments in the US are staffed by foreigners like me, and in particular, Indians, that if you removed them all, I’m sure the US IT sector would collapse. This was the biggest surprise to me when I first started working here. I did consulting work in IT for Life Sciences companies and every one of the IT departments was at least 50% Indian.
• People don’t carry guns on the street and there aren’t shootings every day, in most places. In some places, there are shootings every day, but they tend to be concentrated. Petty crime is less common in the US in most areas. I know few places in the UK where you would leave your gardening stuff in an unlocked shed or a bicycle in the drive. It’s common here.
• In many areas, I didn’t notice any racism at all. It did take me some time to spot it in some places, to be frank, and some of my black friends had to point it out to me, but I’ve been in far more racist places in Europe.
• There are more different kinds of churches than you could possibly imagine, particularly in the South, not just the main denominations that you see in most of the UK and Europe. Dozens of them.
• So many people dress in exactly the same way. My American wife pointed out the converse of this in the UK, that people look quite different from one another. I was at a hardware store recently, there was a delay at the checkout. I noticed that of the eleven men waiting in line I was the only one without a plaid shirt, goatee beard and baseball cap.
• Service in restaurants is probably ever so slightly better than the UK, but is far less personal. No one has ever called me “love” or whatever the local equivalent was there.
• Everyone has to fill in a tax return. This nearly caught me out. Filling in a tax return is such a usual part of life for Americans that nobody thought to tell me about it. I’d never done one in my life and it is a lot of work. In the UK my employer did all of that.
• Healthcare – I think most people are aware that the cost is a lot higher than the UK, but I couldn’t believe how bureaucratic it is, form after form after form. Insurance coverage is an absolute minefield, the plans are mind-bendingly complex and of course, insurance companies, being profit-making, will twist and create obstacles and do anything they can, to avoid paying out. The trouble with health insurance is that if they don’t pay, you can die. If there’s anything that I do miss about the UK it’s the NHS.

Do countries like the US import electric vehicles from China?

Not yet. At least not enough.

The U.S. put an arbitrary high tax on China make cars. What it does is the it allowed Tesla and their too big to fail automakers such as Ford, GM and Chrysler to profiteer on its own citizens. Hence the inflation and not to mention depriving its own American of convenience and better environment.

What are things about corporate life no one tells you about?

I am in software industry for 5+yr now , so I can share my experience.

1. No matter how much you are earning , you will feel monotonous and boring life after sometime. Then most of people try for competition exam just to get rid of monotonous life.
2. If you are working in your field , life would be easy for you after few years. But if you are not core person then there are lot of struggle, humiliation you will face.
3. Corporate has colleague only, I haven’t seen a bond of friendship in service based company specially. In product based, I had a great friend circle but being in service based everything is all about getting work done.
4. Person is mostly known as resource instead of human being. Better resource has better opportunity. So keep update yourself with new technical enhancements in order to stay here.
5. If your project manager is good , and you know how to communicate with them easily then life would be so easy. But if you have conflict with your manager , you will be replace by some other resource.
6. Good thing about corporate is they care about their employee so much, time to time free health check-ups, office /team parties, new year/diwali /Holi /Christmas etc gifts🎁, sick leave, casual leave and other leaves, work from home allowances , broadband reimbursement, travel allowances, providing table, chair,lamps if you are doing wfh. Providing flexibility to work from anywhere. You got onsite opportunity to Europe, USA based on your skillsets.
7. If you are really a skilled employee, you got max 10% hike per year with bonuses. But if you are average 3–5% hike which I feel is low. Because the same employee switch the company got 50-100% hike very easily. So , if company start doing good hike for deserving employee with time to time promotions, then why they will think of switching every quarters.
8. AI has entered the market, but it can never replace techies. As a software developer I can feel that ChatGPT help to find solutions easily but with ambiguity in solution. So , ambiguity solution can’t make a great products. So, it’s illusion that chatgpt or any other platform would cut the jobs.
9. If you are fresher, better to join small organization where you can learn and got individual work to became a skilled person. Because in big organization, freshers has to suffer lot to get individual work.
10. Degree is secondary , skill is primary in IT world. But yeah degree taught us much about handling pressure, balancing temper .

US keeps hyping military tension around Taiwan Straits

Washington, secessionists the real troublemakers to undermine peace: experts

By Yang Sheng and Liu Xuanzun Published: Jan 23, 2024 08:07 PM Updated: Jan 23, 2024 10:00 PM

A US think tank released a report on Tuesday claiming that the “majority of experts” from the US and the island of Taiwan said they believe “a crisis in the Taiwan Straits is likely in 2024,” with a “blockade” or “quarantine” of the island by the Chinese mainland seen as the most likely scenario, while analysts from the mainland said this is an old trick of the US to hype regional tensions to spread fear in the region to serve its hegemonic interests.

A new survey from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) covering “87 experts from the US and the island of Taiwan on cross-Strait relations” said that most of these experts said China has the “capabilities to execute a law enforcement led-quarantine [or] a People’s Liberation Army (PLA)-led blockade of Taiwan,” but fewer believed a “forceful invasion” was possible.  

Aside from the CSIS survey, the US is taking concrete actions to add tensions to the region.

After the Taiwan regional election which concluded on January 13, there have not been military tensions around the region so far, but the US is planning to send a bipartisan congress delegation to encourage secessionists on the island, and US aircraft carriers are also approaching the region, according to the US Naval Institute. 

These expose a hard fact that, when accusing China of “creating tensions” in the region, Washington and secessionists on the island are the real troublemakers that are taking concrete actions to undermine regional peace and stability, said analysts, stressing that the US and its puppets on the island should not underestimate the determination and strength of the Chinese military forces.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that “The US needs tensions and fears among the region to force its allies in the region to stand closer with it and push other countries to take sides and rely on the US. This kind of trick has already ruined peace in Europe due to the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, and Washington wants to copy this in Asia. The Taiwan Straits is its target.”

According to the CSIS survey, 68 percent of US experts said a Taiwan Straits crisis was “likely” or “very likely” in 2024, compared to 58 percent of experts from Taiwan island.

Li said the US is trying to hype an intensifying atmosphere around China, to make regional countries believe that China is going to take a massive action that will heavily impact everyone. However, China has not done anything yet, and even if China takes action, it will have been provoked by US military activities and Washington’s politicians’ encouragement of the Taiwan secessionist authorities. “This is the truth that we need to let the world understand clearly,” Li said. 

The root cause of tension around the Taiwan Straits is US interference in China’s domestic affairs, and without meddling from the US, the Taiwan question, the powder keg the US set in front of China, would have been long defused in past decades whether militarily or peacefully, Li noted. “China will shake off this time-bomb sooner or later.”

On Monday, USNI News, the news website of the US Naval Institute, reported that the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier is now in the 7th Fleet area of operations as of last weekend. 

It means that there are three US aircraft carriers operating in the Asia-Pacific region, with the other two being the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan, according to a graphic released by USNI News on Monday which is tracking the US Navy’s deployed aircraft carrier strike groups. 

US aircraft carrier deployments show that the US’ strategic focus remains on the Asia-Pacific region, prioritizing major power competition and the “Indo-Pacific strategy” over conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The PLA Navy recently organized some of its most powerful amphibious warships in a combat exercise.

According to a China Central Television (CCTV) report on Monday, the Type 071 amphibious landing ships Wuzhishan and Changbaishan joined up with a Type 075 amphibious assault ship in a multi-course drill.

The drill practiced live-fire anti-air and anti-sea shooting, which analysts said is important in self-defense in an amphibious landing mission.

Experts said that the Type 071 focuses more on horizontal landing by carrying air cushioned hovercraft and amphibious armored vehicles, while the Type 075 focuses more on vertical landing by carrying more helicopters.

The combination of the Type 075 amphibious assault ship and the Type 071 amphibious landing ship have strong island-seizing capability, and they can join forces with aircraft carrier groups as well as other warships and warplanes to form tremendous joint combat capabilities in an island-seizing mission, Song said.

Such a combination can play important roles on the island of Taiwan, the Dongsha Islands and the Penghu Islands if the need arises in the future, Song said.

Since August 2022, the PLA has organized three major island blockade exercises around the island of Taiwan as countermeasures to US-Taiwan collusion, and displayed its capability in conducting precision strikes to paralyze key military installations on the island of Taiwan, seizing air superiority and control of the sea, as well as stopping “Taiwan independence” secessionists from escaping and external military forces from interfering. All foundations have been established for the following landing missions, analysts said.

The best scenario for both the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan is peaceful reunification, but if “Taiwan independence” secessionists and external interference forces deny that prospect, the PLA is always prepared to fulfill its sacred duty of safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and achieve the eventual national reunification, experts said.

HMMMM. U.S. Army Mess Hall in Marshall Islands, Hit By Giant Wave

Nation Hal Turner 22 January 2024

China sends a message. -MM

Video has emerged of a mess hall for the United States Army being absolutely swamped (inside) by a massive ocean wave that came well ashore in the Marshall Islands on Saturday, and took the doors off the mess hall.

It was sudden, dramatic, and unstoppable.

US Army mess hall in Marshall Islands hit by massive wave (1.20.24). No reported injuries. pic.twitter.com/jErWckRuky— Molly Ploofkins™ (@Mollyploofkins) January 22, 2024

To Hope That China Will Help With Yemen Is Delusional Bullshit

The lunatic Biden policy with regards to Yemen will obviously fail to reach any positive results. The White House and Biden know this and he has even publicly admitted so much.

Last night the U.S.and UK again bombed Yemen:

Monday night’s moves marked the eighth round of allied attacks on the Houthis since the first on Jan. 12. American and British forces said they hit eight targets, including an underground storage site and locations for launching missiles and carrying out air-surveillance.

I doubt that the U.S. or UK knows anything about Yemeni ‘underground storage sites’ or other missile locations.

It simply does not have such information:

A third senior official said on Monday that figure may have crept up to 30 to 40 percent after at least 25 to 30 precision-guided munitions successfully hit their targets on Monday. But other U.S. intelligence officials who have been briefed on the size and scope of the Houthis’ arsenal say analysts are not sure how much weaponry the group started with.

American and other Western intelligence agencies have not spent significant time or resources in recent years collecting data on the location of Houthi air defenses, command hubs, munitions depots and storage and production facilities for drones and missiles, the officials said.

The delusion in the White House is that ‘doing something’, like bombing random targets In Yemen, will change things continues. This question is still unanswered:

How to stop the Houthis – Politico, Jan 22, 2024

A senior administration official laid it out as follows. The U.S. attacks on Houthi targets will degrade the militants’ abilities to keep shooting at ships, as will the interdiction of vessels carrying weapons to Yemen. Last week’s redesignation of the Houthis as terrorists will increase the sanctions pressure on them, starving fighters of the resources that bankroll operations.

Eventually, the official continued, regional countries and other nations with an interest in open sea lanes — China, for example — will demand an end to the shipping crisis that has inflated prices and imperiled lives. Meanwhile, Israel’s plan for more targeted operations in Gaza could mean fewer civilian casualties, which would weaken the Houthis’ case for rising to the Palestinians’ defense. An end to the war would remove that rallying cry.

The White House is obviously not even reading the news by the media it directly controls:

Houthis Won’t Target Chinese, Russian Ships in Red Sea – Voice of America, Jan 19, 2024

A senior official of the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group says Chinese and Russian vessels will have safe passage through the Red Sea.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political leadership, said in an interview with the Russian outlet Izvestia that the shipping lanes around Yemen are safe to ships from China and Russia as long as vessels are not connected with Israel, Agence France-Presse reported Friday, citing Izvestia.

The Houthis have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza and have carried out more than 30 attacks in the Red Sea.

All western container carriers who have serviced the Asia-Europe lines will now lose container booking from Chinese exporters to Europe. The big Chinese container lines, which have openly announced to not service Israel, will now receive those transport orders. They can offer a shorter and much cheaper trip through the Red Sea while western carriers must go all around Africa to be able to reach their destination.

China and to an extend Russia will again profit from such basic U.S. policy mistakes. To hope that they will somehow intervene to end that situation is simply absurd.

Politico concluded the part quoted above with this paragraph:

But even if all those various elements lined up, it’s still not clear the strategic picture the Houthis care about will shift radically enough for a course correction.

That is written to sound nice but it essentially means that the policy is utter bullshit.

As Caitlin Johnstone summarizes:

We live in a dystopian world where it’s completely normalized to subvert human interests to commercial interests, to toss tens of thousands of lives into the incinerator for wealth and convenience. Where war profiteers rake in vast fortunes for selling instruments of mass murder to genocidal governments, and where the most powerful empire in history declares a war to defend shipping containers at the cost of human life.

Don’t ever let these sick freaks convince you that this is normal.

Posted by b on January 23, 2024 at 10:31 UTC | Permalink

What are some great life lessons you have learned after lots of troubles?

1. Seek advice from people who have achieved what you want in life.
2. Be your own hero instead of waiting for someone else to save you.
3. Accept people for who they are, not who you want them to be, to avoid disappointment.
4. Don’t make others choose you; learn to enjoy your own company.
5. Control your emotions and stay calm in any situation.
6. Give people time to reveal their true selves.
7. Focus on yourself and mind your own business to find inner peace.
8. Take care of yourself because the world will keep moving, even if something happens to you.
9. Work hard to improve yourself, even if it feels like nobody cares.
10. Build your own dreams instead of relying on others to give you purpose.
11. Ignore society’s advice if it doesn’t align with your goals.
12. Life doesn’t wait for you to be okay, so keep pushing forward every day.
13. Enjoy the freedom of not sharing everything about yourself.
14. Disconnect from the news and avoid discussing politics to feel smarter.
15. Create your own opportunities instead of waiting for them to come to you.

Greek Turnovers (Skaltsounia)

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup butter

Filling

• 1/2 pound feta
• 3 ounces mascarpone
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and crushed
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, crushed
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Whip the butter until it is light. Whip in the sugar and egg yolks and blend well. Gradually add in the flour until it is smooth and soft. Add more flour if needed.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. In a bowl cream together the feta, mascarpone, and eggs. Add the walnuts, orange zest, mint and butter and blend well. Set aside.
4. Roll out dough on a floured board and cut dough into 3-inch rounds. Take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and place it in the center of the circle. Moisten the edges and fold over into a half moon. Seal well. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
6. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

The hard slap of reality